Awesome 'Flying' Windsurfing comes to Rutland

Foiling takes windsurfing to another level as the sailor flies along silently above the water on a hydrofoil, which lifts the board out of the water to create an awesome sailing experience and spectacle.

Rutland Watersports' instructor, David Horan, qualified to teach foiling windsurfing on the RYA's first ever WindFoil instructor training course at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy last November. Now the Whitwell-based centre is offering windsurfers – local or otherwise – the chance to give foiling a go on their new RYA First Flights foiling windsurfing course.

David said: "Foiling is a completely unique and exhilarating experience. It really is exciting to be able to offer this in the Midlands. Once the board leaves the water all the noise drops away to almost silence. All the bumps from the water are gone and it's completely smooth. It gives windsurfers a new way to challenge themselves and get the buzz they felt when they first started out.

"Foiling has massively opened up the window of opportunity to get out sailing. You typically need around 14+ knots of wind to get planing, where the board skims over the surface, on standard windsurfing kit, but foiling can be achieved in as little as six knots, so you can get out on the water more often. There are so many Midlands sailors who are unable to regularly get to the coast, so being able to give them this opportunity closer to home is amazing."

Anyone will also be able to see windfoiling in action, whilst getting the chance to try windsurfing, dinghy sailing, stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking plus heaps more, when the National Watersports Festival returns to Rutland Water on 8-10 June.

Graham Colam, Rutland Watersports Chief Instructor, added: "We're really excited to be one of the first centres to offer foiling windsurfing in the UK. Having had a go myself I can report that learning to foil is great fun if a little tiring!"

The RYA First Flights course offers a basic introduction to foiling and gets sailors air-bound for the first time. Anyone interested in doing the course should have knowledge and experience to RYA Intermediate Windsurfing certificate level and be comfortable in the harness and blasting in both footsteps.

Rutland Watersports have invested in a Starboard free ride foil for tuition. If windsurfers have a board with a Deep Tuttle fin box the foil can fix to that. Otherwise boards can be hired from the centre for the two-hour course, which can be done either one-to-one or two-to-one with the instructor.

Once a windsurfer has gained their First Flights certificate they can hire the foil at Rutland Watersports. The centre is also offering the RYA Sustained Flights course, which is the follow up to the First Flights qualification

For more details like Rutland Watersports on Facebook and for more information about or to book your tickets for the National Watersports Festival visit www.nationalwatersportsfestival.com

Source: (Nationalwatersports, 2018)