You may never have come across a wind foil (or foil at all) on the water, but this discipline has been around longer than you think. Foils have been experimented with since the early 1980s. However, since 2017, the major windsurfing brands have seriously invested in the development of windfoils, which are now on the market. This acceleration in development is linked to the general trend in water sports to use foils (wingfoil, sup foil). This has even led to the adoption of windfoiling as an Olympic discipline for the 2024 Olympics (just like kitesurfing, by the way).
This sport can be practised as a freeride tour, or in the fastest mode on the water!
Like windsurfing, wind foiling is a practice derived from windsurfing that emphasizes navigation in flight. Thanks to the reduced drag and lift generated by the foil, the sensation of gliding is multiplied tenfold! It’s a real revolution in the world of water sports. In fact, windfoils can also be used in low-wind areas such as lakes, opening up the low range of windsurfing. In fact, wind foils can be flown and glided at speeds of up to 8 knots. In addition to new gliding sensations, it’s a discipline that requires less physical effort than windsurfing, provided you master it. Offering greater lightness, it’s ideal for beginners to the world of windsurfing, or simply for those who want to fly…
For windfoil beginners, it’s best to start with a light wind of no more than 15 knots. Once you’ve mastered the art of falling, it’s best to move away from the other participants. You don’t have to let go of your equipment when you fall. In fact, it’s essential to go with it to avoid bumping into the foil.
Idéalement, évitez aussi de sortir sur un spot quand vous débutez avec trop de vagues…
The longitudinal position allows the pilot to easily control the incidence of the foil. To be able to fly above the water, it’s important to find the right balance according to the foil’s center of thrust. Dedicated wind foil boards are the best choice for comfort. They also make it easy to perform on different spots.
Standing upright is necessary for both funboarding and windsurfing. However, when wind foiling, it’s even more important to stand upright than when funboarding. What’s more, your feet must be flat on the board. Once you’re airborne, you’ll be able to look for heel. Similarly, when you’re a beginner, it’s not necessarily necessary to put your back foot in the strap.
To make your wind foil debut easier, we recommend choosing a long float, which will allow you to recover from leverage faults and, in particular, reduce the angle when touching down. The wider the board at the stern, the more power you can generate on the foil. This ensures great stability during the take-off phase and an ideal return torque when sailing. Experienced windsurfers can opt for more compact boards with smaller sail area to reduce drag and improve foil wind surfing performance. It’s also possible to choose a windfoil board that allows both fin and foil surfing.
Before plunging into the world of windfoils, it’s essential to opt for a high-performance, upgradeable foil. It will enable you to upgrade your front wings and stabilizers while keeping a single mast and fuselage. The mast + fuselage combination is also known as TBAR. It generally fits most boards and delivers excellent performance. So it’s important to have a reliable, sturdy foil right from the start. Similarly, your choice of front wing will depend on your size. The larger the front wing, the earlier you can take off. However, a large front wing is also more limiting in terms of top speed. Smaller wings allow you to go faster.
Les prix publics vont varier en fonction du choix des matériaux. Un foil aluminium sera par exemple moins cher qu’un foil carbone mais moins performant et durable. De la même façon, certaines marques vont fabriquées leurs foils en France, d’autres en Asie.
Pour apprendre le windfoil et bien choisir un quiver facile, nous vous conseillons d’échanger directement avec la marque ou encore un magasin pour connaitre les différentes possibilités par rapport à votre besoin.
Some love them, some hate them: here are a few advantages and disadvantages of sails with or without cambers.
A lighter boat will tend to position itself further forward on the foil. A heavier template will tend to be positioned further back. For example, on an AHD compact foil, we have four positions. For a size like mine, weighing around 80 kilos, we recommend positioning the foil on the third hole, from the rear, slightly forward. After that, it all depends on the stance you’re used to.
On slalom foil, speed or sessions where the aim is to make maximum speed, we use harness ends of up to 40 cm. This allows you to hang on to the sail completely, with strong support on the front foot and mast step. This harness end length works well if you also start out “on canvas”. A long harness end will give you a lot of control (but be careful of your back…).
For windfoil sailing, we recommend advancing the harness lines to the forward position. This is because the sail has rather moderate tension on the tack. We tend to pull the sheet tightly to eliminate the hollow at the rear of the sail. The harness ends are therefore brought forward, closer to the forehand than to the aft hand, so as to be able to sail slightly open should an “uncontrolled” gust of wind come through. The risk of having the harness ends too far back is that, at the slightest gust of wind, you’ll be blown out…
If you still want to go faster in windfoil, here’s a replay of a live session where we go into detail on a number of subjects.
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