Results: live.trackmelive.com.au/KOTC2020/

Almost as many Wings as SUP's and 2 on SUP-foil!

We are slowly doing downwind wing racing here in Cape Town as well but I'm still trying to get my head around it. What I enjoy doing on a wing-downwind is to flag out and surf the bumps with the least use of the wing - but that will never win the race if someone decides to sheet in and do the yachting technique....so for now I just do the races for the novelty.

Wondering what others take is on this?

Bender said..
I did the Kotc and was way slower than the front runners, becasuse i just surfed swells with the wing parked to the side. The most fun you can have with your pants on

I am with you, why race past a swell

Yes next my goal mext year is yo paddle foil it too. It is the pinicle of downwind paddling IMHO

tightlines said..
Yep I hear ya PeterP
However I am more than happy to mix it up, sheet in and use the power of the wind and water to go as fast as possible, across, over and down the bumps occasionally
The race was an absolute blast, It's so exhilarating when you straighten up and go screaming down a big swell at max speed

Days like today though, where Dale Chapman swapped the paddle for a wing and joined me just cruising, surfing and sharing bumps for miles with grins from ear to ear are the absolute best though, no question about it.

#bestever

It's awesome hey Kent!

Got a couple of sick ones out front of MAAC today that made me happy.

Yew!

I agree that foil-downwinding with a paddle is the pinnacle of the two and much better suited to racing.

However, I'm not so sure winging is a stepping-stone to paddle downwinding. I have spent 3 years trying to master paddle-downwinding and I just find it too physical and near impossible unless conditions are absolutely firing.

I'm no spring-chicken anymore and it will be much different for someone younger and lighter but winging has opened up foil-downwinding completely to a point where I can now ride pretty much any distance on foil. With the paddle getting 2-3km on foil would be an achievement and I envy those who manage to stay on foil indefinitely. If you are younger and stronger, read no further, just go and paddle it.

The winging solves the two problems I encounter most with the paddle: 1) Getting up - unless conditions are just right. Wing solves this in a flash. 2) Staying up and having to rely on pumping technique - this can be exhausting with the paddle - with the wing a gentle rear-handle tug and you are back on the next bump.

I went back on paddle a few days ago and it was worse than end of last season - I don't think the wing downwinding has helped. The wing feels like cheating, it's just so much easier - it's the e-bike of downwinding but it's not a racing discipline.

LIke the racing side of things or not, it's happening.
I have done every king of the cut and the last 2 years I have winged it, both times I have had a ball but also kinda missed the close racing that sup gives you.
ATM I feel like I almost want to go back to a sup for this race next year, however deep down I'm 99% sure I wont.

It is just way too much fun on a foil, if I feel I can make it I will try to paddle foil it but it is hard work at my age, so I may end up winging again because fun is my priority.

In case you missed it on the sup forum.

tightlines said..
LIke the racing side of things or not, it's happening.

True, and DW foiling is perfect for it, because there is a huge ocean out there that doesn't have to be closed to other people to run it,and doesn't matter how many people enter it will never be crowded.Im totally fine with DW racing ,just hope competition surf foiling doesn't get popular.

PeterP said..
Results: live.trackmelive.com.au/KOTC2020/

Almost as many Wings as SUP's and 2 on SUP-foil!

We are slowly doing downwind wing racing here in Cape Town as well but I'm still trying to get my head around it. What I enjoy doing on a wing-downwind is to flag out and surf the bumps with the least use of the wing - but that will never win the race if someone decides to sheet in and do the yachting technique....so for now I just do the races for the novelty.

Wondering what others take is on this?

Sup foil is getting the same, if you can keep up catching bumps in front of you you go faster than carving and having fun.

Winner overall (fastest) : wing 1'00
second ......................... : sup foil 1'09

Same race for everybody ?
How long did it take for the sup foil to reach the bump zone and start flying ??

frenchfoiler said..

PeterP said..
Results: live.trackmelive.com.au/KOTC2020/

Almost as many Wings as SUP's and 2 on SUP-foil!

We are slowly doing downwind wing racing here in Cape Town as well but I'm still trying to get my head around it. What I enjoy doing on a wing-downwind is to flag out and surf the bumps with the least use of the wing - but that will never win the race if someone decides to sheet in and do the yachting technique....so for now I just do the races for the novelty.

Wondering what others take is on this?

Sup foil is getting the same, if you can keep up catching bumps in front of you you go faster than carving and having fun.

Winner overall (fastest) : wing 1'00
second ......................... : sup foil 1'09

Same race for everybody ?
How long did it take for the sup foil to reach the bump zone and start flying ??

The Sup-foiler is still using the bumps to be fast - the difference being that the SUP foiler needs to use the bumps to overtake the next (same as SUP and Surf-ski), the winger would actually be faster without the bumps.

Nathan van Vuuren holds the two course records on foil here in Cape Town - 10.4km in 24min on the Wing and 29min on the Foil.

If wind is over 20knots the winger should always be faster, problem I have is, that to be fast, you actually don't want/need to use the bumps and so it becomes purely a yachting discipline.

tightlines said..

If wind is over 20knots the winger should always be faster, problem I have is, that to be fast, you actually don't want/need to use the bumps and so it becomes purely a yachting discipline.

Nah, when it's almost directly downwind you always use the bumps, mad if you miss the opportunity.
I know what you mean though the wind eventually takes over.
Hand wings get bigger, foil wings get smaller and faster

I guess we can't compare sup foil vs wing foil, at least when it comes to racing. If the wind is strong, winging will be sailing which will be faster but less fun.

In sup foiling usually we don't use the paddle except for the take off, a run without mistake you don't paddle at all.

I wonder if after taking off on a bump with the wing, you can not use it at all then like sup foiling ??