What They DON'T Tell You About Waves

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[@OCEANBOUND1]

oh man, I've trashed so much gear getting in and out of the waves! but so worth it to keep at it. it does get easier, but there is so much luck involved :P

[@windaddict]

Haha, good to hear you had some challenges and gear issues too!

[@OCEANBOUND1]

@@windaddict constantly! never ends :P

[@thatanton5895]

I had to repaired my wings every week . Broken from shore break. And I screamed in anger just like him every time got hit by big wave.

[@OCEANBOUND1]

​@@thatanton5895 haha yup I killed two wings in two back-to-back waves sessions last week. you gotta pay to play :P

[@seppmaier5545]

When I want to surf back to the beach, I do it with my board leash unhooked. I know the waves will bring it in and I’m safe when being hit by a bigger wave.

[@windaddict]

Makes sense. I know other people who unhook as well. The problem is that then you need to get off the board before to unhook.

[@fint3400]

Thanks for the insight! Keep on keeping on.

[@windaddict]

Thank you!

[@cliff4377]

@8:30 I learned the never by yourself early in my ocean experience. From that, I learned how important tides are in spots with reefs, I had paddled out to the break, unaware that the tide was about to go out strongly, the reef went dry, and I had to paddle against the inner reef outflow catching every ripple just to get cross current, glad I was young and in shape as I paddled non stop for about a hour to get to the other side of the current and back to shore. Bali

[@windaddict]

Wow that sounds like an experience to really learn from! Paddling for an hour against current sounds miserable!

[@rickdevine4150]

Super honesty respect to you . Keep going it gets easier you learned so much from that experience all the mistakes that you now and can learn from . These sports are why you do this pushing your limits !

[@windaddict]

Love that comment! Thanks Rick!

[@grahamreed8443]

Great video and completely relatable. So many issues I too faced. Be careful holding on to the board leash in the shorebreak. I know a guy that lost the end of his finger when he mistakenly grabbed the spectra leash loop before a wave hit his SUP on the beach!

[@windaddict]

Thank you!! Oh wow that's crazy. I'll try to be more careful!

[@targadave]

Awesome video and the reason I’m really cautious around shore break conditions. When I saw the clip of your Gong Pro stabilizer breaking (at least I think it was Gong) when the board tumbled in the shore break, it was a carbon copy of what happened to mine. Exact same break point. They are simply not durable enough for even modest shore break conditions. I tried to post about it on the Gong FB page but the post was quickly removed by the Gong Admin. They don’t seem to take constructive criticism very well. I think the Gong freestyle stabilizers are more durable.

[@windaddict]

Thank you! Yeah the stabilizers are just thin in this one spot, I guess to be more streamlined and faster. But that comes at a cost. Sad to hear that Gong removed your post. Not cool!

[@tate2863]

Good video. I'm learning wingfoiling and it's the most efficient wind sport in light winds, but in real wave conditions windsurf wave sailing is much more practical. You can get on the board from knee depth, stronger equipment and rig, much safer, easier to get through the sets... For wingfoiling in real waves you should get into the water from a point with no waves and then go to a soft non breaking waves peak. This kind of spot is very difficult to find, wingfoiling videos are very far from reality. I prefer windsurfing in real wave conditions and wingfoiling for light wind, flat or soft small waves.

[@windaddict]

Thank you! Not sure if windsurfing in wave is so much easier. It comes with its own challenges. I had a windsurf wave session not too long ago and it took me 45 min to get through the shorebreak. The rig is heavier and can damage the board. And it can be hard to get planing in the shorebreak, especially if you don't have perfect technique. While wingfoiling comes with its own problems, the gear is smaller and lighter which can be an advantage. In the end it depends on the spot I think.

[@superkahuna]

I have felt the same feeling of desperation when leaving the Cabrera de Mar spot. It is best to spend some time browsing nearby to let the big series pass and leave when it is smaller. Fly as far as possible, remove the leash from the board and try not to let go of the board so that it does not hurt you or the wing.

[@windaddict]

Good to hear you had a similar experience! The spot is definitely not easy with big waves. Next time I will go to Premià when the waves are big.

