Around here most wingers don't go out until it's blowing 12kts and few leave until it hits 30kts.
For me I'd rather wing until it's solidly over 20kts then I'll windsurf but I've winged in 30kts and had a good time.
Wingers don't usually bother below 10 knots of wind around here, and then I'm sailing circles around them on Formula gear.
Select to expand quoteAusMoz said..
I can see its only a matter of time b4 we see a decent chop on a wing dinger or a fatal. Really hope it doesn't happen but from what I seen- it's gonna happen.
It's pretty surprising that (if) it has not happened yet, given that there are more wingers on the water than windsurfers at a lot of spots. I know about several deaths on the water while windsurfing in recent years. Those are just death by either windsurfers I knew, or friends knew, or that happened at spots I sailed at the same day, or frequently. Some of these deaths were due to natural causes (e.g. heart attacks while sailing), but not all of them. In addition, there were a few incidents where windsurfers ended up unconscious in the water at bad crashes, but were saved from drowning by others. I never had any serious injuries while windsurfing, but had several crashes with rather painful gear contact, where I was really glad to be wearing a helmet (and, in one case, wished I had worn a face guard).
In freestyle and wave competitions, most wingers don't use board leashes, which drops their risk of gear contact injuries to a level that's lower than in windsurfing. Of course, that can result in long swims in waves .. but many who have played in waves have also chased their windsurf gear in a long swim.
Select to expand quotesboardcrazy said..duzzi said..supguythesecond said..duzzi said..supguythesecond said..
For those of you that do both, which is worse on the body for big impacts with the water?
Foiling is inherently more dangerous. You are up higher, and gravity has a tendency to make it hurt more when you finally touch down, especially if you do so on a foil. Putting wave sailing to the side, where windsurfing is much safer, but you can still hurt if you are not safe, you can basically spend life time windsurfing without an injury (or at least ... I did).
Hard to tell when it comes to long term. Windsurf can be basically effortless, but there is the chop that puts a toll on bones. Winging requires more effort and the ergonomics are a bit doubtful, but you do not really feel any chop ...
Which one are you falling in more consistently on? with speed
I basically never fall with a windsurf ... I might drop the occasional jibe or tack in sub-planing conditions. Ages ago, when equipment was less forgiving I did some catapults with no consequences. I hit a big wood log once, and it was not pleasant. I do not want to think what would have happened on a foil ...
Windsurfing I think I've fractured , damaged ribs and chest muscles about 5 x in the last few years. That's with an impact vest. I'm off the water atm with damaged chest muscles due to the rig being ripped from my hands and falling heavily.
I haven't speed sailed for ages and have forgotten all the little things I used to do to keep safe..
Oh plus c 2 years to get up to speed after badly breaking my wrist hitting bottom at speed.
I just found out the latest injury is another broken rib..
Depends on your skill level. Windsurfing, windfoiling, and wingfoiling share the same trend. As you improve, the crashes become less frequent and more violent. 
Select to expand quotesboardcrazy said..
I just found out the latest injury is another broken rib..
From windsurfing or something else?
I am learnng wing foiling, I have seen some fellas go out with 7m wings and tooth pick boards, they can go out in 6-8 kts but it looks pretty dull unless there are swells. Once it gets up to about 12 kts it seems to be much more fun.
It has a couple of big advantages for me, a massive level of directional freedom and it also seems to much easier to manage with gusts
Select to expand quoteSurferKris said..sboardcrazy said..
I just found out the latest injury is another broken rib..
From windsurfing or something else?
Windsurfing. I was off the water injured for most of 2 years . I haven't done much speed sailing since and I've lost all the little habits I had to keep safe.
I entered a gybe in a strong gust and the sail got ripped out of my hands.I fell on my side in shallow water but it was the sail that did it.
It's a bit of a worry. I did a similar thing 18 months ago when I tried to get back into it too soon afterbreakingmywrist . I was just standing in the shallows holding the gear and the sail was ripped out of my hands. That injury was the same but worse.
I hope I get my head together soon. I can't afford all this time off the water. At my age it takes too long to get back up to speed / fitness.
Both times the wind was only 15 - 23kts.
