Beginner's Guide to Wing Foiling

BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO WING FOILING

“WING FOILING ADDS ANOTHER DIMENSION TO WIND SPORTS BY MERGING THE GAP BETWEEN WINDSURFING AND KITESURFING. IT HAS MADE CONDITIONS THAT AREN’T VERY WINDY WITH NO WAVES INSANELY FUN...”

KAI LENNY

Welcome to Foiling Magazine’s first Guide to Wingsurfing!

I’m going to stick my neck out slightly here but I’m sure most will agree: let’s face it, initially wingsurfing looked like a walk on the kooky side. Even those first videos of consummate waterman Kai Lenny appeared a little wonky. But there’s absolutely no denying that now, the inflatable wing market is absolutely booming, and water sports practitioners from all disciplines, foil based and otherwise, are crossing over to wingsurfing and benefiting from a generous bump in shred time. Wingsurfing is here to stay and growing exponentially; it’s far too fun not to.

In this guide we take a look at the basics of the sport, from what you need to get hold of kit wise, through to your first few runs up on the foil. We’ll also be bringing out more guides and videos from Foiling Magazine over the coming months, and I hope that we can get you as stoked on the world of wingsurfing as I have become!

Enjoy the guide.

Richard Boughton TECHNICAL EDITOR, FOILING MAGAZINE

COVER Olivia Jenkins, master of kite and more recently the wing, lines everything up nicely on a 360 power punt.

Photo: Noah Andrews

Extra thanks to:

Marie Buchanan & Andrew Sim

Effortless wing steez from former Foiling Magazine cover star, Dylan Wichmann..

Photo: Kyle Cabano

Personally, it’s been both an eye opener and humbling experience. In my capacity as a budding kite journalist, I was privileged enough to be present at a couple of key product launches in 2019. Firstly, the Naish launch in Tarifa back in May, where Bajan windsurf legend Brian Talma (pictured above) and I shared a rig and fumbled through our first steps together with equally mixed results. It was entertaining to say the least, but initially I struggled to see the application between my kitesurf and SUP foil regime.

I’m certainly no roots surfer, and like to think of myself as a relatively early adopter and open-minded to new ways to enjoy yourself on the water, but I’m the first to admit how skeptical I was, and I certainly wasn’t alone as and my skepticism was shared by the majority of water sports industry veterans who have seen many an inflatable contraption come along and fall by the wayside…

Next came the F-ONE meeting in Mauritius where I relished watching a whole range of aquatically inclined people have their first reactions to the inflatable wing, and I felt a little smug I’d already had a go myself. The wing was normally met with initial bemusement, then curiosity would kick in, and in the idyllic conditions of Le Morne, people enthusiastically and awkwardly handled the alien equipment and attempted to learn the new sport. There was a considerable amount of walking back upwind, which was great for team building for the uninitiated distributors from various corners of the planet, but watching the enormously talented F-ONE team tow into Manawa – a wave which could have been created for wing foiling – and then fly up the channel was completely inspirational. With the wing flagged out, the directional freedom achieved on the wave and the effortless power and speed captured by the foil was captivating, and looked far freer and more legit than kite foiling a wave could ever hope to be. The lucky invitees at the event were spending as much, if not more time on the wings as they were on the plethora of shiny new kite equipment, and that was a pivotal moment where opinions changed and, in some cases (mine included), made full U-turns.

I headed back home to the UK in August and immediately got hold of some kit. I was intrigued as to how it would cross over to the less glamourous conditions usually found in the UK. Personally, the potential application to our (more often than not) mushy little waves was extremely appealing.

I now sit about fourteen months into my wing career, and shudder to think how many extra hours I’ve clocked up on the water over that time span. Everyone likes the start of a learning curve, and after 15 years solid of kitesurfing I was running out of ideas on how to challenge

“I ENJOY WING FOILING BECAUSE IT HAS OPENED UP A WHOLE NEW REALM OF WAYS TO FOIL. THE WING ALLOWS YOU TO GET ON THE WATER WHENEVER IT’S TOO WINDY TO SURF FOIL SO THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO.”

FINN SPENCER

Robby Naish was sold from the beginning...

Brian Talma ready to go back to basics!

