If you haven't watched the Tiberias PWA races live do yourself a favour and search PWA on YouTube or see some highlights at www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=389




Nico Goyard showed the fleet how to race foils while Sarah did a great job mixing it up in the women's fleet. Plenty of info on Facebook.



If Nico wasn't leading at the first mark he generally was by the end of the second.


His gybes were wide and smooth, and consistent! I'm amazed at how he can keep his tiny 430 wing aloft! Very thin chord profile proves to be fast.
Big man tiny wing









But it's not all plain sailing! There were some spectacular crashes to be sure!

flat out on a reach and riders either got lifted by a gust, hit a fish or lost a rear bolt and went down, fast!



Some of the gybes had a bit of action too!

Pretty exciting races especially 4th place in the heats .


And some of the fin riders struggled too!

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berowne said..




Big man tiny wing

He's that quick he's worn the tags off his foil

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Subsonic said..

berowne said..




Big man tiny wing

He's that quick he's worn the tags off his foil

I bet he was sanding it lightly and frequently

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aeroegnr said..

Subsonic said..

berowne said..




Big man tiny wing

He's that quick he's worn the tags off his foil

I bet he was sanding it lightly and frequently

Nah, I'm going with the worn away by pure speed theory

After all the races and commentary about tiny wings I decided to try my slalom wings out.
First I rigged my new 7.7 Racing Blade Loft sail and tested on medium board (111L RS4) and 38cm ERD. The sail has a relatively long luff at 494 and I rigged +3 to get the twist right on my mast.
After a good blast the patchy wind seemed to fade so I rigged my FMX 91 Hyperion and new F4 slalom set.

Area. Width Depth
F4 560 700 108
F4 620 800 108

Given the light winds I thought I'd need the 620 ( old course racing habits die hard!). Immediately felt too powerful on a 100cm fuselage with no shims and medium 230cm tail. On the beach I swapped out for my smallest wing the 560cm^2. Unlike the 950, with this small wing you definitely need to plane before you can fly and in the lighter patches pumping is absolutely needed.

If I applied too much back foot pressure too early the board changes pitch but I felt the wing stalling under water. Once up the flight felt comfortable especially in the lullls when I could sheet in and cruise past planning boards and foiling windwings with ease.
In the gusts the 7.7 felt WAY to big! Sometimes I had the sail sheeted in just enough to ensure the wind was passing over the right side of the sail... crushing at 20knots with way more potential.
In other more manageable gusts I could sheet in about 50% of available power and sit into the harness and it felt good, but on my first session not so good that I could match my own fin speed, managing just 25 vs 30 knots. I'll need to try the 95 fuselage and maybe even the 115, both of which mount the front wing further back or pushing the mast base forward of course. I'll also reconsider my footstrap position with back straps not advisable for gusty conditions. Flying gybes proved elusive... I kept loosing too much speed by mid-corner and hit the deck by the foot change most times. More work needed on the small wings. The feel is quite different to 850 & 950 wings of course.
Nico makes it look easy but going past 25 knots on a foil takes more time on the water than I've had! I can't imagine what 35 knots feels like!
I can imagine using a 9 or 7.7 with 800 wide wing in light winds then swapping to 700 wing first and then down a sail size later. Just a few screws and your ready. If the gusts and lulls are consistent then keep the 7.7 rigged and swap to medium slalom fin. But if the lulls are patchy maybe swap sail down a size or two and stay on the small foil.
Fun times ahead.

I was told a 230 stab is big for 600 foil when well powered, but ok when cruising along at less than full speed.
But, second hand speculation, plus....I forgot how to ride my 600 after 3 weeks of -5.0 windsurfing.

Select to expand quote

berowne said..
After all the races and commentary about tiny wings I decided to try my slalom wings out.
First I rigged my new 7.7 Racing Blade Loft sail and tested on medium board (111L RS4) and 38cm ERD. The sail has a relatively long luff at 494 and I rigged +3 to get the twist right on my mast.
After a good blast the patchy wind seemed to fade so I rigged my FMX 91 Hyperion and new F4 slalom set.

