Jan 24 – So close… then chaos (light wind → full power)
viva-wingfoilJanuary 24th.
It was supposed to be a wing foil lesson day.
The forecast was kind of extreme:
- Morning: 3–4 m/s
- Afternoon: 8–9 m/s (and possibly stronger)
Honestly, 8–9 m/s is way too much for my level. That’s full overpowered territory.
But if it gradually built from light wind, there might be a perfect window in between.
My instructor suggested,
“Let’s go early.”
So we started at 9 AM.
And in my head:
“Today might finally be the day I foil.”
I was genuinely excited.
But… no wind
I rigged up my 5.0m wing—my go-to size.
“This should work in the morning wind.”
I got out on the water… and immediately realized:
It’s weak. Really weak.
No real pull.
The wing just felt heavy.
No drive, just holding it up with my arms.
Honestly, light wind winging is more tiring than windsurfing.
You don’t move, but you still burn energy.
“Yeah… this might be a tough day.”
Then… brief magic
Not completely dead though.
Every now and then, a gust (around 4 m/s) would hit—and everything changed.
Suddenly:
- The board accelerates
- The wing feels light
- You can go upwind
- It actually feels fun
In those moments, my instructor said:
“Try bearing off, build speed, and go for foiling.”
He basically told me:
You’re ready to start trying to fly.
And that hit me.
“Six months… I finally got here.”
Foiling attempts
The plan was simple:
- Go upwind first (build position)
- Turn downwind
- Build speed
- Pump to lift
Makes perfect sense.
You need that “upwind savings” before spending it downwind.
So I waited for a gust.
Boom—bear off, accelerate, pump.
Pump. Pump.
“Come on… lift…”
I felt it.
The board got lighter.
The foil started to engage.
“Almost!”
But not quite.
Two attempts. Both ended in falls.
Then the wind died again.
And then… too much wind
I took a break.
Then the wind came back.
“Alright, let’s go again.”
Back on the water.
And this time—
Way too much.
The light wind from before? Gone.
Now it’s blasting. Probably close to 10 m/s.
Whitecaps everywhere.
Completely different ocean.
At this point:
- The wing is pulling too hard
- The board is bouncing
- Zero control
“This is not happening.”
This was clearly expert-level conditions.
Survival mode
In the end, I couldn’t even ride standing anymore.
So I sat on the board and slowly made my way back.
Kind of a “cheat move”—but actually one big advantage of wing foiling:
you can still move even sitting down.
Carefully managing the wing, bleeding off power, drifting back to shore.
“Made it…”
Honestly, I was relieved.
Frustration… and progress
Part of me thought:
“Maybe I should switch to a smaller wing and go again…”
But my instructor stopped me.
“Let’s call it.”
He was right. No reason to push it in those conditions.
Still… I really wanted today to be the day.
“First successful foil.”
I came in with that mindset, so yeah—it was frustrating.
But at the same time:
- My wing control has clearly improved
- I’ve officially started the foiling phase
- I’ve felt the lift
That’s real progress.
Almost there
I left with one clear thought:
“I’m really close.”
That feeling wasn’t vague anymore—it was real.
Nature doesn’t always cooperate.
But that’s exactly what makes it fun.
Next time, I want to fully lift…
and stay up.
A frustrating day—but also a big step forward.
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