P1125 ride impressions Winging (2nd time out)
*Caution - Long rant *
My 1st session on this foil was not in ideal conditions (gusty, choppy and I changed 3 variables in my setup - new front wing, new cut down R20 tail (15") and mast moved back from my usual position)
So today I got the conditions I imagined this foil would work for me. A light breeze of around 8knots with very little chop and small boat waves in every direction. I would usually go out in these conditions with my 8M Strike, GT2200 and a 20FTL or 17FTS with a 93cm V1.5 mast, Kalama E3 5'9" x 22 1/2 @ 95litres Me: 61 years old, 82 kg, novice/intermediate
So for my second session on my new to me P1125 I ran it with a 20FTL as I reckoned that would give me the lift and pitch stability Im used to, I had the mast all the way forward, 8M Strike for power. As soon as I got into deep enough water and flipped the board over a little gust came through and I pretty much popped straight up onto foil, went 3 metres and fell off to the side (like yesterday), all this before the first moored boat. OK, let's try again, but get into the bigger gap between the yachts so Ive got time to get up, go straight and not hit anything :-) Next gust comes and I don't even need to pump onto foil, Im up and flying with a very smooth and gradual ascent and Ive brought my stance in to very centered (no offset) as I believe my usual offset stance that Ive adopted for riding the GT foils is causing the board to roll and pitching me off. BINGO ! I go straight into a 1.6km (1 mile run), then another 1km run switch stance, then more long runs without falling, breaching or stalling.... Im not able to gybe as the wind is coming and going and Im trying to turn to tight, too fast, so I just drop into the water, switch stance and go again. Im laughing my head off as now Ive got a feel for this foil and it is AMAZING !
GLIDE - The glide is incredible, it just stays high and when you drop the wing power you just coast along for ever, a quick sheet in to pick up a bit of speed and glide again....so smooth....little boat wakes or wind swell/chops, just glide onto them and keep going, turn hard upwind and keep gliding, turn downwind, release the wing and keep gliding...did I say this foil glides....if you think an RS1300 or a GT2200 glides well, this thing is GLIDE squared......
PUMP - due to the high landmasses which mostly surround this inland harbour there are large wind shadows of around 150 meters that I usually have to pump though with a combination of board and wing pumping and after 15 seconds or so Im usually getting pretty cooked, the P1125 just took 2 quick pumps, glide for awhile, 2 quick pumps, glide for a while to stay high and maintain speed, really quite effortless. The few times where I nearly dropped off foil and back onto the water I just put a bit more effort into the board pumps and gave a few quick wing pumps with my back hand to gain speed to keep the show rolling, Ive never had a foil combo that was this easy to "dig out of the hole" I also found I could hold a very high upwind course by using slow, rhythmic board pumps to generate apparent wind and as these pumps were effortless and smooth, I feel I could keep going for quite a distance without expending a lot of energy. Next windless and waveless day I'll fit my FoilDrive and start my journey towards flat water pumping techniques where Im not relying on holding onto a wing for support.
DRAG - getting up in such light wind was easier than expected, I think the low drag of this HA foil allows the board to build speed easily and it doesn't seem to slow down in between board and wing pumps, so the speed just keeps building very quickly and once the board leaves the water the low drag just lets it get up and flying effortlessly. In the gusts it was simply a matter of filling the wing with air and the board would move forward and rise gradually and smoothly onto foil without any input from me. Very similar to getting up with the GT2200, but not such a sudden lift and a lot less drag.it's just so smooth and effortless. I also noticed that when I had touchdowns due to loss of wind or just turning too hard upwind that once the board touched the water it didn't slow down suddenly and come to a stop, it kept moving which meant all I had to do was sheet in or pump the wing with my back hand quickly a few times (flutter pumps) and Id regain speed, pop up and off we go again. Remember this is in sub 8 knot wind. The only times I actually came to a stop was because I need time to shake my head in disbelief and laugh. The passing yachts were giving a wide berth to "the crazy guy sitting in the water with that big orange wing"
STABILITY - after my first 3 or 4 runs I was comfortable with the board and I started to experiment with offsetting my stance so I could start laying into some long, "powder style" turns. The 20FTL tail gave me solid pitch stability so I could focus on how much toe/heel pressure was needed for roll turns. Yes the roll sensitivity is probably the most of all the foils I have ridden, but once I adjusted my inputs I was experiencing beautiful drawn out turns, not sharp and snappy, but very stable and so smooth. I did overcook it a few times and fell backwards as the corrective inputs were too little, too late but Im looking forward to trying this foil with smaller tails and maybe a bit more wind. Yaw type turns were easy and it was fun going hard upwind onto a boat swell or wind chop, nearly coming to a stop, then spinning the board around flat to get some wind in the wing and gliding away on the minuscule wave.
I did 1 run where I went for speed and my Garmin watch clocked me at 23km/h, so for 8 to 10 knots with a 20" tail that's not too bad, Im not really into speed anyway, my "thing" is trying to ride my board like a snowboard in powder and all my GoFoils (I dont have anything else) let me experience that to varying degrees in all wind and water conditions.
Did I say I love this foil? Im so, so stoked to have had the opportunity to pick one up locally so soon and Im looking forward to a long and rewarding relationship, especially as I progress into pumping and downwind style riding.
Photos comparing my RS850HA to the P1125 (yes it's red and not black because it's a pre-production wing ex Dyl Henry and Ben Hargreaves)
We are excited to be releasing our new high performance "P Series" November 3rd! Product will be available to purchase immediately. Dealer Purchase Orders coming this week.
R20" Fixed Tail 
long live the T mast!
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