“WING FOILING OPENS UP SO MANY NEW DOORS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ON THE WATER. WHETHER IT’S ATTEMPTING BACKFLIPS/JUMPS, PLAYING IN THE WAVES OR CRUISING DOWN THE COAST WITH FRIENDS, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE WIND THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND EXCITING TO DO WITH THE WING.”

ANNIE REICKERT

myself and, unless I was testing new equipment or the conditions were spot on, I was losing the buzz slightly. Thankfully It was an incredibly windy winter in the south west of the UK, and progress with the wing was rapid and satisfying for me with my solid background in freeride kite foiling, plus I’d picked up a serious (and financially crippling) SUP foil addiction in early 2018! So I had some skills that transferred well to the new world of the wing. And I can confidently say wingsurfing is the most satisfying activity I’ve learned in ages – it has made me fitter and stronger, increased my wave awareness, and let me connect with other ocean addicts from many different backgrounds, even in my little backwater of the UK. A pivotal moment for me early this winter was when I regularly started to pick the wing gear over the kite gear. I had become a habitual winger, or wanger as it’s known locally. The simple fact is that the more time you spend on the foil, the more your skillset increases in all levitating disciplines.

I hereby pass on this knowledge with the caveat that I am not the world’s most talented wingsurfer. That title probably goes to Kai Lenny or Titouan Galea at the moment, although it’s all to play for. There has been no rule book thus far in this fledgling sport, and I definitely earned my current (and probably marginally above average) skill level through a huge amount of trial and error in very harsh and ‘real world’ Northern Hemisphere conditions, dealing with whatever the Atlantic decided to throw at us. This is where wingsurfing is currently at its most brilliant for me – in sub-par conditions where other wind and water sports can feel a little lackluster.

F-ONE boss Raphaël Salles showing the way.

The simple fact is that the more time you spend on the foil, the more your skillset increases in all levitating disciplines. “

Zane Schweitzer sends it skyward...

Photo: Erik Aeder

SO, WHY THE APPEAL?

It’s very simple to rig and a relatively light-weight setup. No strings attached. It’s far safer, less technical and less threatening to learn than kitesurfing. You can launch anywhere and access spots where you can’t kite. You’ve got a much better low end than windsurfing, with a smaller, lighter and less technical rig.

Initially there’s crossover between SUP foils and the high-volume wing boards you need as a beginner: two birds, one stone. There’s massive crossover between wing, SUP and surf foils so your hydrofoil can perform a few different foiling disciplines.

Wings can deal with horribly gusty wind and they depower instantly and effectively.

Wings have huge wind ranges, easily 10-15 knots per size.

If it all goes wrong, you just let go and it all stops, and if the worse comes to the worse you can paddle back without hassle.

Once you are proficient, you can ride in bolt offshore winds, where kiting would be too sketchy.

In onshore surf, where surf or SUP foiling can be a right old grovel, the wing can catapult you in with speed and get you some preposterously long, fun, and, most importantly, unencumbered rides.

We are only around 18 months into mass production and there is already a bewildering amount of equipment on the market. To an extent the gear is still in its infancy, with marked design differences and directions between each brand. Hopefully this section will help you wade through it all and make some informed purchasing decisions. I would say to learn your initial wing handling skills on a SUP without a foil with generous volume and prepare to walk upwind. I’ve used a 120L 8ft quad fin fish with a square outline to teach some friends very successfully, and all achieved upwind on their first session.

BOARDS

For those starting wingsurfing, volume is your friend. I’d recommend 30-40L over your body weight in kilos, so at 80kgs go for 110-120L. Shorter, squarish high-volume shapes with beveled tails release from the water more quickly than a longer board with more nose, and this seems to be the direction most brands are now taking. This initial board needs to float you comfortably and will likely cross over as a SUP foil, so convince your financial advisor it is a two-sports-in-one bargain. Lighter boards feel more lively under foot and can help you pump through the lulls more easily and it makes everything easier to carry, so it could be well worth the expenditure for carbon or lighter constructions if you are 100% committed.

