Awesome info JB, thanks a lot.

Yes that's awesome JB! It's exactly what I was hoping for. Winging upwind, packing up wing & DW foiling back. Yay.
Just wish I had more days to get on the water.
I noticed you strap your paddles with blade at front. Makes sense to stop paddle turning in straps.
Cheer & thanks for your post.

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Seajuice said..
Yes that's awesome JB! It's exactly what I was hoping for. Winging upwind, packing up wing & DW foiling back. Yay.
Just wish I had more days to get on the water.
I noticed you strap your paddles with blade at front. Makes sense to stop paddle turning in straps.
Cheer & thanks for your post.

Yep, I have tried it both ways with the paddle, and find you can really lock it in firmly this way. Pull the paddle back hard against the centre loop and then synch it on - Easy.

The Up Wind DW thing is epic. There's going to be a lot of crew doing this soon I feel. Now every DW run can be the perfect angle.

Ride safe,

JB

Had my first consistent runs yesterday at Lake Munmorrah NSW with wind gusting from 5 to 25 knots.

I was on a 5m duotone + Naish Hover + AXIS 102 wing.

I have been using the same foil wing for kiting, SUP foiling and now wingfoiling.

Being 189cm @ 105kg, I assumed standing on the board initially would the greatest challenge. And this has proved to be the case for me. Once I was under power from the wind, I was easily able to get balance and point the board in the desired direction.

Naturally any time I decided to turn around I was generally getting thrown (primarily due to lake swell). By the end of my session I was pretty close to being able to gybe. Just have not quite figured out how to position the wing during the turn.

I was expecting to find riding such a big board would be problematic compared to my little kitefoiling board (130cm), but it was really great. My emotional description would be that it felt lush :-) ...

I had no issues getting onto the foil and staying on the foil for a couple of runs over 200m. To my surprise I didn't breach.
Pumping during some of the lulls was pretty straight forward as well.

I had no issues staying upwind while ever on the foil although my angles were pretty shallow. The gusty conditions did not quite help.

FYI...

I had tried the Naish and Duotone side by side in pretty ordinary conditions and determined the extra size of duotone 5m was going to benefit me. I also preferred having the boom as I could grip it better to steady the wing.

Downside of the duotone is it flaps around like a lunatic on the end of the leash, whereas the naish is more benign. Just be aware of it when handling the wing near any hard or sharp surfaces.

My other important learning was during crashing. Keep the wing with you as far from foil as possible. I had the misfortune to crash forward of my board with wing downwind of the board. Sadly my board flipped over and the rear wing punctured the Naish. $80 dollar repair......

I love kiting and like SUP foiling and I now like wing wanging as well. Looking forward to lake downwinders.

I've enjoyed reading this thread and people's exploits in this new sport. I've had the 5m Gong out a few times since taking delivery. This has been on a 10'6 sup (non foil) . I wanted to feel really comfortable with it before introducing a foil. I'm enjoying the learning and am making myself laugh as kite surfers and wind surfers are zipping past me as I cruise sedately along.. Kite surfers love to introduce a bit of spray and do a big arse jump just as they go past!! Actually wind surfers have been genuinely intrigued, freindly and helpful - much kudos them.. I'm the only wing out and I am aware of people coming to have a watch!

Question.. Before taking the plunge with foiling.. I love my sup surfing and havnt ever felt the need for sup foil for surfing, however I'm 2mins away from an excellent windy beech and estuary (not great waves these are 1hr away) therefore wing foiling is an obvious draw. I have never foiled on any board..

1)Does foiling mess with your balance on a non-foil sup? From what I can see more front foot pressure rather than back foot over the tail. By swapping between the 2 will I feel like bamby on a normal sup?

2) one of my surf sups is a 7'6 and im comfortable on it and this seems the size of some foils sups. However I'm 47yr old( but fit) and I see everywhere that people say foiling is really difficult and fairly dangerous. I see learning with a wing away from waves as being easier than learning by sup foil surfing in waves but any experiences from anyone who's had a similar journey to this would be interesting to hear.

