Author Topic: First day out report.  (Read 2396 times)

B-Walnut

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First day out report.
« on: August 22, 2021, 11:04:56 PM »
Well, got my first day on the water.

Wind: 19-30 knots

Wing: Cabrinha Mantis 5.0

Board: Takuma bx hybrid 7'10 x 30

Foil: An old pelican foil (cloud 9) with a short go-foil mast.

I live in Portland but am headed to the coast tomorrow and didn't want to try my first day in the ocean. I've never foiled or handled a wing before so I rushed out to the gorge after work for about 90 minutes of sunset wind to try and sort through the process and kinks.

I pumped up and walked to the water. From a waist deep position I walked and pushed the board upwind to give myself a few hundred yards of downwind possibility since the beach is less than friendly in the gorge. I hopped up onto my knees and fuddled with the wing for a few seconds but it seemed pretty intuitive, kind of like a handheld kite. Straight away going upwind on my knees seemed easy. I guess I thought I would just be forced downwind but it seemed like the foil allowed me to give direction to the board without much issue. After about 2 tacks on my knees the wing started to give me trouble. It was deflating and couldn't hold it's shaped in the wind :-/ I down winded back to my starting point and went back to the car to try and figure out the issue. Leaking valve, clearly. I pumped it up again, but could still hear the leak. Tightened the valve, still leaking. Deflated the wing, reinflated the wing, still leaking, turned the valve tighter, still leaking. Added more air and went back to try and get another 30 minutes on the water before it went limp again. Bummer...

2nd session on the water I didn't walk upwind more than maybe 50 feet. Hopped up onto my knees and the wing was far more powerful since I had just inflated it. I did 2 tacks on my knees going upwind and then decided to give the feet a try. Going regular stance (natural for me) I was up on my feet and riding right away. Upwind was easy and I found myself quickly playing around trying to hop the board on to foil while also pumping the kite a bit. Towards the end of my tack I managed to activate the foil but wheelied straight off the back of the board. Spun the board around and tried to get going and standing in a goofy footed stance. For whatever reason this was much less comfortable (I'm a strapless kiter so I didn't expect an issue). I fell off 3-4 times before finally making it happen. Pretty much just cruised with no attempt to get on foil from a goofy stance. Reached the end of the tack and hopped off. Turned the board and went regular again. Far more success this time. Generated enough power to get the foil up and cruised for maybe 20-30' before gently touching down and splashing through the chop again. The darkness was getting pretty thick at this point and I was thrilled with my success so I spun the board and rode back to shore on a downwind tack in goofy footed stance. Ran into all the weeds in the world, crawled my way to shore but was stoked and immediately felt like I overcame any intimidation I may have had with the new sport.

I've deflated and reinflated the wing 5 times now. Only once has it not leaked. I have no clue what the issue is since I've always had north/duotone valves, never cabrinha. Will call the dealer tomorrow.

Biggest surprise and dislike of the experience was how bad the wing can jerk you when you let it flag out. This was mentioned to me but good god, I thought it would sprain my wrist a few times. Gnarly snap to it. I'll probably switch it to a waist connection to prevent injury.

Biggest like of the experience was the freedom to go out in gusty conditions at a nasty launch without the assistance of anyone. I in no way felt like day 1 of winging is better than strapless kite surfing, but I did love that there was nothing holding me back!

Dontsink

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Re: First day out report.
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2021, 05:21:30 AM »
Takoon wings have this thin cord to keep the valve attached to the wing when you unscrew the valve fully to deflate.It is very easy to get the cord trapped between valve parts when you screw it in to inflate,and you get a slow silent leak.

Maybe worth checking if your Mantis has something similar.

I like to do the Stinkbug start vs regular knee start,i find it quicker and easier.See it here and give it a try if you like:

https://youtu.be/kpPec3HH1Io

Badger

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Re: First day out report.
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2021, 06:00:48 AM »

I like to do the Stinkbug start vs regular knee start,i find it quicker and easier.See it here and give it a try if you like:



Same here.  If the board is stable enough to stand on, there is really no point in knee starting.  I just stand up, grab the wing and go.

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« Last Edit: August 23, 2021, 06:06:41 AM by Badger »
Kalama E3 6'1 x 23" 105L
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Me - 6'0" - 165lbs - 66yo

Dwight (DW)

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Re: First day out report.
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2021, 07:14:19 AM »
I like to do the Stinkbug start vs regular knee start,i find it quicker and easier.See it here and give it a try if you like:

https://youtu.be/kpPec3HH1Io

Can you explain the difference. The video doesn’t show it.

Dontsink

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Re: First day out report.
« Reply #4 on: August 23, 2021, 07:26:09 AM »
I like to do the Stinkbug start vs regular knee start,i find it quicker and easier.See it here and give it a try if you like:

https://youtu.be/kpPec3HH1Io

Can you explain the difference. The video doesn’t show it.

Well,it's POV video  and it sucks for this purpose (sorry) but if you set the speed to slow and read the step by step in the vid description i think you will see it clearly.

Credit to Cnski and some other forum users who came up with this in a thread somewhere...

Step by Step:
"Not my invention...
This works quicker and with less effort than normal knee start.No balance phase.Great for choppy conditions and in waves to get out of Dodge ASAP.
Have not tried it on a sinker yet,this is on an 85l (for my 70kg)

-Board across wind
-Sail across nose of board,front hand holding normal front sailing handle.
-Climb on board under wing and get on knees.Stay bent low (stinkbug).
If you loose balance to leeward put back hand on boom strut for balance.
-Grab back handle and  lift front hand,wing will fly to umbrella and support you.If leeward tip tries to catch water on lift try moving back hand forward as you lift the front.
-Get board moving,on feet and on foil."

PonoBill

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Re: First day out report.
« Reply #5 on: August 23, 2021, 08:08:28 AM »
The fact that you can do winging anywhere there is wind is the big deal for me. That and it's just crazy fun.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

 


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