Struggling to Get on Foil in Light Wind? Try the Parawing "S-Start" Method

Welcome to the summer doldrums! Or maybe you were out in good wind, and then it dropped off. Anyway, now you're kneeling on your board with your parawing in the air, but you're just not generating enough speed to get on foil. If you could get up, you'd be fine, but the trick is... how to get there? Tucker's here with a tip that may just save your session.

Tucker kneeling on his foilboard while parawinging

How Can I Get on Foil with a Parawing in Light Wind?

1. Get Moving

Kneel facing forward on your board, with the wind at your back and your wing in the air in front of you. Normally you'd start accelerating and be able to take off with a few pumps to the board, but that's not happening right now. So find the best angle, perhaps 10-15 degrees off downwind, and point the board in that direction to get moving as much as you can. Stand up when you can.

2. Find a Wave

Watch for the best set to come in and try to build some speed towards it.

3. Catch the Wave

Start to bear off downwind as the wave approaches to get a bit of a slingshot effect to propel you downwind. It'll stall your wing a bit further back in the wind window, but hopefully you'll time it right and the swell will begin to give you a little push of speed.

4. Start Pumping

Start to make small, quick pumps on the board. Not those big, gliding pumps, but ones to break the surface tension, start to fly, and accelerate a bit.

5. Work Your Wing

Right as you feel you're about ready to fly and the swell is rolling under you, give the parawing some smooth, quick pulls to drive more air through it to keep it from backstalling and generate just a bit more power and speed for you.

6. Veer Off and Fly

Lean into the sail and head downhill on the back side of the swell. You should be going almost perpendicular to the wind, but slightly downwind. If you time it just right, the wing will create more apparent wind, you'll drive forward more, and as you come off the back of the wave, you'll rise up on foil.

a diagram showing the steps of the S-Start

A Super Start... Sometimes

You'll trace a sort of "S" shape as you go through these steps, and that's an easy way to remember what to do when you find yourself in this situation. There is a lot of timing involved and you may not get it to work right away, but the more you practice, the easier it will get to judge where you need to be and when.

Remember, any day on the water is a good day. If you're up on foil, it's even better.

Tucker parawinging on foil