WINGS

Your second best friend as a beginner is having adequate power for steady propulsion, particularly if you are ready to get up on the foil. Going out with a bit of juice means you can just sheet in and go with positive forward speed and lift, letting you concentrate on the foiling which is often the most challenging aspect of the learning process. Remember how effectively these wings depower and going out underpowered can be exceptionally frustrating and tiring initially until you develop the magic pump technique.

A few size options are always preferable, but a 5m is usually the magic size for the average weight beginner of (the slightly sexist industry benchmark) 80kgs that I’ve seen learn around me with positive buoyancy boards. The water state will be fairly sensible in this wind range from around 12-20 knots and that grunt forgives bad pumping technique when taking off. This will get you up on the foil easily and give you steady power to get your early foiling dialed. Of course this is all scalable. if you’re on the lighter side, around 4m for people around 60kg would probably be preferable as a one wing quiver for learning. Wings with solid booms or wishbones have an immediate appeal of familiarity to existing windsurfers. They feel positive and have a rigid feel to pump, but can feel a little heavier to handle in lighter and gusty wind, and as you fumble through the learning process a soft strut can be much more friendly to bounce off and won’t damage your board when you fall.

Photo: Noah Andrews

Photo: Kyle Cabano

Photo: Alessandro Giovanelli

Windows can be a good idea if you ride in really busy spots. Don’t expect 20/20 vision from a wet piece of PVC, but for sure you should notice movement behind them and they can give you more awareness of what’s around you. Also be wary on how you fold your windowed wing up, as they can be a little sensitive if stored incorrectly, they tend to come in cylinder shaped roll bags rather than a backpack which can be less practical if you have a long walk in to your spot. Windows also add extra weight to the wing. It is fair to say that the jury is still out on ‘wing windows’ at this point in time.

On a soft wing, until you work out your comfortable hand placements, a decent range of handles is a huge plus. 45 degree cross straps can be really useful for giving the wingtip a little more clearance on the water, as a common beginner error is dipping the tip so the wing rolls over, which can be very frustrating. Try to choose more squat wings if you are on the shorter side.

Scuff protection on the wingtips can stop wear on the beach, keep an eye out for some Kevlar or other wear resistant patches in sensible places.

FOILS

There’s a huge amount of different foil designs on the market with different spans, surface areas, aspect ratios, profiles, winglets and stabilizer designs to produce different performance characteristics. This is where product development is perhaps at its most exciting and varied, but it’s not always easy for the consumer to decipher. For the technically inclined, please forgive the generalization here. For simplicities sake, I will use surface area as a guide as that’s how the majority of manufacturers play it.

When it comes to getting up and flying, for an 80kg learner I’ve seen most success with mid aspect ratio foils (AR 4-5) around the 1800cm2-2000cm2 mark initially. A mid-length or longer fuselage helps control your pitch with ease coupled with your chosen brand’s larger stabilizer. Most brands are quite clear about which their beginner-friendly foils are.

A mast height of around 65cm is good for learning in most situations. If you are learning somewhere with close high chop, you could step this up to 90cm to give you a little more leeway and get the foil under the surface turbulence. Conversely you can drop to a 50cm mast in particularly shallow or flat water.

A modular hydrofoil system with easily changeable front and rear wings is a huge benefit, look out for upgradability and a good range of front wings, as you will eventually want to step up to a more racy high aspect wing set for faster riding and smaller turn radiuses, or perhaps larger and more glidey wings for lighter wind. Construction-wise, an aluminum mast system for beginners is a good idea, as they take the hits well and have stiff flex characteristics and are relatively inexpensive to replace. And buy a few different mast heights too so that you don’t need to be so precious of it.

Photo: Erik Aeder

Photo: Richard Hallman

Photo: Erik Aeder

Photo: John Carter

THE S ETUP 2

ASSEMBLING THE BOARD AND FOIL

First off, if you’ve got a decent sized vehicle and can fit the hydrofoil and board in built, I’d construct it at home in the garage and prebuild everything every time – there’s nothing worse than fumbling around for track nuts in the sand (a few spare fixings are also worth their weight in gold). A calm, controlled environment without the prematch adrenaline means less chance of a hasty cross thread or nuts in the sand. Always reverse any fixing anticlockwise a little first to help it align, and if it’s tough to put something in, it is probably misaligned. Don’t force it in, back it out and clean the threads of the insert and examine the bolt for wear. Torx fittings are the norm now and suffer a lot less from rounding off than a hex fitting. A decent stainless steel Torx driver set is a shrewd investment. A test build is always a good plan if the system is new.

