6 Reasons to WingFoil – Wing Surfing Lessons Scotland
Wing Foiling (or Wing Surfing) is the new water sport that’s growing at an insane rate. From all the wind-powered board sports is also the easiest to learn and the equipment takes fairly little space too. It’s not here to replace kitesurfing or windsurfing but it’s a crazy new thing to do on the water.
So, what is wing foiling and how do you get started? Wings have been around for ages but they never really took off until a couple of years ago. Mostly because of increasing number of SUP’ers but also due to development of more accessible hydrofoils. Wing surfing really comes alive on top of a foil – making the ride similar to… well, riding a magic carpet. You’re effectively flying over the water – it’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. But we can help you get there with our wing foiling (or wing surfing) lessons in Scotland.
Why should you get into this new sport?
- It’s easy to learn. Well, relatively speaking but the progression in wing foiling is definitely faster and with less drama than in windsurfing and kitesurfing. If you’ve done any of the former or you already SUP it will make the progress much easier too.
- If you already SUP, this is the next step. You know those days, when it’s too windy to paddle? This is where the wings come into play. All you need is over 10 knots of wind to get going on a foil and if you want to play around on the SUP board on its own, even 7-8 knots of wind will do.
- It allows you to explore new places. Wing foiling is pretty effortless in terms of locations – all you need is a bit of wind and deep enough water for the foil to work (masts are usually between 75cm and 90cm on length/depth). Gusty winds are also much more manageable than on a kite or a windsurfer. Not to mention that you don’t need a lot of space to launch from, unlike when kitesurfing. So wing surfing opens up all the lakes, lochs and beaches that would be inaccessible for kiting. Pretty rad in our books!
- It’s a fresh new challenge. It’s not here to replace your other sports – kitesurfing is a totally different ball game altogether – with massive jumps, ripping waves and hydrofoiling at speed. Same with windsurfing. Wings on the other hand open up more spots, help to catch waves further out, are epic for downwinders, especially with a pack of mates, and are pretty compact to live with – there’s no lines, harnesses or big windsurfing boards and masts to deal with. There are even inflatable foil boards if you’ve got limited space, so everything fits into backpacks. Pretty neat, eh? If you want to grab some kitesurfing lessons in Scotland click here though!
- Make new friends. Ok, so I get some weird looks from my kitesurfing mates when taking the wing out. Yes, it’s not as extreme as kitesurfing and some don’t see a reason to try this. But you get that with any other new sport. Most don’t see benefits of the new game until they get on with it and get any good at it too. Which leads to meeting new people and growing your water sports tribe. Different to surfers, we enjoy company of others on the water. And everyone’s super friendly too – it’s nice to have someone else riding beside you and keeping an eye on each other.
- Keep it chilled and cruise or beak out freestyle. It’s a superb sport to go out and unwind. When wing foiling you are floating over the water, it’s an amazing feeling when everything goes silent and you’re steering your hover-board (well almost!) above the bay. Because of how efficient the foils are going into the wind is fairly easy so traveling up and down the beach is pretty much effortless. It’s a great fun on its own and if you get better it opens up the whole world of doing jumps and tricks. And, because the sport is still fairly new (at the time of writing this at least!) there’s definitely a whole world of new things to discover!
We’re absolutely hooked now and can’t wait to hit the water again. Alongside of our kitesurfing and SUP lessons we also offer wing foiling (or wing surfing as no one can agree to the terminology yet!) lessons in Scotland if you want to get involved! Our store just outside Edinburgh offers a great selection of wetsuits and wing surfing equipment but if you don’t want to dive in at the deep end, everything’s included for the lessons so all you need to bring is a towel and readiness to get addicted to this new discipline!
1 Comment
This looks amazing! I want one and I want to learn!