Here is an update for all you and those who are learning like me
So after 26 sessions on my foil since my first time in the water, I can now turn heel to toe side (both ways) and stay on toe side and S back from toe side to hill side.
Some comments:
- for whatever reason I find it easier to turn on my weak side - not sure why, but it feel better to turn from hill to toe on my weak stance
- however, I find it easier to turn from toe to hill side on my strong stance
- I can now turn about 70% of the attempts and complete several tacks before falling off the board (my record was yesterday with 8 long tacks) - magical!
What worked for me:
- I spent sometime on a surfboard where I was practicing a lot of the same maneuvers but without a massive foil under (I'm a surfer, so it was natural to kite with a surfboard for me - total stoke!)
- I started to wear a mountain biking full face helmet and my confidence sending the kite around and wiping the foil increase by 10 fold! - this was suggested by my wife!
- I was not starting the turn correctly - I was sending the kite super late - I now send the kite first and then turn the foil - foil now is straight downwind when the kite is at 12 - that made a huge difference in line tension and gave me stability with two hands always in the bar.
- I was not sending the kite aggressively enough to the other side of the window - I know after I have the kite at 12 and board pointing downwind, crank the bar in the new side of the window - I was super scared to do this, but it really makes things a lot easier than sending it slow and try to balance with no tension on the lines.
- I was not turning the foil fast enough, so basically going too much downwind and slacking the lines - something clicked that made me really commit and all the sudden line tension was there
- on toe side riding, it helped a lot not to go right away closer to wind, and keep the kite high - once I got comfortable with the new course, I started to lean more into the foil on toe side and now I can go upwind without a sweat!
I'm super happy with progress, however I still need a lot more practice to master this. The last 2 sessions everything did come together and yes I have watched the "Progression" video "First Gybes - Off the Foil" a 1000 times! Worth every penny!
My plan is to dial down this first and then start working on foot switches, which I'm sure it will need a lot of work
Any feedback is always greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
G.