Hello long time lurker here. Learning to wing foil really appeals to me, I'm close to the bay in Melbourne and need a hobby for when it's too windy to SUP. It seems like the kind of thing I can just decide to roll down to the beach and do when the mood strikes.

I SUP pretty frequently, even taken out one of those dinky little SUP/kayak sails from ebay once or twice. Been getting into dinghy sailing over the past year or so, so I know tacking and gybing from that perspective. I've never kitesurfed or windsurfed, though always been a bit curious. Not a total boardsports newbie, relatively comfy on a skateboard or snowboard.

I'm wondering if anyone has similar (or even less) experience as me and has managed to get into it?
Is it reasonable to just buy some entry-level gear and learn through trial and error and youtube (like in the Wing Foil Resources thread)?
Or do you really need someone to show you the ropes if you don't have a background with kites or windsurfing?

Thanks in advance

The winging is probably the easiest part of it all and yeh I reckon you could learn that through trial and error and using internet resources.

The Foiling part however . better learnt behind a boat. Not necessary but it depends on how much frustration you can deal with. It's unlike any thing you've mentioned above.

Best to learn the wing on a skateboard and the foil behind a boat in my opinion.
The wing is pretty easy and the foil is pretty hard.

Best to learn the wing on a skateboard and the foil behind a boat in my opinion.
The wing is pretty easy and the foil is pretty hard.

Cheers guys. Thoughts on just getting a wing first and something like the Slingshot SUPWinder for my existing SUP while I'm getting into it? Is it still fun without the foiling?

For me it was fun but not enough. I wanted to get a board and foil pretty much straight away.

I'd just bite the bullet, get a big wing board and slog away - the local crew (me included!) are friendly and will help you with setup advice and weather and tips. If you start now you will be foiling this summer. Come to Green Point virtually any time there is a northerly and introduce yourself and you will get support. PM me or DJ beforehand. As far as boats skateboards etc, good advice. But if you can't do that, a light northerly will be fine as an initial step. With your SUP/skate/snow/sailing background you will be absolutely fine. Just don't get a board that's too small - IMO you need more like 40L over your weight than 25L, bit of length doesn't hurt early on either.

Sounds familiar @capsizeoften I SUP surf but live closer to The Bay than to surf so took the plunge a month ago and bought some wingfoiling gear.

My original plan was to just get a wing a have a play with it on my SUP board, but with the allure of a hefty discount on packages from SHQ, I went the hole hog. It is a big investment if you go with new gear, so if you can find good second hand stuff perhaps try that first.

I've only have 3 sessions with the wingfoiling gear so far and I'm not up on the foil yet, but feel like I'm making progress.

And as JonathanC said: the local crew are friendly and very helpful. Head down to Greenpoint or there's also a crew who head out from Bonbeach if that's closer.

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capsizeoften said..
Cheers guys. Thoughts on just getting a wing first and something like the Slingshot SUPWinder for my existing SUP while I'm getting into it? Is it still fun without the foiling?

Yes.. it's still fun without the foil.. but use a big/stable SUP board and pick your location and wind direction/strength carefully.. Not getting this right will only end in frustration and cursing.. PM me and I'll pass on my phone number if you need and help or advise.

What part of the bay are you closest to?

Thanks everyone

Basically budget-constrained at this point. $1K for a wing & a supwinder is an easy sell that would at least get me on the water learning the wing tomorrow (plus I could practice on the skatey in some industrial backstreets on the weekend). $3-5k for even a secondhand full setup for a thing I've never even tried is probably not going to win over some competing priorities at the moment. Anybody want to donate me some gear?

Good to know about the local crew & spots, I really hope I can take advantage of them in the not too distant future

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DavidJohn said..

Yes.. it's still fun without the foil.. but use a big/stable SUP board and pick your location and wind direction/strength carefully.. Not getting this right will only end in frustration and cursing.. PM me and I'll pass on my phone number if you need and help or advise.

What part of the bay are you closest to?

Cheers DavidJohn, I'm in Parkdale

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capsizeoften said..

DavidJohn said..

Yes.. it's still fun without the foil.. but use a big/stable SUP board and pick your location and wind direction/strength carefully.. Not getting this right will only end in frustration and cursing.. PM me and I'll pass on my phone number if you need and help or advise.

What part of the bay are you closest to?

Cheers DavidJohn, I'm in Parkdale

Perfect..

Yeah that doesn't look too unpleasant!