RYAWINDFOILING :
HIGH
FLYERS
WORDS AND PICS : RYA AS THE RYA ’ S PILOT FOILING COURSES LITERALLY TAKE OFF , TRAINER SAM ROSS MEETS THE WINDSURFERS WHO HAVE FOUND THEIR HAPPY THROUGH LEARNING TO WINDFOIL . The RYA has been working with teams of instructors to develop a fun and effective introduction to WindFoiling .
The RYA First Flights , Sustained Flights and Performance Flights courses help get you set up and flying in as little time as possible . To start , the RYA First Flights course gets you up and out on the water for the first time for that all-important ‘ money shot ’ photo .
Next , you ’ ll look at stance and height control on the RYA Sustained Flights course . The aim is to get you foiling more comfortably , sustaining height and flight in the harness as well as foiling on different points of sail .
With RYA Performance Flights you ’ ll be focusing on getting round the corners more effectively and gybing without touching down , as well as pushing the angles you can sail .
There has been a fantastic uptake in centres offering the courses this year , with many people ‘ returning ’ to the sport because WindFoiling gives windsurfers access to something they may have felt was missing .
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For many , this is lighter winds . We aim to teach the initial courses in over 10 knots . Once you have the skills you can push the wind minimums down to as little as 6- 8 knots . While ultra-light winds may require some more specialist kit , it ’ s the 10-15 knot range where many are finding maximum gain . What was previously 8-9m freeride weather is now 5.5-6.5 foiling weather .
WIND
uk
SURFING