Flying into the Future

Light wind Foiling.
photo: Slingshot Sports

It is scary stuff. It is fun when you are high. You crash really hard. One hit, and you want more!
NO......, I'm not talking about illegal drugs. I am talking about foiling. Specifically, Windsurf Foiling.
From America's Cup boats, to surfboards, to wakeboards, kiteboards, and windsurfers, foiling and foils are becoming more and more prevalent on many types of watercraft.
For those unfamiliar, foils are a wing or a set of wings attached under the boat or the board. Very much like an airplane wing, as the foil moves forward through the water, it generates lift, in turn flying the hull or board up out of the water.  Once up on foil, the drag goes away and both speed and apparent wind increase resulting in even more speed.

Slingshot Windsurf Foil

With the exception of light wind windsurfing which I discussed  my last article, "Back to the Future", windsurfing has always been about speed. In order to go fast you either A: need to live in a windy area, or B: use large, hard to handle sails, and specialized boards. While extremely exciting, holding on to the sail for dear life is hard and hard on the body. 
Foil windsurfing on the other hand is easy on the body. Once you learn to pump the foil up, you can use a much smaller sail in the same amount of wind, than on a conventional board and still find yourself flying across the water. The key word is flying. You are no longer slapping and pounding on the water and beating up your body. Also, once up on foil the drag goes away and the rig isn't trying to yank your arms out of their sockets, just a light grip on the boom is all you need. When you are up on foil, everything gets so smooth and quiet, it is the closest feeling I've ever had to snowboarding in powder.  It is an amazing sensation.
Can someone without windsurfing or sailing experience learn to Windsurf Foil? The jury is still out on this one, but I think the answer is yes. With a floaty enough board, the foil works like a keel helping to stabilize the board, which in turn makes it easy to stand on the board and pull the sail out of the water, a technique called uphauling. In non-foiling conditions, the foil, once again works like a keel, to help the board track well, making it possible to learn to sail back and forth before getting up on foil. Obviously some windsurfing or sailing experience is a bonus. Whether cruising on a Windsurfer LT or flying across the water on a foil, there has never been a better time to be a windsurfer. 
Who is ready to Fly into the Future
Warning! Just like the illegal stuff , foiling is extremely addictive. It may cause you to skip work, and make irrational decisions based on the wind forecast. You may experience withdrawal symptoms. Most of all it will put a smile on your face, and your friends will wonder what you have been up to.