The first day of fall 2020 was so warm I was in a shorty to enjoy the 17c 11-13 knot wind from the SW. I set up the new 99cm Slingshot foil on my 2nd longest 30 inch mast.
I headed out from the Launch Pad with the 5.6 Idol sail and quickly got a few short foils. The 99 definitely gets on the foil more linearly and is easier to pump onto a plane.
I headed upwind and slowly got used to the different feeling of the bigger foil. It felt slower of course. 25.8 km/h was my top speed.
I did get a few jibes that kept nice speed, but I wasn't as consistent as I've become on the 76 cm foil wing. In fact most jibes were wobbly and I fell in a lot more than I expected. The 15c water was generally a shock. I foiled for just over an hour and did 15 km.
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| Returning to the Launch Pad Thanks Jen for the photo |
A few pure downwind sections were fun and really showed how slowly one can go on a big foil. Basically I was able to float straight downwind on any of the nice swells up NW of Wedge Island where the waves roll in from the Bay. That is where I spent the majority of my time!
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| Using "walk" app in Garmin gives a coloured speed chart. A few jibes without going back down to blue! |
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| Nice warm wind for the first day of fall |
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| The new 99 cm wing. Even in "C" position, a bit far back? |
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| Max speed 25.8 km/h |
Carl, I was very surprised to read that the bigger foil felt more wobbly. I just ordered one to see if I could get up sooner than the i76. Do you think the wobbly feeling was due to the lift being farther back and the fore/aft balance wasn't right?
ReplyDeleteYeah Brian, if you haven’t had much time on the 76 I think you will like the 99. It accelerates more smoothly and even with a shorter mast than I’m used to with the 76, I didn’t overfoil once. My only issue was the speed and banking into jibes I’ve gotten used to in 30 or so sessions on the 76 was different. There is a balance “harmonic” to get used to, and in 65 minutes (8 jibe attempts) I didn’t get it quite right (well maybe on two). On one it was way easier to stay on the foil sailing clew first before the sail flip. I think I will try the smaller rear wing that I’m used to, next time out which will be next week. It definitely needed 2knots less wind for the same sail. Let me know how you make out when you get your 99!
DeleteThanks Carl, my i99 should arrive next week. I was planning on staying with the smaller rear wing and the C position on the fuselage.
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