Most systems benefit from a little lubrication on the fixings, particularly if they are comprised from mixed materials, such as stainless, aluminum, titanium, brass and carbon which can suffer from galvanic reactions when next to each other in a salty environment. From my experience, Teflon gel is excellent for preventing inter material corrosion but check whatever your manufacturer recommends. A sparing dab on the threads will avoid things getting stuck and the inevitable capin-hand visit to the proprietors at your local metal machining shop.

My construction method is as follows – fit the mast to the board first, as it’s then easier to fit the wings as the board stops it wobbling around on the pedestal, and also most of the fixings go into the bottom of the fuselage. The vast majority of boards now have an industry standard 90mm spaced track box of varying designs, so slide the T nuts into the track and whack the bolts in. There’s normally some fore and aft adjustment on the track box – initially it’s best to set it in the middle and adjust to your taste as you progress and work out how the board feels and where it wants to sit naturally, particularly if you are mixing manufacturers for board and foil, which is currently commonplace.

Next attach the fuselage and the wings tightly (and recheck the fixings after use). Some systems require a little persuasion to get things to line up, particularly carbon with tapered fittings, and a rubber mallet and a little sandpaper can be required. At the end of the process check for play in all areas, as if there’s any play in the system this will amplify itself up the mast and feel unstable.

The front wing and stabilizer are usually the most delicate and expensive part of your system so treat them with care. A cover set for transport is a good idea and stops them getting damaged. From a maintenance perspective, a disassembly and clean with fresh water is a good idea once in a while to keep bolts from binding, particularly if you are going to store your foil for a long period.

“STAY RELAXED. IT IS EASY TO HAVE A TENDENCY TO PULL HARD ON THE WING OR FIGHT THE FOIL. BEING RELAXED ALLOWS EVERYTHING TO FLOW BETTER AND YOU’LL AVOID WIPEOUTS.”

KAI LENNY

BOARD LEASHES

Standard surf leashes attached to an ankle are popular. They flap around a bit behind you when you are foiling, but if you’re familiar with them from other water sports they provide a safe and predictable response when the board drifts off, and you can bring the board back to you with your leg, which can be handy when holding a flapping wing.

Coil leashes take up the slack and don’t trail behind you, minimizing the risk of the leash tangling round the foil, but believe me, anything can happen when you stack it, and trying to peel a coil leash from a foil whilst attached to a wing can get complicated in deep water. I also seem to get them stuck in my toes when I jibe. Some riders prefer using waist leashes for both boards and wings.

There are no firm rules with leashes, it’s all personal choice, but if you’re learning or in the open sea, it’s a necessity to wear one as boards with foils can run away downwind very quickly and can be a massive hazard to other water users.

WINGS

This is where the kitesurfers have a head start as they are almost identical in construction. These beautifully sculpted inflatable structures are more delicate than you think. Avoid scraping and abrading them on pointy sharp things (like hydrofoils). Inside the front tube is a thin internal bladder which is fairly easy to put a hole in. Pump them up somewhere soft – grass or sand is a good surface.

Most pumps come with a leash and small hook (to prevent the wing from blowing away) so attach this first and a pressure gauge. Different wings have different inflation requirements and it’s normally written somewhere near the inflate valve.

These all vary between manufacturers by the way, so make sure you have the right attachment for your valve. Being on the heavier side, I tend to put a little extra pressure into my wings to make sure they are rigid to pump against, particularly in light winds. There’s nothing more disappointing than an under inflated wing, as it’s wobbly and inefficient.

Keep the hydrofoil separate from wing at all times, I’ve seen a lot of hydrofoil-through-wing damage at my repair center over the last year. Most common times of destruction are in gusty conditions on the beach walking down and in shore break. Also, due to the larger boards you are likely to learn on, avoid being really overpowered, as the large surface areas can make them flip in high winds if the wind gets under them in the wrong position, particularly if it’s a light carbon fiber board. If a squall comes, ditch the wing and sit on the board to keep it from flipping.

