Messages

1

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Will Duotone valve adapter fit an F-One pump?

« on: October 27, 2021, 04:46:01 AM »

I bought a new Duotone high volume pump last week and the F-One adapter fits well.
But I had also sanded the base of that adapter with the sidewalk some time ago to make it fit my previous pump.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: F-One Swing

« on: January 30, 2020, 03:23:57 AM »

One quick note on the NP.
Be sure to use de big tail wing for wing foiling.
Most times I use the small tail wing for sup surfing, and the big one for winging.
If you use the small one for winging, you will need much more wind to take off and the board will feel unstable.
If you use the big one for surfing, you will lose the agility that you need to turn on the wave.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Wing Maui

« on: January 17, 2020, 05:39:33 AM »

I learned to kite almost 20 years ago, before twintips. Back then we used boards that were like little and narrow surf boards with 3 straps.
So we had to learn to kite and jibe at the same time, and it wasn’t easy.
I remember trying to switch my feet during the jibe as I did windsurfing, but it was almost impossible on a 5’ narrow board.
But then I read an article about jibbing technique, with interviews to different  pros. One of them was Robby Naish, who said something that helped me a lot. He said: “always favor your strong side”.
I’m regular, so for me  that means that I always turn regular. If I’m riding regular, I turn and then switch my feet after the turn. If I’m riding goofy I change them before. But always switch feet when the board is going straight.
Doing just that helped me to start nailing my jibes back then and it’s the same technique I used when I started kite foiling 4 years ago and now wing foiling, and it always worked.
Perhaps you can give it a try.
Regarding what to do to keep the board foiling, what I do, is to make it point down, and up again, and switching feet as fast as possible when its going up. So, when both feet are at the front of the board it is pointing up, and the weight at the front makes it start to point down again. 99% of the times feet are in riding position before the board touches the water and it keeps flying. If not, it touches briefly, but with enough speed for the foil to fly and I’m flying almost immediately.
I hope it helps.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Help with which Wing to buy

« on: November 25, 2019, 08:39:16 AM »

Hi Dwight.
Thanks for the advice.
But I’m curious: do you think the material of the canopy of the wing is different from the one we have on kites? It looks very similar to me.
I’ve being putting pumps and bars inside kite bags for 19 years, and never had any problem (starting with the little hand pump on the mesh bag of a Naish AR 5!). I keep my kites for several seasons and never saw any damage or even wear on them.
I assumed the holds on the outside of the bags were for when you don’t have space on the inside if the kite was poorly packed, or for wet bars.
But now I don’t know. I rather have my pump sand free and tangle free on the inside of the bag, but not at the expense of any damage to the canopy.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Help with which Wing to buy

« on: November 25, 2019, 06:38:04 AM »

I’m just writing to say thank you.
Following your advice, I bought the F-One 5.0. It arrived a couple of weeks ago, but only this weekend we had some decent wind to give it a try.
24 knots gusting to 30 on Thursday, 25 to 27 on Friday, 15 to 20 on Saturday and 12 to 15 on Sunday, so I was able to use the wing in every condition.
It worked exactly as I expected from what you told me:
-   The F-One is very stable, compared to the Duotone. I had a knee surgery this year and so I can’t do the kneeling start yet. I have to stand on the board and then rise the wing, and it is way easier to do it with a stable wing than with one that swings like crazy  from one side to the other.
-   It’s has a weightless feel that is very nice.
-   Wind range is huge, but the fluttering gets a bit uncomfortable when riding above 22 / 23 knots.
-   Packing size is great and the backpack is big enough to hold the wing + pump. Much more comfortable than the long bag with no space for the pump of the Duotone. It’s nice to walk to the beach holding the board assembled with the foil with both hands, with the backpack on your shoulders.
-   Didn’t like the handles. I like better the control that the solid boom gives, mostly when jibbing. When jibbing with the Duotone boom you can move your front hand a little backwards, and go into the turn with power holding the wing with one hand. Then just twist your forearm and the wing is facing the other way and you are out of the turn with speed. With the handles you can’t (or I can’t) do that. As soon as you let the back hand go, the wing loses all its power and you depend on your initial speed or a bump or pumping to keep the board foiling through the turn while you change hands and can sheet in again.
As usually happens decisions, this was a compromise, but I’m very happy with your advice and my choice.
Thanks a lot!!

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Help with which Wing to buy

« on: October 24, 2019, 07:05:55 AM »

Thanks again.
It looks like the F-One is the best option.
4 votes to 0 on the  others!!
Now I have to be sure of  the size I want.
Wind range charts say that the 4.2 is good from 15 to 30 knots and the 5.0 from 10 to 25.
Do you think those numbers are accurate?
I ask because with kites  I’m used to that kind of charts, but  they don’t work well. In my experience big kites (> 12) work better for heavier guys in light wind, but they don’t do much to lower the minimum threshold for lightweights. Don’t know if that is the case with wings.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Help with which Wing to buy

« on: October 24, 2019, 04:51:00 AM »

Thanks for the advice.

@flkiter: good point on the handles of the Ozone. That’s de kind of experience that I was looking for. Regarding the power, I don’t think the size of the foil will be a problem at my weight. Last weekend I demoed a Duotone 4 with my board and foil,  and found it very easy to use. Wind was steady from 15 to 18 knots, and I just stood on the board  and foiled away on the first try, and one hour later was doing foiling  jibes (I’m a kite foiler).

@ Dusk Patrol:  I live in Argentina, where I kite & SUP on flat water and chop, and I do most of my surfing during holidays in Uruguay.

@ supkailua: agree on the harness lines!! On my only session with the Duotone I found that my back arm got tired, especially going upwind, when I needed to put the wing on a vertical position an sheet in. It remembered me of the early days of windsurfing (late 70’s), before harnesses were invented. We used to sail inside  the boom just  to  give the arms a rest!!

@Pono: you summarized what I suspected. I never used a wing with handles but I like better the idea of having a firm device to control the wing. But on the other hand, what I didn’t like of the Duotone was that, when I tried to  hold the wing from the front handle, it started swinging like crazy from one side to the other. That was a very different experience of what I was expecting from watching videos, where people look to foil relaxed down the line, while casually holding the  wing behind them with one hand.
But then I can’t find any videos of people surfing like that with Duotones. It looks like with Duotones they surf holding the boom  over their heads.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Help with which Wing to buy

« on: October 23, 2019, 08:30:53 AM »

Hello all.
Spring has arrived to the southern hemisphere and it’s time to pull the trigger on a wing.
Problem is I’m not sure what to buy, and so would like to use your summer experience to help me with  the decision.
I know some of you have a lot of different wings. Admin, Pono and Dwight that I can  think of, but I’m sure there must be others.
I weight 160 lb  and would like to use it from 12/13 knots to the low 20’s, mostly for surfing, so I think that a 5 mts will be the size.  The board will be a Starboard Hypernut 7’4 and a Neil Pryde Surf Large foil (1.600 cm2).
My options here are: Duotone,  Ozone  and F-One.
So, let’s say that, with all the experience you now have , you can buy just one wing for the summer. Which will it be  and why?
Thanks in advance!!

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Training, Diet, and Fitness / Re: Strength Training Thoughts

« on: September 05, 2018, 04:26:38 AM »

Looks  like you are doing OK in the strength and cardio fields.
But if you want to surf  at 90, I would recommend mixing in a couple of yoga classes a week, and also some swimming when there is no wind.
Yoga really makes a difference in the long term.

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Downwind and Racing / Re: Old article about why racing is declining so fast

« on: May 04, 2018, 11:35:16 AM »

With a specified length, the board needs to be designed for the optimal weight paddler. For a 14’ board that used to be 170 to 190 pounds, for a 12’6” it was 150-180.

A simplified technical explanation is necessary here. A board moving through the water is subject to two main kinds of drag—lets call them skin drag and wave drag. Skin drag is roughly linear, the longer and wider your board is, the more skin drag you have to overcome.

A very fit paddler that weighs substantially less than optimal won’t push the board into wave friction territory. The added length only increases skin friction with no benefit. They could go just as fast and certainly go faster for longer periods, on a shorter board that suited their available muscle mass.

Very good article Bill. Nicely written as always.
But it I’m not sure if I’m not understanding something, or if there is  something wrong with the theory, because  that’s not what happens to me.
I weight just 155 pounds  and have two race boards. One is a 2011 Naish Javelin 14 x 27 and the other is a Starboard Allstar 12’6 x 26.
If I’m not missing something, in theory, at  my weight I should paddle faster on the  12’6.  But on flat water, I paddle much faster on the Javelin. By a big margin. Not only when pushing it, but I also go  faster in the 14, with less effort when paddling at slow  speeds. 
I’ve raced both, and on the Javelin I can easily outpace the same paddlers I fall behind on the 12’6. Then, on weekends I paddle a lot with my girlfriend who paddles a fast kayak. On those days I just paddle along with her for a couple  of hours. I always take the Allstar if I want to do any exercise. If I take the Javelin I have  to stop to wait for her all the time, or I have to paddle standing at the back  end of the  pad  to  slow  it down.
I know that in theory there shouldn’t  be any difference between the theory and  the  practice, but…

11

SUP General / Re: How well can you swim?

« on: February 01, 2018, 04:01:34 AM »

When I was about 17 I knew how to swim, and was very fit, but couldn’t swim for long before getting out of breath.
One day I told that to my father and he gave me the best advice about swimming I ever got. He said: “Don’t breath at the  speed you swim. Instead swim at the speed you breath. Just breath normally and move your arms to fit that  rhythm”. It was a game changer. For me it meant breathing every 3 strokes instead of every two, and the same day I started doing laps and laps in the  pool.
That was 36 years ago and since then I swim from 1 to 1,5 miles a day, 4 to 5 days a week during the summer. I’m confident that I would be able to swim out  of most nasty situations.
Another advice I can give you is to read an article Pono wrote about  swiming some time ago. It’s very good: http://www.xgeez.com/2010/12/swim-forrest-swim/

Hope this helps.

12

SUP General / Re: When did you learn SUP?

« on: March 02, 2017, 04:06:13 AM »

On a kitesurfing trip to Oahu in 2005 I saw a TV show were Laird was talking about the benefits of paddle surfing. He was saying something about training for the off season. I’ve being a kayak paddler and a ‘board’ rider all my life (windsurf, kitesurf, snowboard, wakeboard, etc), so was immediately interested. Paddles + boards, looked like a good combination. But it was difficult enough to get on a plane with my kitesurfing gear, so didn’t consider buying a SUB then.
But a couple of years later our local shop brought some boards. There were 2 alternatives. The Starboard 12’6 x 30 for ‘normal riding’ and the 12’2 x 27’’ for ‘more athletic’ people. It looked like they just bought the SUBS as an afterthought when buying windsurf gear, because they didn’t had any paddles for sale. They said that I could probably use a kayak paddle or the spout of a windsurf boom, and fit a plastic blade at the end of it…
So I bought the 12’2, and went to my kayak paddle craftsman with a couple of pictures from the web, and he made me a very nice but heavy wood paddle.
I still have the 12’2, and the wood paddle is at home, on a wall over the bar as décor.

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Foil SUP / Re: Kai Lenny Foil Open Ocean SUP & Prone Surfing

« on: November 29, 2016, 09:58:48 AM »

I would expect a foil board to anchor more than a windsurfing rig.

Unfortunately it's the opposite. You have to grab it quick, or it's gone like a motor is under it.

Have you seen that yourself?
I’m not very experienced. But I’ve being kite hydrofoiling for 3 months now, and when I fall (very often) the board just stays there drifting slowly downwind, almost like a normal kiteboard. It doesn’t point downwind and acelerate fast like a sup does, and never flies off the water. Of course I have my kite to help me get back to the board, but I think I wouldn’t have any problem swimming back to it, and I’m not Kai Lenny. Disclaimer: I never foiled in more than 25 knots of wind, so I can’t say if the board behaves differently in more wind.

14

Downwind and Racing / Re: Geezer foil--back in biz

« on: September 19, 2016, 04:49:39 AM »

Hi Bill.
Nice work!
I like your way of thinking out of the box.
English is not my mother language, so please excuse if my writing is not accurate.

If you don’t mind, I would like to give you a heads up from a novice kite foiler: the most usual fall for beginners is when the foil gets out of the water. The foil cavitates, looses lift, the nose of the board hits the water, and you fly over the bars. I understand that with your design that should be more gradual than with the foils we use, but anyway please be ready to fall forward. Those screws don’t look  like a good place to fall in. And with the foils extending so much at the sides of the board you can’t fall to the sides either.

Another consideration is the foil placement. In the ‘normal’ foils your weight is supposed to be centered over the lifting wing. In yours, you will be standing further back, but if you go to much to the back, you will sink the tail. It’s difficult to say looking at the picture, and not knowing where you will stand on the board, but wont that foil get in the way of the paddle?
How do you plan to put your weight over the foil and be able to paddle with those wings extending to the sides?

I’m very curious to see how your geezer foil works. It can be a game changer.

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Foil SUP / Re: Kai Lenny Foil Open Ocean SUP & Prone Surfing

« on: September 16, 2016, 04:10:43 AM »

As a beginner kite foiler I’m very impressed with what Kai is doing with his foils.
But before trying this at home, is important to  consider how skilled Kai is compared with the rest of us, and how much experience he has with foils.
Here is a picture of Kai, surfing his fathers foil at 9!!!!!
At 9 I was playing with a foam board in the shore break.


It’s the first time I try to attach a picture here. I hope it works.