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Flying Dutchman said..
Seem to remember 20 years ago kiters saying windsurfing was dead. Fast forward 20 years and windsurfing is still going and kiting numbers are on the decline.

Windsurfing is the Galapagos tortoise of the watersports world. From both a longevity and performance perspective

Since you can't do it....DON'T.

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Youngbreezy said..

Windsurfing is the Galapagos tortoise of the watersports world. From both a longevity and performance perspective

Windsurfing is the most radical of all the wind sports.

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Flying Dutchman said.. Windsurfing is the most radical of all the wind sports.

Big call. I thought it was this:

These guys didn't get the memo.

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hilly said..

Flying Dutchman said.. Windsurfing is the most radical of all the wind sports.

Big call. I thought it was this:

The music in that video is hurting my brain.

If anyone thinks that windsurfing isn't still the most radical wind sport with the highest level of skill needed you're deluded sorry. Maybe it will change in the future, but for now it's still the case.

Hi
I like windfoiling because it gives me many more summer days with the same small wavesails of windsurfing. I will go winging not to uphaul anymore, but my main wave and wind sport will be windsurfing for ever. Riding a wave with a fin is unbeatable compared to foil in breaking waves, even in float&ride side shore conditions (16 knots). It's easier to get into a shore break, the turns are much better, less dangerous, you can surf to the very edge of shore...

For me the worst thing of windsurfing are the big sails, but I don't need them.

Foiling for me it's a very good light wind complement to windsurfing. Everything is nice on its conditions.

try taking a wind surfer to Bali for a two week holiday carry on or another ticket needed...

Kite surfing wins hands down, waves or boosting, freedom of movement etc, but if you If you can't kite surf, then windsurfing is good option, but I'd say winging is more accessible and less bulky gear needed and so much faster to set up and pack down

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north_kiter said..
try taking a wind surfer to Bali for a two week holiday carry on or another ticket needed...

Kite surfing wins hands down, waves or boosting, freedom of movement etc, but if you If you can't kite surf, then windsurfing is good option, but I'd say winging is more accessible and less bulky gear needed and so much faster to set up and pack down

I've never met anyone who can both kite & windsurf who said kiting was better when the wave conditions were good (especially big waves cross off).

They are all good. Windsurfed 20 years, kited 20 years and now wingding. Every one can be as extreme as you want. No losers enjoy what you want to.

The issue a lot of us find, is that the conditions that we get close to where we live are not ideal down-the-line waves that windsurfing really lends itself to. This is where winging has really come into its own and has filled a void. All of a sudden I am looking at the less than ordinary waves/swell and wind of my local in a whole new light and it is opening up places that I would never have bothered looking at if I was windsurfing or kiting. Already I am spending a whole lot more time on the water and it is all consuming.

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shi thouse said..
The issue a lot of us find, is that the conditions that we get close to where we live are not ideal down-the-line waves that windsurfing really lends itself to. This is where winging has really come into its own and has filled a void. All of a sudden I am looking at the less than ordinary waves/swell and wind of my local in a whole new light and it is opening up places that I would never have bothered looking at if I was windsurfing or kiting. Already I am spending a whole lot more time on the water and it is all consuming.

Definitely mate and that's why kiting or winging is so much better in most spots around the world.

I'm finding it hard to load some of this gear in my ute especially after such a great sesh in the waves today on the wing but there will be a time and a place for it I just dunno when !

Does that sits well with you?

Been windsurfing my whole life, kiting boarding (Freestyle), kite foiling, prone surfing, Sup surfing and lately wing foiling. Waveriding for me wins hands down; i'll drive 2H each way for 2 hours of cross off waveriding... I will never do that for foiling.
I used to be hooked to freestyle/kite boarding, i can't be bothered anymore, my kite hasn't been out in months; can't get excited about kite foiling either. I like the feeling of foiling, especially in light winds but i can't see it replacing windsurfing or prone surfing, just not the same stoke at all... not as intense.

You mustn't be foiling in the right waves / big ocean swells and big winds on a small HA foil .

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eppo said..
You mustn't be foiling in the right waves / big ocean swells and big winds on a small HA foil .

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's awesome, i can feel the stoke of riding big ocean swell and i'll sure give it a try when given a chance .... But you can't replace the contact of the board with the wave, hitting the lip and getting thrown around back into the wave ... the feeling of being late and punching through the lip, of an aerial, of the whole rail biting into the bottom turn. It's just irreplaceable. But all that disappears when the wave is small or mellow / doesn't break, in swell, rather than wave ... that's were the foil takes centre stage.

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akesy said..

eppo said..
You mustn't be foiling in the right waves / big ocean swells and big winds on a small HA foil .

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's awesome, i can feel the stoke of riding big ocean swell and i'll sure give it a try when given a chance .... But you can't replace the contact of the board with the wave, hitting the lip and getting thrown around back into the wave ... the feeling of being late and punching through the lip, of an aerial, of the whole rail biting into the bottom turn. It's just irreplaceable. But all that disappears when the wave is small or mellow / doesn't break, in swell, rather than wave ... that's were the foil takes centre stage.

Still can't beat a good wave or loop session for me but frustrating thing is how pitiful few of those we get here in Melbourne. In the last 4 months I've had 3 good loop sessions and 2 wavesails, just over 1 a month

In contrast I've been having 4-5 fun wingfoils a week!

I wave-sail, surf prone, sup and now wing.

For me its all awesome as long as I can ride a wave or bump and actually love the diversity.What I do is really depending on mood and the conditions. Nowadays at home in the Netherlands it is mostly Wing foil because it really suit our conditions so well and it is something that I enjoy on flat water too, but on holiday in France or Portugal with proper clean waves I can surf and sup for weeks day in day out and its been a long time since I skipped a proper wave sailing sess
They all have there perfect moments and need skills, but most important for me is that doing it all gives me maximum TOW.
Before Wing It sometimes took months to had a really good sess that got me coming stoked of the water, now with wingfoil it is at least twice a week.