Make sure your wrist leash is on tight, look for one that constricts with a buckle for extra security. If it just relies on Velcro a hard crash can blow this off and leave you up the proverbial creek without a paddle. Losing your wing leaves you very vulnerable with a potentially long paddle, believe me. I once had a two-mile walk along our local estuary to retrieve my escaped wing which ended up rolling under a tree next to some aggressive swans. A memorable, but far from ideal situation.

Don’t go out in breaking swell or even heavy chop sea states until you are really confident. I’d say make sure you can jibe or tack confidently (with the board on the water) and make really solid upwind progress before you are ready for any wave play.

If things go wonky and you cannot sail yourself out of trouble, lie down on the board and hook your feet either side of the center strut behind the leading edge and prone paddle back – you can make good ground like this without the wing dragging on the water surface. This method has been coined the ‘scorpion’ due to the raised tail appearance of the participant. If the wind or wave conditions get heavy and you’re not making progress you might want to deflate your sail as then you won’t have the drag of the wing to tow behind you.

Seaweed is not your friend and can be quite dangerous if you hit a patch of heavy kelp. Smaller pieces can gather on your foil and make it unstable and slow you down. You’ve just got to avoid it or get off your board and clear it. After big storms, when seaweed gets ripped off the seabed, it’s something you need to take into serious consideration when choosing spots.

A helmet is an extremely sensible option whilst learning, particularly if you’ve never done any foil or wind sports before… in fact I’d say it’s essential. An impact vest or buoyancy aid for a little extra float is also a good shout.

Be careful of the foil underwater, they can be a little sharp and unforgiving to wet skin so don’t kick your legs into them by accident as you get on or off the board.

AND LOC ATIONS

When it comes to locations, particularly if you’re already from a wind sports background, it’s time to open your mind. Probably a good comparison for how versatile and gust-tolerant winging is, is with dingy sailing. You can wingsurf more or less anywhere you have wind and water. Depth is obviously a limiting factor with mast height. Initially waves are very unhelpful, so look for lakes, estuaries and flat and sensible water states. If you can swing a controlled situation with the current against wind direction, this will help your upwind ability initially which is useful as a beginner, so keep an eye on tide times.

Wind speed wise, between 10-20 knots is good beginner territory as the water state should still be reasonably flat, and you will have positive pull from the wing.

As a beginner, you are highly likely to go downwind, particularly if you are using a SUP with no hydrofoil to start with. Make sure you have a contingency plan for walking back to where you started from, or be prepared to prone paddle hard, get picked up, or phone a friend. If you’re stuck with the sea, the flatter sea states you often get with sideshore or offshore conditions (where the wind is blowing from the land out to sea) can be a great place to learn, particularly if you have access to a boat or safety cover. Once you are proficient upwind, riding in offshore conditions can be some of the best sessions, particularly when it comes to waves, but obviously ensure you have a contingency plan if things go wonky.

If you have access to a boat, you can go as far downwind as you like and get picked up. It’s a great sport to learn from a boat, far more practical than recovering a kite.

GETTING STARTED5

WING HANDLING

If you’re new to wind sports, having a play with the wing on dry land in lighter wind and learning how it generates power is time well spent. Inflating the wing varies from model to model, but find the inflate valve, close the dump valves and pump it up to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure, which as previously mentioned is often written near the inflate valve. Remember to attach your pump leash to the specified point; as soon as the wing gains its shape it will start to flag out. This will let you immediately know the wind direction. Next put on your wing leash (normally to your dominant wrist) and have a play on the land in complete safety.

Nearly all wings now have a nose handle. This is your default safety position, as when held by the nose handle the wing will naturally fly and hang downwind, and generates no power. Think of it like the ‘neutral’ position of your car gearbox. If you feel out of control, let go of your back hand, just hold the nose handle and the power will immediately stop.

To engage power with the wing bring the front handle above your head and take hold of one of the rear handles at a comfortable shoulder width and pull it towards you. This will generate a little pulse of power and lift your body up and forward. Remember you are going to need to generate both lift and forward motion to get you moving along on the board and potentially up on the hydrofoil.

