WingSUP Tips: How to get upwind and stay upwind with your wing and paddleboard

Learn how to get upwind, stay upwind, and avoid getting blown downwind when using your wing with a stand-up paddle board. These tips will help whether you're learning to wingfoil or just like to wing with a SUP.
Transform your relationship with time. Visit scottmillercoaching.com/
Here is the "Essential Skills" sneaker sailing video that I mentioned: • Surf Wing / Sup Wing /...
Music:
Fun Life by
FASSounds: pixabay.com/users/fassounds-3...
Additional video and images:
Sinisa Maric: pixabay.com/users/sinisamaric...
QuinceCreative: pixabay.com/users/quincecreat...

[@benoitmori2821]

Great tutorial, thanks. I've been wing supping for a month, made 5 sessions so far. No windsurf background. I use an inflatable sup that has a built in center fin (can be used as a wind surf board) and a 5m2 wing. Staying upwind is definitly not easy. I still can't go back to the point I started, i always have some paddling to do at the end of the session. Having said that, it is fun to do, plus it's a great exercice, after a 2h session I sleep like a baby. I started to do this as I wanted to learn wing foiling... but now I'm more considering learning wind surfing.

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Windsurfing is definitely fun. If you're getting used to using your wing with your SUP, it shouldn't be too hard to transition to windsurfing.

[@RaskalnickoffTube]

thanks, planning to do this exact thing today

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

How did it go?

[@RaskalnickoffTube]

@@ScottMillerCoaching I've had 3 sessions now with ~6-8knots of wind and one session with 12-20knots. My SUP only has fins at the back and it's very slow to turn. So usually I jump off to jybe as I lose less ground that way. I'm still not able to go upwind, but my last session I was able to chose which waves I caught going downwind. Then I either paddled into the wind for another run or walked all my gear back along the lakeshore. It's great to be out on the water and I'm not in a huge rush to become an expert so SUP + a 5m wing is a good bit of gear for me now.

[@rancin99]

Excellent video Scott with very good information. I started using my wing on the water with my 12 foot SUP and quickly learned I needed to add the center fin plus strap the paddle to the board since I used that many times to get back to the starting point. I also started in light wind which made it difficult to maneuver the board with the wing. Everything becomes easier with more wind to generate more speed. Thanks for the video.

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Thanks, Randy! Glad you enjoyed the video. I totally agree that having some wind can make all of this easier. After a bit of practice, I do think it's possible to have some fun with a SUP in wind that might be a bit light for foiling. And yes, the center fin does make a big difference!

[@MrHUGOLADEIRA]

Excellent 👏👏👏 So hard to find a video about wing sup great like that. Hi from brazil!

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Obrigado!

[@hughlehigh3406]

Great video: Thank you for sharing !

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MrBaltohusky]

That is an awesome vid with really good coaching points and no waffle👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@seanfalconer7182]

I enjoyed this video immensely

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@terrygardiner6912]

Awesome coaching for sup wing beginners, keep them coming, I'm 76vand need all the help I can get.

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[@dietmarkenzlers6235]

Ein sehr gut gemachtes Video, so vieles was ich sicher mal gebrauchen kann. Danke für dieses hilfreiche Video

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Gern geschehen!

[@szamanwlkp]

Excellent ❤ thank you very much for great tutorial. Regards from Wingsupping in Poland 🇵🇱 Jastarnia 😊

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

You're very welcome!

[@24raphael47]

6 toes great ;-) Goooood Video

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

You're the first to notice, or at least the first to comment ;-)

[@Raymondo5972]

Great video! Do you leave fin on SUP as well as dagger board?

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Yes. When winging on this SUP, I use both the rear fin and the center fin ("daggerboard") exactly as you see at 2:37 in the video.

[@djoleu2]

Thanks for the video. Excellent and educational. Especially when it comes to "Center of lateral resistance" :). I bought a wing of 5 m. The manufacturer gave me two fins to mount in the center. Why two? Do they have any better upwind options?

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video. The wing manufacturer gave you fins to mount on the center of your board? What kind of wing is it? And do the fins look like the Drift Stopper that I show at 3:00 in the video?

[@djoleu2]

@@ScottMillerCoaching Thanks for quick response. Sorry, not the manufacturer, but the seller of wing gave me two fins to stick on the board, which are a little bigger than standard SUP fins. Basically when I glue them they should look like the Drift Stopper. My wing is an F2 glide All around. What is the difference or similarity between that Drift Stopper and one center fin?

