Forecast and wind strength this week is epic, gust to 40knts, avg 30knts!!. I had a late session at Melville yesterday (3.30pm) with wind gust to 27knts and was found wanting. Not many out but the few that were out were ripping it up and seem to handle the conditions very well. I'm 81kg and riding a 4m Slick SLS and 1040HA. I didn't think the wing was out of it's depth but found breaching on the rolling swells was too common. I don't have a smaller wing but don't want to waste the next few days. Who's been out and what's working?
I'm not in your area but when riding similar conditions with massive wind and ground swell, I find a foil with a bit of chord is helpful to make cresting the waves when heading back out to sea more manageable. You can ride the spine to avoid the sudden drop on the backside of the wave but with some chord it's one less thing to worry about. Also when it's that windy and the water is turbulent with waves and tons of energy the extra bit of chord allows you to bounce around the swell skatepark when riding with the wing luffed out. I ride the SAB W940 rather than the high aspect W1000 in these conditions. Not saying that's the specific foil you should use, but something similar in shape and dimensions. It has a 940 cm span, 1100 sq cm area, chord is 16.5 cm (more stats here: sabfoil.com/en/products/front-wing-w940-surf-1100-cm2). While the surface area seems too big, it has a thin profile and I don't feel over foiled.
Did the arvo and sunset LB session yesterday and this worked well .. F-One Strike 4.2, SMIK v2 75L 4'8" and Axis HPS830/375/Ultrashort/75cm 
super balanced and max fun 
65kg 51yr punter .. arms and shoulders in rehab now hhh
photo @mediamanandy
Was great seeing you out there Tim
I was on my 3.5 and 1400 foil as was riding bumps
went out after work today was nuts and with My 3.5 again but a smaller 1000 foil still could have had a smaller wing 2.9 or smaller but got away with it
Good to see you stroppo in full stoke mode after the squall of death came through. That grin was priceless. Great shot Stanley, definitely one for the pool room. I went down to have another crack today but stayed in the car unfortunately when a few other locals on smaller wings looked like they were wrestling with Mother Nature. Looks like a smaller wing is probably the only solution. These conditions are rare so not sure if it's worth the expenditure. I might have to explore a low or mid aspect foil as halfwaythere suggested.
Was probably storm of the year so far mate! We all had to step down a size for the sunset session .. check out more shots at @westwingers by our pro "shooter" @mediamanandy. Some shots from battle of the after-work wind Perth wind addicts
I was out at Melville yesterday arvo as well. It had some nice bumps coming through. The best bumps I've had on the river which wasn't surprising considering the wind strength!
I was on a 2.8m PPC ( really more like a 3.3m) with axis HPS 980. I am 100kg. The 2.8 PPC was handling nicely. Was quite controlled riding slow and pulling tight upwind. I like to ride a bigger foil as I am usually trying to surf the bumps. Also a bigger foil is handy when pinching upwind slowly in the stormy conditions.
I think yesterday arvo was high 20's gusting to about 35 knots and I was hanging onto the wing just fine and going upwind easily. Today I did a short downwinder from woodies and it was solid 30 to 40 knots and it was a real pain trying to go upwind or even hold ground. Still totally possible to control but not much fun. Pretty happy with the top end of my set-up especially considering I can ride it comfortably from about 22 knots upwards.
I am surprised to see people have been out on 4m+ wings, that seems pretty big for these winds.
There's a little bit of blue sky and manageable wind at Melville at the moment. I might have to get off the internet and get out there!
Select to expand quoteYoungbreezy said..
I was out at Melville yesterday arvo as well. It had some nice bumps coming through. The best bumps I've had on the river which wasn't surprising considering the wind strength!
I was on a 2.8m PPC ( really more like a 3.3m) with axis HPS 980. I am 100kg. The 2.8 PPC was handling nicely. Was quite controlled riding slow and pulling tight upwind. I like to ride a bigger foil as I am usually trying to surf the bumps. Also a bigger foil is handy when pinching upwind slowly in the stormy conditions.
I think yesterday arvo was high 20's gusting to about 35 knots and I was hanging onto the wing just fine and going upwind easily. Today I did a short downwinder from woodies and it was solid 30 to 40 knots and it was a real pain trying to go upwind or even hold ground. Still totally possible to control but not much fun. Pretty happy with the top end of my set-up especially considering I can ride it comfortably from about 22 knots upwards.
I am surprised to see people have been out on 4m+ wings, that seems pretty big for these winds.
There's a little bit of blue sky and manageable wind at Melville at the moment. I might have to get off the internet and get out there!
get out there mate! may see u later for the sunset session .. got a new piece of hardware just dropped in for testing
Select to expand quoteYoungbreezy said..
I was out at Melville yesterday arvo as well. It had some nice bumps coming through. The best bumps I've had on the river which wasn't surprising considering the wind strength!
I was on a 2.8m PPC ( really more like a 3.3m) with axis HPS 980. I am 100kg. The 2.8 PPC was handling nicely. Was quite controlled riding slow and pulling tight upwind. I like to ride a bigger foil as I am usually trying to surf the bumps. Also a bigger foil is handy when pinching upwind slowly in the stormy conditions.
I think yesterday arvo was high 20's gusting to about 35 knots and I was hanging onto the wing just fine and going upwind easily. Today I did a short downwinder from woodies and it was solid 30 to 40 knots and it was a real pain trying to go upwind or even hold ground. Still totally possible to control but not much fun. Pretty happy with the top end of my set-up especially considering I can ride it comfortably from about 22 knots upwards.
I am surprised to see people have been out on 4m+ wings, that seems pretty big for these winds.
There's a little bit of blue sky and manageable wind at Melville at the moment. I might have to get off the internet and get out there!
get out there mate! may see u later for the sunset session .. got a new piece of hardware just dropped in for testing
