FEEDBACK: FLAT START

Living near a body of water but afraid of taking the step towards flat starts? Follow the example of Aurélien who swapped his jogging sneakers for a paddle.

Aurélien is a GONG ambassador near Annecy in France. A region which is not really known for water sports and yet, since he discovered wing foiling and its enormous potential in light wind conditions, the sessions have been coming one after the other. Equipped with a HIPE Cruzader, his low end has considerably gotten lower, and when the wind is completely absent, he switches to SUP foiling mode thanks to his experience acquired on his inflatable SUP. As he puts it, he is no more gifted than anyone else and repeats to anyone who will listen that you can progress step by step and without frustration. An enthusiast who shares his journey in terms of gear. Here is his story.

SUP foiler: Aurélien, GONG ambassador, with a HIPE Cruzader, Carbon Pro paddle and Sirus set-up.

His method

“You have to go progressively with as much surface as possible and not look for difficulty. So start with a Curve H 6XL, then 5XL. 2min flight times validated at the 30th session (30 min max each). Then Sirus 186. Slightly more delicate at take off, but maximum glide for what I do with it.

In 30 sessions I got to the Sirus 186 which is a treat for pumping and winging. It propels my HIPE Cruzader, with which I did a 120 km run in wing foiling (Geneva > Thonon les Bains > Geneva), to an average of 11 knots in light winds.

Limited budget, 1 board for 2 uses, SUP & wing foiling.“

SUP foiler: Aurélien, GONG ambassador, with a HIPE Cruzader, Carbon Pro paddle and Sirus set-up.

Prerequisites

“If I take my personal case. First I had a Chip paddle board, now known as the First Cruising 12'6. This was 2 and a half years ago. I had never done SUP before! But I remain someone tonic and sporty. I usually wing foil in light winds, below 15 knots 90% of the time, because I have no choice. But I make it a strength and absolutely don't consider it a no-go! Favorite Frontwing: Veloce V2 L. I'm waiting for the next ones ;-)”

The front wing to start

“I wanted to start last year with a Sirus 156, my dockstart wing: it turned out to be too small.🔍

So I thought let’s make it super easy by starting with Curve H 6XL then 5XL.

After 30 sessions, take-offs became truly automatic and the distances were getting longer (> 2min of flight), I told myself that I deserved to switch to Sirus 186.😅

My first 3 takeoffs were tricky: I had to increase the intensity.😶

My first 3 flights, I felt lateral liveliness, sometimes abrupt stall: I was too slow. Well flying at low speeds is not forgiving, much like it isn’t for an airplane 😂

Reset: more punch when gaining initial speed and power when leveling off after takeoff. And there, it's simple: fresh legs in the 2nd minute. A pump and the impression of going further. And it turns great too. The large span is manageable. Total happiness..”🤩

SUP foiler: Aurélien, GONG ambassador, with a HIPE Cruzader, Carbon Pro paddle and Sirus set-up.

Conclusion

“No regrets for being conservative in my choice of front wings for flat starts. Being on a Curve H 6XL made it much easier for me to get into the sport. Going directly for a Sirus would clearly have been too technical for me. So to all those who are struggling, who want to get into it without SUP foiling experience etc... Choose EASY (CURVE H) to get started and take a pumping machine (SIRUS) afterwards !!! 😄 ”