Hi Guys, I will going to Chicama in March and will be planning to do some tow foling in the morning and some winging in the afternoon. I currently wing with a progresssion 170. I’m 84 kg. I was thinking of getting the progression 124 for the towing, would a Vyper 90 or 130 be better? Would like to get some input from the group. Also will the 170 be ok for winging?
Thanks
I think they’re also coming out / working on new high speed wings. That’s why the vyper and h2 on sale. Not sure how soon…
I went there on the V1 kujira 980 and although it was extremely fun, I was overfoiled the entire trip. Recommend taking the fastest gear you can get your hands on there. Even when the waves were only about shoulder to head high it was still ultra fast I think due to long period swells they get there
I weigh ~140 lbs and used a Progression 125 and was a little overfoiled on the initial drop-ins but totally manageable. At your weight, might be perfect. (this was for tow, not wing)
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Thanks for the info
Were you riding a Progression 125?
Thanks
Sorry , It looks like another brand after a second look, do u know what size foil ?
Just got back from towing Coata Rica. We are all vey big guys
We were using Unifoil Vyper 90 and 130 and Lift 100 surf.
Unbroken waves require more speed.
More speed from the foil gives you more comfort actually, than being overfoiled and just trying to survive or just trying to keep up with the wave.
My suggestion… Go SMALL on foil size.
Vyper 90 with 2 shim and back of the box was the best setup of the trip. 200+ pound guys.
It ain’t beachbreaks like at home. Small foil on open swell gives you speed, and control, and makes it fun.
We brought Progression 140 and 170 and they never got wet.
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Thanks for the info, what boards were u guys riding?
Prone boards were a bit tough to get up behind the ski on. It’s not easy to wake-style start it. It’s not easy sink the heelside rail while holding the rope while the driver takes up the slack. It’s also not as easy as it can be to stand on it under water either while the driver sets up to up you up.
Fortunately we bought a sub-20-liter board on closeout before the trip. Made all those issues go away.
My suggestion if you can swing it is to get your hands on a sub-20 liter board, a tiny foil, and try to get some time on it behind a boat or jet ski in advance. No waves needed. This is tow training. Ultimately, get comfortable going 25 mph. It’s friggin fast. It’s uncomfortable. That’s how fast you will be going.
By doing this, you will now have experience getting pulled up behind a boat and most importantly you will get comfortable at SPEEED. We used 85cm masts, and a 91cm (36") with the Lift foil.
We bought this 14-liter 4’2" Naish board because it was on closeout, and it turned out to be really perfect for everyone.
No affiliation with Naish or MacKIte.
We borrowed a 19-liter Slingshot down there. It was this board, but without the soft deck. It worked just fine.
You can get it cheap at MacKite too.
We also borrowed an Armstrong WKT down there. It is lower volume.
14 liters seemed like the sweetest spot for ease of getting up and then on-wave performance. You are sort of looking for a wake foil board that surfs (as the main thing it needs to do well is get you up behind a boat), as you don’t need the board to have any volume to paddle around or catcth waves.
Fits easily in the board bag with your wing or prone board.
Small board. Small foil. Long mast. Get experience getting pulled up behind a boat with this setup. Get experience at SPEED with this setup. Then you are as prepared as you can possibly be to hit the ground ripping!
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At home in Florida beachbreaks we ride Progression 170s with no shim all the way forward in the box. In Costa Rica we were riding the Vypers (and the Lift 100 Surf) all the way back in the box. #2 shim on the Vypers. Man just a totally different setup. Loved it! Still feels like foiling of course.
Our prone boards worked great, I was on a 4’5" 26L Portal MJ and my friend was on 4’5" Portal TM at I think 35L. We were doing sinker starts and it was easy but we’ve had lots of prior experience doing that. Also, some of the boat drivers were complete ninjas while others were barely functional which makes a huge difference.
Here’s a little vid of our trip: Gary Foster on Instagram
My friend is the one making all the turns. I was kinda white knuckled, I had about a year of foiling experience by then.
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Awesome clip Gary! You and Dave scored!!!
Here’s a wave from our Costa trip. Vyper 90. Back of the box, two shim. Progression 13.5 Cedrus 80. Armstrong WFT.
Money!
Control instead of hanging on for dear life.
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Great input and awsome videos , thanks so much for taking the time to contribute. We are super stoked for our trip. We will be taking you advice and training too.
I’m only 68kg - and was on the FS-550 from cloud IX which is 85 sq in.
Would suggest if it gets big, probably should get a longer mast 85cm for more control if you’re not so used to that size of waves.
But not always you’ll get a big swell, so bring your 125 and 140 just in case.
Keep in mind that for winging, it usually only blows around 10 to 15knots, side-off shore, so keep that on your take off equation for kinda light to medium wind. It’s rare it gets more than 16-17 knots. When you are going down the line the wind will push you back a bit with the wing, but you’ll get used to it! It’s VERY FUN!!!
Mareta Surf (@maretasurf) • Fotos y videos de Instagram
I would really love to go back next year!! Have fun!
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Great info , thanks very much