It’s fun, it’s sailing, it’s meditative, it’s outdoor, it’s nature
Probably the single most important reason of them all. Sounds a little bit silly, but a sailor, a surfer, a watersportsman/woman, do know that there’s a calling, an unavoidable calling. Very hard to explain, and also for that matter is too personal to be explained. Sailing (let’s put all these activities under this label) is, to put it very simply, a religion, a drug, a calling, and a mental health promoter. There are many expressions to the glide, you can sail big boats, small boats, you can windsurf full speed, you can be a kite freestyler, a foil racer, and for the point of this text, a wingfoiler. Pick you poison and get into your flow state. What’s important it’s to get wet. Here at Escola de Vela da Lagoa (EVL) we really are grateful to the pleasure of being in the Obidos Lagoon everyday. Pay your dues, get wet!
You’re going to spend more days on the water than you can imagine;
This one is a no brainer. At first it really is unbelievable how you can multiply your days on the water just by Wingfoiling. Usually, if you’re not located on a super windy and famous spot, like Cape town, Maui, Tarifa, then a foil is a must do. From all the foil disciplines, ktiesurfing is probably the messiest, were lines get tangled, kites get stuck on the water. Windsurfing, easily gets uncomfortable with stronger winds. But wingfoiling, really takes the cake when it comes to wind range. You can go on as little as 6 knots, all the way up to 50 if needed. for a die hard windsurfer and kitesurfer, wingfoiling looks too clumsy, not fast enough, and doesn’t go as high. However, if you break these pretentious barrieres out of your head, you’ll be left with a beautiful fun-focused sport that will let you get wet as many times as you can. sometimes, even more than you want to, and a guilty sense of I-Should-Go-In-Cause-It’s-Really-Good will kick in.
It’s a great workout
There are many struggles to the sport. Start by getting dressed, pumping the wing, carrying the equipment, bearing the cold, swimming out, tucking in the feet on the straps, flip the wing for the 345th time, crashing, crashing a lot more, arm tenacity for the whole session, getting pounded by the wind, let alone the waves, landing flat on your back (best case scenario, as it’s better to land on the water than on the foil). Wingfoiling will make you work both your upper body and the legs, this will happen especially in light wind days were you must pump your wing and your foil to generate extra power. So it really feels like working all the muscles of the body. It is also good cardio, we work on endurance and much less on explosiveness. The physical demands are lower than other sliding sports, and therefore the recovery is easier. It is a sport very accessible to all, for all sizes and ages.
Possibilities are pretty endless
It all starts with controlling the wing, the foil, and riding decently. This in itself is a beautiful challenge. After these stages, the road is endless. Freestyling, backflips and 360’s? Local racing? Speed testes? Jumping higher and higher? Cool, calm and collected turns on waves? Downwinders? Wingfoiling comes in all shapes and forms, and take our word when we tell you all of them are legitimate and all of them are worthy of trying. Also, on that matter, try not to become a pretentious ass who judges all other sports. It’s all about the glide and sharing the journey with all fellow creatures who want to shred.
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