Foiling on a gusty day at the lake

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1549

I had windsurfing friends down so I didn't foil. It was pretty gusty maybe 8 to 22. Really a lot of work on a bigger board. One of the local foiler's stopped by on his way home from the Gorge. Told me that all he did was foil up there. 3.2 on up. I was amazed how efficient he was on his foil. Up wind, down wind and way faster than anyone on a windsurf board. Beautiful long foiling turns. Short hard carves on the foil. Made me think that I had a bunch to learn. Also made me want to try harder. He is in his 3rd year foiling. On a sling Shot Wizard 105 and the Ghost Whisper foil. Most of the windsurfer's watching me weren't sure if foiling was worth it. After watching him they are changing there opinion. If your on the fence about foiling you should really give it a try....

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

Like watching Wyatt before foil, eh?
Or Robbie at 'yards?
Antoine at Defi?
But "faster than windsurf?" Your windsurfers are just bad, or beginners, or using the wrong gear.

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1549

Faster that day by a long shot

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

If a shortboarder is slogging, that is NOT the measure of his speed.
A rec type foil like Naish, Inf 76/84, Np Glides will top out at around 22mph.
A slalom foil might top out at 38, but the same rider will go 10mph faster on slalom gear.
The top American foiler might just hit 34, but he's much faster on his Isonic boards.
Foils do go upwind easily, which is their main draw for the majority of foilers.

LUCARO · Joined: 07 Dec 1997 Posts: 661

dllee: The ghostwhisperer may have a significantly higher top speed than the other slingshot or naish foils.

dvCali · Joined: 23 Aug 2007 Posts: 1314

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

I think Dlee is saying it's the rider, not the ride. In other words, if the guy that was foiling on Novaans llake that day had windsurf gear he would still be the fastest one on the lake.

Coachg

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1549

All the windsurfer's were locals with many years on the water. All very good at their craft. The foiler the same. In that 9 to 22 mph wind range the foiler was the first guy going near shore in the lite wind. He could head up wind better than us at a higher speed. This allowed him to bear off in the lulls and keep his speed. Because the wind was lite on either end of the lake it was difficult to plane thru a turn on a windsurfer. Then had to pump and bear off wind to get going again. The foiler flew his turns with speed and was off and flying with almost no effort. Half the time by the time I got going again he was across the lake and way up wind. Was his top speed faster than us? I couldn't say because I/we could never catch him to find out. His VMG and over all speed was way faster. And he was on a 5.0 wave sail and we were on 6.5 sails and mostly on free race boards. Speed is not always about the top end and it showed on my little lake that day.

d0uglass · Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 10:16 am Post subject:

My typical top speeds on the Infinity 76 wing are shit- only around 15-16 knots even when I feel nicely powered. The "25 knots" Slingshot lists for the foil seems unrealistic, but maybe there is some technique or tuning for high-speed reaching that I haven't figured out yet. I'd be interested in seeing the GPS tracks of somebody who is getting significantly faster speeds on it.

That said, the foil still sails circles around other windsurfing gear in light wind conditions and when upwind/downwind is involved, so the "speed is not all about top end" comment rings true for me.