VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

UnusuallyLargeRobin wrote:This week's GONG Newsletter is out with a bunch of good wing tutorial videos and a wild big wind downwind video of Patrice on a 3m in 40+ conditions

Big Wind Wing Downwinder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSBM8iF ... e=emb_logo

3:24 So lucky no carnage!

Revisiting the windows vs no windows argument; I tried a Duotone 4m V1 with windows and found them quite helpful despite reading info to the contrary. Maybe my height is a factor for usability, dunno, but they're pretty useful in crowded waters.

Sounds like you’re almost halfway done putting a new window in yours!
Or tuck tape? Amazing stuff.

I use mine often. I would probably not buy one without them now. I know you can lift and glance but I like being able to check without lifting. We will see about durability I guess. I roll it up and sausage bag it so fingers crossed.

For those who are interested, Gong currently has a promotion on their website for a board and foil package. They provide a 10% discount if ordered together. I just ordered a 5'3" Hipe, XL foil (comes with 65 cm mast) and added a 90 cm mast. Total of €836 (just under CAD$1300). Waiting to hear on shipping costs before confirming. I've been looking for a beginner foil setup, and this looks like a pretty good deal. Will post on the shipping costs if anyone is interested.

yeah, hard to beat their packages....add a wing too, for 1183E

https://www.gong-galaxy.com/en/category ... s-wing-en/

The prices on their website are VAT inclusive, so take off 20%. Then with exchange, shipping, GST/PST, I calculate it comes to roughly $2000cdn. You can't get a used foil, board, wing setup for that. [though to be fair in presenting both pros and cons, being brutally honest, Gong is not considered to be top tier quality, the price reflects what you get, it is workable gear at an economical price]

Good point re: quality - I figured I was buying into the lower end given the price, but hopefully good as a first board. I was also interested in the portability angle (and hoping performance isn't impacted too much - reviews seem to suggest it is surprisingly good for an inflatable).

I have a Hype 5'3" coming on the next shipment along with their XL medium aspect foil.
Should be here late November.
I didn't get the 10% off unless I also got a wing and I'm less impressed with their wing designs, so I got a used Ozone instead.

Curious.
Does wingfoiling tire the arms, as it looks like the arms a bit more active than windsurfing, and positioned higher above the shoulder, but it could be more the vantage point of the pictures and videos I've viewed.
So, for those that have windsurfed, do your arms, legs, torso, get tired more or less relative to windsurfing ? Ditto for kitesurfing.
How long can your session be, before you get tired ?

It is a serious arm workout when you are learning and in light wind. Like in the early death-grip stage of kiting, when learning winging you at first try to overpower the wind with your strength ... and then later on, you learn how to dance with it. Once you are up on foil, well-balanced, and economical with your movements, it is not far off of the arm workout in kiting ... can hold the straps with fingertips, a golf club light grip.

Early sessions, i was gassed in an hour. Would need to take a few minutes on the beach in between tacks (and walks of shame). Now I can go for 2-3 hours, though still with a few breaks. It is lot harder work in light wind, as you have to pump to get up on foil, full body workout. As well, if you chase light wind with a bigger kite, the extra power once up is a handful. I am now using a harness for long tacks, similar to windsurfing, it takes most of the power through your core and into the board, your arms just steer.

I agree with Señor Sooka. Winging is initially a bit fatiguing on the arms, but waaaaaaay less than windsurfing and especially kiting. I find you can engage your lat muscles on the wing easily rather than burning out the biceps quickly (beginners complain about bicep cramps), and can sail for hours without a harness. A harness is handy but not necessary. Windsurfing takes the number one spot for completely feeling wrecked (in a good way!) as aggressive sailing requires lots of time out of harness and pulling against a heavy rig. I'm finding wing foiling is fatiguing to the legs and core in the sense that you are more static in an isometric position than windsurfing or kiting generally speaking. The wing feels pretty light in the hands as the foil is not providing a ton of drag counter to forward speed like a windsurfer. A few good energetic pumps and the wing goes light as you leap onto foil. Quite a cool sensation actually.

Winging is more work than kiting. But pretty much zero impact on the joints. A lot easier on my tennis elbow, probably thanks to the constantly changing reverse grips, have not had an issue with my bulging disc winging nor irritating the meniscus tears. Might be the best way to strengthen and stabilize bad knees, until I start jumping, then it all goes to sh!1. About the same length of session depending on the conditions.

Who doesn't want bigger biceps?

smartang wrote:A lot easier on my tennis elbow, probably thanks to the constantly changing reverse grips?

Early days, in the death grip mode, my tennis elbow started to twinge again, worst in a few years. I was worried that maybe winging wasn't going to be feasible (in kiting I can manage with low bar pressure kites). However, since graduating from beginner mode, it has not been an issue, other than maybe a hint of it after excessively long sessions.

Lats....with the big wing (6m ozone), once up and riding, I find the strength required for sheeting in may push the limits of what i can manage. But it's not arms that is the weak point, it's lats....feels like the back lat may tear right out. The harness has helped with this, as some of the wind's power transfers through core instead of that back lat. I need to get more pumped up I guess.

I think a few concepts are being conflated here. Namely comparing kiting or windsurfing on conventional boards vs foiling.

Pumping on a wing is always more work than the equivalent of diving a kite since the kite does the work for you. It's very similar to pumping a windsurf board onto foil except probably a bit easier since the total package weighs less.

Kite foiling with perfect power requires almost no arm work or bar presssure, the harness does everything. Winging is always going to require more as there is no harness and the gear is larger.

When you turn around on a kite the setup to go the other way requires very little work as nothing flips or changes position, you are locked in the whole time. Not true for winging or windsurfing.

Windsurfing is the hardest on the arms in all disciplines because even when locked into the harness you are still having to flip the sail and re hook in. It has the most resistance in the water.

As for legs, kiting on a conventional board is the most tiring because of the short length so chop affects it the most. On foil they are all very similar imho.

So in my opinion kite foiling is by far the easiest on the body. Regular windsurfing is the hardest. Winging falls in the middle.

A little tease today from Ocean Rodeo. 130 days until release, says the website.

An Aluula leading edge, if twice and strong and half the weight, could be a big improvement in performance. My 6m ozone leading edge is about a foot thick at centre....cut that in half, that's a lot less wing to be swinging around.

If it works as advertised, could truly be a game changer across the industry.

https://oceanrodeo.com/wingsurfing