My 47yr old fingers are aching now...
Ian

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IanInca said..
Question.. Before taking the plunge with foiling.. I love my sup surfing and havnt ever felt the need for sup foil for surfing, however I'm 2mins away from an excellent windy beech and estuary (not great waves these are 1hr away) therefore wing foiling is an obvious draw. I have never foiled on any board..

1)Does foiling mess with your balance on a non-foil sup? From what I can see more front foot pressure rather than back foot over the tail. By swapping between the 2 will I feel like bamby on a normal sup?

2) one of my surf sups is a 7'6 and im comfortable on it and this seems the size of some foils sups. However I'm 47yr old( but fit) and I see everywhere that people say foiling is really difficult and fairly dangerous. I see learning with a wing away from waves as being easier than learning by sup foil surfing in waves but any experiences from anyone who's had a similar journey to this would be interesting to hear.

My 47yr old fingers are aching now...
Ian

I think a foil sometimes makes crappy waves or unbroken swell super fun ........ You only need one or two foot swell to have a blast.

I think my balance improved for all of my non-foiling actvities simply because I learned to centre myself better over what I think of as the pivot point. (In the case of a foil, I stopped thinking of my ankles/feet as the pivot point, but rather the wing buried 30cm under water).

I took up foiling at 51 and other dude I foil with started at 70. It is challenging (and can hurt occassionally if you land on the foil) but ultimately the rewards far out way the cost of learning. The sensation of foiling is simply remarkable (whether on a kitefoil, SUP foil or wing foil).

JB..you may have wandered this question on another post by wondering what watch and app your using.
Thanks

Some land use, back to the roots of the wings :-)

Hey Colas
Have the Gong guys thought about putting a window in their wing?
Cheers

Hamish

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HBsups said..
Hey Colas
Have the Gong guys thought about putting a window in their wing?

Yes, and they decided not to:

- it is heavier, and they think the light weight is very, very important for a wing for most people, as they will use it in low winds and not live in Maui or the Gorges. It is not an issue I guess if your wing is already heavy with a boom or multiple struts.

- it prevents folding the wing in a small bag

- it is not needed in practice for recreational use where the wing is quickly over your head. Racing may have different constraints, though.

The current Gong wing, although the first one available, is their 5th generation of wings, and they are working on the next generations (you can see them on their instagrams/facebook yesterday for instance). I guess wings will be a co-evolution: the riders techniques will evolve as well as the wing designs, and we will surely see different wing designs for different uses, just like we now see different foil wings (low or high aspect, ...). So I wont rule out that in the future some "pro" line may have windows for some kind of riders, for instance accepting more weight and having to roll their sails, but I do not know if Gong will think that it will be a market big enough for them.

Thanks Colas good to know ( and more variables to consider)

Can I be cheeky and ask about the direction they are going with the prototype (after all, they did post it)?

cheers
Hamish

Interesting, thanks colas. I would vote for a window. Even with just one other wing-er out yesterday, I can see close calls as you approach each other ... quite blind to the downwind angle, and that's where you end up as a beginner.

As for folding in a small bag....how are people dealing with the battens? I have been leaving mine in, using an old long extender bag used when kiters left struts inflated. Or maybe for wsurf sails.

On another note, first foil flights yesterday after 3 sessions of frustration. Quite a relief to get up. Still not ripping it up, but after 4 or 5 successful tacks, already attempting foiling gybes (didn't make it yet), so hopefully the learning curve moves quick.

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Supmaori said..
JB..you may have wandered this question on another post by wondering what watch and app your using.
Thanks

Hey SUP Mario,

I use the Apple Watch with "Dawn Patrol" app for surfing and "Waterspeed" app for anything distance like SUP, DW, Kiting, Windsurfing or Winging. They are both great apps and give loads of data if you're into breaking down your sessions and learning from your numbers.

