Author Topic: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question  (Read 4914 times)

SurfIC

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Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« on: April 22, 2022, 01:20:13 PM »
I'm from a surf background no other wind sports. Loving winging but I can't seem to decide how to approach waves or wind swell to ride on my good side - natural. In fact I seem to end up riding goofy more often than not due to swell and wind direction. Im very comfortable switching feet and very uncomfortable riding in twisted stance, I think this has made the surfing element harder as when I loose speed or energy in the wave I quickly switch feet and haul in. Ive not wanted to use straps but being locked in seems to have advantages in waves. I haven't really described my problem well but I guess I'm so comfortable riding natural and goofy when cruising it's difficult to favour my good side. As that was a bit of a ramble if anyone has any general advice riding waves strapless or has anyone changed from strapless to straps etc ..
78kgs
Board- Naish 4'10 60L
Foils - Gong Curve H, L and M
Wing 4m and 5m Airush
*Prone surf - Flying Fish 4'6 35L

Caribsurf

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2022, 02:00:45 PM »
I have front straps only and very rarely use them in the surf or anywhere for that matter..used more for a “feeling” reference for my front foot position.  I also switch feet and use a lot of the deck and the back strap and at times from strap are a nuisance.  I removed the back strap right away as I stand off set nowhere near the rear strap.  I don’t jump or do anything radical..i could probably be fine without the front straps.
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JohnnyTsunami

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2022, 02:37:27 PM »
I know what you mean. The waves seem to always be right handers and since I’m regular foot that would be ideal for regular surfing. BUT the wind always has me in starboard tack so I’d have to be twisted up.

Short answer is I ride with front straps and have to switch feet to feel comfortable, the good thing is I’m just as good/bad at wave riding goofy now!

If I was better at dropping the wing I think it would work better and I could avoid switching feet but I’m usually blasting to catch a wave and want to be heelside for that as well as coming out of the wave, especially when it’s light inside.

Dwight (DW)

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2022, 05:32:40 PM »
1) straps won’t make riding twisted easier. It actually makes it more difficult. Strapless allows you to set feet so being twisted is less uncomfortable.

2) you are way ahead of many people who cannot ride regular and goofy. Since you mastered this, you can master riding twisted. Stick to it.


PonoBill

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2022, 07:25:32 PM »
I don't use straps. I used front only for a while when I was learning to foil surf, but eventually ditched them and I find them more trouble than they are worth for winging. I have a strip of EPS to tell me where my feet are

I also don't ride twisted at all, for exactly opposite reasons than yours (I think). I'm an old windsurfer (early 80's) and relatively recent surfer (late 90's). Switching feet during jibes and tacks seem to be planted in my brain. I'm comfortable foiling goofy, in fact, sometimes it seems I'm a little better at it though I'm actually a regular foot.

I find the most comfortable way to ride waves is to start a turn on the face, stop the turn as I head down the wave, flag the wing out either low, by my waist holding it by the leading edge handle, or high overhead, holding only the front of my boom, and only grab a little power by pulling on the middle of my fake boom if I need a little speed. I switch feet when I stop the turn if I'm goofy and switch to regular, otherwise, just surf the wave however it works for as long as I can. oddly enough, when I'm not using the wing for power I feel comfortable riding backside to the wave, but once I have a boom in my hands the little pilot in my head yells "switch feet" as soon as I turn.

riding strapless lets me move around on the board a lot, and I do. If I was ever going to jump I'd strap up, but I'm not. I'd blow what I have left of my knees to shreds.
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.

Velasco

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2022, 12:13:28 AM »
I shape my own boards and the one I use the most is the only one that I did not install footstrap inserts in - so by default, I don't use straps.  I do want to learn to jump, so I've been slowly bringing out the other boards with the straps, but for surfing with the wing/foil, I totally prefer going without the straps.

I am an old windsurfer/kitesurfer and have surfed well before starting the other two.  I am regular foot, but on the south shore of Oahu, the tradewinds kind of force me to wing foil goofy foot while I'm on the wave (the angle of the wind and the waves - side off - tends to pull me back if I luff going regular/twisted).  I just can't let go of my front hand on the wing (need a pressure point just to keep my balance going goofy, on a foil, screaming down a wave, etc).  I find myself moving my feet a lot and if I had straps to contend with, I wouldn't be able to make the small adjustments.  In fact - I'll switch maybe three times riding a wave from the outside in depending on what the wave is going to do - way easier without straps.

