A new type of foiling community. Wingfoiling tutorials, gear reviews, trip reports, and more! Please sign up for the WFC Forum and support the channel and WFC by visiting the WFC Store. Follow on Instagram for more riding footage! Links below!
Cool to see the north coast footage and glad you made it back in one piece! I'm a beginner wing foiler, but Davenport is my home surf break. Big Davenport gets nasty quick with wicked rip between the north point and south reef. Pass that last south beach and it's a helicopter ride out. I've heard very accomplished wing foilers say Davenport is really nasty...but I'm hoping to ride there one day. Thanks again for the video and reflections!
In some ways it’s super chill… but it can turn bad quickly! I went back earlier this summer on a decent sized day and had a great session. But now I just play on the north point waves. They’re great for winging and allow you to hit some white water do a trick and get spit oil into the channel. But the secret to Davenport really seems to be rig something big (board, foil, or wing) to beat that wind shadow, stay on the north point or be cautious when on the south reef, and just go somewhere else when it’s weedy! Hope to see you out there some day.
Great instructional video Rob. you guys are so far ahead of the mainstream viewers, these types of videos should be rehashed every few months as well catch up 😝
Took 20 minutes to say: go fast slightly downwind, gently breach the front foil, put all your weight on your back foot, hold the slide until speed slows and put all your weight on your front foot and recover. My tip, slide on the stab, not the front wing.
Sure the no hands wing behind the back, take off glasses, look at camera and jibe out was sick. But pointing to random areas of the frame was my favorite part hahaha.
Great video, and big help. With 32 years of windsurfing, kiting, and foil kiting I was up to #1 & #2 in 2 sessions without footswitching. This video has me on a mission. Thank You
Oh man that is the worst. I try not to do anything too crazy way outside anymore, and that’s also why I have an over-engineered wing leash. Hope you made it in without incident or visits from Landlord.
I find it much easier as a beginner to stand up right away using the wing to stabilize while standing up. I fall more when trying to knee taxi then stand up.
Everyone is different, but I think the knee start is the best method (earlier in the video we see a beginner student fall off a SUP board trying to stand up right away). And as you get on smaller or skinnier boards it will not be possible to stand up without wind and forward momentum. However some people have knee issues or other circumstances where standing up first might benefit them. If that is the case, I recommend a big stable board for learning.
@@wingmanfoilclub I recently went down a board size, 150L to 130L, and you are right, it helps to learn the taxi start. I just wish I could find a way not to destroy my knees in the process!
@mekanism1200 the good news is you will spend less and less time on your knees as you improve. You might even check out my tutorial on The Stink Bug Start. It’s made for really small boards, but it can also be used on bigger boards to start very quickly. In the meantime, definitely recommend some knee pads. I wear them nude my wetsuit every session.
Thanks. I try really hard to be authentic since the windsports content creator community is mostly undeclared paid promotions by “ambassadors,” team riders, or shops trying to sell gear.
For the wing lifting in the wind when attached to the mast, I like to strap my helmet or even better camelback or like object to the luff handle. Has always worked to keep the wing from lifting in the air.
Good video from the Hook, which is where I started learning. The milfoil can be a problem there! Knee pads under wetsuit is a great tip. I started with a Quantum 76 and really struggled with the mast in the B position, and did better with Quantum 100 and A position, both using the 42 stab. I'm sure this depends on foil track location and length, but the mast being farther forward will make it easier to taxi upwind. Most people teach to climb on from the back of the board and kneel with shins parallel to centerline, but I prefer to start angled across the board, like you and Rob are showing.
The cool thing is the same principles can be applied to wing handling when luffing the wing and riding swell. By keeping the wing horizontal and flipping it to the other hand late, you can do hard cutbacks Mcflowi style on the wave or swell.
Good to see the Delta vibe is still alive! Was doing the same thing in 2008-12 with a whole different community. Hope the night life was pumping!!!! A ton of new faces expect for those SALES guys... ahahah.
@@wingmanfoilclub Awesome. Although we are familiar with different spots in the country, some of us rarely get to visit them, and this is a cool way to get a flavor of what makes them great.
It’s really not. Watch the tutorial again then try and implement what I’m doing. It’s definitely easier than tacking. A heelside tack can be good in light wind, but if not perfectly executed you come off foil. This light wind jibe works in almost no wind. The keys are building speed, turning quickly, keeping the wing flat and sheeted in, then flipping the wing quickly as you come around, then pumping back on foil. Trust me. I wouldn’t have made a whole RU-vid video if it wasn’t effective. :)
The ranch has one wave I towed into with a longboard that could be really good for tow foil: it’s all the way at the end about 3/4 mile directly east of gov point. The bump starts way out there and can be ridden all the way to the beach and I’ve never seen another surfer on it or anywhere near it. The kelp could be an issue; in general the whole area has tons of kelp and is all in the wind shadow. Awesome idea to wing there, hope you can try again and make it work sometime.
