What is wingfoiling?

Combine Windsurfing and Kitesurfing, then add a hydrofoil and you’re getting close.

Described in a nutshell

The rider is standing on a board that is similar to a windsurfing or surfboard. This board has a hydrofoil attached to the bottom of the board.  They then use an inflatable ‘Wing’ which is similar to a kitesurfing kite, although the wing is smaller and doesn’t have any lines. 

When the rider holds the wing in the right way, they can ‘catch’ the wind and use this power to propel themselves forward on the board. When the board starts to move forward, the hydrofoil underneath begins to give lift. 

Hey presto, the rider is now a Wingfoiler!

The components for wingfoiling 

Depending on who you speak to, some say Wingfoiling has less components and is a more simplified sport. Others disagree. So how about we describe these below and you can make up your mind.

Lets start with…

1. The Wingfoil board. 

Wingfoiling is a relatively new water sport and the trend in board design has changed over the past 12-24 months. But we’ll keep to the basics here. A board comprises of a foam centre which is reinforce through either fibreglass or carbon fibre. There is also some PVC or Divinycell foam used in certrain areas of the board for aditional strength and to help with impacts. These boards are then laminated using an epoxy resin. This is the outerlayer that makes the board strong, waterproof and helps reduce impact damage.

Depending on the design of the board, you’re likely to have some sort of deck pads. These are foam pads that give comfort and grip for the rider. The grip helps to maintain your stance when riding and the comfort is for when you’re having to get back on the board following the expected falls within a session.

Now for the bottom of the board, where the magic happens. Here we have have some underneath foil mounts. This is where we can attach the hydrofoil and what really destinguishes the board from a normal windsurf or surfboard. These reinforced areas need to be designed in a way to take the full force of hydrofoil weight and leverage.

Most boards manufactured at the moment use a standadised T section bolt system. This is useful for when having to use different brands of foils and boards.

The hydrofoil itself is an amazing bit of engineering and there are many different brands fighting it out to make more advanced foil designs. We wont go into detail here, but when you’re looking to learn, it’s all about lift and stability. You will get this by having a nice big front foil, a decent length fuselage and good stable rear stabiliser. You want the foil to lift you up early on with less need for speed and then when you are up on the foil, you’ll want it to be nice and stable so you can be comfortable and confident when raised above the water.

Finally we have the board leash. This is very important as it’s what keeps the rider and the board together for when you fall. There are a few types of leashes on the market at the moment, from waist leashes to more convertional leg leashes.  But whatever you choose, it’s important you buy one that is designed and safety tested for wingfoiling.

So we now understand a bit more about the board and the leash, now onto…

2. The Wingfoil Wing 

The Wing is an inflatable structure that is made from similar materials and has a similar design to a kitesurfing kit. But the shape is different and there are no lines attached. The rider is connected through holding on via the handles underneath the wing.

The canopy of the wing is made from a ripstop nylon or polyester material, which is similar to kitesurfing kites. These fabrics are chosen due to their lightweight, durable and tear resistant qualities. Where further reinforcement is needed, a material call Dacron is used, such as around the leading edge and for the struts of the wing.

The wing’s structure is formed through pumping up both the leading edge and the struts. This is similar to a kitesurfing kite. Once pumped up, the wing becomes rigid and takes the shape of a wing – think batman.

Underneath the wing, there are currently two types of design for holding onto the wing. You can either have handles, or a boom. The choice of which you go for can very much be personal preference. We’ve heard and seen that sometimes windsurfers prefer the boom as this is more familiar. We have also heard that sometime beginners prefer the handles as it gives clearer indication on where to place your hands. But we’d recommend trying both options and see which you prefer. You may also find depending on your progression, you might find at some point you could change. There is no right or wrong choice.

Finally, some wings come with windows and some don’t. The benefit of a wing with windows when learning is you can look through the window to see who might be downwind of you. But as you progress this can be done through lifting the wing up – which normally will give you greater views downwind. The disadvantage of windows are they can add a small amount of weight and can be slightly fiddly when packing your wing away. But neither are big advantages, so again, these decisions will come down to personal preference. We recommend try both window and windowless wings to see what you prefer.

So hopefully you now have a better understanding of the kit you might be using. We can now look into how it all works.

3. How to handle the wing.

The wing is what will give you the power and aid in steering when wingfoiling. Think of a wing as similar to the sail for windsurfing or sailing. By holding the wing up in the right orientation, you are catching the wind. Depending on how you angle the wing, you can either catch and hold more or less of the wind. The angle of the wing is mainly controlled by how much you pull in on your back hand. When learning to wingfoil, it is wise to spend a bit of time on land, getting comfortable with handling the wing and seeing how you can power it up and easily de-power. This is one of the great safety benefits of wingfoiling compared to kitesurfing. You can very easily de-power the wing, which gives great confidence when out on the water if you feel you’re overpowered.

4. Riding a Wingfoil board.

When learning to wingfoil, you will have 3 distinct phases of riding your board.  1st phase is not being on the board at all and floating in the water. This either means your about to start your session, or you have fallen off. Either way, the most important thing is to be calm, composed and smile. The other thing to think about is you have a big hydrofoil below you, so try to keep your feet slightly away from directly under your board. And beginners tip, always start learning with booties. They can help protect your feet.

2nd phase of riding your board is in what we call the ‘taxi’ mode. This is where you are moving along the water, but you haven’t yet gained enough speed to be lifted off the water from the hydrofoil. For beginners, this is a good phase to be in when starting to learn and understanding how to use the wing to generate propulsion.

The 3rd phase is the most exciting and why we all want to learn to wingfoil. We call it, the ‘flying’ mode. This is where you have generated enough speed and you come out of taxi mode and the hydrofoil starts to generate enough lift to raise the board off the water. Think about how a plane takes off the runway. Similar concept. As a beginner, you may or may not get to this within you first lesson. But once you do get to experience your first few short flights, the experience you feel is indescribable. You will probably only experience these initial flights for a short period at first, but once you start to find your balance, there will be a point where you will be flying around with a huge grin and wind in your hair. Welcome to joy of WINGFOILING!

If you would like to know more about this brilliant new sport, our sister content hub wewingfoil.com has a range of wingfoil learning guides.