Wingfoil wing drop with drift anchor

Yeeeeew! Nice one. Stoked to see others getting in on the fun. Cool spot, looks a little coldđŸ„¶

That looks fun! Excellent video! now I can visualize it

Just saw wingsurf worlds YouTube review of the Cloud IX Anchorman. Slick system for deployment but that anchor looks undersized to me. The wing drifted noticeably faster then I am used to and in the video it did not even deploy properly on the first drop. Personally prefer my 24in Amazon sea anchor. I have never had a failed deployment and it drifts very slowly. Plus it was $20. Hate to say it because their ad is part of what inspired me to try this. But it seems over priced and undersized.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CRxvl4Hlkm9/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I started doing this in the gorge summer of 21 and it worked extremely well. Gorge winds are hectic so I attached a bag of buck shot to the bottom on the drift anchor to ensure the wind didn’t lift it off before filling with water. After doing this I never had to swim after my wing again.

The clip is a bit long but if you fast forward you’ll see the little pouch of buckshot when I retrieve the wing and get riding again.

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The OG wing drop!
:raised_hands:

So far I have not had an issue with my anchor engaging, but Gorge winds are a totally different game then our light wind conditions in Florida.

Looking forward to doing a tandem down winder passing the wing off with a fellow rider. Then each rider can go as far as they want without worrying about the paddle back upwind.

Like that this idea is spreading

James Casey thoughts on it here, video coming soon

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I used to live there but moved to Florida shortly after that video then started proning and haven’t winged since.

I’m busy building a dw board to get into that but maybe there’s some opportunity to tie some wing dropping in too again. Still got the rig I used.

Regarding the buckshot. I tried without it for a while and it worked fine until 1 time it didn’t. Gust picked it up before anchor could set and it blew way downwind past me and I had no chance of getting it back, fortunately a kiter buddy went after it and retrieved it. That’s when I came up with buckshot idea and had no problems in the gnarliest winds. I would just hold the bag of buckshot in my hand along with with the wing handle and it wouldn’t bother having the leash attached to me. If I fell or whatever the anchor did it’s job.

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I think FreeFoil and Kyle Maligro will have to hash out who done it first! Kyle called it the drop wallet, but I think he used some sort of weight and no chute. I think he said first attempt it didn’t hold and a kiter who went for his wing almost got taken out by a 2 lb weight whipping around. Source: podcast ages ago.

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True, this idea has been around but I think most have written it off as to risky. The weight idea never really seemed viable to me, more of a liability. The drift anchor makes this easy to use and more accessible. Really think this could take off, especially in light wind conditions where flagging is difficult.

I started thinking of doing it end of 2020 but the water and conditions were too cold in the gorge to get risky. I wanted to get rid of the wing and be free to really ride swells untethered. Next season the idea came back to me and first tried with a bag of buckshot only. Took one gust to catch under the leading edge in the chop and my wing was tumble weeding downwind. If you see Kyle’s video he is using the the calm water in the counter current that runs inshore at the hatchery to drop his wing. I am sure this is part of the reason why using only a weight worked for him. Once the wing is in the white caps, wind wants get under the LE as it goes over the crests.

So I went home a little defeated but my background in sailing led me to the idea to use the sea anchor to keep it locked down and boom, never had a lift off again. After a few weeks, a buddy let me use his gp to record that footage.

Its funny, once I got it dialled my buddies were intrigued but thought it was kinda novelty and weren’t keen to give it a try but I didn’t want to ride any other way. One of the arguments against it was the time you spent not riding but I just relaxed and caught my breath while the wing slowly drifted back, was a nice break for the limbs too, kinda like proning.

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I feel like flipping the wing over before dropping it would improve the security of the anchor. Due to the dihedral, most wings flap much more aggressively when the handles are on the water vs facing up (hence why many designs naturally flip over).

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My Javelin flops both ways back and forth. The only freaky part of it is approaching it as the boom flys up and slaps down. I think soft handle wings are the ticket for this niche because they aren’t going to impale me on approach. I’m not sure if its easier to scrunch up the anchor around a soft handle or boom. I will try and report back. over

Interesting idea, only issue is flipping it over all the time might get annoying after a while.

Would be cool to test it that way tho.

I was going to report back this very tip! Today I was out on my 7M with the anchorman in very light, but gusty conditions with my new MA1750 Armie foil. I started flipping it over while riding before ditching and it worked great for that wing.

If the wing is likely to flip back over, that’s fine, as the time spent upside down will increase the successful deployment chances. My previous failure was caused by the wing flipping end over end, not allowing time for the anchor to deploy.

Just had a new application idea: Freestyle airs with a ditch just before the send. I have been wanting a way to work on spins and maybe even flips without the threat of putting my foil through the wing. Hell yes fellas. Sendit

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Oh yeah! James Casey gets it.

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Canary Islands, Spain

Downwind paradise

Wing sharing is love

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cq2boFHIkbQ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

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I saw three guys on prone boards sharing one wing on a downwinder in La Ventana this winter, super inspiring!

Will be making an anchor this week. Hoping to figure something out that will deploy reliably while still letting the wing move downwind fairly quick - as long as it’s not faster than I can paddle after it!

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I would recommend just get the smallest drift anchor on Amazon for downwinding. This is certainly not new technology. I attach it to my leash, fold it up and stuff it under my rash guard. I might get a smaller one myself for dw use. My 24in anchor drifts really slowly which is great for onshore days, but not great for a solo dw run.

Had another fun session yesterday, biggest day yet with chest to head high sets and onshore wind. Had enough to flag but was still more fun to drop. Long connections all the way inside. Definitely lowers your wave count but it’s so worth it to me. It’s a different mind set, like deciding I am going on a tow session vs wing session. And you can always switch back to flagging when you want to up your foil time.

As for right side up vs flipping before the toss I have found I prefer not to flip it. One less thing to do after. paddeling back to the wing and it does not seem to affect the drift either way.

Stoked to see this catching on. Wish I had tried it sooner.

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Ive used the anchorman several times now and its really fun. Great for “tow ins” and pump practice. Im prone curious, and it feels like this is a good introduction.

I have not had the anchor pull out once, regardless of how I drop it or how much wind its in. First few drops felt sketchy, but it just works. I previously thought that flipping the wing over prior to dropping it might make it more stable, but I haven’t found that to be the case. When the wing flips over I find it becomes more erratic and sometimes pulls upwards. Hasn’t pulled out yet, but it just looks a bit more nervous.

At first I was a bit frustrated that the anchor seemed proprietary to the waist belt it came with, but I found ways around that and now I’ve set it up to be compatible with all of my harnesses and belts. All you need is a loop somewhere on your harness, and the quick release will hook into it without any issues. The anchor doesn’t stash away as nicely, but you can always tuck it into a pocket.

Pretty fun tool to diversify a session.

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