Wingfoil How-To: Body-drag to get your board back

[@psychicjunkie]

I wish I had seen this a few weeks back. I had to learn the hard way and work it out after exhausting myself trying to swim and catch up with my board when the leash came off. In a decent wind the board just heads off downwind at a steady speed. Hopefully this lesson will save others from that rather scary experience. And knowing how to body drag this way certainly adds some confidence in the likelihood of similar mishaps.

[@jacobstr]

Saved me another $2500 with this technique Gunnar. The key is watching this video before you have to use it though 😅

[@GunnarBiniasch]

Super glad that it saved you from loosing your board :-)😊

[@guillaumegras2200]

Excellent ! I wish I knew this before my leash decided to detach a few weeks ago, it would have saved me from swimming like a mad man.

[@irf888]

Hi Excellent video. Many thanks for sharing your advice. Regards.

[@briansmith207]

Thanks for keeping it brief!

[@GunnarBiniasch]

You're welcome

[@bigwavesurfing]

Awesome, thank you!

[@GunnarBiniasch]

You're welcome 😁

[@adolfodiasf1822]

Thanks for the good explanation. I wish I knew this last friday. By the way, is there a "good" or "better" survival modus when one geht's suddenly caught in really heavy storm? Keep the wing or better let it go? Thank you...

[@igyurry]

Silly question: Why cant you just body-drag with the wing looking upward? It has been working for me so far, although I have not broken my leash.

[@GunnarBiniasch]

Wing up is too slow as you cannot present the whole wing to the wind. Also going sideways is not really possible with wing up.

[@dchiffy]

This guy is great

[@chrisdsportscoachingaustra9055]

Great ONE🚀 Thank U

[@PostmanLXXII]

awesome!

[@mikemiller774]

Thanks for info. I was also wondering, how something like this should be done with wing. But what do manufacturers actually advise on this? If they do at all.

[@GunnarBiniasch]

I would assume manufacturers don´t care either way if people use boardleashes or not.

[@mikemiller774]

@@GunnarBiniasch No, i've meant the self rescue body-drag procedure. Because if this would be an "official" method as you've shown, perhaps some extra handles would appear on leading edge (possibly would interfere with proper wind flow).

[@GunnarBiniasch]

@@mikemiller774 extra handles would mean more weight. And they are not necessary. The leading edge is more than enough to hold on to.

[@leonfreudman6660]

My leash broke and I tried this technique in the ocean wind and waves but could not catch the board. The swell carried the board much faster than the wind carried me and the wing. Your video shows relatively flat conditions and no swell. Any recommendations for conditions like I experienced?

[@GunnarBiniasch]

There could be many reasons why it did not work. Where were your hands on the handles/boom?

[@GunnarBiniasch]

This video might show it a bit better in stronger conditions with more swell kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJnQh36DgdytZ80

[@leonfreudman6660]

Thanks for the updated video. I held my hands in various positions but maybe didnt have the wing vertically up enough to catch maximum wind. Will hopefully not have to try again unvoluntarily:)

[@Arkeopterex69]

Hi there, I tried this in light wind and I could not drag fast enough to catch my board... Any special technic in light wind ?

[@GunnarBiniasch]

How light was the wind? If it is under 10 knots you can swim faster than the board will drift.

[@Arkeopterex69]

I have a big board, very tricky to swim fast enough... It drifts super fast

[@GunnarBiniasch]

​@@Arkeopterex69 If the board is drifting fast, then it should be windy enough to catch it with the wing. Maybe try holding the back handle a bit closer to the leading edge of the wing to get more power

[@cefirmeza]

Very helpful. Would you say this method is safe enough to ditch the board leash?

[@GunnarBiniasch]

Yes, but master it first. I don't use a leash unless I am in crowded waves or really rocky wave spots.

[@jacobstr]

@@GunnarBiniasch are there circumstances to watch out for? It seems like a bit of a miracle that this works as well as it does - because you and your board are subject to the same wind forces you’ll tend to drift in the same direction. Any gotchas like currents that might impose different forces and change the equation? Is there a 201 video to follow up?

[@GunnarBiniasch]

@@jacobstr There is nothing that really comes to mind. The only thing that one needs to consider is , that when the wind is very light (sub 8 knots) it makes more sense to swim after the board rather than use the wing. In a rare case of that the current is stronger than the wind ( Rivers) this technique will obviosly not work and you should always use a board leash when you have wind vs flow on a river.

[@paulh.327]

Thank, but... It seams that is only okey if wind is light, underpower isn't it ?

[@GunnarBiniasch]

No. Works better in stronger wind's

[@GunnarBiniasch]

It's about 15 knots in the video. I am riding a 51L board with a 5m and I weigh 87kg.

[@paulh.327]

@@GunnarBiniasch thanks for your detailed answers.