Places to Wind Wing Foil on the Gold Coast
Waves, Flat Water, Downwind the Gold Coast has it all!
You might have seen the growth in Wind Wing Foilers around the Gold Coast over the past 12 months, from seeing no one around or just a few to now a sea of wind wing foilers on any given good NE windy day down at Currumbin.
WHY?
Well, it’s Super fun and as always learning something new is great fun. You're never too old to try new fun things and Wind Winging might have you surprised at how easy it actually can be to learn.
So how does someone get involved in this Sport? What background do you need? What gear do you buy?
The best thing to do is get in touch with the Team at ONE OCEAN SPORTS at Currumbin, go and have a chat with them in-store about the in’s/out’s of Wind Winging or shoot them an email with all your questions and they will get back to you with all the answers and more!
You will need the following
Wind Wing with Leash (There are different sizes so best talk to ONE first)
Pump
Board (Can be Wind Wing Board or All round Foil Board) Some people start just by using their SUP Board to get the feeling for the Wind wing.
Hydrofoil Kit
Your background does not need to be experienced but it does help if you can either SUP, Foil, Kitesurf or Windsurf already, even a sailing background helps also but none is needed to start.
The GEAR! Well, there are so many brands already in such a short space of time, so don’t fall into the trap of buying cheaper second-hand gear, or even new gear can be well outdated and on sale. Be warned as no one wants to waste their hard-earned money and all this can be avoided by Talking to someone that is already specialized in the Sport, such as the ONE Ocean Sports Crew.
What Gear we recommend -
FU Wind Wing (Comes complete with Leash and Backpack Bag) To avoid confusion of different brands and sizes just talk to the experts. AVOID most earlier Wind wings as some of them are useless and are like flying a floppy plastic bag.
ONE Wind Wing board or a good New or Used Foil Board. Your board depends on your KG in weight and experience so once again Talk to an Expert. Finding a Moulded Construction is highly advised, Moulded Carbon or Moulded PVC construction makes your board super tough and will last the test of time learning right thru for years. Some Wind Wing boards will have Topdeck Straps inserts also, depending on if you ever wanted to consider doing Jumps or Tricks.
Pump most brands sell the Pump’s for the Wind Wings separately, so don’t forget to Buy your Pump also
Hydrofoil, can be the most tricky purchase as there is a lot of crap out there and different constructions such as Carbon or Alloy. Once again Talk to the experts on this, do not fall for a Cheap Foil Set online, you will be wasting your money. There are High Aspect Foil Wings and All Round Foil Wings, best talk to the experts first.
The wind is something you need to get up Foiling with your Wind Wing gear but you do not need much to go and learn or try. Anything around the 12 - 15 knots range is perfect for learning and once you have it dialed you can Wind Ding up to around the 25 to 30 knots range.
The bigger the size you have in the Wind wing eg, 6m Wind Wing you can go light winds
The smaller the size eg, 3m you can go out in nuking winds.
Learning how to Wind Ding is not like learning to windsurf or kitesurf as if you get in trouble or can’t stay upwind yet you can simply lay down on your board and let your Wind wing fly out behind you and you can Prone Paddle back to the start or back to shore as you are not attached via a harness or locked in.
Keep in mind the best conditions for Currumbin and Broadwater, always try and go out when you have Wind against Tide.
Where to go on the Gold Coast?
FLATWATER
Good NE wind, Currumbin is a bit of a mecca for it as you have Flatwater and Surf, you will find DING BEACH located underneath the Gold Coast Hwy bridge on the Northside of Currumbin Creek.
The Broadwater makes for many locations in both NE, N, SE, S winds, you will see many Windsurfers, Kitesurfers, and Wind Dingers up there taking advantage of the most Flatwater. Perfect for learning.
Within the Broadwater mostly used by Wind Dingers is a spot called ‘ The Train’ the name coming from the old Southport Train that used to be in the Southport Parklands waterfront. Now it is more commonly known as ‘ Mitchell Park Boat Ramp’
The Broadwater is also a great area to start learning how to Wind Wing Downwind as it is surrounded by land so not much can really go wrong, should you get in trouble with gear issues.
DOWNWIND
Downwinders are super Fun but it will take some time to get the skills up before you nail this but it is the most fun you can have out in the Open Ocean flying along and Foil surfing the Ocean swells at speeds up to 30km per hour.
Good SE wind a Downwinder from Snapper rocks to somewhere along the northern beaches from Currumbin to the spit is epic and really the whole run can just depend on the distance you choose to do. Remember Downwind is a One-way ride so you need a driver to drop you off and pick you up. Always be mindful of the crowd of surfers when heading out for a downwinder at Snapper rocks, time it well, and try not to get in their way. If the swell is small and it's an outgoing tide you can also go out the tweed bar where the tide will help you get out to the wind line.
NE winds which have been a curse on the gold coast for most water sports like surfing is now one of the most fun wind directions you can get. It opens up many options but for downwinding wind winging this is one of the greatest finds.
You can head out on any of the Northern beaches track out to sea to set your angle with where you have chosen to finish and then once your line is right just turn DW and off you go. Just be mindful getting out through the surf can be tricky with the wind wing so finding a nice big gutter is always a good option or if the wind is nice and strong you can head up to the Spit and head out under the jetty which is always much deeper and a little easier to get out.
The best thing is the Sport is Full of super fun friendly people and there is a new world of Fun waiting for you but be warned, your life will start to revolve around the Wind and Forecasts.