I reconnected with Simon from Australia on the Wing Foiling for Big Dawgz FB forum. It is a great Facebook group as there are some unique challenges to being over 90kg (200 pounds) when learning to wingfoil.
Simon is my good friend John’s brother so we have met each other several times over the last 4 decades. He was visiting Canada and we managed to arrange a weekend for John and him to come up to the Launchpad to work on wingfoiling. Luckily the southwest wind flow on Saturday turned into a decent convection wind mid day and we were able to get out on the water.
John started confidently on the simulator. I quickly put him out on a my 4.7 Duke sail and the big Viper HD windsurf board. (John is a bit of a big dawg too!) As he is completely new to winging, a quick refresher in core windsurfing skills was a good call. John had windsurfed a lot in the 1980s and 90s and showed his skill 7 years ago and also 5 years ago.
Simon headed out on Jen‘s 142 litre Fanatic sky WS board with the 7m Duotone slick wing. He’s used to a 7.5m wing but the 7m and the good wind was enough for him to keep getting going in his dominant regular stance.
Here's a bit of video of me with John at the beginning and then my excitement and tips when Simon gets going. The BBtalkin headsets were a game changer - allowing the 3 of us to stay in touch constantly.
It was hard for Simon to get going in the other direction. Even more wind would have helped. But I think getting his front foot more forward and to the centreline was the big issue as can be seen in the video and photo. He's almost standing with both feet pointing forward! (Addendum a few months later - Simon is now wingfoiling and jibing in both directions back in Australia.)
The afternoon was quite fun and busy with Phillip getting out on his sailboat. Jen enjoyed some foiling practice and kayaking. John took the WeCANFoil demo wing out to the point so he could practice some wing handling skills. The seadoo saw some use too.
I got some solid time on the water to compare the big dawg appropriate Duotone 7m wing plus 142l board that I have at the LPW&FA vs. the WeCANFoil North 6m with their 6'4' North Seek Prime 138l beginner board. Comparing the two boards, I found that the four year old Duotone 142l took off a bit quicker as it is shaped even a bit more like a downwind board. But the newer 2000cm foil under the North board had a bit more speed and stability. Look forward to doing more board comparisons.
We ended the day trying some foiling beside the boat with a windsurfing mast out to the side. I'm not sure I will use the boom with paying customers. While the idea is good there is still more work to be done to make it as easy for beginners to try as I make it look...
We ended the night with a lovely chicken Marbala dinner with Jen‘s parents back at the Water Lily Pad. Phillip took Simon and his godfather home safely to the Launch Pad at midnight.
The next morning we hosted the community out at the Launch Pad for a presentation from Professor Mike Waddington. He is a McMaster University peat soil researcher and he gave a great talk about the effects of the Parry Sound 33 fire.
After that, Professor Mike got a refresher windsurf lesson! I had fun taking the wingfoil out to the point before I took him back down the river.
As I was leaving, Simon was already out on the gear but the wind on Sunday didn't match the day before.
John went out to try his new wing handling skills on the Viper HD windsurf board. As expected, he was great at his first attempt and was all smiles. He sailed right back to the dock!
Next time it will be wingfoil time for John too! We said our goodbyes and I look forward to a return of the Watson Wingfoiling brothers with a bigger and better storage locker!
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