After returning from Oz, I finally bought a proper wingfoil board - a Starboard Wingboard 115. Most wingers, especially those who come from kiting, may regard the board as huge. But compared to my aircraft-carrier sized Stingray 140, it is tiny and tippy - at least for someone like me, who sports the unfavorable combination of considerable weight and poor balance.
On my first session on the new board, the wind was marginal, and I was happy to just get a few foiling runs. But the next session was in a lot more wind. When we left home, meter readings were 18 mph straight east. With the tide being low and the water still a bit chilly, I had little desire to walk out a long way at Kalmus, and figured the Sea Streat beach (Keyes Memorial Beach) would be a good option, perhaps even with steadier wind. But of course, the wind picked up as soon as we got out, and measured gusts were near 30 mph. Nina was fully powered with her 3.3 m wing, and reckoned she could have easily been on her 2.5. But at least, she was winging, while I spend most of my time in the water. At least 3 out of 4 times when I tried to start, the waves pushed me over when I lifted the wing and tried to get both handles. Once flying, I was fine, but starting was a different story. Until I had to turn around, that is - all jibe attempts in the chop ended wet.
I had watched a couple of videos that explained a faster, better way to start a wing foil board: the Stingbug start. I tried it three or four times, but twice, the wing tip caught, and the wing flipped over. The one time it worked, it felt great, but I was clearly missing something. If you wonder where the name comes from, here's a picture of a Stinkbug as a clue:
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| Hectonichus, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
After posting a question on a wing forum that resulted in a few tips, and more digging there and on Youtube, I realized I had to change a couple of things. One was to orient the board with the nose pointing slightly into the wind before getting on; the other, and perhaps more important, one was that I needed to grab the front handle (not the leading edge handle) with the front hand before getting onto the board.
I got to try these changes the next windy day, when we went for a flat water session in Wacky Bay. The wind was around 20 mph, with gusts in the mid-20s. The Stinkbug start worked the first time I tried it, and kept working at least 9 out of 10 times. Great! The water was flat, so I probably would have managed a regular start most of the times, too, but the Stinkbug start felt a lot faster and less tippy. But how would it work for me in chop?
I got a chance to find out today, when we went to Kalmus in a straight onshore (south) wind. Once again, the wind picked up a bit after going out, so my 6.5 m wing was not the greatest choice, but at least I never had to work to get on the foil. The swell was big enough to produce a big, fat grin on Nina's face after (and during) the session, so it was a good test. Indeed, getting up proved a bit more challenging, and I got tipped over a few times when trying to start; but overall, I managed to get up in about 4 out of 5 tries, something I was quite happy with.
Most wingers reading this will either already do some version of the Stinkbug start, or perhaps be blessed with great balance and not need it. But for the few newbies who may be struggling with starts at times in choppy water, here's one tutorial I found useful:
