Messages

1

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Axis Foils

« on: January 18, 2021, 09:06:54 PM »

The efficiency at controlling the foil is not ideal. Bending the knees is the wrong approach. You want to be upright.

Kai Lenny talked about this in the early days of foiling. Stand up.

Probably a mistake to post that video if one's basic technique is going to be judged by it.   It is hard to tell by the video but it was a totally out of control run at a very high speed on waves which were too big for the 1010/440 setup at my weight.  I am desperately trying to get my weight as forward and as low as possible.  There was no way to move my feet forward once the ride started.  If I stood up, my crash would have been instantaneous.  99 %of the time when I am foiling, I am upright but I think my response was the best possible in the situation I was in.

 
Definitely not a mistake to post that video.  You can't learn much by seeing everything go perfect.  So I really appreciate videos like yours.  Thank you for posting it.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Axis Foils

« on: January 18, 2021, 11:03:07 AM »

First wave session with Axis.  1010 is the smallest I have and my concern that it would be too big today was valid.  The end is not pretty but the ride was fun.  Now in the market for a smaller foil.  Leaning towards a 910.  Want to stay with red fuse for now.

https://www.facebook.com/phil.seu.58/videos/895166571255458

You can see the front wing and stab break the surface right before you go in.  It looked like you were plenty forward.  What to do to prevent that?  It's happened to me with this same set up.  I don't like these type of falls.  They hurt.

3

Random / Re: Electric Surf Vehicles in 2020

« on: September 27, 2020, 08:51:12 AM »

The electric truck race is heating up.

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-cybertruck-vs-gm-vs-ford-f150-ev-vs-rivian-r1t-consumer-survey-results/

What does this graph of percentages represent?

4

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Duotone Unit wing..designed for travel...hooray!

« on: September 23, 2020, 02:18:34 PM »

I really like the stability of my Unit 6M and have completed three jibes on foil now. 

5

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Chicken loop harness line.

« on: September 22, 2020, 03:22:12 PM »

Thanks DJ.  Answers perfectly.  I think I get it and will try.

6

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Chicken loop harness line.

« on: September 21, 2020, 12:07:22 PM »

We are still locked up here in Melbourne (Oz) but we can get out for some daily exercise.. Today I tried a kitesurfer chicken loop as a harness line and it worked fine.

Great.  But tell me more about 'chicken loop' and how it works.  I like how you attached it to one handle.  It does seem to flop around a bit.  Better than spreading it between two handles?  Is there a 'break away' mechanism in the loop?  Not familiar with kite stuff.  Great music as always.

7

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Foil Pump simulator

« on: September 19, 2020, 01:54:41 PM »

That's awesome!

Couldn't guess how young you are by watching this video.

The receding white hairline wasn't a clue?  But thanks

8

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Foil Pump simulator

« on: September 19, 2020, 08:50:16 AM »

I learned to surf in 1962 when ‘hopping’ or ‘pumping’ really wasn’t a thing that would enhance the experience.  Later when thrusters came on the scene I began seeing guys ‘pump’ through the flatter sections, like between the end of the ‘coconuts’ take off at Honolua Bay and the ‘cave’ take off.  If you could link these two, you ended up with a hellava long ride.  In all the years I rode out there, I was only able to do it three times, each time a result of somehow unweighting myself to maintain the speed to glide through but it hardly qualified as a ‘pump’.
    A few of the better surfers, pumped across sections with regularity.  One of those Honolua stand out first showed me the true potential of the ‘pump' in the late 70s as he whipped his skateboard higher and higher around the walls of an empty concrete pool in Kula.  He was strong but more than that had developed the coordination to combine that strength to achieve ‘perpetual motion’ as long as his legs would last.  But as much as I admired his prowess, my ‘risk plate’ was already full as a hang glider pilot.
    Then I saw the young surfers of the 80s and 90s become experts at what some coined 'the Huntington Hop’.  I still didn’t do it.
     Fast forward to the new millennium sport of ‘foiling’ which entails flying a foil, extending below a board around 30”.  The leverage between the board and foil is a very different dynamic from a surf board and as the pioneers of the sport quickly figured out, ‘pumping’ is a very functional move that not only lifts the board off the surface but also maintains lift when elevation begins to lower.  Even a ‘never-pumper’ like me could see that pumping was integral to progression in riding a foil.
    So as I finish my 7th decade, now stiff and overweight, I’ve decided, in my infinite wisdom, to give foiling and therefore ‘pumping' a shot.  If you put me on the dance floor, I would look like Elaine from Seinfeld.   I’m no longer a teenager with coiled springs in my legs and needed help.  Help was a long time friend from downwind stand up paddling and now very well-known foiler, Jeremy Riggs.  He placed me on a Nordic Track with both feet on one peddle.  First try, my legs were shaking but after a warm up and tips from Jeremy, the rhythm began to click.  He then added a screen with some stellar downwind conditions to focus on, which distracted from very significant leg burn.  Jeremy lets go of the handles with both hands but I needed one hand for balance.  I didn’t want to be the first injured on a Nordic Track.  Warning, your heart rate will be significantly higher than using the machine with two peddles and two handles.   My new adventure begins.  This is a rough simulation not actual pumping but will get you close enough to at least begin to pump.  You could just go out and 'do it' but doing it on a foil entails crashing during the learning process.  This gets you closer with conditioning and rhythm

9

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Foil Pump simulator

« on: September 19, 2020, 08:43:40 AM »

https://www.facebook.com/bill.boyum.3/videos/1537223976448835

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Axis Foils

« on: September 01, 2020, 11:07:02 AM »

Did you mean, you would be getting destroyed on a big (foil rather than a wing?)  Also, while I've been enjoying the 1010 Axis on the straights, I'm still having issues with my jibe.  Should I put my 920 foil back on?  I have a 400 tail.  Thanks Admin.

