This has been a total game changer for me in light onshore conditions where flagging can be more difficult and the wing gets in your way more. You can drop the wing entirely, using it to whip you into the wave and then just drop it with the drift anchor attached to the leash. I am just using a drift anchor I got off Amazon.
And then you paddle back? Or it drifts back to beach and you head out again?
Yeah, just paddle back to the wing, fold the anchor up, stuff it under the rash guard and go again. I included the end of one of the paddles back at the end of the video. To fun not to share.
Yes! Iām all over this as well. Iāve only used in DW bump riding conditions so far. Yesterday I pulled off an upwind 360 bump link up and was stoked!
I looked back at my gps tracks and I was getting minute plus rides DW and then paddling upwind around a minute to get to the wing. It would drift about half the distance I traveled DW, so it basically would meet me halfway. Keep that in mind if using in the surf!
I just got an Anchorman too, and am looking forward to playing around with it. I wish the anchor and release (which are the only āproprietaryā components of the setup) were compatible with any leash and harness. Without modifying it, you have to use their leash belt and leash - which arenāt bad, but it complicates the setup. The amazon sea anchor setup might be just as good or better for this reason (and likely cheaper).
How much wind do you guys trust this setup in?
Can the wing accidentally lift the anchor out of the water?
If I understand this youād ideally want the wing to drift faster than slower to limit the time spent paddling back to it? Any benefit over just ditching the wing and letting it drift down to you?
Iām struggling to see if the benefit is more than reducing paddle time? Light wind when riding with the wing is impractical / uncomfortable seems key.
Hereās a gps snapshot of two āditchesā:
You definitely need to have an anchor. Otherwise, the wing could start flipping in quickly go down wind. I have use my 5 m once and around 20 mph winds, and it was flapping a bit and trying to pull the anchor out of the water, but it seemed fine.
I personally donāt mind the paddle back to the wing. It makes it feel more like surfing, which is odd being in the middle of a river in my case.
Has not happens to me yet. I am using a 24 in anchor, which creates quite a bit of force to move through the water. So far I have only tested in 15mph winds. At the upper end the wing lifts off(still anchored) and flips around more. Seems to drift faster but that could be current too.
Would be fun to do a tandem downwinder passing a single wing each time the other rider comes off foil.
The Anchorman chute is pretty small, Iād guess around 12ā max.
Iām not using the included belt, I modded it to fit on my existing setup, but the belt is really really nice. So much so that I do plan on using it to replace my normal belt.
This whole concept could also be beneficial in bigger surf situations where you know you are going to get caught by a big one. Pull the quick release and try to throw the wing over the wave. If it gets caught, less likelihood of damage to wing. Also maybe a situation where getting out in rough shorebreak where this could come into play.
Forgot to mention another benefit of this will be towing in with straps. Might have to put my straps back on and try this again soon.
Cool thanks for sharing the screens, I suppose itās a useful way to park the wing, wherever that might be useful! Interested to try it out
Apparently the anchor man can go in any wind, as long as you use a wing in the wind range itās designed forā¦and not go to the upper limits.
I have no doubt about this working in higher winds, itās more about motivation. In stronger winds I ride a smaller wing and flagging is not an issue. So less motion to drop. But that may change as I get more and more hooked on riding without the wing.
Update on holdability of the anchorman. I took out my 5M OR glide on a nice 2.5 knt ebb tide into a 15-20mph wind (4M was out of commission) in the middle of a big river choke point.
One long tack across the river with the current helping and I downwinged a nice long multi bump connection and decided Iād ditch the wing next go. I had a friend down wind from me in case it didnāt hold.
Well I linked into a nice set of bumps and ditched the 5M and proceeded to cruise off down the bumps. I wanted to keep tabs on the wing so I glanced back up when I heard a bunch of flopping sounds and i see the wing was going end over end, with the anchor somehow stuck up in behind the LE and canopy. I quickly pumped back up wind and circled in on the wing perfectly before it was off to the races.
Glad I caught it! I think I must have botched the anchor deployment, or the poor behavior of the wing on a longer leash in slightly overpowered conditions was the cause. Iām guessing the anchor would have come loose and eventually deployed, but I wasnāt trying to find out how long that would take. I might add a fishing weight or two into the rear of the chute lol.
Thatās good to know, hence my initial question above. I wondered about adding a weight also to make sure it stays in the water. Unlike boats and canoes, wings can fly!
Trying to picture how that would happen with the simple anchor I am using. Certainly seems more likely for things to go wrong in the higher winds. Glad you were able to secure it.
I will add I did have some excitement the first day I tried the anchor on the river. I attached the wing via a carabiner to a ring on the leash that I thought was secure, it was not. On the third deployment the ring popped off and the wing started tumbling. I was able to paddle after it and catch it but it was not fun. So definitely make sure your leash is secure. And be sure the anchor will deploy. Sort of like inspecting your parachute.
Now I just Velcro my leash around the anchor straps just as you would attach it to your wrist.
I think your 24ā anchor should be solid. Iām guessing my higher dihedral OR glide started oscillating right as I let it go and didnāt give the smaller anchorman a chance to take hold.
Next time i will try and let the leash and anchor drag a bit before releasing.
I donāt think it would have happened if I was on my 4M, would would have been plenty considering I was on my most efficient setup (dw board and 1325HA foil).
I just had a prone session where a wing would have been more fun, and it was small and offshore, anchoring the wing at the back and rotating between a few people to get onto sets would have been fun. Going to look into this 
I was inspired by you wing droppers and had a go today at it. It worked swimmingly and was super fun! Canāt wait to find all the applications of this $18 add on. This is the next step of my DW training. Sendit!!!
