A Year (Windsurfing) en Provence: Wingfoiling and Skiing

Monday, March 4, 2024

Wingfoiling and Skiing

Wow, March 4th and I got out wingfoiling on Georgian Bay! And then skiing!

It has been a very mild winter so there isn't any more ice on Georgian Bay. The wind was predicted to be warm and from the SE. I've never been out this early in the season. And only one other March session 3 years ago in Collingwood. I'd actually be on the hunt checking out beaches yesterday but the wind didn't materialize. So this morning the foil gear was already in the car and after a quick McDonalds stop for breakfast I was at Sunset Beach Park.

Gotta love the selfie with ski hills in the background!

The wind was 10-15 knots and I rigged up quickly. It was a first for me going out on a SE - most of my sessions here have been NW which is more onshore and with big swells. Essentially a sideshore wind with small waves but if I headed out too far, it could be a long swim back in. I pumped up the 5.0 Duotone Slick and put the foil under the 125l Fanatic Sky Board. With my 6/5/4 wetsuit I'd used to surf in a few weeks ago with icebergs in the water, I knew I'd be plenty warm on this 10c sunny day.

SE wind a bit gusty but warm at 10c

My iWindmeter report

Pre-session selfie

Another shot of the ski hills - where I'd ski later that day!

I walked out and got on the board and slogged out until I got a gust. My first turn was a slogging jibe but after that I got a dozen jibes in a row. Overall I think I nailed 20 jibes! 10km in around an hour.

Here's a video of the day!

I even got a few toeside foiling tacks which felt great. So much better than my last session in back in December where I only got 3 gibes! The water was clear and I don't think I came close to any boulders or shoals. My spot GPS worked to send some messages back to shore that everything was going well.