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

@@djoleu2, I think the main advantage of the Drift Stopper is that the fins are mounted on a bar that straps to the board, so it doesn't need to be glued. I believe that it is easier to do this type of strap-on setup with two fins. If the fin is glued on then it's easy to do a single fin. If you already have the two fins from the seller, those should be fine. Just be sure to follow any instructions you were given about how to install them. It's pretty important to place them in the correct position on the board. Good luck, and have fun!

[@djoleu2]

@@ScottMillerCoaching Thanks again for your reply. Yes, I've already asked the manufacturer for instructions on how to properly place the fins, so we'll see. I can't wait to try it, I'm very impatient. :) All the best. Greeting.

[@ziobleed]

Great video. Where do you put the paddle? How to attach it on the sup?

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Different SUPs might have different places to attach a paddle when you're not using it. Some SUPs have tie-down straps or bungees on the deck, or at least attachment points for them. That would be one way to store the paddle when you're not using it. If a SUP doesn't have these, but it does have a handle, you might be able to attach the paddle to the handle.

[@benbhand]

I’ve actually been meaning to do a video strictly on how to schlog upwind off-foil for our local windsurf/wingfoil group, mainly because I think it’s that important. As someone who has tried to wing for kicks on a friend’s SUP or even my windsurf board, I can tell you it ain’t easy with all that swing weight. Still, it’s a great option for people who already have a SUP or are not ready to shell out for a foil setup. Terrific video, Scott

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Thanks, Ben!

[@mikeb1039]

if it's an option, a lesson on an efoil is a very enlightening experience. Combining all the elements is HARD. For foiling, just learning where on the board your feet need to be for on your knees vs standing up. From stretched and overworking legs to learning the balance point with relaxed legs and a close stance was hundreds of get offs. My development was hindered primarily by the soreness of my knees, raw from climbing back onto the board after another "nope, not there" try. Learning how to weight shift to bring the foil up and down, and then safely FLY it BEFORE you try to add winging to it is a big advancement in your understanding and speeds up your development in putting it all together. Now after becoming adequate efoiling, (and it IS amazing, flying on water) I can't WAIT to learn the wing/sailing part of this and put it all together in this coming summer I turn 65. JMO and my experience on this same journey.

[@horiiizon3457]

Hello, I am looking to buy a SUP and was wondering what SUP would be better to use with a wing? A touring or an allround and what about the size? I had my eye on the aqua marina beast 10'6" 320cm 32" 81cm 6" 15cm.

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

All-around SUPs and touring SUPs can both work fine with a wing. You might want to think about the kind of board you would want for paddling. Wing SUPing is fun, but if you're spending money on a new board it might be good to have one that you can use for more than one thing. If you're getting an inflatable like the Aqua Marina Beast, are you planning to buy something like the Duotone Drift Stopper, or are you planning to attach a center fin somehow? This makes wing SUPing much easier and more enjoyable. You might find it challenging without one, unless you already have experience winging or windsurfing and know how to make the board track upwind without a center fin.

[@mikeb1039]

one that has a center board box already installed is nice and no failure from a self glued on part. RedPaddle Co and a couple of others (starboard?) make windsurf sups with a center box and attachment point for a mast. RPC is 10'6" and about 30" wide and makes a fine SUP as well as doing wing and wind surf. fWIW

[@robertofilipe8605]

what is better. A wind-sup like a windsurd sup or a Wingsup like this one?

[@ScottMillerCoaching]

Good question. The board that I'm using in this video is a 12"6' Starboard Inflatable Touring WindSUP. It's made for paddling or windsurfing, but it also works great with a wing. I've seen a few SUPs advertised for use with a wing, but I've never tried one. The ones that I've seen are basically windSUPs, and even have mast tracks for windsurfing. WindSUPs and SUPs for winging will either have a centerboard or a removable center fin. That's the main feature which makes them different from a regular SUP. Having some type of center fin makes wing SUPing much easier, especially for a beginner. But you can add a center fin to a regular SUP. There are even center fins that can attach to an inflatable SUP. Any SUP that you're comfortable paddling should work fine with a wing.

[@misterphmpg8106]

You cannot sup wing without a center fin.

[@24raphael47]

Great. Or not ? The Detail ... ;-)