I have gotten really comfortable with back side wave riding on my slingshot wizard 105, wings i76,i65 and using wave sails(3.5-5.2). Been out in anything from 8-12kts waist high waves and 30kt 4.5ft waves. But have found 20kts with 3ft wind swell super fun. I mostly sail the great lakes so we get onshore or side on conditions. I feel that the foil combined with small sails slower speeds(compared to fins), more glide has made me a better overall sailor for someone who never learned to do proper wave riding on fins.

Anyone get to experience front side wave riding on the foil?

Please share your wave riding setup/ techniques. however you do it whatever conditions you get, there is no right to ride a wave
My current technique for backside wave riding is to find a nice clean wave, have good speed carving up towards the top of the wave sheeting in with the back hand and carving down the wave sheeting out a bit as I reach the bottom tilting the rig forward a bit and remembering to shift my weight and repeat as long as possible or until I find a better wave to ride
I also don't mind running down a wave at full speed oversheeting to depower the sail and try to catch the next one.
Would love to try front side if we ever got the right conditions, would be rare.

Side-off is easy, just the same as normal cross-off wavesailing. A smaller foil helps as you're going quite fast and not losing much speed in the top/bottom turn.

Side-on is harder. I don't normally power up clew first in the top turn like you would if normal wavesailing, because you can end up faster than the wind with the clew slamming back in your face. Instead I treat it like 2/3 of a downwind 360, and end up backwinded before turning back across the wind. This is easier if moderately powered. If you're well powered you can do a regular style clew first top turn.

In this video you can see the lighter wind technique that I use, most pronounced on the last turn in the video:



In this next video you can see Balz Muller use the powering up clew first technique (at 1:10). It's quite tricky to master as getting pulled clew first on a foil is hard to control, and you are liable to get backwinded if you slow down:

Your video didn't come up in the link for me.
I haven't tryed any clew first sailing approaching the wave. Especially in onshore conditions the body position looks really twisted...would be hard on the foil I think unless your Balz

In this video the guy is riding frontside and stuffs the nose after hitting the lip. Some nice crashes in that video too

I updated the link.

Clew first is just the same position as normal side-on wavesailing, the difference being in normal windsurfing the clew is very powered up as the wind is a lot faster than your speed down the wave. It's difficult to hold onto this power without the rail of the board being engaged.

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BritWindfoiler said..
I updated the link.

Clew first is just the same position as normal side-on wavesailing, the difference being in normal windsurfing the clew is very powered up as the wind is a lot faster than your speed down the wave. It's difficult to hold onto this power without the rail of the board being engaged.

Just saw your video, I see what you mean now, looks very smooth, nice rides.

What spot do you sail?

Hello
Amazing videos. Could you tell me the conditions in which wave windfoiling is suitable for normal people? I guess soft swell without shore break and stable winds, offshore wind tends to be less stable.

What do you do when falling in the waves? waterstarting or uphauling? I guess waterstarting, but then you need to be on the limit of the sail range without breaching, right?

Any advice in equipment, tunning, etc is highly appreciated

Thanks.

I have tried a little bit of Swell foiling both backside and frontside in Maui and on small lakes. My observations are:
1) It turns bumpy 3ft swells into a lot of fun.
2) Have only tried front side a few times at Kanaha (side on wind) could not get aggressive in the top heel side turns with the wind at my back (I think because I am moving with it). The swell gives speed to the bottom turn but with no sail/wind assist to speed and back winding in light winds had to be dealt with.
3) I found back side swell riding at Kanaha a blast as you end up going slightly up wind and the sail has power to help the top/toe side transition as well as help straighten you up at the bottom turn. It seems more like the lake swell riding but I find it better.
Carving is just fun and although I a far from an expert I also find I also like using the mast height to help generate speed into the heel side turn. By that I mean if I come out of the toe side carve high on my 105 mast and drive it downhill I gain more speed going into the heel side carve and can get more G's which means fun for me

by frontside do you guys mean riding switch?

Just like windsurf wave riding, the top cutback must be done with help from the sail. You open it to "catch" wind, while raking it back to pivot the board back down the face.

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thedoor said..
by frontside do you guys mean riding switch?

Frontside is foiling with your front facing the swell. Conversely backside is foiling with your back to the swell

Frontside is toeside down the line sailing in side to sideoff winds.
Hookipa, Backyards, Davenport, Cabo Verde, Desert Rose, Palo Marin.

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Mucel said..
Hello
Amazing videos. Could you tell me the conditions in which wave windfoiling is suitable for normal people? I guess soft swell without shore break and stable winds, offshore wind tends to be less stable.

