The current depends on the area, averaging 2–3 knots according to the forecast, but I feel that somewhere it is stronger because sometimes I am foiling very little downwind.
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I am hearing from several sources that the current parawing vmg podium is 1. Flysurfer Zap / 2. PPC Orbit / 3. 777 Hybrid / 4. Ozone Afterburner (might tie with hybrid). At the cost of user friendliness and packing ability, of course.. If someone has info, keen to hear! I got my hands on an orbit 3.5m, will report back when the wind shows up.
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Applied the various advices above and now consistently averaging 7 knots vmg on the 5.7 and 4.3 hybrids 777! 
- Using them really powered up (above 18kts for 5.7 and above 22kts for 4.3) is the main factor.
- Using a harness, low on the hips, to get all the power from the sail directly to the legs, hands are just there to pilot
Still waiting on strong wind for the orbit 3.5 upwind test!
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Nice run! Looks like that wouldn’t be possible without the PW - no roads.
Interesting that you noted the harness low on the hips. I just had a session where my Venstrana harness was kinda loose and ended up pretty low and almost felt the way i’d imagine a ‘seat harness’ would feel. It felt easier on the body and really let me leverage my weight against the pull of the wing (I’m only 68 kgs). I’ve tried chest harness as well. Not sure which is my favorite - but I’ll try that low setting more intentionally next session.
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What app is that ?
what foil setup makes for best VMG do you think? I was wondering if more stability on a surf foil or more efficiency on a DW foil. I imagine you’re lit so glide is less of a factor?
I really like using the Wingman chest harness developed for wingfoil racing. Standing straight and tall, with the parawing hooked high.
Easy to hook in. And there are some benefits of having the parawing higher up.
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I have a ride engine chest harness and I hate it… it really reduces your leverage and felt terrible on my back. I do get why it’s important for wing racing to get the hook really high but I don’t think it’s helpful for PW since they fly more like a kite
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Yeah! I’ve got a custom one of those left over from my winging days that is epic. I also replaced the centered hook with a sliding reverse hook.
I haven’t felt a big difference in vmg but I do think that dw foils go higher/slower and surf/wing foils go lower/faster. this is assuming a well tuned setup and not a monster foil
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Impressive discipline riding that far upwind! I need to find an app like this that works with my Garmin Instinct and Android Phone that can calc VMG, upwind angle, etc.
How do these apps track upwind angle? Is it based on actual wind meters or is it just calculated based on the angle of the tracks?
I did a rudimentary calc using Google Maps from yesterdays session in nearshore ocean conditions and got about 6.2 knots VMG using a 5.7m PRV2 in about 17-18 knots with an Evolution 175. Definitely a bit overpowered but I’m 200lb with a 55L board so until I buy a bigger board I go big with the parawing.
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I assume everybody in this thread is switching feet? If not, curious to compare VMG while switching feet v. riding toeside half the time. I might try an experiment myself to compare angles.
Its probably easier to lean hard switch but you can learn to ride the same or similar angles without switch
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You can export your .GPX file from Garmin connect and load them into Foil Run and get your angles and VMG and a lot more. It’s very cool.
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I think that a slippery DW foil gives the best VMG, especially in variable winds
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It looks like Foil Run is only for iPhones unfortunately. No love for the green bubbles.
Oh I meant the browser version on a PC, although it might work on a phone browser as well. Give it a try, it’s awesome.
Also, to answer your second question. I don’t switch feet and my angles are about equal on both sides. I don’t have a weak side with regards to angles, but maybe they are both weak compared to other better riders.
Whoa, just figured out the browser version. Very cool! Can I buy whoever made this app a case of beer?
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Same. The chest harness makes sense when winging so that you can get the wing vertical without the tips dragging. Not sure it’s as advantageous on the parawing like you said. Getting pulled from the chest hook feels awkward to me but to each their own.
Re: Foil Run - very cool. Im finding my VMG for each “climb” but how do you find your angles? I click on “nerd out” and there is a scatterplot in there, but is there an average for the climb or something like that? Maybe I’m missing it.
For what its worth Im seeing basically the same angles on a wing and a parawing, which is kind of surprising to me. Port and Starboard tacks are roughly the same and I rarely switch feet.