FEEDBACK: SIRUS

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Surf

09 march 2023 0

Several staff members and friends had a first go on the new Sirus front wing at one of our home spots for dockstarts. Some of them also had a go at it in surf foiling with small knee to waist high waves. Here is a first feedback from David.

“We often go for after work dockstart sessions when there’s no wind nor waves. The goals of these pumping sessions are always the same: to go super far, to make it all the way back and obviously to tease the one who makes a big splash from the get go or can’t make it all the way back 😉 Well, the Sirus will force us to redefine what super far means and when to tease someone!

On the first or second attempt we all smashed our personal bests. Very casually, without having to force it !

Super impressive. I started with the 116. Everyone was able to pump crazy distances with fuel to spare in the tank. The thing is that the Sirus offers both lift at low speed to get you going and a helpful glide when accelerating thanks to its high aspect ratio. You can have it both ways with this front wing whereas it’s usually the one or the other. This lift gives a lot of time to breath at the start. A useful comfort margin to settle into the right rhythm and raise the board to limit the drag of the mast.

As you don’t have to dig as deep physically, you have a clear mind to focus on your pumping technique. You have time to reposition your feet if you’ve got off to a sketchy start, narrow the stance to relieve the effort in the legs and fine tune the amplitude of the pumping strokes to save energy. It really is a virtuous circle.

In the end we were able to try all the sizes. The Sirus 116 goes far, the 136 very far, the 156 is a real glider aircraft and the 186 is next level! The distance you can achieve is essentially a matter of energy management. So by going far I mean not being physically cooked. I would say that the choice of size is ultimately not so much related to the size of the rider but to the pumping pace you want to have.

Obviously, for the larger sizes you need a suitable spot, which was the case for us with a floating dock at water level which allows the biggest front wing to pass under the dock. To turn, the Sirus 116 has almost the same turn radius as a big Fluid-T. From the 156 it is necessary to widen the radius of the turn but it’s still manageable.

You remain largely in control on the takeoff.

The day before we had tested both the Sirus 116 and 136 in surf foiling. I feared the takeoffs would be too violent given the lift of this type of front wing but in the end it’s really close to a takeoff with a Veloce or Fluid XXL (I weigh 83kg). Which is actually perfect for me in soft waves. So you remain largely in control on the takeoff. Due to its high aspect ratio it is a little more technical, especially right after the take off, to find your balance, but its lift grants you extra time to survive some goofy movements. Its rail to rail on the wave is that of a (very) high aspect ratio front wing. To take a surfing analogy, it’s closer to a longboard style of ride than a shortboard one, especially with the 136. The 116 was very close to a Fluid XXL-T in rail to rail. So it’s still very cool, you just have to adapt your style of surfing.

The big thing is obviously how it pumps, which is the whole point of its dimensions.

The first thing I enjoyed is how you can recover after a sketchy wave exit over the whitewater. Despite being super slow and super low you can be full speed in the next few meters. It’s crazy. A touchdown no longer means the beginning of the end. On the contrary, you can use it as a rebound to get going again. The physical effort to get going from a critically low speed is surprisingly not that intense. Besides, it is quite easy to reach a cruising speed to catch your breath, relax and spot a set on the horizon for a connection. The performance of this gear gives you confidence in your ability to connect a set in the distance, which also makes you win a lot of meters! We had a blast in this session, connecting swell lines well beyond the take-off zone. Without being more out of breath than if we had connected a wave just behind. Although it is primarily a front wing designed for pumping on flat water, you can clearly have fun with it in tiny waves and connect like never before.”

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