I came into wing foiling about 2 years ago from 30+ years of surfing (20+ years here in Florida). One day in the lineup it hit me that surfing should be called paddling. I spend about 1% of the time I surf on my feet. My first year winging was frustrating. I was honestly scared to mess up all the expensive gear and had no one to teach me or join me at the spots near my house. I wanted the conditions to be perfect (high tide, wind direction/speed) before I would even try. Once I found some friends in the sport at the beginning of this year, I progressed a lot faster. Now with 40 days on the water foiling in 2023, I am finally connecting some gybes and riding more effectively toe-side. I am not yet riding waves, but I am hoping to get into that later this year once I am more efficient foiling both directions. So far, I don't think my extensive surfing background has helped me at all. I think it will once I start trying to ride waves or downwind, but learning the wing, learning to be on foil, learning to pump, and learning to gybe have all been totally new experiences for me. The great news is that the gear is WAY cheaper now then when I started. What you said about surfers leaving the lineup for this sport is legit. I have surfed 3 times this year, despite buying a new board in November. I would always rather wing now, even though I am way better as a surfer. Headed to La Ventana for 10 days at the end of the year with my winging buddy and I am stoked to be progressing pretty-much every time I go out now. My advice to anyone getting into this...buy cheap used gear at first. There is a lot of it for sale now. Watch a ton of videos, take advantage of any tips or coaching you can get, foil behind a boat or jetski if you can, and then just plan on putting a lot of time in the water. Almost any day can be a good day for learning something. I am expert at slogging in low wind chop now! ;-)
Hey there! 🤙🏽It's awesome to hear about your journey transitioning from decades of surfing to wing foiling. I totally get the "paddling" part of surfing; it's a sentiment many surfers share. It's inspiring to see how you've pushed through the initial challenges of wing foiling and are now making such great progress. Your dedication and passion shine through. La Ventana sounds like a dream trip, and I hope you have an absolute blast! Good winds to you, my friend. -Aaron
I lived in Phuket, Thailand where the wiind generally not very strong. The first group of wing foiler there are sailors. One of the best spot to wing foiling is in Naiharn bay with offshore wind and flat water and many expensive yachts moored in the bay. When the first wing foiler sail around their boats they take note and gradually join the winging journey with is perfectly match with their hobbies.
Joined MACkiteboarding for kiteboarding and I’ve nothing against foiling or winging but they are not what I subscribed to? Would it make sense, to stop losing subscribers (I’m thinking of leaving as I’m a kitesurfer) to have a separate channel for them? I’m very busy like everyone these days with big demands on precious little time - and all these videos which I’m not interested in keep popping up? Many thanks. 👍
Thank you for sharing your opinion. 🤙🏽 We value your thoughts, and we’d hate to see you go. We did experiment with multiple channels a while back. However, our analytics show that many of our viewers are both kiteboarders and wing foilers who are interested in video content for both. So we decided to focus on one channel. Hope you stick around, but understand if you gotta bail. Good winds to you, my friend! -Aaron
I was out in 6-10 knots a couple days ago in about 1-2 feet of wind swell. A bit of a pain sometimes to get up on foil in such low wind but it was a blast surfing on the little waves.
That sounds like an awesome strategy! 🤙🏽 Stoked that you've found a way to enjoy both disciplines to their fullest. Ride on and savor every gust! Good winds! -Aaron
agree, but wing foil is not efficient and extremely boring in light wind. Sailors should also look at kite foil race for AC75 like performances with cost lower than wing (yep, wing has also the cost downside, unless if looking for boring rides). Only problem is that kite foil race has low accessibility, but its the only thing that can provide real adrenaline below 15 kts in my opinion.