Area. Width Depth
F4 560 700 108
F4 620 800 108

Given the light winds I thought I'd need the 620 ( old course racing habits die hard!). Immediately felt too powerful on a 100cm fuselage with no shims and medium 230cm tail. On the beach I swapped out for my smallest wing the 560cm^2. Unlike the 950, with this small wing you definitely need to plane before you can fly and in the lighter patches pumping is absolutely needed.

If I applied too much back foot pressure too early the board changes pitch but I felt the wing stalling under water. Once up the flight felt comfortable especially in the lullls when I could sheet in and cruise past planning boards and foiling windwings with ease.
In the gusts the 7.7 felt WAY to big! Sometimes I had the sail sheeted in just enough to ensure the wind was passing over the right side of the sail... crushing at 20knots with way more potential.
In other more manageable gusts I could sheet in about 50% of available power and sit into the harness and it felt good, but on my first session not so good that I could match my own fin speed, managing just 25 vs 30 knots. I'll need to try the 95 fuselage and maybe even the 115, both of which mount the front wing further back or pushing the mast base forward of course. I'll also reconsider my footstrap position with back straps not advisable for gusty conditions. Flying gybes proved elusive... I kept loosing too much speed by mid-corner and hit the deck by the foot change most times. More work needed on the small wings. The feel is quite different to 850 & 950 wings of course.
Nico makes it look easy but going past 25 knots on a foil takes more time on the water than I've had! I can't imagine what 35 knots feels like!
I can imagine using a 9 or 7.7 with 800 wide wing in light winds then swapping to 700 wing first and then down a sail size later. Just a few screws and your ready. If the gusts and lulls are consistent then keep the 7.7 rigged and swap to medium slalom fin. But if the lulls are patchy maybe swap sail down a size or two and stay on the small foil.
Fun times ahead.

Do you have boards that you ride both fin and foil? I have a foil-box ready slalom board that I am tempted to put a racier foil on but don't really want to mess with strap position etc. Prob for foiling I wouldnt be using the back strap much anyways?

No expert here, but it seems the small hi aspect foils require much more precise tuning than bigger delta wings.
1/2" adjustments make huge affects.

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LeeD said..
No expert here, but it seems the small hi aspect foils require much more precise tuning than bigger delta wings.
1/2" adjustments make huge affects.

For sure. and going anywhere above 20kts is not possible without control and comfort!

Select to expand quote

thedoor said..

berowne said..
After all the races and commentary about tiny wings I decided to try my slalom wings out.
First I rigged my new 7.7 Racing Blade Loft sail and tested on medium board (111L RS4) and 38cm ERD. The sail has a relatively long luff at 494 and I rigged +3 to get the twist right on my mast.
After a good blast the patchy wind seemed to fade so I rigged my FMX 91 Hyperion and new F4 slalom set.

Area. Width Depth
F4 560 700 108
F4 620 800 108

Given the light winds I thought I'd need the 620 ( old course racing habits die hard!). Immediately felt too powerful on a 100cm fuselage with no shims and medium 230cm tail. On the beach I swapped out for my smallest wing the 560cm^2. Unlike the 950, with this small wing you definitely need to plane before you can fly and in the lighter patches pumping is absolutely needed.