Ride safe

Regards,

JB

Thanks JB
I have the S10 phone so have stayed loyal with Samsung and grabbed a mean deal on the Samsung Galaxy watch and will use the new wave tracker2 app when its released in a couple of weeks.
I've posted a screen shot on my other post.

Cheers brother

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Windgenuity said..
Hey SUP Mario,

Few crew out today. Seems to be getting traction down here. Even Marty from Delta was frothing.

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hilly said..

Few crew out today. Seems to be getting traction down here. Even Marty from Delta was frothing.

On your light board You would get up on the foil pretty quick I would think?
How was it and what size wing ?

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warwickl said..

hilly said..

Few crew out today. Seems to be getting traction down here. Even Marty from Delta was frothing.

On your light board You would get up on the foil pretty quick I would think?
How was it and what size wing ?

Andy on his 6 5 was ripping. I struggled early but got used to the smaller board. Really good fun and stoked my elbows feel fine after a long session. Both on 4m duotones

Here's a quick edit from some of the footage I got yesterday Wing Surfing out Palm Beach.

Super fun conditions, NE wind around 15kn, sunny and some fun bumps to play on.

Enjoy,



Ride safe,

JB

Back from my Portugal holiday where the Spanish Ozone Crew was there too.
They got one of the first batch of the 4m Ozone WASP wings and boy did they rip!
The days before i saw a bunch of guys trying Duotone and Naish wings, but it didn't look too attractive to me.
On their first sessions several guys and girls trying the Ozone wing started flying without problems on a 95l Gong board and Moses Tortuga foil.
I tried it by myself on my last ours there but i was too heavy (90kg) for the small board, couldn't even knee on it (my 130l Foilsup was already packed on the camper).
Seems like Kai Lenny did some good work in developing their wing.

Alex

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AlexF said..
Back from my Portugal holiday where the Spanish Ozone Crew was there too.
They got one of the first batch of the 4m Ozone WASP wings and boy did they rip!
The days before i saw a bunch of guys trying Duotone and Naish wings, but it didn't look too attractive to me.
On their first sessions several guys and girls trying the Ozone wing started flying without problems on a 95l Gong board and Moses Tortuga foil.
I tried it by myself on my last ours there but i was too heavy (90kg) for the small board, couldn't even knee on it (my 130l Foilsup was already packed on the camper).
Seems like Kai Lenny did some good work in developing their wing.

Alex

On which spot was you in Portugal?

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JB said..
Here's a quick edit from some of the footage I got yesterday Wing Surfing out Palm Beach.

Super fun conditions, NE wind around 15kn, sunny and some fun bumps to play on.

Enjoy,

Ride safe,

JB

Cheers for the Vid JB. Enjoyed watching the super-smooth hand transitions. No need for a boom eh?!
HB

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HBsups said..

JB said..
Here's a quick edit from some of the footage I got yesterday Wing Surfing out Palm Beach.

Super fun conditions, NE wind around 15kn, sunny and some fun bumps to play on.

Enjoy,

Ride safe,

JB

Cheers for the Vid JB. Enjoyed watching the super-smooth hand transitions. No need for a boom eh?!
HB

Thanks HB.

Being Seabreeze, not sure if there's sarcasm in the boom comment, but I'll take it as a positive

The whole boom vs loop thing is funny. The boom definitely has some positives, but I must say I love the lightweight, damage free (from hitting your board, foil or self), small pack-down, ergonomic angles, comfort and fast setup of the loop and strut wing.

This was a super fun session.

ride safe,

JB

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JB said..
Here's a quick edit from some of the footage I got yesterday Wing Surfing out Palm Beach.

Super fun conditions, NE wind around 15kn, sunny and some fun bumps to play on.

Enjoy,

Ride safe,

JB

Nice vid

From a windfoiler's perspective;
It looks easier with the wing to ride windswells direct downwind gybing or de-powering the wing to stay on the runners.

