Hi everyone

Wanted to share my experience, hoping it might help others decide...

I'm 49 yrs old, 90kg. Have been SUP surfing for 6 years, foiling for 4 months. Done about 30 foil sessions on waves. I'm OK... I can foil where I want, frontside and backside and ride as long as my legs will take me. Still learning to pump, and I sure can't connect up waves.

Also, about 20+ years ago, I was a point-and-shoot windsurfer. Could water start, and go fast as hell in the straps. Jibe? Not a chance ;-) Just reorganise the rig and thrash at it again!

I gotta say, as I can already foil, I found wing foiling pretty simple. I did a session on a windy beach - not in the water - just to understand the wing. How to handle it. I then did a quick 45 minute lesson on a lake on a big windsurf board. Found it simple to stay upwind, but it was a big board to help me out. Then I went for it... took my Fanatic SKY foil 125ltrs out in 15 knts. Used Naish 5.3 wing and my Maliko 200 foil. Fumbled for a moment. Got wet. Then got up. Stayed close the wind and beat out wrong foot forward. Turned around... now regular stance... and the moment I got a gust I got onto the foil and went all the way into the shore. PRETTY DAMN COOL. I was pretty apprehensive going in, but it was easier than I imagined. And the foil acts as a dagger board, so you can track upwind quite well even if you are not planing.

If you can foil, and you understand windsurfing and how the WIND fundamentally works, IMHO getting going is not hard. You can have fun super fast! Getting good will take time, of course, but getting going is pretty easy. The trick is to really focus on the board, keep your stance central and the foil under control. Controlled foiling needs to be second nature, or there is just too much to think about.

ANOTHER TIP - get your wing into a parking lot with a skateboard. That is a really useful thing to do. Duck Tape up the ends to prevent any scuffing on the tarmac. But you can learn how to jibe, tack, even pump the wing. I've done that as well, and its pretty fun to learn so that you don't even need to think about your hands when on the water.

Hope that helped anyone who was wondering whether to take the plunge. It's super fun.

Stay safe out there!