I am an experienced windsurfer, I live in the west coast of Scotland and I have been wave sailing for many years. I’m looking to get into Wing Foiling after watching the sport grow over the years. The idea would be to use the wing foil in 15-25 mph winds, the above that I would go windsurfing. We get ok-ish waves here, I sail in the Clyde estuary so the waves are pretty small and mushy but occasionally get pretty good.
I have a question about kit, there is a cheap deal in many uk shops just now that has got me tempted but there are various options within the deal. This is the link-
It is an RRD beluga with wing and foil for £1399.
First off would this be a decent set up to get going on?
I weigh 80kgs so I reckon a 90l board will suffice. I have read that if I go for the 105l I will probably progress quickly but need to buy a smaller board in no time.
The question I have is what size front foil to go for, the sensible option would be the 1750 but I’m tempted to go for the 1500. Does anyone have any thoughts on this??
And I was going to go for the 4.5m wing and the only choice is that or 5.5m which I think will be too big.
Under 15mph at my spot and the sea is pretty much flat.
My conundrum is if I buy gear that will make my life easy I will probably out grow it pretty quickly and all the kit is so feckin expensive. If I go for the 1750 front wing then decide I want a smaller one I would be looking at £500+ to buy one. And being a tight fist Scotsman I hate spending money!
Wing and board fine but I’d get a better foil system.
Go for something that all the locals are riding, then you can try their gear and buy it when they upgrade. Probably Axis. See what is available on Facebook as a hint. Buy a new or good condition mast and fuse, and then cheap used foils and tails so you don’t have to worry about damaging.
Go for two or three lessons. As a windsurfer you may pick it up in a day or two and immediately outgrow the beginner stuff. Also saves you the pain of being completely clueless for a few weeks. I rented gear, got nowhere for an hour, went for a two hour lesson with a good coach on a boat, and after that was gybing comfortably (but I could already prone foil , and windsurf)
4.5m probably good, foil and board depends on how you go with the lesson. 1500 or smaller likely right. Smaller could be easier
Agree with all Matt said, would check out the second hand market around you.
Note that several of my windsurfing buddies had an attitude of - ah sure this will be easy, but then struggled to get going. This was mainly cause flying the foil is different to any of the board sports and takes a bit of getting used too. No escaping putting in the time in good learning conditions.
Same for the kit, easy to stall progression with too small a hand wing or front wing - however if you have the time, conditions and motivation - you’ll get there.
yeah maybe the chances of getting it easily are lower than I described there. Speaking from my own experience but learning to foil took forever, but I learned via prone
Maybe time behind a boat would be valuable… foiling is very hard and foreign!
Thanks for the advice. There is only one guy foiling regularly at my spot and he is prone. I intend to get in touch with him though and see if he is selling anything. Not much secondhand stuff in my area at all but some on ebay down south.
Dumb question but why is the foil not up to scratch? Are better ones easier to ride and more maneuverable?
I’m going to get a lesson or two when I go to Tenerife in August. However I taught myself to windsurf and surf (painfully) so I like a challenge!!
I hate to recommend it as it sucks but facebook has some good foiling groups and lots of secondhand gear groups (especially in the UK - I’m on west coast Ireland).
The RRD gear will get ya going but it wouldn’t be the most popular brand and you might struggle to sell it on. Its perfectly grand for starting though.
As Matt will probably say, once you buy into a foil system you tend to stick with it as its cheaper to upgrade parts - then once you have a big selection built up, its hard to sell on and you take a hit. RRD wouldn’t be as popular in the foil scene - Axis, Gong, North, Cabrinha, Armstrong all have good starter to expert ranges that you can build on.
Exactly. F-one, Duotone, Unifoil too. Tbh it looks like RRD haven’t really kept up with the times as there is nothing in their range I would even look twice at. Unless you can say from windsurf days that you aren’t really one to fiddle with gear, then ignore and just get whatever you can for cheap. Some people don’t mind, others it is part of the joy/obsession
I know there is quite a strong adoption of Axis in Oban, which is just near you? They are very into downwind up there, which I would say is very worth you having a look into. Epic conditions. Probably the best in the UK. Lots of red boards up there!
I’ve been in touch with Troon’s only local foiler and he’s selling some kit so I’m going to have a look. He reckons the RRD Beluga is a design dead end and recommends higher volume crossover board. And he just so happens to be selling one!
Another dumb question- Downwind foiling, is the concept behind this simply use the power of the wind and swell/current to keep up on the foil and just blast downwind?? Ditch the wing??
Correct - its the use of the energy in the water generated by wind, swell and current. We see it clearly as breaking waves when it hits the beach but out in deep water its swell lines, bumps, sometimes not even visible but there. The right foil and rider can tap into this energy and once you are up and flying you can ride energy usually until you run out of water
Its the getting up and flying thats the tricky bit. Using the wing and flagging it works great. Next level is just using the paddle.
These are the two videos that I use as demonstration of downwind. It is very difficult and requires very specific conditions, West coast of Scotland is one of the few reliable places to do it in the UK. Niche stuff but pretty compelling once you get into it
Yeah wind against tide is what makes it really good! Troon looks epic for downwind. Ideal conditions is minimal ground swell, lots of wind swell and decent roads for logistics.
, and windsurf)
