Winging it - Learning to wing foil Session 69 - Storm Ashley 40knot +

Описание: Well perhaps it was foolish to try and ride a foil in hurricane winds (again) but I had to try and seeing as my new 4m Naish wing had just arrived that very morning it seems a tad rude not to test it out.

The wind wasnt that strong to begin with so I used a lot of energy getting up on foil with the mast and shim setting i had chosen but once the wind was blowing it was very stable to fly.
The wind was supposed to pick up as the session went on so my plan was to keep the mast back to avoid huge lift and also to get myself out the water when it got too wild but i never got that opportunity.

On my last run of the day the wind was too strong and my little arms and crap technique couldnt hold to the biggest gust yet so i ended my up in the water as expected.

As I turned to get my board it was already 100m downwind from me as my waist leash had snapped from the board.

This was new territory for me as i was now floating around the middle of a loch in 45 knot wind and a long way from a shore line especially the one i started from so I learned how to body drag very quickly to try and catch my board up but the wind was so strong that it was pushing my board faster than i could be dragged meaning a long time in the water. (At least 35 - 40 minutes)

My board thankfully was washed up on shore around 1km from where I fell off but to make matters worse is not only was the wind getting stronger as the forecast said it would, it was now getting dark.

With tired arms and exhausted body I paddled back out from the shore and got on my board to try and at least get back to the same shore line i started from which is now around 3km from me.

The session was a big one and I almost got myself into a lot of bother so I am going to try and learn from this one and think what is the worst case scenario as that could have been mush much worse.

Live and learn :)