jstone1 said..
I am jealous of the wingfoil easy tacking on the foil however!

Can you tack winGing ? I barely manage to gibe once in a while when winGing. WinDfoil is definitly my favorite flavor of foiling...

I live in Italy, now I am in Greece and I often travel to Sydney.
I don't have exact numbers but they would be in line with others: windfoilers are less than 10%. People have either stayed on windsurfing or moved to wingfoil for its user-friendliness. OR use wingfoil for low-wind and Windsurf for stronger winds.
That's it my friends

duzzi said..
I always found it too difficult, and way scarier than windsurfing. Apparently I was not the only one thinking so!

You're one more victim of the way winDfoil was advertised : top gear for top gun slalom tuning pros. A lot of the gear that was commercialized by main brands were made for racers. They didn't even think that average Joes would even try, and brands were all too happy for the few overpriced sales to rich riders ready to give it a try (who cares if they can't ride the kit).
On the opposite when winGing came out, most main brand just saw it as a toy for the kids and wives while the big guy would be sailing. And that's precisely why it picked up : it's just no brainer fun. Plus the foil developement was made, and most foil were rideable (wich was not the case just two years earlier).

Now believe me : winDfoiling is WAY easier than windsurfing. Smaller sail, less strength required, way more days with fun condition when you can fly vs ride a fin planning. It's way easier to nail a real flying jibe than full speed planning jibe.
But you have to have the right kit, and top of the line racing foil kit isn't. Saddly, there isn't much winDfoil kit available anywhere, and most is racing/slalom.

The only way winDfoil can resurrect is if foilStyle windFoil picks up, and I believe it is happening as more and more freestylers realise how a foil can spring them up.

6u1d0 said..

duzzi said..
I always found it too difficult, and way scarier than windsurfing. Apparently I was not the only one thinking so!

You're one more victim of the way winDfoil was advertised : top gear for top gun slalom tuning pros. A lot of the gear that was commercialized by main brands were made for racers. They didn't even think that average Joes would even try, and brands were all too happy for the few overpriced sales to rich riders ready to give it a try (who cares if they can't ride the kit).
On the opposite when winGing came out, most main brand just saw it as a toy for the kids and wives while the big guy would be sailing. And that's precisely why it picked up : it's just no brainer fun. Plus the foil developement was made, and most foil were rideable (wich was not the case just two years earlier).

Now believe me : winDfoiling is WAY easier than windsurfing. Smaller sail, less strength required, way more days with fun condition when you can fly vs ride a fin planning. It's way easier to nail a real flying jibe than full speed planning jibe.
But you have to have the right kit, and top of the line racing foil kit isn't. Saddly, there isn't much winDfoil kit available anywhere, and most is racing/slalom.

The only way winDfoil can resurrect is if foilStyle windFoil picks up, and I believe it is happening as more and more freestylers realise how a foil can spring them up.

It takes less wind and energy to have fun windfoiling vs windsurfing. But is it easier? I would say no. Before you can windfoil you need to learn windsurfing. Then you need to learn windfoil skills and survive scary foilout crashes. Then yes, it seems easy.

I love windfoiling and plan to keep doing it because I don't have drive to drive anywhere. My sails are permanently rigged and when the wind blows I sail. If I was starting out I would choose winging for simplicity of the gear.

Good discussion, I know I'm a stuck record but the foilstyle route is the real way forward for fin sailors who want to dabble. Foils also take 20 off your age, that's a bonus ;)

"Proper" windsurfing is really hard, physically and technically, but I reckon if you're at the standard where you can plane and maybe use a front strap you'll find windfoil pretty accessible and quickly make progress, getting upwind and downwind, going where you want (and generally always able to make it home should the wind drop). Fin takes a long time to get to that level. Plus, the fin carve gybe is *much* harder than a foil gybe.

I used my youngest son as a test case, he rapidly progressed on freeride foil kit after battling the fin for some time. The foil gave a chance to feel what the rig load does and how a board is carved. He then carried that back to the fin (when the wind allows) and is a much improved fin sailor.

That all said I just love seeing people out there whatever discipline.

I often find myself on our local spots as the only windfoiler -- but I also have the most fun!

