Today I finally received my first parawing - and tested it right away!
It didn't work out with Takoon, and F2 didn't either. I waited here and there, and eventually decided to go for the Duotone Stash 4m[/b]. I originally wanted the POW, but it wasn't available - while the Stash was delivered immediately.
Before hitting the water, I did three jibes with the Stash and my skateboard on the parking lot at the spot. It worked right away, so I got changed and headed for the dock.
At the dock, the wind came from the only direction where I can't[/i] start with a regular wing. That's actually one of the reasons I started thinking about parawing in the first place - to be able to start from the dock in any wind direction, 360?[/b].
On the first attempt, I thought I could just fold the wing and hold the bar behind me - no chance. Too bulky, or maybe I just don't know how to do it yet. I definitely need a belt bag or something similar for that.
After two minutes of playing around with the wing at the dock, I thought: Why not just try to start the same way I do with a wing?[/i] Said and done.
The wind at the dock was very gusty because of a dam that casts wind shadow. I waited for a strong gust - around 5 seconds - and gave it a go. It worked straight away on the first try! And also on most of the other attempts.
Holding the board in my right hand felt unusual, because I normally hold the wing with my right hand and the board with my left. But: the parawing gives significantly more lift during a dock start than a regular wing - and in the end, it's actually easier[/i] to start with a parawing. I think this will soon allow me to dock start even with smaller foils.
In the video I'm flying with:[/b]
* Duotone Stash 4m
* F-One JAM 1400
* Naish Microchip 80 cm, 5L board
Yesterday I was back on the water with the Parawing. Session #2 on a regular Wingfoilboard: Skywalker Rayo V2 70L
Session #3 all together with the first Session on a Pumpfoilboard with the F One JAM1400
I also brought my regular wing and two foils - the SK8 1150 and 950. The plan was to first ride with the Parawing and the 1150 foil, and then switch to wingfoiling with the 950 to do a bit of jumping. But nope! The Parawing was so much fun that I had zero desire to even touch the wing.
I was on the water for about four hours, but unfortunately spent around half an hour stuck in water plants. I was doing a downwinder and ended up right in a patch of weeds - it was almost impossible to get out. The lake was super choppy, and I barely managed to paddle out lying flat on the board.
After about 30 minutes, I packed up and moved to a side-wind spot - honestly, I should've done that from the beginning. Unfortunately, I didn't have my Parawing belt with me - otherwise, I could've packed away the wing and paddled out further with no problem. Without the belt, it didn't work - the waves kept washing the wing off the board, and the lines kept tangling.
At the side-wind spot, after a short 500-meter walk, I was able to launch again, maintain height easily, and make it back to the starting point.
That same day, I switched from the F One SK8 1150 to the 950 foil - and I could still start pretty much in the same wind. But the speed was much better: I hit up to 38 km/h, almost the same speed I reach with that foil when winging. I'm sure that's not even the max - still lots to practice.
On the second day, I managed to land my first successful tack with the Parawing on a wingfoil board - turns out it's not that hard if you already know how to tack one kitefoil and wingfoil. First try, and it worked right away.
I also tried a Heineken jibe with the wing - but that one I still need to work on ??
All in all, another awesome day with the Duotone Stash 4m Parawing! You'll find the link to yesterday's video below.
Why didn't work with Takoon?
Can I ask you how many knots do you need for water start like you did in the last video?
Select to expand quoteLeona82 said..
Why didn't work with Takoon?
Can I ask you how many knots do you need for water start like you did in the last video?
Hi Leona82,
Why didn't I go with Takoon?
Well, I actually ordered the Takoon on the first day it launched, but they just couldn't deliver. I waited for months, and in the meantime, other brands started offering wings with better specs and - most importantly - actual availability. So I ended up cancelling the order.
Same story with F2 - I ordered their parawing directly at the Boot fair in D?sseldorf (January), and the manufacturer promised delivery in March. Still nothing by May, so I cancelled that too. At one point I considered waiting for the POW, but it wasn't available either.
In the end, I went with the Stash - simply because it was in stock and could be delivered the next day. It's not the perfect parawing (I'd prefer colored canopy and not the closed tips), but I could ride it from day one and now I actually like it a lot. About the wind in that video: it was around 16 knots when I started, but there was just a short gust - you can see it in the clip how the water flattens. I think I could fly the parawing down to around 10 knots, but going upwind below 15 knots was tricky - I needed to rely a lot on pumping.
Still on the hunt for a Pocket Rocket in 3m and 5m for different conditions.
Hope that helps!
