By now I’ve been on it for a few hundred flying hours and I’m still bouncing to wind foil. I’ve been windsurfing since I was 10 years old (so for over 36 years!), I’ve never stopped. Not for study, not for the girls and not for work. But ever since in windfoil, it looks like I just want to go out more :). I sometimes say, “Since I windfoil, I’ve become addicted to windsurfing again.”” With a good glass of wine, I thought, what makes me so addicted to the wind foiling? With this blog I try to put my thoughts on the digital paper.
I believe I can fly!
We humans have something to fly. For centuries, it has been a deeply rooted desire of humanity to fly. In 1783 the hot air balloon was invented and we still try to do wingsuits as if we were a bird. The wind foiling also gives a feeling of being able to fly. Your board comes loose from the water, it’s almost quiet around you and you can determine the height of flying yourself (to some extent). In addition, the speed in low winds is relatively high. You balance in the air. All this makes you feel like you can fly. And as a result, wind foiling is no longer comparable to windsurfing.
Invariably, our students experience this sensation when they come out of the water for the first time. Just like a plane comes loose from the ground upon takeoff.
New dimension makes more possible
One of the strong strengths of wind foiling is that with very little wind you can have a lot of fun. That gives a sense of freedom. Think about it. You live right by a small lake. Often just too little wind or gusty and often difficult to come back. With a wind foil, you can muc more sessions a year. It is also easier to fly through wind dips, without standing in the water until your armpits.
Another strong asset of the wind foil is that you go upwind very easily and that you can also get much deeper down wind compared to a regular surfboard. So you can do some ‘trips’ around the lake. With us in Gooimeer lie in front of the Dutch bridge 2 islands. On my surfboard it was almost impossible to do to go around these islands. Now it is a piece of cake and also very nice to be able to use the entire Gooimeer. As a result, it has become much more varied than just back and forth to surf all day.
Relaxer than just windsurfing
Oh yes? Well for most people not when they learn. But once you’ve mastered the wind foiling, it’s much more relaxed than windsurfing. You foil with smaller sails, so you don’t have to drag on your sail like that.
The trend we are seeing now is that you’re going to be on a board with no foot tires and without a harness. Lovely in the swimsuit in the summer on the Costa!
Learning something new is always fun
Windsurfing has been evaluated since the beginning, with the principle always proved to be the same. Always a board on or through the water with a sail that propels you. Of course, it has all improved, lighter and faster in the last 40 years, but the principle is unchanged. With wind foils you actually learn something completely new. Yes it is still a boad with a sail, but it requires a completely different technique. Things that have become so common with windsurfing work with wind foils no more or 180 degrees differently.
If I learned something from the dozens of students last year, people like to learn something new. And yes for about 90% of students, this is exciting. Almost everyone started with healthy tension to get off the water with a thick fat grin. Yes, even the most subdued people were suddenly talking about their first ‘flying experience’.
