And yes, I switch to parawing after only a few session of winging.

apfoil said..
getting up toeside is no more difficult than heelside, sometimes easier depending on direction of bumps/ wind because it naturally points you more downwind vs going heelside. in my mind the coordination of pumping is always going to be better on my strong side, so no real advantage to getting up switch. i'm still dialing in switch riding, but i imagine once the foot switch on foil is dialed there isn't a ton of benefit to getting up switch. getting up switch with an inflatable wing is super inefficient because you can't generate enough power pumping the wing

Thanks, that is what I secretly wanted to hear.
I had also that impression that if chop is not perfectly downwind aligned then one side will be harder to get on.

tartine said..

apfoil said..
getting up toeside is no more difficult than heelside, sometimes easier depending on direction of bumps/ wind because it naturally points you more downwind vs going heelside. in my mind the coordination of pumping is always going to be better on my strong side, so no real advantage to getting up switch. i'm still dialing in switch riding, but i imagine once the foot switch on foil is dialed there isn't a ton of benefit to getting up switch. getting up switch with an inflatable wing is super inefficient because you can't generate enough power pumping the wing

Thanks, that is what I secretly wanted to hear.
I had also that impression that if chop is not perfectly downwind aligned then one side will be harder to get on.

If you stick with the taxi and getting upwind on your weak side you will learn to foil up wind nearly as quick on your weak side as on your good side. Pretty soon you will be better than that guy on the video because he not going to ever learn to go up wind effectively and more importantly comfortably right across the wind range.
To say getting up toeside is just as easy is not really true in that it can work but in very good wind in a tiny range.
The only people that defend the toe side only approach are the ones who never learnt to ride upwind both ways and they are the last people to get an opinion on it.

Totally viable, lots of people that foil/sail switch but still prefer to pump up onto foil in their strong stance going toeside, then switch to get upwind. .

For me personally getting on foil toeside is my stronger side especially in lighter winds or underpowered situations. When I say it’s my stronger side I mean I get up sooner than if I was healside in my preferred stance and much sooner than if I was riding heel side switch stance.


When getting up toeside your board naturally wants to point at a good downwind angle to get going, for some reason the ergonomics of pumping the board and foil work well for me toeside and usually for my local conditions toeside lines up much better with the bumps and getting a good bump assist to get going. I think this also has a bit to do with what sort of parawing your riding. On my PT skins they prefer a more deep downwind get up which is better toeside.



Once up on foil I will switch feet and go upwind heelside switch stance. I think this is definitely the best way to do it. I’ve heard plenty of guys say they can get just as good of an angle going upwind toeside but I think your VMG will be better overall if you ride switch. You can handle gusts much better, it’s more comfortable and if you only ride in one stance all the time you unevenly load your body and can cause strains and pains.