Local Winging Gear Rentals and Lessons

[mjamero]

Is there anywhere local someone could rent winging gear and get a lesson or two? I'm asking for my wife who is considering winging as an easier way to get back on the water after a few years away rather than returning to windsurfing. I realize the Gorge is a good spot but I'd prefer local if doable.

[adam2]

I wonder if Aerial Kiteboarding in Squamish does lessons, it might be worth reaching out to them. The thing about winging is that if she already has some windsurfing experience she could probably just pick it up watching some of Damien Leroy's "how to" videos on YouTube. It's just so much easier than windsurfing and safer than kiting that all the wingers I know have just figured it out themselves. The biggest challenge in the process would be finding some rental gear around here. Good luck!

[JonathanP]

Yeah aerial has been doing lessons. Can definitely be a good way to learn quick on a learner board much larger than you'd want to use after figuring it out and not have to do a bunch of walking or paddling upwind. If already windsurfing you can always get a board suitable for wind and wing foiling and start with windsurf foiling. Learning to wing after wind foiling only takes a few reaches. Though it's might be just as easy to learn winging first even for a seasoned windsurfer

[Michael]

Is there anywhere local someone could rent winging gear and get a lesson or two?

What size windsurfing board is she on? I'm assuming you want to do a lesson at Jericho?

[Slappy]

I realize the Gorge is a good spot but I'd prefer local if doable.

Trouble with local is not many days with 15+ knots of wind. Learning to wing is a lot easier with a decent amount of wind. Once Sept hits though and we are back to frontal system sailing it would be fine.

[mjamero]

Is there anywhere local someone could rent winging gear and get a lesson or two?

What size windsurfing board is she on? I'm assuming you want to do a lesson at Jericho?

Yeah Jericho would be ideal because this is where she learned to windsurf (Windsure). She's familiar with the site which would help a lot. She's a petite lady at 5ft. 115lbs. She was on a 115l +/- board and 5.5m the when she last sailed in 2018. She progressed just up to the waterstart stage. She was getting very good at cores skills, better than me in fact (tacks, non-planng gybes, harness, beach starts. She was right at the point where it was time to really start to learn the footstraps and planning in the harness and get the feel for "real" windsurfing (planing). However, water starts are kind of key at that stage and this was a hurtle for her (like for many of us). She did get VERY close to water starts though. One more season without a season away and she would have the water start I think. The gear was kind of hard for her too. For Jerhico she ideally should be on a 6.0 - 6.5 but this gets cumbersome for her when the wind is uncooperative. She certainly progressed very well in windsurfing in my opinion. But, there is no denying windsurfing IS a hard sport to learn and the learning curve is extremely long (measured in years). You must have desire long term.

Now that winging is here I can see it would be an ideal watersport for someone like her.

[mjamero]

For a petite (5 foot, 115 lbs) wing foil newbie, what size gear is recommended? Board size, wing size, foil size? Perhaps I can keep an eye open for second hand gear over the winter. Starting with a wing would be good. She can practice on land with it in the off season.

If any of you have suitable wing gear to sell let me know. The gear will be almost exclusively used by my wife at Locarno/Jericho on light to moderate days.

[JonathanP]

If Jericho is going to be the most common spot I'd guess a board from 90-100L for that weight. Lower range for slightly harder learning but something you'd keep using, higher range for maximum ease learning but something you'd probably sell after the first year. Having that windsurf background plus the stability of a wing board+foil over windsurf shape makes lower volumes fairly stable. Wing size for learning at Jericho would probably be 5m and foil around 1200-1500 sq cm. Everything can be sized down once proficient pumping up onto foil but these learning sizes can still be great in lighter conditions. There are some great inflatable boards now, but not as easy of water release and usually need a bit more volume compared to solid boards.

[mjamero]

If Jericho is going to be the most common spot I'd guess a board from 90-100L for that weight. Lower range for slightly harder learning but something you'd keep using, higher range for maximum ease learning but something you'd probably sell after the first year. Having that windsurf background plus the stability of a wing board+foil over windsurf shape makes lower volumes fairly stable. Wing size for learning at Jericho would probably be 5m and foil around 1200-1500 sq cm. Everything can be sized down once proficient pumping up onto foil but these learning sizes can still be great in lighter conditions. There are some great inflatable boards now, but not as easy of water release and usually need a bit more volume compared to solid boards.

Thank you for the feedback. Much appreciated.