Sorry, that does get confusing.  Yes, I meant that I would have been getting bucked around on a bigger hydrofoil.

I would put the 920 on to help with jibes.  It is so smooth and stable and it turns exactly as expected.  The 1010 has its own turn and it really only wants to be turned one way (for me).  The 920/400 will accept a lot.  That is a great kit to work out the final steps of jibing on.  It also banks a turn basically like the other Axis wings (aside from the 1010 and that series) which I view as its own deal.

I saw your jibe on FB.  You are right on the brink.  There is no way that doesn't happen for you this month.

Thanks Admin.  Your positivity is refreshing.  And thanks for this forum.  it's a wealth of info.

11

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Axis Foils

« on: August 30, 2020, 10:13:30 PM »

Today was so weird. Other than getting cold, I switched from the 860 to the 1000 and had this very strange sense of pumping off the surface mostly with the foil. I don't fknow if i've been training myself with the 860, or what's going on, but I was pumping the wing lightly (5.0M) and pumping the foil hard, and the foil came up more or less independent of what I was doing with the wing. Very strange feeling. I would have explored it in greater detail but I froze my ass off and had to come in. Summer's over. I think the shorty 2/3 is going to get a chance to dry completely and out comes the 3/4 full suit with fucking hood and everything.

I came home and cooked up a storm--Filet mignon on the barbie, dry sauteed string beans in a soy/red wine reduction, Mushrooms with Dukkah and late harvest riesling, Caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, capped by strawberry shortcake with Hood River nectarine drizzle. My baking powder biscuits for shortcake have gone from good to "holy shit those are fucking amazing"!

A couple of glasses of spectacular Analemma Mencia and I'm ready for a nap. I'm almost warmed up. If you're in the northwest and you don't know about Analemma wines, shame on you, and you're in for a treat. It's like Hood River Peaches--they don't get very far from Hood River because we eat them all (or in this case, drink it all). There are two places on the planet that i know of where you can get Mencia--Glacia in Spain near the Portugese border, and Mosier, Oregon.

But the water is warmer here.  Get back Jo Jo.  I miss you

12

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Went back to my big foil today

« on: August 30, 2020, 10:11:18 PM »

It's tough to go way back, but you can take little steps. I went from my 860 Axis (1212cm*2) to my 1000 (1310 square cm) today, and though it reacted a lot more to the nutty swell, it was fun and manageable, and I could pump it off the water with two quick pumps of the board.

A few weeks ago just before I sold my 1020 and 920 I went back to the 1020 ( 2051 square cm) and almost killed myself. I was over foiling like mad--exploding out of swells and violently faceplanting. I can switch to the 1150 (1713 square cm), which is huge, without consequence because I only use it in super light wind. I think in the long term we will all be on efficient wings that barely hold us up unless we're going reasonably fast. In the meantime, these slow, easy wings are a little miracle. But once you take the training wheels off, you can't really put them back on.

I have a hard time separating the word 'miracle' from the nut case in the WH.

13

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: packing up your wing

« on: August 30, 2020, 10:09:14 PM »

Totally agree paddlur,  windsurfing companies kiting companies in now wing companies make the storage bags way too small. You have to be an origami expert or laundry expert to pack the wing, sail or kite back into the original bag. I don’t know why they make them so exact when it would be so easy just to make them a little bit larger and more accommodating.

Amen to this.  My Unit bag for my 6m is a joke.  I love the wing but the bag, man what were they thinking?  We have a ton of old windsurf bags because Shirley does sail repair and many have just walked away from their sails.  Now it turns out great for me because of the bag I poached.  The sails, never repaired, end up in the dump

Sails make great sun shades, especially if you sew a few together. I saw a canopy near a house we rented near Mission Beach in San Diego that had probably ten windsurfing sails sewn together. It was extremely cool.

Cool if you're the Beverly Hillbillies.

14

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: BRM Wings

« on: August 30, 2020, 05:10:58 PM »

Here are some photos of the 5M Swing laid on top of the 5M BRM:

Thank you for that compare pics.  Reducing wing span is a priority for me. 

15

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Axis Foils

« on: August 30, 2020, 04:57:10 PM »

this week is gonna kill me

Me too.  Man am I beat!  The 760 has been saving me from the 12 to 35 blasty days.  I am getting tugged all over the place on the surface and this thing stays collected underwater.  It doesn't seem to care if I am screwing up and going 6 mph or if I am maxed out in a blast.  I would be getting destroyed on a big wing.

It makes me wonder where we are heading foil wise in this wingfoiling (that is what I am calling it today) evolution.  A friend here that is a little heavier than me is riding the F-one 62 cm 800 cm squared on windy days and 66 cm 1000 cm squared on light days.  Those are very thin "kiting" wings.  He isn't pumping like crazy to get them moving either. 

I want to catch a ride on that 66 for sure.  The Axis 660 surprised me in how easily it took off in normal winds.  It didn't feel like it was approaching any kind of low limit for my weight.  It has a very specialized design that I didn't love for winging but that didn't feel like a size issue.

Did you mean, you would be getting destroyed on a big (foil rather than a wing?)  Also, while I've been enjoying the 1010 Axis on the straights, I'm still having issues with my jibe.  Should I put my 920 foil back on?  I have a 400 tail.  Thanks Admin.