Get to your knees

Your first flight will be the result of a succession of correctly executed steps. With practice, these will happen naturally. Our complete How To covers the 7 steps you need to acquire to launch your first flight and all the following ones.

  Here is the third step: get to your knees.  

Wing foiler : Laury, GONG staff, on HIPE Learn, wing Plus and X-Over foil.

The key points to go on your knees are the following:

• Positioned on all fours, your weight is distributed oddly as one part rests on your hands placed leeward and the other on your knees, placed windward on the board. You will have to transfer the weight only on your knees. To achieve this without losing your balance, move your rear knee up to 8 inches behind the point where your heel would be placed if your foot was in the leeward front strap. So not very far from the leeward rail and a little behind the front knee. In this position, you can manage the board’s trim from all angles.
• Your legs form an angle of 45 ° with the axis of the board, which means you’re facing the wing when placed in beam reach position: very useful for the next stage. You can also put both knees symmetrically behind each front strap. You will then have an attitude more oriented towards sailing downwind.
• Avoid sanding the skin of your toes on the pad by placing directly the underside of the toes and not the top which is more sensitive. And don’t wriggle too much otherwise you’ll lose the skin on your knees too 😉
• Raise your bust to look away.
• If you take the wing with your front hand, you will bear off. Conversely, by holding the wing with the rear hand you will automatically luff (this is useful at the start). By exaggerating this front or rear positioning of the wing, without even activating it with your second hand, you move forward and steer your board. Easy 😉