If I applied too much back foot pressure too early the board changes pitch but I felt the wing stalling under water. Once up the flight felt comfortable especially in the lullls when I could sheet in and cruise past planning boards and foiling windwings with ease.
In the gusts the 7.7 felt WAY to big! Sometimes I had the sail sheeted in just enough to ensure the wind was passing over the right side of the sail... crushing at 20knots with way more potential.
In other more manageable gusts I could sheet in about 50% of available power and sit into the harness and it felt good, but on my first session not so good that I could match my own fin speed, managing just 25 vs 30 knots. I'll need to try the 95 fuselage and maybe even the 115, both of which mount the front wing further back or pushing the mast base forward of course. I'll also reconsider my footstrap position with back straps not advisable for gusty conditions. Flying gybes proved elusive... I kept loosing too much speed by mid-corner and hit the deck by the foot change most times. More work needed on the small wings. The feel is quite different to 850 & 950 wings of course.
Nico makes it look easy but going past 25 knots on a foil takes more time on the water than I've had! I can't imagine what 35 knots feels like!
I can imagine using a 9 or 7.7 with 800 wide wing in light winds then swapping to 700 wing first and then down a sail size later. Just a few screws and your ready. If the gusts and lulls are consistent then keep the 7.7 rigged and swap to medium slalom fin. But if the lulls are patchy maybe swap sail down a size or two and stay on the small foil.
Fun times ahead.

Do you have boards that you ride both fin and foil? I have a foil-box ready slalom board that I am tempted to put a racier foil on but don't really want to mess with strap position etc. Prob for foiling I wouldnt be using the back strap much anyways?

Yes I used to sail a 121L iSonic and recently tested an RS5 for foil slalom. The front foot straps is well positioned once you learn to trust the harness. (when you sheet in or out make sure you keep constant pressure on the harness lines). The narrow tail width was noticeably on 800 wide wing but not sure about smaller wing. For Slalom I often sail with my heel touching the back strap, or further inboard. Some like the more fluid feel of central back foot.

Select to expand quote

berowne said..
After all the races and commentary about tiny wings I decided to try my slalom wings out.
First I rigged my new 7.7 Racing Blade Loft sail and tested on medium board (111L RS4) and 38cm ERD. The sail has a relatively long luff at 494 and I rigged +3 to get the twist right on my mast.
After a good blast the patchy wind seemed to fade so I rigged my FMX 91 Hyperion and new F4 slalom set.

Area. Width Depth
F4 560 700 108
F4 620 800 108

Given the light winds I thought I'd need the 620 ( old course racing habits die hard!). Immediately felt too powerful on a 100cm fuselage with no shims and medium 230cm tail. On the beach I swapped out for my smallest wing the 560cm^2. Unlike the 950, with this small wing you definitely need to plane before you can fly and in the lighter patches pumping is absolutely needed.

If I applied too much back foot pressure too early the board changes pitch but I felt the wing stalling under water. Once up the flight felt comfortable especially in the lullls when I could sheet in and cruise past planning boards and foiling windwings with ease.
In the gusts the 7.7 felt WAY to big! Sometimes I had the sail sheeted in just enough to ensure the wind was passing over the right side of the sail... crushing at 20knots with way more potential.
In other more manageable gusts I could sheet in about 50% of available power and sit into the harness and it felt good, but on my first session not so good that I could match my own fin speed, managing just 25 vs 30 knots. I'll need to try the 95 fuselage and maybe even the 115, both of which mount the front wing further back or pushing the mast base forward of course. I'll also reconsider my footstrap position with back straps not advisable for gusty conditions. Flying gybes proved elusive... I kept loosing too much speed by mid-corner and hit the deck by the foot change most times. More work needed on the small wings. The feel is quite different to 850 & 950 wings of course.
Nico makes it look easy but going past 25 knots on a foil takes more time on the water than I've had! I can't imagine what 35 knots feels like!
I can imagine using a 9 or 7.7 with 800 wide wing in light winds then swapping to 700 wing first and then down a sail size later. Just a few screws and your ready. If the gusts and lulls are consistent then keep the 7.7 rigged and swap to medium slalom fin. But if the lulls are patchy maybe swap sail down a size or two and stay on the small foil.
Fun times ahead.

Great pics as always Berowne
Keep us updated on your progress on f4,
PM sent
Cheers
TK