Windfoiling - I'm powering up across the swell then carving downwind and carving back crosswind again - S turns down the windswells as it's not so easy to de-power.

Stoked to have both downwind foil options - can't wait for my wing to arrive

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azymuth said..

JB said..
Here's a quick edit from some of the footage I got yesterday Wing Surfing out Palm Beach.

Super fun conditions, NE wind around 15kn, sunny and some fun bumps to play on.

Enjoy,

Ride safe,

JB

Nice vid

From a windfoiler's perspective;
It looks easier with the wing to ride windswells direct downwind gybing or de-powering the wing to stay on the runners.

Windfoiling - I'm powering up across the swell then carving downwind and carving back crosswind again - S turns down the windswells as it's not so easy to de-power.

Stoked to have both downwind foil options - can't wait for my wing to arrive

Yes, because we are using surf foils, they run slower also and stay with the swell making it easier to work with the swell energy. The WindFoiling wings are a little too efficient for swell riding and shoot ahead.

So good having toys for any conditions or need.

Ride safe,

JB

Love the vid JB. Good to watch & learn how the boatd is ridden & the hand & wing co ordinations. Thanks.

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azymuth said..

Nice vid

From a windfoiler's perspective;
It looks easier with the wing to ride windswells direct downwind gybing or de-powering the wing to stay on the runners.

Windfoiling - I'm powering up across the swell then carving downwind and carving back crosswind again - S turns down the windswells as it's not so easy to de-power.

Stoked to have both downwind foil options - can't wait for my wing to arrive

I'd second what you say.
I had some nice windfoiling days on my 4in1 windfoilSUP and a SS Infintiy 84 in Portugal the last days when several 4m wings and big foils where out too.
Straight downwind on sideshore waves is tricky with windfoiling, that's where the wing could be the better tool, especially when riding with slower speeds. With a sail you need to generate some speed on the wave to get the apparent wind for sheeting in the sail. That's fun but can get scary when you find yourself bottomturning to a forming lip resulting in big aerial bailouts

But the (4m) wings needed much more wind to get on the foil than me with a 6.3 Goya Fringe 3-Batten wavesail on the big Infintiy 84 wing.
5 or 6m wings sure would do better in light winds, but i wonder where the wings get critical size- resp. handlingwise.

You guys are well ahead of the curve using the wings, great post!

Has anyone got any experience with the Slingshot foil set up?

I use many different combos for windfoiling and have that dialed in but for the SUP/Foil board with a wing its all new.

I'm inland so no experience using the 7' 6" Out Wit and SS foil in the surf etc but had a good go last Sunday using the 4.2 Slingwing.
It wasn't quite enough wind to get feed back on the foil set up (forecast look grim as well).

On the foil I was using the 71cm mast, in C position with 84 front wing and 48 rear wing, my question(s)..

Do you prefer a shorter fuse?
Which fuse position when using SUP/foil board A,B or C
(I'm 179cm @ 90 kilos)

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JB said..

HBsups said..

JB said..
Here's a quick edit from some of the footage I got yesterday Wing Surfing out Palm Beach.

Super fun conditions, NE wind around 15kn, sunny and some fun bumps to play on.

Enjoy,

Ride safe,

JB

Cheers for the Vid JB. Enjoyed watching the super-smooth hand transitions. No need for a boom eh?!
HB

Thanks HB.

Being Seabreeze, not sure if there's sarcasm in the boom comment, but I'll take it as a positive

The whole boom vs loop thing is funny. The boom definitely has some positives, but I must say I love the lightweight, damage free (from hitting your board, foil or self), small pack-down, ergonomic angles, comfort and fast setup of the loop and strut wing.

This was a super fun session.

ride safe,

JB

Watching your video I couldn't help but notice how smooth you change hand positions. I did not see you look at the loops at all when you changed loops. Never trying a wing before this good to see. One of the a appeal of the boom in my mind is that I wouldn't have to look for the loops to change hand position. Nice to see that is not a big factor