Riding Downwind
Alternative name: Downwind
Category: Basics
Level of difficulty: Level 2 (from 4)
Description
To go downwind when wing foiling, you have to choose a course away from the wind (downwind). Steer your board as far out of the wind as possible without losing speed.
To start riding downwind, leave the crosswind course (beam reach) and ride out of the wind at a deeper angle.
The force of the wind in the wing decreases the further you ride out of the wind - the deeper the course, the less wind force in the wing.
If you are riding straight away from the wind (run dead before the wind), the actual wind and the airstream can cancel each other out. The wing then loses its lift and must be held overhead in the umbrella position. This keeps the view to leeward unobstructed and you can concentrate on pumping to keep foiling.
This content shows you how to ride on downwind courses:
beam reach, close reach and broad reach
Wingfoiling on a broad reach
Foiling with the wind