Keep an eye on where your wingtip is near the ground as the number one error when transferring to the water is catching your wingtip and the wing rolling. This can be super frustrating... If you can learn to avoid this before you hit the water, all the better. Keep your wing above your head and extend your arms to maintain that clearance. Windsurfers will normally bring the strut down too low from habit with their boom.

Practice this reversed the other way and swapping your hands round, holding the nose handle in between, passing the wing back and forth. Walk around in a square, upwind, downwind left and right and get comfortable moving the wing around whilst looking where you are going.

The further you grab back on the strut, the more leverage you will have with your rear arm and the easier it will be to generate more power. If your wing has cross straps, play around with these, as they can give you extra clearance on the water and provide a sturdy feeling grip. The other thing to practice dry is letting go of the wing completely and letting it go on the leash then recovering it by reeling it back in, it may well flip the wrong way up.

To flip the wing back the right way, work your way down to the wingtip and flip it over long ways, then quickly grab the nose handle to get it back under control. The natural reaction is to try and flip it from the middle, but with larger wings their span makes this hard work. It’s important to learn this technique from a kneeling position as this is how you will do it in the water with the same space constraints on the board.

Experiment and push and pull with both arms to get the wing into the power. Remember you can depower the wing by bending your front arm up into the wind as well as sheeting out with your rear arm to spill power. This technique gains you more angle into the wind and therefore more power dump.

“I REALLY ENJOY WING FOILING BECAUSE OF HOW FUN AND FAST IT IS - AND I USUALLY DON’T HAVE TO PADDLE MUCH EITHER!”

MALA’E MCELHENY (AKA @BANZAIGROM)

CARRYING YOUR RIG

This can be quite tricky to the uninitiated as you’ve essentially got an expensive inflatable beach toy as well as something very pointy to carry all in one go. The first thing to do is work out where the wind is coming from as this will dictate where it’s practical to carry the board and wing. Your foil needs to go on the upwind side with the grab handle of the board on the downwind side, and your wing neutral handle can be held in the same hand as the board handle. This means the foil and wing are nicely separated. Sometimes it’s safer to do two trips, leaving your board at the water’s edge and bringing your wing down separately.

If you are taller than your board, balance the mast over your shoulder and outstretch your arm to get good clearance between the wing and foil. Once in the shallows you can save some effort by floating your board hydrofoil up by the stabilizer, this keep a healthy clearance on your wing and is a great method for walking upwind in shallow water.

THE KNEE START

To make your life as easy as possible, if you haven’t foiled before I’d recommend getting comfortable moving around on a board with no hydrofoil, be it a well finned, sharp railed SUP or a high volume traditional windsurf training board. These sit around 200L and have daggerboards and are a huge and well proven craft for learning to get across the wind with a sail.

All manner of supplementary fins and daggerboards are now available for standard SUPs and inflatables to give more lateral resistance and get you upwind with relative ease.

The following applies to both foiling and non-foiling craft, as even if you’re not planning on foiling yet, a higher volume wing foil board will also do the job, as the hydrofoil acts as a keel.

Carry your kit to the water’s edge. Before you enter the water, make sure you have your board and wing leash on properly. Wade out to an adequate depth holding your board upside down by the stabilizer, and your wing by the nose handle. With a 75cm mast and 6’3” tall, I like to be chest deep at least.

Once you are deep enough, flip the board over, climb on the board, face forward and get your weight distributed evenly over the center line. Kneel up to get some clearance on the water and engage the wing as you practiced on the land.

In this kneeling position move the rear of the wing towards the back of your board and steer yourself across the wind by twisting your trunk. You will quickly generate some forward speed, and you will immediately feel that you have more stability than when you are stationary. You can steer on your knees by twisting your body in the direction you want to go. You need to be traveling across the wind rather than straight downwind to keep a little tension in the sail and have something to brace against. You can truck around on your knees as long as you feel you need to, and it’s a good technique to learn as it’s a nice, safe, defensive position to recover yourself in, particularly if the water conditions overwhelm you.

