In all the beaches and lakes of the world, the Wing Foil is increasingly present, that strange sail that looks like the wings of a bat, held by people who seem to fly over water. This strange wing is called Wing Foil, it is an inflatable wing that is held in the hand and allows you to move on any board, preferably equipped with hydrofoil.
Where does the Wing Foil come from
All board-based sailing sports are brothers of others, who are inspired by each other. The common denominator is the board (for surf, kite, with hydrofoil) and the sail (for kite, windsurf or wing).
The latest discipline born from a mix of surfing, kitesurfing and windsurfing is Wing Foil: it takes a little from surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, SUP and is an alternative to all these sports.
Though it has caught on in recent years, wing foil has been around for decades. In the 1980s, inspired by the flight of seagulls, Tom Magruder developed the so-called “Wind Weapon”, a rigid sail that rotated freely on a windsurf board. This wing did not take off. Only in the 2000s, thanks to hydrofoils, did it start to take hold and now it is depopulated in the world, occupying a very interesting market share.
Why Wing Foil is so popular
The Wing Foil is more and more widespread and is becoming more and more popular for two reasons: easy to assemble, needs little wind to be practiced and, above all, easy to learn.
The Wing Foil is easy to assemble
There are no lines, no bars, no trees, no booms. All you have to do is inflate a light wing, grab a board and enter the water. Simplicity is the concept behind the Wing. The Wing wing, like the kitesurf one, is inflatable and when deflated, it can be easily positioned and carried in its backpack
For the Wing Foil you need low wind
The dimensions of a wing wing vary from 2 to 5 square meters. Using a hydrofoil, a breeze is enough to navigate: with about 10 knots of wind you start flying over the water!
Wing Foil is easy to learn
Although everyone’s goal is to use the Wing with a hydrofoil board, the Wing can also be used with large Sup and windsurf boards, making learning very easy. The Wing Foil allows you to navigate in all directions, grabbing the wing by the handles positioned along the center of the wing. It is equipped with a leash that allows you to connect it to your wrist, so that if you need to or if you fall into the water, you can let go of the sail and it stays attached and close to us.
Generally, especially those with no experience in kitesurfing or windsurfing, start learning the Wing with a large volume board, such as a windsurf or Sup board, first being on their knees and trying to get up slowly. When you have become familiar with it, you begin to use the hydrofoil board, which, for example, is much simpler than the kitesurfing ones, since the hydrofoil is larger, not too fast and more stable.
In short, the Wing Foil is easy, fun and turns the sea into a playground for everyone.
What are you waiting for to learn Wing Foil? 🙂