As you feel, the HF goes better upwind board dragging than other boards.abel wrote:Thanks for this reply.discojuggernaut wrote:Yeah it's not something you just 'try'. You need to commit to acquiring a setup, learn what to unlearn for success, and deal with the counterintuitiveness and pain. To make things easier for local learners, I give them 10-15 min sessions to body drag with my foil out in deep water then ride it back upwind for them so they don't have to do the embarassing and heavy walk of shame.
It confirms my initial (vague) perception that even body dragging with an HF is better than alternatives.
On my first try, I body dragged deep into the sea with the board mainly to avoid even the smallest brakes.
I was surprized how much the hydrofoil assisted pointing.
Does body dragging with an HF really enables going upwind, or it's just my feeling?
And as we even with the tinyest TT board, or without a board at all - can board or bodydrag upwind, then it answers itself that with a hydrofoil we can go well upwind
But my experiences are, that "new" hydrofoilers has a hard time board dragging out in onshore winds - it takes some time to learn to do it, odd but what you see often.
So practice this
Board dragging upwind is the second most important skill to learn, when you start hydrofoiling, because often onshore winds can not be avoided
The most important skill, is to learn to carry, and handle your board when walking and in the water, especially to avoid getting into the wings/mast.
PF