teaching my daughter how to wing tomorrow, board leash? tips?

[papasmerf]

sadly,, i have not winged myself but i kite foil all the time. we've been watching video's. i have a older naish 7' board, about 130 l,,, will be on a 1650 front wing on a 85cm mast,, i do have a 70cm mast if necessary. i have slingwing v2 6.4 and 5.4.

i am just puzzled over using a board leash,, which i see some folks doing. i just don't want her to get hurt. she will be wearing a helmet and impact vest of course. maybe knee pads?

she is 19, about 130 lbs, skinny, 6' tall. the biggest foil i currently have is a 1650 north sonar

thoughts?

[Jyoder]

A big floaty board with a foil attached to it will blow and drift downwind faster than you can swim, hence the need for a leash.

Riders of tiny lower volume boards for high wind jumping can get away without a leash but not a beginner.

How big is your daughter? That setup sounds fine though a 2000 or 2400 front foil wing would allow for slower take off, but if she is light, then sub 2000cm2 should be fine.

[Jyoder]

Or do you mean you and her together on the board at once?!

I do that with my 4 y/o son sitting between my feet, but he’s just along for the ride and not “learning to wing” per say.

[papasmerf]

Or do you mean you and her together on the board at once?!

I do that with my 4 y/o son sitting between my feet, but he’s just along for the ride and not “learning to wing” per say.

no,,, i edited my post,, she is 19, 6' tall,,, 130 lbs approx. skinny. great swimmer, coordinated,,,,,

[Jyoder]

Should be fine then. Start with 0-12mph wind, learn to sail around, planing on surface on flat water with foil attached to board. Once she can climb on board in deep water and stand and sail upwind planing on the surface then it’s time to move to stronger wind and try to get on foil.

People say to start learning by going straight into 15-20 mph winds but I disagree as you can quickly and efficiently learn lots of fundamental skills in light wind on a huge floaty board and flat water first with less extreme flopping around and less risk of gear damage or injury.

[papasmerf]

Should be fine then. Start with 0-12mph wind, learn to sail around, planing on surface on flat water with foil attached to board. Once she can climb on board in deep water and stand and sail upwind planing on the surface then it’s time to move to stronger wind and try to get on foil.

People say to start learning by going straight into 15-20 mph winds but I disagree as you can quickly and efficiently learn lots of fundamental skills in light wind on a huge floaty board and flat water first with less extreme flopping around and less risk of gear damage or injury.

It was 20-30mph. Using a 5.4 slingwing. She did good for her first time. And the board is actually a 120L naish. Waves were huge.