Change my view (CMV) Wings and wingfoils will become predominant in OBX. Kites and windsurfers will still be at the top of the food chain on the windy days (and even that might change) but I think that 60% or more of the windsporting activity in OBX in five years will be wings.
+ Easy to learn, can be done on any Costco SUP
+ Foils often have shorter masts - ideal for all that 3 ft water
+ If you hit bottom, less things break than they do on a windsurfer
+ Shortest foiling learning curve of all three. You could conceivably learn in a week.
+ Less gear. Don't need to drag a trailer or have your body hold your butt down while you try to launch
+ MIles of flat water to glide over. Watch all the windfoils freak out over hitting a crab pot and blowing up a $1k foil.
+ Two wings (6,4) and one board will get you most of the way there.
- Another toy when my credit card is already radioactive.
- Another foiling sport to learn. My body hasn't fully recovered from the last one
- No lofty jumps to woo the tourists from Indiana
Two vids
Avid kiter explains why he's winging so much
Click on closed caption to see English. If you see French, click settings to see English CC
OBX and similar places are probably where it takes off first because, just about anything works at OBX, and Real Kiteboarding (and probably others) is already offering lessons there. BTW - is anybody planning on going to OBX this spring? I think it has opened up or will soon. Or has anybody cancelled already?
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Dare Co is still in lockdown through May 22:
https://www.darenc.com/departments/health-human-services/coronavirus
Our trip to Nags Head, like my 420 Festival ticket, has been rolled over to '21. Most businesses on the island are pretty tenuous in a good year - this is going to be tough.
Jon and I had to cancel our trip to OBX the 1st week of
April. I’d like to go in the fall for the OBX windfest event.
Alan
Was suppose to be there right now (and man, the forecast this week has been spectacular). I have another trip planned for May 30. Not very optimistic about that one. The good news is that refunds are being offered.
Thoughts:
(1) I think foil kiting is much easier to learn than the other wind foiling sports (on our first day we were getting 1-2 min flights). A buddy of mine who is an avid foiler and has learnt both back to back, says kiting is easier. By the way, I watched him learn the wingfoil in La Ventana and it looked painful.
(2) Wingfoiling seems to work well for catching waves.
(3) While kiting adoption is plateauing (I think it went too far intro freestyle and it bored people), I believe you will see a resurgence in the big air discipline (as in King of the Air) which in unique to the sport and awe inspiring.
(4) Traveling light wise nothing beats kiting. Yes launching is a bit harder, but that North spot in Fuerteventura where Gunnar was foiling ha sand behind it. I have kited there 5-6 times. You launch by the sand and you walk over with your kite in the air (no biggie)
(5) If you buy one check Ikitesurf classifieds. You can get a good deal there.
As a previous surfer, windsurfer and now kiter, I am pretty sure in a place like OBX, on the sound side (flat water) I would rather kite or windsurf without foil. I think the foil shines in the lower wind conditions, in super tight launch spots, or if you are catching messy waves.
My comment was more about those who have zero windsport experience - the next generation of people considering any of the windsport options. Watching Neil has been eye-opening. He ventured into a brand new sport four months ago and already is getting flights. For a crappy wind spot like Atlanta, that's been fascinating to me. Certainly, if it was windsurfing, he'd still be getting spanked just trying to get a board planing on a day like today.
I hope that you understood that I wasn't commenting on kiting as a sport (didn't sound like it but wanted to make that clear). Any comments about plateauing was from the business side and was largely influenced by comments I've read in kiting forums. As a windsurfer (and a cyclist for that matter), I've come to accept that business conditions in my chosen sports don't always reflect the day-to-day experience of the users.
Yeah - kites are the Big Air kings. I gotta say that guys on the windsurf side like Traversa and Koester can get seriously high but the conditions required are quite extreme and far beyond the reach of most anyone below the pro level. As an acrophobe, I can't even grasp what I see coming out of places like Cape Town.
So, for Gunnar, are his comments to be taken at face value or is there a chance some of his comments come from some on the business side of things rather than just the user side?
Thanks for your well considered comments. That's exactly the kind of exchange I was hoping for - thoughtful and insightful. Much appreciated.
Thinking it a second time, someone with zero experience in watersports, would sure learn wingfoil faster, or someone just coming from surfing. You are absolutely right. And even windsurf foil faster than kite foil. For kiting you need sometime to have good kite control. Once you have it learning to foil is not that bad since some of your weight can be borne by the kite.
Man I personally don't care if kiting plateaus and almost prefer it. As long as some brands keep making kites I am good. There is enough kiters in the spots I go to as it is.
Question (out of ignorance): Does it work in 9-10 knots? I have only seen wingfoil in windy spots (15+knts). Light wind performance is key in adoption and having a shot at becoming an olympic sport.
The Parking Lot Paradox: Everyone wants their sport to grow until they can't find a parking place. Then, not so much. That happened to a "friend" yesterday - driving up and finding all the good spots taken so
Ihe had to walk and extra 30ft.Yes, wingdinging can be done in lighter winds. The foils are much more pumpable and the same minds who ruined windsurfing with 12.5 m2 sails are at it again: Gong 9m2 Superpower https://www.gong-galaxy.com/produit/gong-wing-superpower/ Kidding aside, I've seen videos with 7m2 wings in probably 8-10. The tendency of wingers to use 1500-2200 wings helps a lot.
+1 on the Olympic lightwind thing. But then as much as it strokes our egos, it's debatable how much inclusion actually helps or hurts a sport. Certainly about 0.5% or less of the people at OBX doing anything are truly influenced by the Olympics. Miami, SF, etc it's a completely different story.
People always take things to extremes in windsport (and probably all other sports as well.) Is a 9 m kite wing the best thing to ever happen to wingsurfing or will it ruin it? How about 12.5 sails? 20+m kites? 4 and 5 ft foil masts? Biplane Foils? 100 cm wide (or wider) formula boards? 14+ foot longboards? (Anyone notice what all these things have in common?) And that's just windsport.
Taking things to the extremes helps find what the real limits are. Sales numbers give the answer. Despite all the above sport killing products, they are all still standing. (At least until Coronageddon hit.)
BTW - I think that guy in the Gong video is probably 6'6" tall.
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Text from my son on the Pacific Island of Guam: "My buddies are killin it on their wing-foils."
Barrett
Is he in on it yet?
He was putting a gear order together, then United Airlines announced half the pilots at his base would be laid off, so no new toys for now.
Barrett
This is what Maui looks like these days
Something really interesting in that photo, but you have to look close. No, not the 3rd rightwinger, but the first leftwinger.....She is using a harness. Would seem to allow going for bigger wings and higher winds.
So how many locals are doing wingsport now? It seems like there are 3 or 4 people who are new to the scene here based on the pictures I've seen posted.
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
My son was a good left winger (as a leftie) and good left back, too. Oh... that's soccer.
Three (Neil, Roland, Reggie). As soon as I can sneak Neil's 4 from him, I'm going to try it on my Tillo with the surf foil. That 6 felt like I was holding a bouncy castle over my head. It's big for us little people.
Now, that I'm not falling that much on the windfoil, I need another way to regularly irrigate my sinuses.
I have been thinking about buying a cheap wing to leave on the boat and use on my inflatable SUP, Main thing that’s stopping me is... they aren’t cheap.
If anyone comes across a used 5 to 6m let me know.
Alan
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wingsurfers/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wingboarding/
The cheap Chinese ebay wings are no longer cheap.