Start Windfoiling with Simon Bornhoft 

Thanks for those interesting suggestions. With windsurfing there are often several different ways of doing each thing that work, just depends on personal preference. One of the nice things about wind foiling is how little pressure there is in the sail when up on the foil. I find that below 6 m2 there is little need to use the harness lines. The easiest thing for learning foiling is not to hook into the harness lines at all and that way you can sheet out super fast or just let go of the back hand and the board will just touch down. This could minimise catapults. Also on the board i have if you just put your back foot in front of the back foot strap or above the foil mast / fin box then it will take off no problem, I think i got that idea from Cookie. I think i mostly foil with my foot at the front of the fin box because it feels good. The main thing is to have a big enough sail to give enough power in the current windspeed but not so big as to be overpowered. If you can do basic windsurf on fin then there is not that much to windfoiling except the gybe is really tricky but a clew first gybe does it, like Sam Ross showed. One of the best things about foiling is gliding above short period waves as if they aren't there and having a smooth ride instead of bumping over corrugated water when wind direction is sort of at right angles to wave direction.

Great introduction, highly appreciated 👍🏻

Really helpful - Thanks Simon

Thanks Simon. Great tips

Many thanks for so value explanations.

Perfect Simon, good to see you in right shape! 😉

I have an Alien 145 liter board and I love it! Once I got that board then everything felt more stable and forgiving. It's a little different than the board in the video though. It came with a factory installed nose pad, which has saved the nose of my board a couple of times. It also has a longer mast track than the board in your video, more like the track of the Predator board in the background. i like the longer mast track. I took off the back footstraps because I felt they were hindering me more than they were helping. I was having some trouble getting my foot out of the strap and positioned over the downwind rail when preparing for a jibe. When my foot was in the strap I had to make a big step to get it out and place it on the board. For me, that big step was causing a disruption to the very sensitive foil, and sometimes I would crash. I was also having trouble getting back into the back strap after a jibe, assuming I successfully jibed, which was rare. Now that the back straps are gone, I find it very easy to just slide or shuffle my back foot around to position it and that has prevented crashes and other difficulties. I may put them back on at some point because they are helpful in certain situations. They are useful for initially pumping onto the foil, for example. They can be helpful for preventing catapults as you mentioned in the video. They can also be helpful when you want to really lean back against the sail and push hard with your feet against the straps like you would for regular windsurfing. I haven't really gotten to that stage yet with wind foiling, but maybe someday.

Thanks for the video nice breakdown of getting stated equipment , I had a sail question- I've got a severne blade 6.2, how do the blades go for foiling compared with a gator?

Great intro, I wish this were available before buying racing gear to learn windfoiling :) I have a prototype version of the Severne Hydro 100, would you think I could use it with a redwing, which is quite narrow??

Great video Simon, many thanks. I’m using a Gator for my early attempts at foiling. When you say rig fuller than normal, are we talking about a cm or so less downhaul, or just less outhaul? Thanks.

Very informative Simon. What do you think of using an NCX for foiling? Cheers

Hi Simon, great video really!!! A little question for you, if possible, for a rider of 95kg, using 7.0 and 8.0 nocam sails, expert slalom windsurfer. I have been using a foil ready winsurf slalom board (width 77cm) sice then last 2 years, currently with a decent level. I would like to shift on a dedicated board, but I'm exitant between the size. That is, on your opinion and knowledge it would be better a larger board or a narrower one? My choice would be between the Alien 125 and the 155? Thanks in anticipation. Henry

Thanks for the nice video. What is your max speed with the Redwing 1400/350 wings?

Hi Simon Great video! I have been progressing slowly but steadily but despite achieving some quite long flights I am recently struggling to attain the very upright effortless stance right over the board that I see here. I often feel like I have to really lock my legs and bend at the waist to stay in control and cannot commit weight to the harness without the lift from my 1250 Fanatic Flow becoming uncontrollable and breaching then crashing. Does this sound like I’m simply on too big a sail? Although I try to rig small, I often feel like I could comfortably plane on a freeride board with the same sail, and can water start relatively easily. Thanks once again Simon!

Thank you! Where and when can I join a course?