What do you do when falling in the waves? waterstarting or uphauling? I guess waterstarting, but then you need to be on the limit of the sail range without breaching, right?

Any advice in equipment, tunning, etc is highly appreciated

Thanks.

The best condition I have found are 1m waves at 5 or 6sec steady 20kts(great lakes). You can go big wing(1500sqcm) small sails 3.5-4.7, easy learning conditions too. Strong wind foil conditions is next level fun though.

After crashes I uphaul. Since I'm usually not quite powered up enough to waterstart. I'm 65kgs and uphaul sails up to 6m easy on my 105L. Strong wind is a different story on small wings but I still uphaul, its what I'm use to and you get really efficient if you practice them all the time.

I use wave sails that have a nice springyness to them and rig them pretty flat in the head not much twist at all. The shorter the board the more responsive and fun it is riding waves.

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Mucel said..
Hello
Amazing videos. Could you tell me the conditions in which wave windfoiling is suitable for normal people? I guess soft swell without shore break and stable winds, offshore wind tends to be less stable.

What do you do when falling in the waves? waterstarting or uphauling? I guess waterstarting, but then you need to be on the limit of the sail range without breaching, right?

Any advice in equipment, tunning, etc is highly appreciated

Thanks.

When the wind is up and I am on my Moses 683 I would say I water start most of the time. I have a new 790 and I find I can use a smaller sail so I think I will be up hauling more with the bigger wing.

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John340 said..

thedoor said..
by frontside do you guys mean riding switch?

Frontside is foiling with your front facing the swell. Conversely backside is foiling with your back to the swell

OK Got it, it's a wind direction thing. Zero experience riding swell frontside then.

Talking onshore wind wave riding.
Uphaul in deep water and light wind.
Beachstart when you crash in chest deep water, even if you have to grab mast with front hand.
Don't spend time in whitewater as you can hit bottom.

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Hess said..

Mucel said..
Hello
Amazing videos. Could you tell me the conditions in which wave windfoiling is suitable for normal people? I guess soft swell without shore break and stable winds, offshore wind tends to be less stable.

What do you do when falling in the waves? waterstarting or uphauling? I guess waterstarting, but then you need to be on the limit of the sail range without breaching, right?

Any advice in equipment, tunning, etc is highly appreciated

Thanks.

When the wind is up and I am on my Moses 683 I would say I water start most of the time. I have a new 790 and I find I can use a smaller sail so I think I will be up hauling more with the bigger wing.

How much better is the bottom end with a 790?

790 and I 76 are both around 1550 sq cm, but your mind knows carbon does everything better, and your lightened pocketbook reinforces that idea.

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LeeD said..
790 and I 76 are both around 1550 sq cm, but your mind knows carbon does everything better, and your lightened pocketbook reinforces that idea.

The question, afaik, was comparing the 790 to the 683 (1000cm2). No need to hate on carbon. (Not to mention Moses/SAB do an aluminum mast, too)

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Faff said..

Hess said..
When the wind is up and I am on my Moses 683 I would say I water start most of the time. I have a new 790 and I find I can use a smaller sail so I think I will be up hauling more with the bigger wing.

How much better is the bottom end with a 790?

For front side riding (both side & onshore):
Also check out Reefwarrior.

www.instagram.com/p/CGbRftbjrNH/?igshid=ylnuve0xsd16

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Faff said..

Hess said..

Mucel said..
Hello
Amazing videos. Could you tell me the conditions in which wave windfoiling is suitable for normal people? I guess soft swell without shore break and stable winds, offshore wind tends to be less stable.

What do you do when falling in the waves? waterstarting or uphauling? I guess waterstarting, but then you need to be on the limit of the sail range without breaching, right?

Any advice in equipment, tunning, etc is highly appreciated

Thanks.

When the wind is up and I am on my Moses 683 I would say I water start most of the time. I have a new 790 and I find I can use a smaller sail so I think I will be up hauling more with the bigger wing.

How much better is the bottom end with a 790?

I have only tried the 790 a few times but I think I will be able to use a sail .5m to 1.0m smaller. It does get on the foil easier but what I noticed mostly is that the stall speed seems way lower and it is more forgiving and stable. While it is still playful the G's in the corners and the responsiveness are less than the 683.

If someone was looking for a first or only foil I would suggest one in the 1550 cm sq range would be better than the 1000 cm sq range with relatively the same aspect ratio and profile. Lots of fun but more forgiving and more bottom end. Of course rider size, most common wind conditions and sailing style would influence this as well.