[@EnvelopeOfficial]

all true stuff in this video, personally experienced all of it, including foil getting stuck in buoys and insane shorebreaks, everything needs to be well thought out! Something I noticed is that taller shorebreak with longer period is better than a bit smaller shorebreak with much faster period, above 9/10 seconds is doable almost regardless of the height of the waves. With a period of 4s it might be impossible unless you have some truly powerful muscles. One thing I struggle with is positioning the wing while riding a wave, in these instagram videos you always see them keeping the wing neutral behind them as if they were going faster than the wind, or had offshore wind, but when I am surfing waves I usually have the real wind at the back and it cancels out with the head wind, therefore leaving the wing floppy and often touching the water, making it so much harder to carve around the wave so to stay in the power spot. How does one deal with this?

[@windaddict]

Good point about the wave period. I always wish for longer periods. The more time you have between waves, the better. Regarding wing position I guess the problem you describe is with true onshore wave conditions. I can imagine how that is problematic and don't know a solution for it. At my home spot we usually have sideshore wind (you can see in the video how I flag the wing on the side) so it is easier.

[@lespriteffort1656]

Can i use somes parts of you're vidéo for mine? The moment when we see you in the wave. thank you for you're vidéo. By.

[@windaddict]

Sure! Just put in a link to my video

[@fapfpv2832]

Still learning about this great sport. i tried in bigger waves and shorebreak once and was happy to get back out again - it was so exhausting lol I normally foil in calmer sea or lake. The idea of riding some waves is exciting but im not so keen on the shorbreack shizzle 🤣

[@windaddict]

Well said! :-)

[@ventwave9129]

Hace unas semanas al salir de navegar en Malgrat una ola rompió mi wing. Ya sabía que era un spot complicado pero la ansia de navegar me pasó factura. A ver si aprendo! Positivo que he renovado mi wing comprando una ensis spin 4.1 y estoy muy contento! Saludos

[@windaddict]

Siii en Malgrat también tuve algunas salidas problemáticas. No es fácil. Menos mal que ahora tienes nueva wing que te gusta

[@wingmanfoilclub]

Great video. I just posted one on the topic and it’s a lot of the same thoughts and experiences. 😂

[@windaddict]

Thanks! Awesome, we need more videos with real talk about waves 😁

[@christomo]

Great video interesting .its pure magic riding waves tho 100% Getting out hold front straps while heading out then you need to be fast it's neer easy tho . Thanks for sharing great channel 👍

[@windaddict]

Thanks a lot Chris, much appreciated!

[@wsurfn]

Truth

[@windaddict]

🤙🏻

[@vim55k]

My approach to help with the getup is foil-assist , I am building one, but also ordered something new on the market of foil-assist - "Manta Takeoff" - they have an awesome reserve price now.

[@windaddict]

Thanks for your comment! I am very interested in the foil assist topic. Foil Drive is dominating the "news" I feel with their Gen2 system. But the prices are so ridiculously high. I don't want to spend 5000 on this. And if you then see DIY builds for 400 EUR you ask yourself why it has to be so expensive. Thanks for pointing me towards the Manta Takeoff. Looks like half the price of Foil Drive, which is great. They say deliveries will be before summer next year. However I don't know if I would invest in a product that is yet to be released and has not yet been tested / proven to be reliable. I think I will just look at how this develops next year and consider a foil-assist going into 2025.

[@vim55k]

@@windaddict you just said loud exactly my thoughts 😃 ! Yes, FD so expensive , yes 10 times the dyi parts cost (not the actual investment cost ofc). Yes, buying Manta product will be like participating in a beta program, but I doupt that will be ever something cheaper for what they are offering. Their remote is in house built (they already sell it) and expected to be much much better than FD remote, the concept of separate batteries and more. And yes I believe too that soon we will see more foil-assist products. I hope sometimes we will see just the basic version at low cost, just give me power assist to make learning water sports easier.

[@larwatersports]

Me to a Tee..

[@windaddict]

😆

[@lemonyellow3117]

You seem so mellow but I loved it when you were cursing cause then I don’t feel like the only one who is out there cursing!

[@windaddict]

Oh you wouldn't want to be around me when I'm on the water in these conditions. I am cursing A LOT, haha..

[@jamalschott5547]

love the 'audio sensored' F bomb!

[@windaddict]

Haha, I was so mad!

[@cliff4377]

This vid makes me sure I made the right choice to just leave instead of trying to get up the first time in waves, even with good wind and appropriate beginner size gear, I desperately wanted some flatter water so I could try my new gear Not gonna try with no other foilers around no matter how good it looks for my first try though now.

[@windaddict]

I'm glad this video helped you feel good about making the right call. "Better safe than sorry" is the right way to go in water sports!

