The foiling revolution
Foiling is changing the world of wind sports. They are everywhere. They are seen in windsurfing, in sailing boats, in kitesurfing, in surfing and they have even created a new sport: Wing Foiling. In this article, we tell you why they are becoming so popular, what their advantages are and how you can take advantage of them.
Table of contents
- Advantages of foiling
- Amazing flying sensations
- Easy and less dangerous than you think
- 2 ways to get into foiling
More days on the water is the big advantage
When we say that foiling is a revolution, it is because it has many advantages and greatly improves the “life” of the windsurfer. We have experienced it ourselves.
The big advantage of foiling is that it allows you to spend many more days on the water. If you are a windsurfer, you know how frustrating it is to wait for a good forecast. And even when the forecast is finally good, the wind might be worse than expected: too gusty, too light…
Foiling allows us to enjoy many more sailing days. Why? Well, mainly because on a 8-10 knots day you can already have a good foiling session. And if the wind is gusty it’s much less of a problem, because once you’re in the air, the drag is minimal and you need very little wind to keep flying.
Foiling is perfect on light wind days and for gusty winds. When a good windsurfing session is not possible, foiling comes into play. And there are many light wind days in summer, especially in Menorca. In fact, if we look at the wind statistics in Fornells, we will see that there are twice as many days that can be sailed on a foil compared to purely windsurfing days (planing conditions). Therefore, we dare to say that foiling is a must in Menorca.
Amazing flying sensation
We already know the advantages of foiling, but is it fun?
Here we have to be very honest. We believe that there are few things like the sensation of planing and going fast in windsurfing and we do not want to compare it with foiling. Foiling is completely different. It is softer, less noisy… But the truth is that the sensation of flying is unique and addictive.
Is it better or worse than planing in windsurfing? I think it would be unfair to compare. The main point is that they fit very well together. At the end of the day we foil mainly when the conditions are not great for windsurfing. In fact, foiling is a perfect sport for windsurfers to be able to spend more time on the water.
Windsurf foiling in Fornells, Menorca
Easier and less dangerous than it looks
Yes, it is much easier than it seems. Especially since you already have a windsurfing base. The learning process will be much faster for you.
What changes and what you have to learn is to balance on the foil. That is something totally different from what you are used to. But it is easier than it looks. In a few hours or sessions the brain understands how it works and from there it gets much easier.
In the next section we will talk about the two ways of incorporating foiling that we recommend you (windsurf foil or wing foil) and we will give you more details about how long it takes to learn. Nevertheless, we already anticipate that it takes less time than you think.
And as for whether it is dangerous or not, we also think that it is less dangerous that it looks. If you follow some basic safety rules and you learn in the right way and with the right equipment, the truth is that it is a safe sport.
2 ways of getting into foiling
If you come from windsurfing, there are two ways to get into foiling. The first and most obvious one is to windsurf foil. The second is to learn how to Wing Foil. Below we give you pros and cons of both modalities so that you can choose the one that fits you better.
Windsurf foiling
We recommend windsurf foiling if you already have a good windsurfing base. Specifically, if you already know how to get planing with your feet in the footstraps. You don’t even need to know how to carve gybe or waterstart, but it is advisable that you know how to plane in the straps comfortably.
If you have that windsurfing level, getting the hang of the foil is a matter of a few sessions. You will need to get used to the new way to distribute your weight on the board, but the truth is that it is something that is learned very quickly.
Wind foiling in Fornells, Menorca
Wing Foiling
We recommend Wing Foiling if your windsurfing level is not that good or if you just feel like learning something different. We are hardcore windsurfers and we liked it a lot. In our opinion it’s a great complement to windsurfing. In addition, it has a great advantage over windsurf foiling: less equipment to buy or carry.
We like to say that it takes between 5 and 30 hours to learn Wing Foiling, but if you have a decent windsurfing level, you will be much closer to 5h.
We leave you our complete guide on how to wing foil so that you understand what steps you need to follow to learn this new sport very quickly.
Wing Foiling in Fornells, Menorca
It is worth it!
In short, we believe that it is worth getting into the foiling world. At the end of the day what we want is to spend as much time on the water as possible and foiling gives you that for sure. And on top of that, it forces us to keep learning new things, which is fantastic. We hope you will give it a try and we look forward to going foiling with you!