We are about 30 windfoilers.
This includes those who practice it as a light-wind option and those who practice it exclusively.
Of those who practice it exclusively, there is a radical slalom windfoil group who combine it with freeride windfoil on days with strong winds and waves, and others, like me, who practice freeride windfoil exclusively in all conditions.
I see that some fin sailors are gradually joining the windfoil group, usually as a light-wind option.
Apart from this, there are several federated IQ foil groups, numbering about 25-30 riders.
On a normal summer day with a sea breeze in the busiest urban spot, there are about 50+ wingers, 5 fin windsurfers, 5 windfoilers, 5 kiters, and 5 kite foilers.
In other less crowded spots, the difference in numbers with the wingers is not as great, and even less so in the toughest sailing conditions.

In my sailing region [SE Queensland], the windfoil numbers are very minimal, and growth is pretty much non-existent. Regardless of this, the few of us here windfoiling absolutely live and breathe the discipline. I don't get hung up on being in a minority. I'm going to be doing this for many more years. We mingle well with the other windsport forms and share the stoke together.

Not that my club's situation is a trend, but I can't help but note that after two years of reducing the "fin" and "wind foil" categories in favor of the "wing foil," there seems to be a rethink. In addition to the numerous semi-beginners who want to take to the water with the equipment provided by the school, no fewer than four waterfowlers want to buy a wind foil again...
In my opinion, the biggest problem with this specialty is THE LACK OF A WIND FOILING TEN GUIDELINES.
Once learning and progressing becomes (relatively) easy, people are more willing to spend a certain amount on good equipment. Without this, everything seems cumbersome and needlessly expensive.
Suggestions for different situations and types of foilers should be provided with the equipment...

I live at the far east end of the Columbia Gorge. Locally we have 4 winDfoilers, 6 winGfoilers, 2 fin windsurfers, and 2 e-foilers.

One day last summer my wife and I were walking along the boardwalk in Hood River between the Event Site and the Watersport Park. We counted 310 winGfoilers, 2 winDfoilers, and 5 fin windsurfers.

In the Tampa Bay area of Florida on a typical nice day at Scenic View or 75 Cent or Fred Howard, there will be 5 winDfoilers, 7 winGfoilers, and 7 fin windsurfers. Fin windsurfing (big slalom boards with 9.5 sails and weed fins) is still popular since you can sail over the typically shallow waters everywhere in Florida. WinGfoilers with short masts do ok, too. We winDfoilers have to be a bit choosy about finding deep enough water. My fave spot is the Dunedin Causeway, north side. 6 feet deep for miles.

w100 said..
Not that my club's situation is a trend, but I can't help but note that after two years of reducing the "fin" and "wind foil" categories in favor of the "wing foil," there seems to be a rethink. In addition to the numerous semi-beginners who want to take to the water with the equipment provided by the school, no fewer than four waterfowlers want to buy a wind foil again...
In my opinion, the biggest problem with this specialty is THE LACK OF A WIND FOILING TEN GUIDELINES.
Once learning and progressing becomes (relatively) easy, people are more willing to spend a certain amount on good equipment. Without this, everything seems cumbersome and needlessly expensive.
Suggestions for different situations and types of foilers should be provided with the equipment...

The problem is that windsurf brands themselves have abandoned windsurf foiling.

Faff said..
...The problem is that windsurf brands themselves have abandoned windsurf foiling.

More than a few were losing money on it and business in general while wings were flying out the door. We've seen some close shop or about to. I'm not sure we realize how challenging the business is at the moment.

Doesn't help that gear in the US just got from a little to a lot more expensive in the US in the last six months for reasons unrelated to the sport itself.

bel29 said..
I have more stock than most "windsurf shops" in the continental US

Me too.

Our local pond had 3 windfoilers today. A 50%.increase over the usual 2. Damn, the sport is booming.

Faff said..
The problem is that windsurf brands themselves have abandoned windsurf foiling.

Yes and no.

Only looking the mainstream brands :
Severne still have nice boards.
Starboard obviously always providing, as historically leader.

JP is very interesting. In 2025 catalogue, you have :
transition from fin to foil, 4 good freeride/freerace fin board
easy windfoil : 1 frrefoil board
1 AIO board (plus inflatable variant)
1 dedicated foilstyle board
1 freestyle fin foiling ok.

IMHO, winDfoil will come back with really involved riders (not many, but really hooked) that keep on windsurfin' (for fin). Probably the same profile that those that kept windsurfing in the 90s.