I have been wanting to say this for years!


Winging is exploding here in Auckland, NZ! The anecdotal trend I see is my mates who were windsurfers and left to go kiting years ago have discovered winging and don't kite anymore. I ask them the last time they went kiting and they look puzzled and can't remember! I think it is due to the novelty of winging but also the ease of self launching.

Me and my windsurfing mates who also stoked on wingfoiling are still windsurfing when conditions are good -windy and low-tides and/or wavesailing.

Yeah, here in SF Bay, many more kiters switching to wing..most quitting kiteboarding.
Windsurfers also, in smaller numbers, but staying with windsurfing when conditions permit.

Think what we've seen in evolution in waterspouts the last decade is EVOLUTION OF BUMP AND JUMP ! (that's all folks ! ) ... If you can hack it on a windsurfer , and bring good skills to the table - its a never ending passion .... makes me laugh how most punters never could be bothered learning new moves to keep them interested in windsurfing , yet will go learn a whole new sport , and blow thousands on foils , for a new feeling or challenge... ! if you were just a bump and jumper windsurfing - then for sure new easier sports will tempt you away ... for those with skills - windsurfing is unbeatable .... The feeling of a wave360 or taka , or Shaka or backloop, or Spock - for sure trumps all those b&j skills in these breakaway sports , and if someone starts slamming windsurfing , it is usually because they 'mowed the lawn' for years , and were a bit sh!t at it ...! Enough said !

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seabreezer said..
The feeling of a wave360 or taka , or Shaka or backloop, or Spock - for sure trumps all those b&j skills

I think this describes very well the attitude that killed Windsurfing: If you end up needing the conditions to perform wave 360s to have fun... you are not going to get out often.

Winging allows you to enjoy conditions that are not fun with Windsurfing, especially if you have a snob attitude of "B&J is crap, you are not a TRUE windsurfer unless you perform wave 360s". This would be like "SUPing is crap, you only SUP because you are not a good enough surfer to tuberide in all your sessions".

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colas said..

seabreezer said..
The feeling of a wave360 or taka , or Shaka or backloop, or Spock - for sure trumps all those b&j skills

I think this describes very well the attitude that killed Windsurfing: If you end up needing the conditions to perform wave 360s to have fun... you are not going to get out often.

Winging allows you to enjoy conditions that are not fun with Windsurfing, especially if you have a snob attitude of "B&J is crap, you are not a TRUE windsurfer unless you perform wave 360s". This would be like "SUPing is crap, you only SUP because you are not a good enough surfer to tuberide in all your sessions".

I don't think it was the attitute of the riders but the whole industry put all their hype on anorexic shortboard. It took kitesurfing to bring good light wind equipment and where most of windsurfing is done. It took about 30 yrs to have finally have big waveboard fun to ride. I think winging is starting to over complicating things ....bring expensive allula in....small foil...not sure it's going in the right direction, will see.

I did freestyle to an ok level (for an amateur), but then moved to an area with heavy chop/short period swell where no one freestyled. So I focused on wavesailing, which is great on the good days, but there are far more average days than good ones. Days where you're on a 5m in chop with short period waist high waves just aren't great on a windsurfer, but are brilliant with the wing.

So now with the wing those average days are super fun, and I windsurf on the good wavesailing ones. It's probably 2/3 winging, 1/3 windsurfing for me at the moment.

ps The idea that your average 30-60 year old windsurfer with a full time job is going to learn to Spock or Shaka is just crazy, especially in less than ideal conditions. However it is well within their skill level to learn to wing and have loads of fun when it's 10-20kts and they'd otherwise either be sitting on the beach, or blasting in chop with a big sail.

while I do get some of the marketing of unique conditions argument, lots of other sports do the same thing and don't have problems attracting participants. how many of us get to surf point breaks in warm water or even have aspirations to paddle into 20ft+ waves? how often do we ski perfect powder on a 30+ degree angle? The marketing sells a dream, and I think it's always been this way with most sports.

Nobody markets fishing rods showing people catching shakers, nobody markets skis on a crappy blue run with 1000 people. nobody markets surfboards riding 2ft shore pound.

my wife once said, "windsurfing is so cool, why does all the marketing make it look so lame?" I find the styling and catch phrases to be really bad. Addicted to Ride, Action, The Right Stuff for Radical Action, lame posed shots w/ one hand on the boom with the rider having a deadpan stare at the camera, etc...

Windsurfing almost does the worst of all situations... they try to sell the dream of gear. I would have once like to have seen a windsurf mag cover of some dude 50ft in the air at Pozo. But no, we get lame shots designed to show off product first and foremost instead of what makes the sport cool.

my $0.02

I was never one to put stickers on my vehicles but now that I'm retired I figured, 'what the heck". Very subtle humor included if you look closely





I still actually own what you might call an old fashion windsurf/SUP combo board made by Starboard and designed by Jim Drake before he passed away. Haven't tried to railride in about 6 years. I'd probably injure another body part if I did!

Only real advantage I can see to wing-surfing is it will fit in your Prius's

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windfred said..
Only real advantage I can see to wing-surfing is it will fit in your Prius's

... and you can use pretty much the one set of gear from 10 knots up to 40.

Or from zero knots if you add small surf and paddle in, either prone or SUP. Even flat water paddling a wing foil board is doable as a bit of light exercise.

I forgot, it's not too hard to gybe a wing foil kit. 99% of windsurfers can't gybe. I think I've seen one decent windsurf gybe in the last year and that was from a sponsored rider.

If you want easy, go kiteboarding.