Thanks for the intel! Government Point would be a long haul! Unfortunately I think the wind is just too funky to make this idea work. It gets wind almost everyday even when SB is flat, but it’s that offshore gusty wind. I don’t know.
is there people foiling in Louisiana often? I m going to move there for 3 years, and it seems there are amazing spots but empty. I don’t understand why. Not allowed? Not enough wind? Sport not enough Knowned?
There seems to be a core group that wings and kites Lake Pontchartrain. Grande Isle also looks quite good. I think you’ll have no problem foiling there (but yes the wind might not be amazing). Hit up Tommy at Gulfport Board Sports and Taylor at GeauxKiteLA DOT COM when you get to town!
Thanks for taking the time to try to explain design performance. I too rode sans stab to test it out, both winging and kite foiling. Just this week I modified (5) fuses, chopped to a nib in order to mount the stab right behind the mast, and on the backside of the front wing (basically just super short). I also prefer low aspect foils (AR4.4) over high ones. I've started playing with stabs. Thanks for showing your cool stabs. My love is to surf, but since I ride small river swell I'm essentially riding 1-2 waves, so I want a super loose carvy surf like foil (think old school style skateboards used for sidewalk surfing). So currently I'm experimenting with that. I can send you photos if interested. I think I sit in my garage, like your video, and explain to myself for hours how all this stuff works.
I've been foiling with The Wingman in person the last 2 years. I'm realizing that he's given me these tips the whole time. Feeding them to me as I'm ready. I'm a success story! He's a good teacher.
I’m not light of foot! I haven’t really tried dock starting seriously since them. If I was going to try again I would work on landing back foot first and keeping my hands on the board longer till my feet were basically on.
Much appreciated 🎉 and thanks so much mate for sharing your insight for the lighter conditions. Yep, if you come off foil….can be game over in very light conditions.
They’re pretty darn good for the price. Wish the quality was better, but I’m recording in windy situations. Under my shirt. With a wind sock on. So overall can’t complain.
These long form videos don’t get views. People want to watch a a 5 minute video with fancy graphics that teaches them everything they need to know, but winging and foiling is more complex than that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Still. I keep building the series and resources for anyone that wants to use it! If nothing else so I can stop answering DMs on Facebook, Instagram, and what’s app.
Your info on Cabrillo was spot on. I Wingfoiled there yesterday and gave a lesson to my buddy. We both really liked the spot. It should be a great spot for me to dial in my gybes. Thanks.
Buy last year’s stuff and save 30%. Tituan was doing double back flips on his three year old gear. So if it was good enough for him, last year’s gear is good enough for mere mortals. Cabrinha and Sljngshot often dump their wings after each season. They’re not the most cutting edge wing manufacturers out there but it’s quality stuff. Unathletic and older beginners should stay the hell away from the DW board and its promise of 10knot foiling. Those boards are tippy as hell and crazy to deal with in the chop. Gybing them is a trick too. Rather get a 7m wing and a 1700 sq cm HA foil and use a board 10L above your weight and then be patient for a gust.
For sure. Probably get there with this series, but it may take a while as I’m going in order. In the meantime, you can sign up on the WFC forum and ask your question in the Wing Foiling section being more specific about what you’re unclear about. I offer free coaching on that forum and usually reply immediately if not on the water or in a movie. :) you’ll also almost certainly get advice from Headip on there and maybe some others. I also have a How to Ride Swell tutorial which briefly covers flagging the wing.
I think you kinda(?) did it.😊 ..After watching you keep landing on your wing though, I do not think I will even try even if I become so good at wing foiling...😅😂
Great channel.... I'm 74 years old and for 10 years I've kite foiled almost 2-3 times a week and now I want to start Winging. I'm in good shape, 150 pounds, used to windsurf 20 years ago for 2 decades. Thank You
Let’s get you going this summer. With that background, the right gear and conditions, you’ll be up in no time. I think this week’s video will be on gear.
@kippywylie I’ll be sure to cover that. I wear knee pads under my wetsuit every session. Go slightly bigger on the board to make sure you can stand on it to avoid knee strain. Link to the forum is above. Easier to respond in depth there to questions.
