I am recovering from a significant wrist injury that has kept me out of the water for too long (over one of the best Summers in Paraparaumu for a while). So I was busting to break out the Wing and have some Fun!
Equipment: Naish Wing (original 4m), Mistral Surf SUP 135L
Location: Waikanae Beach
Wind: Approx 9-12kts SW
Waikanae is familiar ground from Kiting and SW wind is a great direction to learn water sports there as there is less swell and surf. In saying that it was a little choppy.
The Set up for Wing Foiling is so easy. Pump up the wing (so quick) and you are done. It has been so warm so board shorts and a rash top was all I needed. As well as buoyancy vest, helmet and sunglasses.
Leash on wrist to Wing and another Leash from Ankle to board. (2 leashes can get a little frustrating but you quickly get used to it)
No foil at this stage. We didn't have one and I was keen to just practice the Wing control on a standard SUP board. We chose the Mistral as it is a small board that is easy to manoeuvre.
My totally Amazing partner was happy to carry the board into the water while I controlled the wing. (I will be doing this myself very soon). Start Standing on the Upwind side of the board and Wing Downwind. ( I had watched the Robbie Naish video a few times so felt a little prepared). Start kneeling on the board and taxi along controlling the wing. The wind was good and I started moving straight away. The biggest problem I found with kneeling was the front tip of the wing wanted to bury in the water. We had seen in a video that pushing down and forwards with the bottom hand on the wing helps lift the front tip. But the best way to combat this problem is to try and get standing. After a couple of knee runs I managed to do this! Yay. So pleased to be standing and driving the SUP with the Wing. Step one achieved. Of course I ran off the wind and didn't manage to get upwind so there was a fair bit of walking back up the beach but I was happy.
Sorry about the Cheesy photo! I was too excited to get any photos at the time so this was an after thought. But I find stories are far more interesting with pictures.