For sure depends on your mentality. I still get a ton of fun and joy out of riding in light winds. Its a great way to test your skills and technique as well as enjoy a nice cruise on the water. With new light wind wings, DW boards, and faster foils, light wind is surprisingly high performance. -Tucker
@@MACkiteboarding then would need to buy a specific set of toys only for the light wind, and still I would not consider that ‘high performance’. So for me, wing only above 12 knots. But I understand your concept and it’s interesting that the equipment is developing a lot for sure
I came into wing foiling about 2 years ago from 30+ years of surfing (20+ years here in Florida). One day in the lineup it hit me that surfing should be called paddling. I spend about 1% of the time I surf on my feet. My first year winging was frustrating. I was honestly scared to mess up all the expensive gear and had no one to teach me or join me at the spots near my house. I wanted the conditions to be perfect (high tide, wind direction/speed) before I would even try. Once I found some friends in the sport at the beginning of this year, I progressed a lot faster. Now with 40 days on the water foiling in 2023, I am finally connecting some gybes and riding more effectively toe-side. I am not yet riding waves, but I am hoping to get into that later this year once I am more efficient foiling both directions. So far, I don't think my extensive surfing background has helped me at all. I think it will once I start trying to ride waves or downwind, but learning the wing, learning to be on foil, learning to pump, and learning to gybe have all been totally new experiences for me. The great news is that the gear is WAY cheaper now then when I started. What you said about surfers leaving the lineup for this sport is legit. I have surfed 3 times this year, despite buying a new board in November. I would always rather wing now, even though I am way better as a surfer. Headed to La Ventana for 10 days at the end of the year with my winging buddy and I am stoked to be progressing pretty-much every time I go out now. My advice to anyone getting into this...buy cheap used gear at first. There is a lot of it for sale now. Watch a ton of videos, take advantage of any tips or coaching you can get, foil behind a boat or jetski if you can, and then just plan on putting a lot of time in the water. Almost any day can be a good day for learning something. I am expert at slogging in low wind chop now! ;-)
Hey there! 🤙🏽It's awesome to hear about your journey transitioning from decades of surfing to wing foiling. I totally get the "paddling" part of surfing; it's a sentiment many surfers share. It's inspiring to see how you've pushed through the initial challenges of wing foiling and are now making such great progress. Your dedication and passion shine through. La Ventana sounds like a dream trip, and I hope you have an absolute blast! Good winds to you, my friend. -Aaron
I lived in Phuket, Thailand where the wiind generally not very strong. The first group of wing foiler there are sailors. One of the best spot to wing foiling is in Naiharn bay with offshore wind and flat water and many expensive yachts moored in the bay. When the first wing foiler sail around their boats they take note and gradually join the winging journey with is perfectly match with their hobbies.
That sounds amazing! 🤙🏽 Phuket must be a dream spot for wing foiling. Thank you for sharing the stoke, my friend. -Aaron
Joined MACkiteboarding for kiteboarding and I’ve nothing against foiling or winging but they are not what I subscribed to? Would it make sense, to stop losing subscribers (I’m thinking of leaving as I’m a kitesurfer) to have a separate channel for them? I’m very busy like everyone these days with big demands on precious little time - and all these videos which I’m not interested in keep popping up? Many thanks. 👍
Thank you for sharing your opinion. 🤙🏽 We value your thoughts, and we’d hate to see you go. We did experiment with multiple channels a while back. However, our analytics show that many of our viewers are both kiteboarders and wing foilers who are interested in video content for both. So we decided to focus on one channel. Hope you stick around, but understand if you gotta bail. Good winds to you, my friend! -Aaron
I was out in 6-10 knots a couple days ago in about 1-2 feet of wind swell. A bit of a pain sometimes to get up on foil in such low wind but it was a blast surfing on the little waves.
For sure, makes those imperfect days a lot more fun.
WingFoil up to 25-30knots. Windsurfing over 25knots. Best of both worlds for me.
That sounds like an awesome strategy! 🤙🏽 Stoked that you've found a way to enjoy both disciplines to their fullest. Ride on and savor every gust! Good winds! -Aaron
agree, but wing foil is not efficient and extremely boring in light wind. Sailors should also look at kite foil race for AC75 like performances with cost lower than wing (yep, wing has also the cost downside, unless if looking for boring rides). Only problem is that kite foil race has low accessibility, but its the only thing that can provide real adrenaline below 15 kts in my opinion.
For sure depends on your mentality. I still get a ton of fun and joy out of riding in light winds. Its a great way to test your skills and technique as well as enjoy a nice cruise on the water. With new light wind wings, DW boards, and faster foils, light wind is surprisingly high performance. -Tucker
@@MACkiteboarding then would need to buy a specific set of toys only for the light wind, and still I would not consider that ‘high performance’. So for me, wing only above 12 knots. But I understand your concept and it’s interesting that the equipment is developing a lot for sure