[@foilfanatic]

here is another for your list: Shallow troughs with large waves. Getting stuck between rip tides and oncoming waves in thigh to chest high water. Short periods.....I can ride the back side of a wave out, but on rough days, I unleash the wing. If you take a head high or above closeout while attached to a wing, it can drag you along the bottom all the way in to the beach. Best to just sacrifice the wing in some cases. Learn to sew. If you ride waves with a wing enough, you will need the skill until you don't .

[@windaddict]

Another horror scenario :-) Good point about the risks of being attached to a wing. I still wouldn't want to detach it, in our conditions it could straight up fly away.

[@grahamreed8443]

@@windaddictget a wing man leash with the parachute. That way you can ditch if needed in shorebreak or big wipeout and still be able to recover by paddling to it.

[@windaddict]

@grahamreed8443 Good point, I would like to try that. (Even though that product seems to be expensive for what it is). The problem is that then I can't use my harness which I usually always wear.

[@ozoneflysurfer9491]

Wingman is a great tool for getting in and out of nasty shorebreak. I put the neoprene pouch from the wingman on my Dakine wing harness works well and saves weight.

[@windaddict]

@ozoneflysurfer9491 Oh that's great. Didn't know that was possible

[@martinomovies]

First technique for shorebreak is to wear a full wetsuit so you don't get beat up. Then you need to keep the foil in the water as you go out, even if you have to lean it over a little so the foil doesn't hit the bottom. Going out with the board upside down is a recipe for disaster. Getting out is easier than coming back in. I've ripped so many wings coming back in when the wing hits the foil during a tumble.

[@windaddict]

Fully agreed!

[@foilfanatic]

totally agree with this...but it is a disaster when the trough takes the water level from chest high to knee high and you are fumbling with the board that has bottomed out against the collapse of a wave on your head. Still better that floating a machete upside down to whack you .

[@peterheirmanster]

Still you have relatively a long wave period. Try Dutch coast with wave period of 2 to 4 seconds including current.

[@harryhalfmoon]

You know what they say... you have to row with the belts that you have ;-)

[@windaddict]

Oof.. that sounds tough!!

[@lespriteffort1656]

I m doing a vidéo about good and bad point for wingfoiling. Shorebreak it's definitely a bad one , i broked my wing on it. I will told to the people to watch your vidéo. Even if i'm French guy, it's clear enough to see the tricks of shorebreak can be.

[@windaddict]

Cool! Let me know when your video is published!

[@lespriteffort1656]

Hello my video is online (wing foil ep2). I put a link to you're video. Thanks again and happy new years!

[@youdigsurf]

Wing foiling in wave ocean vs in the inner lake are totaly 2 different sport , i recently tried my new board in the ocean and i struggled big time with my 4m with 15knots , i fell in the ocean to be safe you need to be overpowered most of the time i was only able to take off with the wave on my back. If you add all this insecury with the gear and safety that why for me when there’s wave it’s time to switch to surf foil. Welcome to the club of stitched foot 😅.

[@windaddict]

Yes, I also feel that sometimes the safest thing is to be a bit overpowered. I usually have the worst experiences when I am underpowered. Haha, you also got stiches in the foot? I have to admit the stitches are not from a wave day actually, but from when I was in a regatta with absolutely no wind. Trying to get on the board with 0 power in the wing I was kicking a lot in weird ways that I don't usually do and then I hit the stab from behind which cut my foot open really bad. Lesson learned...

[@youdigsurf]

@@windaddict 8 stich because of an oyster went almost to the other side of my foot 2 year ago when i jumped of the board.

[@windaddict]

@@youdigsurf Damn!! Sounds painful!

[@youdigsurf]

@@windaddict yours too 😕 i had ghost pain for about a year and a half now it's better.

[@windaddict]

@@youdigsurf Oh no! Glad you're feeling better now!!

[@wildhogget69]

God I hate those shorebreak beaches, like Altafulla in Tarragona

[@windaddict]

Yup, it's tough!

[@JoeDartV1]

No one discusses the tribulations of being torn in two separate directions in white wash. Gotta love torture and a good challenge it is not without its rewards!!!!! Ruined some awesome wings exiting water 100% more dangerous than entry.

[@windaddict]

True!

[@mtumix]

You are not able to ride waves. Do not bore us with your analysis...

[@windaddict]

Aren't you cheerful. No one forces you to watch my videos. Merry Christmas