Badass wingfoil racers look like they never change their sail angles. How do they absorb the power when a gust hits? Certainly part of it is being willing to go faster -something I'm loathe to do over 17 or so kts.
I know I 'need' to learn to be stable on foil at higher speeds. But I intuit that a component of this is having more stillness in the upper body causing less instability translated to the foil. I'm constantly adjusting the sail angles to account for wind strength. So what's the secret -just lean back and let the whole gust get translated into velocity?
The key is to push the board forward instead of letting yourself get dragged along by the wing. Most wingfoilers ride around like a sack of potatoes, very passive and simply relying on the wing to pull everything forward. Speed & control in higher winds come from active riding. Tension in your body & drive that board forward through the front leg.
Select to expand quoteGrantmac said..
You're using a harness right?
Yep.
Worth remembering that racers are on long masts, different foils, and different wings than us. There's technique for sure, but there's also a ton of gear variables that make the experience way different than the average Joe's out riding swell and mowing the lawn.
I'm no racer but upwind when a gust hits I heel the board over further so the extra lift is pushing me upwind instead of out of the water. Along with front foot pressure that is probably my most active control. Downwind you can usually turn down a little further but gusts already aren't as big a deal since the apparent wind is a lot lower.
Select to expand quoteBWalnut said..
Worth remembering that racers are on long masts, different foils, and different wings than us. There's technique for sure, but there's also a ton of gear variables that make the experience way different than the average Joe's out riding swell and mowing the lawn.
No doubt but I feel I should be able to break 20 on my setup and cruse around at 16-18 instead of 13-15. Or maybe I'm mistaken?
Select to expand quoteStumbleweed said..
Badass wingfoil racers look like they never change their sail angles. How do they absorb the power when a gust hits? Certainly part of it is being willing to go faster -something I'm loathe to do over 17 or so kts.
I know I 'need' to learn to be stable on foil at higher speeds. But I intuit that a component of this is having more stillness in the upper body causing less instability translated to the foil. I'm constantly adjusting the sail angles to account for wind strength. So what's the secret -just lean back and let the whole gust get translated into velocity?
Basically you are on the right track, what sort of foil instability are you feeling as you approach 20 knots? Pitchy/diving? overpowered front foot pressure? Both of those will make you back off, so gear can come into it. gear wise a well tuned foil that remains stable and doesn't overpower the front foot is important as is a stiff wing that provides enough support to lean against. I feel like 4.0 to 5.5 is the sweet spot for that type of riding on non-race gear, smaller wings get twitchy and bigger tend to catch the wingtips. You want the wing as upright and sheeted in as possible.
