Strapless foiling in gusty wind

[GennadyJ]

Does anyone have any tips on strapless foiling in gusty winds (especially when there are waves)? I have difficulty staying on the board when the wind changes a lot. I use 130cm F-one board, 85cm mast, and 850 front wing.

[Cefirmeza]

Does anyone have any tips on strapless foiling in gusty winds (especially when there are waves)? I have difficulty staying on the board when the wind changes a lot. I use 130cm F-one board, 85cm mast, and 850 front wing.

Use the smallest kite you can waterstart. If you have too much power during a kiteloop then downsize the kite until you can comfortably loop it while on the board.
You may need to squeeze power from kite during lulls or going upwind but that is the trade off for having minimal pull on a wave.

[Peter_Frank]

Agree fully with Cefirmeza.

Is an 850 wing an 850 cm2 wing?
Quite small if you are average weight, so it does not make it easier because you will probably choose a somewhat bigger kite.

But the same goes, choose thé smallest possible kite you can just waterstart - as when riding it is loads of power, and you can manage gusts easy now.

Peter

[airsail]

Both Peter and Cefirmeza are correct. When the wind is strong and there is a lot of chop you need a larger wing to stay in control, think 1000-1200 low aspect. This means you can also use a tiny kite, a size you can easily loop without pulling you off the board.
People often think that in stronger wind you use a smaller wing but it’s the opposite, it’s really hard to stay in control of a small wing when the winds up and the sea is churning.

[Onda]

The best kite by far to handle gusts is the Flysurfer Peak4.
With a Peak you won´t notice gusts, actually.
But it is not a kite for everyone

[Windigo1]

That's also what I do a small kite Iike my 7M Boxer I can get going in about 10 knots and it can handle guts up to 30 knots when non-foilers are complaining the wind is crap you keep foiling and you smile!

[Jyoder]

Kiteforum loves to answer questions by recommending throwing more expensive gear at the problem, but for most issues the best answer is the mundane: just practice more…

[Cefirmeza]

It depends how you look at it. In my case I sold all my big kites and only use 4m and 5m. Actually saved money

[bragnouff]

One rule that applies for gusty winds also in non-foiling vessels is to RIDE FAST. Lots of board speed means that you maintain some apparent wind through the lulls, and you don't notice the gusts as much either. That also means, like others have suggested, to be on the smallest kite you can afford to use. Very little static power, but enough power generated once you get moving, and less need to bleed out power in gusts. Rig for the gusts, not for the lulls, and work the shit out of the kite when required.
But this also comes at a price, you need to have the skills and legs to ride fast, and keep your speed through your turns, which comes back to the suggestion from @Jyoder to practice more.
However, riding fast is not necessarily suitable to some forms of waveriding, if what you really want to do is to keep up with sections of slowish waves, then you'd have to compromise a bit one way or the other.

[leeuwen]

Does anyone have any tips on strapless foiling in gusty winds (especially when there are waves)? I have difficulty staying on the board when the wind changes a lot. I use 130cm F-one board, 85cm mast, and 850 front wing.

Can you describe what happens exactly? Are you yanked of the board by the kite randomly? Sinking due to loss of power? When doing specific maneuvers?
Instability due to waves hitting the board?

In general for handling wind spikes it will help if you are careful to keep your kite on the edge of the wind window where it is easier to dump excess power.
e.g. when going downwind (gybing or riding a wave) it is very easy for the kite to drift into the "powerzone" and a gust or suddenly turning upwind can give an "interesting experience".