I also switch a lot between different foils based on the conditions (GoFoil, Axis, Takuma, Lift and Armstrong - I don't own all of these, just have some friends that trust me - and it doesn't hurt to make them boards every now and then), and footstrap positions can change a lot based on the geometry a foil prefers.  I have to move my straps way forward when using GoFoil, and they come further back with the Takuma Kujira foils.

I'd say figure out what feels better for you.  If you never jump or aren't inclined to bring that risk into the mix, I'd say you really don't have to use straps.

SurfIC

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2022, 12:38:42 AM »
Thanks for the awesome responses. I guess I was looking for reassurance which I've got. A few interesting comments which I totally agree with.

1) riding your non preferred stance (for me goofy) feels as good and sometimes better than your preferred side
2) switching feet whilst riding a long wave/chunk of swell - good to know I'm not alone on this!!

 :)
78kgs
Board- Naish 4'10 60L
Foils - Gong Curve H, L and M
Wing 4m and 5m Airush
*Prone surf - Flying Fish 4'6 35L

PonoBill

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2022, 10:24:09 AM »
I just can't let go of my front hand on the wing (need a pressure point just to keep my balance going goofy, on a foil, screaming down a wave, etc).  I find myself moving my feet a lot and if I had straps to contend with, I wouldn't be able to make the small adjustments.  In fact - I'll switch maybe three times riding a wave from the outside in depending on what the wave is going to do - way easier without straps.

Yeah, me too, though I don't switch feet while riding a wave, but letting go of my fake boom to grab the leading edge handle feels really shaky--I generally keep the wing luffed overhead both for balance and to add power quickly if I need some. I think those are all bad habits that I can't seem to shake, but I'm done with trying to force myself into something my head doesn't want to do. Twists are for kids.
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.

surfcowboy

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2022, 06:26:36 PM »
I only recently got riding toeside (as some call "twisted up") it took a while and was almost as hard as learning switch. Ok it was harder for me. But it's really key to surfing in my opinion for all the reasons listed. It's great that you're learning all the skills. Just keep at it.



PonoBill

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #9 on: April 24, 2022, 11:39:46 AM »
It's certainly easier to wingsurf if you can ride twisted. I've been working on it somewhat for just that reason. Having to manage a footswitch in the middle of a jibe on a foil is not easy, doing it in the middle of half a jibe on a good-sized wave face is about the same level of difficulty but the consequences are substantially greater. All the hot shoes at Ka'a turn on the wave faces effortlessly, twisting to get the job done. It makes me nuts and weakens my resolve to give up on toeside and concentrate on stuff I can do. I recently had a few toeside jibes that gave me encouragement but it made my bad knee very unhappy. So nope--not going to rely on that to get the job done.
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.

surfcowboy

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #10 on: April 25, 2022, 05:55:33 AM »
I can advise you all that at first it's basically whatever stance you try and envision and practice on land with a hilarious awkward pressure on the front foot.

If you're falling off the back, then press the front foot which will put you in a weird stance at first. You'll smooth it out later but that's where you start. You sort of go back to before you could elegantly stand on a board.

jondrums

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2022, 10:21:39 AM »
for whatever reason, I can't point anywhere near as high upwind twisted up.    One thing is for damn sure, when I am riding good foot forward and twisted up, I can crank a gybe on a dime.   That is fun!   I haven't gotten to where I can switch foot from regular to twisted up, but I want to so I can switch foot before the gybe rather than after.

And to the original topic, I really liked using straps to nail my foot position but that seems to be the only benefit (besides jumping, which I'm not doing).  Tactile feedback underfoot seems like the best alternative - foam bumps adhered the deck so you can feel where to put your foot works great.

SurfIC

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Re: Anyone Winging in Surf strapless? I have a question
« Reply #12 on: April 25, 2022, 01:10:25 PM »
Jondrums - that's interesting as I'm also lost when switching from normal to twisted. I always think of doing this as I approach a wave on my wrong side -goofy side. Other thing I agree with, exactly the same is cranking upwind at silly angles when not in twisted stance. I've never seen people in twisted stance get near the angles I get. Btw that's not down to my talent (lack of!) but the stance.
Locally I seem to be the only person moving my feet all over my board and switching my feet all the time. 90% are strapped and in twisted stance. They mainly come from kite backgrounds.
78kgs
Board- Naish 4'10 60L
Foils - Gong Curve H, L and M
Wing 4m and 5m Airush
*Prone surf - Flying Fish 4'6 35L

 


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