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coachg
Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 11:50 am Post subject: The Wing surfer: A different Perspective |
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I first saw the wing at Lake Garda in 2019 & immediately recognized the potential in surf; no mast to break or destroy the nose of your board, the ease of luffing it when riding a wave or swell. However, for me wave sailing is usually limited to vacations due to the great distance to the nearest wave sailing site from where I live so I didn’t bother getting a wing. But times have changed & I have discovered another advantage for the wing; longboarding.
Where I live there are lots of narrow waterways with fluky winds & wind shadows. Exploring with a traditional longboard is a real PITA as even if you bring a paddle you have to deal with the rig so generally you have to use a SUP & go paddling. Using an old school non-battened rig that can be rolled around the mast is an option, but still a pain.
Enter the Naish wing surfer. The Naish comes with paddle holders that attach to the main strut so you can wing with a paddle. It is so much more convenient than a traditional rig. If the lull is just a couple of hundred yards, I turn the wing upside down, loop the wing leash around the SUP leash attachment & back to the wing so the front of the wing lays just on the tail of the board & paddle through the lull. I can also do down winders & then deflate the wing, attach it to the nose of my 10’6” SUP with the bungee straps. When I paddle back, I hug the upwind tree line & actually get a little eddy tail wind here & there.
I can’t help but wonder how awesome the wing would be with the Slingshot Flyer.
Coachg
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dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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I just stuff the paddle into the normal board leash loop, the t handle keeping the paddle from going out on it's own. Dragging it is unnoticeable.
My problem with wing is we often get sub 6 mph lulls, the wing sagging and taking the board only downwind..but badly by catching wing tips.
Our light wind days atr constantly shifty and changing windspeed, while our 20 mph days are much steadier.
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windward1
Joined: 18 Jun 2000 Posts: 1400
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:44 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for that perspective, Coachg. Enlightening.
I would think the wing and longboarding might work as well for the exploration of mountain lakes such as in the High Sierra. They usually have erratic winds that come and go and change direction nearly constantly, although they may be steadier in some sections of the lake.
You windsurf lakes in the Sierras, do you see the potential of the wing and longboard there?
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coachg
Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2020 2:17 pm Post subject: |
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Windward1,
I see a huge potential for the Sierra lakes, especially the bigger ones like Almanor, Eagle or Tahoe. Almanor has the huge peninsula that basically divides the lake in two & creates almost 3 different wind zones. The larger Sierra lakes often have limited launching sites & although the wind is usually somewhere on the lake, it is not always at the launching site. I can’t count how many days I’ve been on the Nevada side of Tahoe looking at the wind out there as it rises over the Sierras. I have not tried paddling Andy’s Flyer with the foil attached to it, but if paddling that board with the foil attached works out well then you open up the ability to reach the wind line, go foiling & then paddle back.
Coachg
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Wind-NC.com
Joined: 30 May 2007 Posts: 980 Location: Formerly Cape Hatteras, now Burlington, VT!
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 9:22 am Post subject: |
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Hey Coach, I 100% agree and also did some small lake exploring and cruising this last summer. Using a board with a center fin helps a lot, and if you don't have one built into your sup you can add a Slingshot sUPWINDer very easily. I also agree with your assessment of the Flyer- just a perfect multi sport board for cruising around on and off the foil, with paddle or wind power!
I also gave some total newbie friends a chance to play around with the wing and they all picked it up really quickly and enjoyed the experience of getting pulled around by the wind, rather than fighting it with a paddle.
Many experienced folks gravitate towards the high performance, boundary breaking end of new sports- with wings, that tends to be foiling, speed, jumping, wave riding, and freestyle. It makes sense, it's fun to watch and try to learn new skills and push yourself. But from a "mass enjoyment" perspective, the more basic fun of just going for a cruise on a big board should not be ignored!
All of this is not to take away from the fun of lightwind cruising with a windsurfing sail, too- it's all good! There are pluses and minuses to any option, but in the long run it's all about just trying to have some fun and get some fresh air and exercise. Both methods of hitting the water tick off a lot of boxes there!
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_________________ formerly known as hodad.andy
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