foil basics

[grantmac017]

Head to wind and stomp the back until the foil stalls. That's been the fastest way to stop that I've seen, doesn't usually result in a crash either.

[us85]

Tried again last night.
I was able to take my front foot out of the strap, move it forward to bring the board down and then sheet out. Not really an emergency stop, but it did work for slowing down without breaching in a gust.

[dllee]

Better to anticipate the gust, fly lower, head slightly higher or lot's lower, and weight the boom, sheet IN more and lean more on front foot.
Can't react. Anticipate instead.

[isobars]

That's great where feasible, but has been pretty much impossible most places I've sailed. We can look way upwind and hope that patch of wind 15-30 seconds away is still touching the water when it reaches us, but that's a total crap shoot. Near cliffs, I've felt objects slamming into my sails, yet see nothing when I look up to identify them. It took us a while to realize they were blasts of wind rolling off the nearby cliffs hitting our sails but not the water. The same goes for sideshore shoreline turbulence at numerous Gorge launches ... 5 or 30 mph, with no discernible pattern or warning.

[dllee]

That,s why local knowledge and windsurfing still works.

[dllee]

Idono...
Looking at Tony, Wyatt, Dale, Bruce, and dozens of others, it looks possible to make windfoiling work somewhat at the Gorge.

[dllee]

Gotta add...
Some windfoilers prefer sheeting OUT as opposed to sheeting IN to bring their foils deeper into the water.
Both work, although with TOW, you develop preferences depending on conditions like direction and type of sail.
I'm an old school sheet in slalom sailor, so oversheeting is natural..for me.
For other's, sheeting out and feathering is the go to technique to keep the foil in the water.
Best to learn both.

[atlas.wave55]