“WindFoiling is literally the most fun you can have on the water”, says windsurf trainer Sam Ross – and thanks to the RYA it’s now open to anyone, not just the pros! The RYA tell us more.

Words & Photos  RYA

TIME TO FLY?
Unless you’ve been in hiding, you’ll have noticed the emergence of Hydrofoils! Not just in windsurfing, but on almost every type of watercraft going. Only a few years ago foiling might have seemed like a novelty or a sideshow for windsurfing professionals, but now it is firmly cementing itself as the fastest growing area of windsurfing we’ve seen in years. Its appeal reaches all the way across the existing disciplines of the sport. We see racers on foils, freestyle beginning on foils and now the biggest area of growth is freeride. Foiling has taken windsurfing to another level. It’s another way to discover the sport. And the good news is that the kit, locations and even instructors are now in place to help a wider range of windsurfers take flight.

THAT FLYING FEELING
Quantifying a sensation is always difficult, but feedback from those taking their first flights has the same recurring themes. Most liken the feeling as similar to when they first planed in footstraps. Without the surface impact the obvious and best way to describe the sensation is ‘flying’. Foiling instructor David Horan said, ‘One of the best bits of foiling is that moment when you first take off and it’s silent as you glide over the water. That quietness makes it different from normal windsurfing; it’s more peaceful and calm.’ Foiling instructor Declan Davies agreed, ‘Learning is pretty mind blowing. How the foil works is crazy – it felt unbelievable, like I was Maverick from Top Gun!’

IS IT FOR ME?
If you can blast in the footstraps, you can learn to WindFoil. A good intermediate who can plane, adjust stance to the conditions and make effective use of the footstraps has all the key skills to be able to replicate that on a foil. Initially as kit was developing the only suitable boards to WindFoil on were slalom and formula boards. This was because they were wide enough to fit a deep tuttle fin box while also allowing you control over the foil. This made WindFoiling more difficult to access, as blasting up and down on a freeride board may not be quite as technical as getting into the footstraps on a full on slalom board with very outboard footstraps.

As demand increased, the range of boards available has caught up. The right setup for getting your first flights in is now well within the reach of the intermediate windsurfer. There is now a wide range of options for a huge range of windsurfers. The foil itself produces lift and drive in much less wind than you’d normally need for windsurfing. This assists windsurfers in two ways, by opening up the lower wind speeds we can foil in, but also reduces the range of sails you might need to get on the water. When you first learn, taking a sail size similar to what you’d normally use in the conditions helps you get a feel more quickly. But after these first flights you are soon able to reduce your sail size in the same conditions.

As a rough guide you can most likely foil on a sail two sizes smaller than one you’d normally use for conventional windsurfing. So in normal 7.5 weather you could get up on the foil on a 5.7. For many windsurfers who only have smaller sails, adding a foil to their quiver could add 10-15 knots wind range to the conditions. For those with larger sails this can push all the way down to 6 knots without having to go much bigger than an 8m sail.

HOW DO I LEARN?
The RYA has integrated foiling into its Dinghy and Windsurfing Schemes. The three RYA courses – ‘First Flights’, ‘Sustained Flights’ and ‘Performance Flights’, will initially be run as pilot courses and are designed to provide a structure for those looking to learn, progress or enhance their skills. RYA Chief Instructor for Dinghy and Windsurfing, Amanda Van Santen, is the instigator behind the courses, having spotted a need for foiling to become more accessible to mainstream sailing. She said, “It was my aspiration to make foiling more accessible and through our RYA Training Centres delivering safe tuition, I believe we are perfectly placed to do this. Our network of participating centres, who have invested in specific equipment, provide an easier and more accessible route through correctly set up kit and trained instructors in a safe environment. In as little as two hours you may have potentially experienced your first foiling takeoff.”

WHAT’S INVOLVED?
Windsurfers will need to be of an Intermediate level to get started. ‘First Flights’ focuses on that initial flight. “Then it’s about how to keep a level board once airborn,” explained Amanda. “From there the aim is to help you get Sustained flight, feeling comfortable with a good stance for foiling, cruising back and forward maintaining distance above the water, controlling your ride height. Those looking to move beyond this can take it to ‘Performance flights’, where you start to unlock skills such as foiling into tacks and foiling gybes. Instructors delivering the scheme have spent time on a huge range of foils and boards in a wide range of conditions meaning that they are best positioned to help any aspiring foiler and then advise on kit and how to continue.”

WHERE CAN I LEARN?
RYA centres running the windsurfing pilot courses in the UK and abroad include: Mark Warner, Neilson, Ocean Elements, Club Vass, Minorca Sailing, Rutland Watersports, Queen Mary, Bray Lake and Alton Water, with more being confirmed as we go to press. More established and dedicated windsurfing foiling centres, such as the OTC in Weymouth, can also provide a wider range of equipment and more advanced tuition. To find out more about RYA Foiling courses, visit www.rya.org.uk/go/windfoil. To find a windsurfing foiling centre near you, visit www.rya.org.uk/go/wheresmynearest.