At this point, using the power of the wing to stabilize yourself, bring your front knee up as if you are going to stand, pull on the wing again a little to make you weightless, and then stand up fully. Boom, you are wingsurfing! Remember to head across wind. If you push too hard upwind, you will stall. If you go too far downwind you will lose the tension and stability in your wing. The best way to ensure you are doing this is to turn your head and look in the direction you want to travel. Move around and learn where your board feels stable, and once you feel comfortable try and narrow your stance to place your weight more delicately.

Beginners have a natural tendency to use the nose handle on the wing with their front hand initially as it feels a little more stable, and it feels safer for some until you generate forward speed on the board and apparent wind, which further stabilizes the wing. This is fine to start with in the early stages, as you can quickly dump onto the nose (or safety) handle as you wobble around, and you can avoid some falls, but you need to work your way onto the strut handles as soon as you feel comfortable, as this will enable you to generate the more intense pulse of power you need to get on the foil.

TURNING AROUND

Eventually you’re going to run out of water (or realize you are in the middle of a shipping lane) and need to come back the other way. On your nice big floaty boards, let the wing onto the nose handle, and point the board downwind. As the board carves around, switch your feet to point it in the opposite direction, pass the nose handle into the other hand and switch your arms. Congratulations, you’ve just (perhaps unwittingly) performed a jibe. The faster you pass hands and reengage the sail and get back pointing across the wind, the more stability you will have and less ground you will lose downwind.

GETTING ONTO THE FOIL

Pumping onto the foil is a dark art and comes with practice, particularly in light wind. Even a clumsy Anglo-Saxon oaf like myself feels very efficient in lighter airs after a year or so, and it’s amazing how the technique I’ve employed has changed over that time span. It’s gone from pure brute force to something quite refined and effortless, if I do say so myself. Firstly, different wings, board and hydrofoil combinations require different rhythms of pumping and weight distribution to get them to release. To start with, the first thing I’d recommend is going out in adequate wind to let you dial this in. Lack of power at this juncture normally ends in a highly frustrating plateau in your learning curve.

Photo: Samuel Tome

GETTING IT UP

The most important advice I’ve dished out over the last year is to build board speed on the surface of the water before you try and lift off on the hydrofoil.

This avoids the dreaded wheelie and stall I see regularly – too much back foot pressure and brute force with the wing can mean the angle of the foil will prevent you from building enough speed for the foil to stabilize. It will pop you out, and immediately stall and drop you. Start flat with the board, build speed, then initiate lift off and the foil will raise the board far more steadily and with more pitch stability, and with a far higher likelihood of a longer and more satisfying flight.

Find the balance point on your board over your mast and don’t be tempted to adopt a massive wide stance – you need a bit of breadth, maybe as much as your shoulder width, but no Jimmy Page guitar wielding power stance is required.

If it’s light wind, bear off downwind a little to really maximize your board speed to get some lift from the foil. Once it lifts remember to pinch upwind to gain speed and sail tension immediately. Pump down with the wing to make yourself weightless, as well as towards you to generate forward speed, by moving the strut and handles in a circular motion. As you pump the wing in a downwards motion, at the same time you need to raise your front foot to release surface tension from the front half of the board. The closest cross-sport example I can give is a skateboard ollie. Do this in pulses and you will find yourself building adequate speed for the big take off. You need to offset your foot and arm movements – it’s a little like the old rubbing your belly whilst you pat your head trick. Although remember that if it’s strong wind you may well find yourself just sheeting in and taking off, so don’t start pumping until you know you need to. There’s no need to blow a gasket unnecessarily.

Once the board is up, immediately stop pumping and concentrate on your direction in relation to the wind and sheeting in the sail to gain speed. If you’ve ever watched a swan take off from water, this is nature’s perfect role model in this instance – powerful flapping, followed by silent elegant gliding.

CONGRATULATIONS

You’ve cracked it! Don’t get too excited though, and remember that you have to get back… When the time comes for this, push out your back arm to spill wind and therefore power out of the wing and drop propulsion. Put a little pressure on your front foot to pitch the nose of the board down gently. Once the board lands on the water surface your speed will drop, so get your weight back to prevent being thrown over the front. The seaplane has landed.

Rich demonstrating perfect poise in his post-session power stance.

Photo: Owen Tozer