#14
WINGFOIL :
THE FIRST
MOVES/TRICKS
To turn round and head off in the opposite direction, there are two possibilities: jibing, or tacking. By far the easier for beginners, the jibe is a downwind turn with most of your foot pressure on your toes. More technical, and therefore better to learn when you’re more experienced, tacking is an upwind turn made with most of the pressure on your heels. Here are our top tips for making your first U-turns.
ACCESSIBLE MANOEUVRING
Jibing is the simplest manœuvre you can make to change direction. You need to have good forward speed and be positive in your movements, but by far the trickiest part is the moment that you have to reverse your foot positions at the end of your turn. In wingfoil, the jibe is the most basic turn, you should definitely learn this before you try the more technical tacking move.
The best conditions for learning are flat water, in a moderate wind, on a board with reasonable volume, with a wing not too big, around 5.0 m2, and a foil that has good lift and manoeuvrability. Our Tahe Aquilon foils have the perfect profile to help you learn to jibe.
HOW TO MAKE A JIBE?
Increase your speed by keeping your wing well powered up before you try to start the turn. Start looking already at the wide curve you are going to make. When you’re going fast enough, lean forwards on your toes to cause the board/foil to make the downwind turn, also turning your head and shoulders towards the curve and the new direction you want to take.
At this moment you can release the power in your wing, holding it in one hand by the leading edge handle, or the control handle nearest the leading edge, and use your own inertia to drive you through the rest of the turn.
As soon as your board has passed the axis point of the wind direction, grab the front control handle with your « new » front hand and move the other hand to the second handle, maintaining toe pressure on your board all the way through to keep the foil/board flying.
At this point you’ll find yourself riding leaning slightly forwards, with your foot positions reversed and most of the pressure on your toes (called “switch” or “toe-side”). Now you can power up the wing again to help you balance, and set off in the opposite direction.
The next phase, changing your foot positions, is another story and quite delicate, that’s for later. For now you can spend some time learning to ride “switch”!
FIRST TACKING
A combination of very good forward speed and timing are required to execute an upwind turn, with pressure on your heels and facing into the wind/upwind. The big advantage of this over the jibe is that it’s quite a fast move, and you lose no distance downwind because the turn is much tighter and upwind.
To get into the move correctly, power your wing up hard, then launch the turn manoeuvre by forcing hard down with your heels. If you keep your knees flexed and your centre of gravity low you should have sufficient speed to get you face on to the wind direction.
As soon as you’re facing the wind, quickly swing your body/weight forwards on the board to keep it flat/horizontal to the water to avoid descending back to the water surface.
At the same time, swing your torso round 90 degrees so your head and shoulders are pointing towards the inside of the turn you are making, and with your front hand steer your wing above your head and face on to the wind. With enough entry speed and enough height above the water before you start, the board/foil should drive all the way through the turn.
Once you have passed the wind direction axis point, still with foot pressure on your heels, release your rear hand and bring the wing face on to the wind with your front hand. This is where the timing is critical, at this point your old « rear » hand has to come and take over the front control handle, nudging the other hand backwards to the rear control handle.
Then you need to quickly power up your wing again and change your foot pressure to “toe-side” to be able to set off in the opposite direction. All the way through the turn keep your head and eyes turned in the direction of the turn and the new line you will be steering.
LOOKING FOR A BOARD?
Discover the Aria boards, designed to offer
new riders with new sensations of pleasure and a great margin and a lot of room for improvement.
...OR A WING?
Like the warm and steady winds that blow through the tropics, Alizé wings are stable and light. Guaranteed take-off!
...OR A FOIL?
Aquilon foils are the perfect combination for learning to "fly"!
One foil, two sizes, designed to help you learn with style and progress quickly.