WingSUP Tips: How to get upwind and stay upwind with your wing and paddleboard 

Windsurfing is definitely fun. If you're getting used to using your wing with your SUP, it shouldn't be too hard to transition to windsurfing.

How did it go?

@@ScottMillerCoaching I've had 3 sessions now with ~6-8knots of wind and one session with 12-20knots. My SUP only has fins at the back and it's very slow to turn. So usually I jump off to jybe as I lose less ground that way. I'm still not able to go upwind, but my last session I was able to chose which waves I caught going downwind. Then I either paddled into the wind for another run or walked all my gear back along the lakeshore. It's great to be out on the water and I'm not in a huge rush to become an expert so SUP + a 5m wing is a good bit of gear for me now.

Obrigado!

Thanks, Randy! Glad you enjoyed the video. I totally agree that having some wind can make all of this easier. After a bit of practice, I do think it's possible to have some fun with a SUP in wind that might be a bit light for foiling. And yes, the center fin does make a big difference!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

Gern geschehen!

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

You're very welcome!

You're the first to notice, or at least the first to comment ;-)

Thanks, Ben!

if it's an option, a lesson on an efoil is a very enlightening experience. Combining all the elements is HARD. For foiling, just learning where on the board your feet need to be for on your knees vs standing up. From stretched and overworking legs to learning the balance point with relaxed legs and a close stance was hundreds of get offs. My development was hindered primarily by the soreness of my knees, raw from climbing back onto the board after another "nope, not there" try. Learning how to weight shift to bring the foil up and down, and then safely FLY it BEFORE you try to add winging to it is a big advancement in your understanding and speeds up your development in putting it all together. Now after becoming adequate efoiling, (and it IS amazing, flying on water) I can't WAIT to learn the wing/sailing part of this and put it all together in this coming summer I turn 65. JMO and my experience on this same journey.

Yes. When winging on this SUP, I use both the rear fin and the center fin ("daggerboard") exactly as you see at 2:37 in the video.

Glad you enjoyed the video! Different SUPs might have different places to attach a paddle when you're not using it. Some SUPs have tie-down straps or bungees on the deck, or at least attachment points for them. That would be one way to store the paddle when you're not using it. If a SUP doesn't have these, but it does have a handle, you might be able to attach the paddle to the handle.

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video. The wing manufacturer gave you fins to mount on the center of your board? What kind of wing is it? And do the fins look like the Drift Stopper that I show at 3:00 in the video?

@@ScottMillerCoaching Thanks for quick response. Sorry, not the manufacturer, but the seller of wing gave me two fins to stick on the board, which are a little bigger than standard SUP fins. Basically when I glue them they should look like the Drift Stopper. My wing is an F2 glide All around. What is the difference or similarity between that Drift Stopper and one center fin?

@@djoleu2, I think the main advantage of the Drift Stopper is that the fins are mounted on a bar that straps to the board, so it doesn't need to be glued. I believe that it is easier to do this type of strap-on setup with two fins. If the fin is glued on then it's easy to do a single fin. If you already have the two fins from the seller, those should be fine. Just be sure to follow any instructions you were given about how to install them. It's pretty important to place them in the correct position on the board. Good luck, and have fun!

@@ScottMillerCoaching Thanks again for your reply. Yes, I've already asked the manufacturer for instructions on how to properly place the fins, so we'll see. I can't wait to try it, I'm very impatient. :) All the best. Greeting.

All-around SUPs and touring SUPs can both work fine with a wing. You might want to think about the kind of board you would want for paddling. Wing SUPing is fun, but if you're spending money on a new board it might be good to have one that you can use for more than one thing. If you're getting an inflatable like the Aqua Marina Beast, are you planning to buy something like the Duotone Drift Stopper, or are you planning to attach a center fin somehow? This makes wing SUPing much easier and more enjoyable. You might find it challenging without one, unless you already have experience winging or windsurfing and know how to make the board track upwind without a center fin.

one that has a center board box already installed is nice and no failure from a self glued on part. RedPaddle Co and a couple of others (starboard?) make windsurf sups with a center box and attachment point for a mast. RPC is 10'6" and about 30" wide and makes a fine SUP as well as doing wing and wind surf. fWIW

Good question. The board that I'm using in this video is a 12"6' Starboard Inflatable Touring WindSUP. It's made for paddling or windsurfing, but it also works great with a wing. I've seen a few SUPs advertised for use with a wing, but I've never tried one. The ones that I've seen are basically windSUPs, and even have mast tracks for windsurfing. WindSUPs and SUPs for winging will either have a centerboard or a removable center fin. That's the main feature which makes them different from a regular SUP. Having some type of center fin makes wing SUPing much easier, especially for a beginner. But you can add a center fin to a regular SUP. There are even center fins that can attach to an inflatable SUP. Any SUP that you're comfortable paddling should work fine with a wing.