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First Attempt at Wing Foiling (with some 5.5 windsurfing on the side)

I had my first taste of wing foiling.   Caught some quality time with Andy Brandt and Jon Ford at Napeague last Thursday…winging is all kinds of new!   Did I get up on the foil?  Three or four times.  Did I STAY up on the foil?   No (not yet).   While catching my breath watched Jon wing jibe, and Andy do all sorts of stuff as usual.

Must try again.   You should too.   Go check out Andy at an ABK clinic.

To remind myself that I can learn these things, I also got some 5.5 windsurfing in.   Sails, fins, longish boards.  Old tech but still fun.

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  1. Mark Avatar
    Mark

    After spending 5 years living in the Seattle wind desert, my wife and I bought a lot in the Gorge. Hopefully we’ll be built and moved in within a year.
    As such, I decided to take up wing foiling too, and I went all in. Two boards, three wings, and two sets of wing/stabilizer/fuselage/mast (not quite as excessive as it might sound–my wife Thip also plans to learn, but she’s in Thailand right now attending to her hospitalized father).
    I drove down to San Francisco a few weeks ago and spent about a week at Crissy popping wheelies and being terrified up on foil, not to mention slicing up my ankles (note to self, reject the impulse to kick in the water).
    Now, armored with a helmet, Dakine Surface vest, and booties, I’ve spent the last week in the Gorge gaining confidence, foiling longer reaches, and working on transition handwork. A work in progress!
    Two days ago I had Duotone Slick boom failure which ultimately led to me shredding a four sessions old wing. Ouch, my wallet!
    Still, we’re fully committed now… onward!

    Reply
  2. Ely Spivack Avatar
    Ely Spivack

    Learning how to wing here on Maui has been a blast. Started practicing in the harbor here, summer 2020, with all the old school windsurfing luminaries, Mickey Eskimo, Rhonda Smith Sanchez, Scott Trudon, etc, now consistently foiling at Ka’a Point and Kanaha. Doing mini downwinders in waist to chest high windswell (Kanaha) and head high non-breaking winter waves (Ka’a). The sport is super fun, easier on the body than windsurfing, and you can still have a blast in shitty windsurfing conditions, up and down, gusty winds, on shore winds, choppy water. I say, GO FOR IT!

    Reply

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