Many moons ago (before I started winging) I got in contact with Simon Bornhoft to join him on a foilwise clinic to help me improve my foiling moves. Due to ropey forecasts, lockdowns and various schedule conflicts this session was pushed back and back. Last week we finally made it happen.
Myself and my father joined another windfoiler promptly on Hayling seafront for what looked to be a magical day on the water. 12-14 knots building to 18-19 knots in the early afternoon. We also had blazing sunshine. Perfection.
A little context about my kit is needed before we get into things. I’m now using an axis foil on a slingshot wizard 130. The foil is exactly the same setup as I use for wingfoiling meaning that the fuselage is about 20cm too short and my ride demands full concentration. In brief, everything is twitchier and makes me feel like winging has eliminated all my windfoiling habits.
Simon pinpointed what I was doing wrong on my gybes and sail trim with alacrity. With a few minutes chat he had improved my sailing dramatically. I now have some great tricks to help me build good habits. I wish I’d been able to get out with windwise years ago as this kind of input would have also improved my vanilla fin windsurfing. The coaching style was ideal for me observing from a distance and giving me notes after a few attempts. I was encouraged to think about what I was feeling while still on the water, rather than on the drive home and given the confidence I needed to make big changes to my style.
After lunch I was offered a ride on Simon’s Severne setup whilst he took photos. The complete equipment was:
- Severne Alien 125
- RedWing foil
- 5.3 SV Blade sail and Enigma boom
This setup and Simon’s tips prompted a dramatic improvement in my sailing. This equipment is incredibly well balanced. I went from sporadic nosedives on my setup, to powering right up and playing on the swell with the Severne kit. You can just lean back in the harness, build speed and have a great deal of fun while you’re at it. In the turns a light, balanced and playful rig minimised the swing weight and made everything easier. Handing it back was a struggle!
I learned some valuable lessons here and highly recommend Windwise for your windsurfing and windfoiling tuition. The day made me feel good about my ability and opened up a new wave of excitement for the sport. Windfoiling is still great fun!
Without giving away Simon’s magic tips, I also walked away knowing what I knew all along – the right kit is simply more fun. I need a longer mast and ideally a longer fuselage if I want to do more windfoiling on my axis foil. Time to get the checkbook out 😂
Gus' Windfoil Adventure 