August 23rd: Wing board (4.0m2 + wind all-round board)

Today's lesson was at the beach.
Looking up at the sky, the wind was still weak as usual.
I couldn't help but laugh, thinking, "Again...".
But today is different.
For the first time, I'm going out to sea "without a rope," using only my own power.

The wind on the beach is gentle, but there aren't rough swells like offshore last week.
Thanks to that, I can stand firmly on the board.
I lift the Wing, let it catch the wind —
it moves forward, slowly but surely.
Even if the speed was slow, I definitely had the sensation that "I was moving with the wind."
It's a completely different world from that hopeless offshore experience last week.

Going out to sea little by little, I try a Jibe (change of direction).
Keeping the wind, I flip the Wing, change my footing, and return to the sandy beach.
Then, I realize I've drifted further downwind than I expected.
I walk back upwind about 20-30 meters in the shallows,
and set off towards the sea again—.
That repetition was today's rhythm.

Even with weak wind, the sea was calm,
and the commotion in my heart gradually settled down.
I sank a few times during turns,
but that didn't scare me anymore.
There was a sense of calm, as if I was conversing with the wind on the board.

Last week, I thought, "Maybe I should just quit."
But today, I can laugh with joy.
Moving forward at my own pace,
I never thought it would make me this happy.

In Windsurfing, you learn to tack first,
but in Wingfoiling, Jibe comes first—this difference is also interesting.

Last week, when I went out to sea on the board to practice, I encountered a Portuguese man o' war. There was a warning sign at the information center. It was a dangerous situation.