Wingfoiling with Gong Sirus XXL frontwing and firstime with straps

First day wingfoiling with a board with front straps and the Gong Sirius XXL wing.

Since there was little wind, I decided to try wingfoiling with my larger pumping wing. That day I was also trying out my first board with straps and 25 liters less volume. I went from the Gong Hipe First 135 liters to the Gong Hipe 110 liters.

The first contact with the board wasn't great. 25 liters and on top of that, the straps were bothering me at first.

The first few times I tried to fly, it felt like my front foot was too far back, even though I had the foil in the furthest back position possible.

But after several attempts, moving my back foot a little further forward and leaning my body forward on takeoff, I finally got the hang of it.

With the reduced volume on the board, I was clearly less stable on the water, but as the minutes passed, I got used to it and the difference didn't seem so significant.

As for the Sirus XXL wing, it took off easily, but I still needed a gust of wind. With just a light breeze and pumping, I couldn't get the foil up.

I was using a mast of only 77cm, and at first, it came off several times, but I eventually got it under control simply by shifting my weight forward when I felt it picking up too much speed. And in terms of speed, I didn't notice the Sirus XXL being any slower than other beginner wings I've used, nor slower than the Gong Curve H XXL.

Getting used to the straps is easy. It's great to have the position fixed, so those of us who aren't yet proficient don't have to keep looking at our feet to check if they're in the right position. It also helps a bit with balance and for straightening the board when it's veering to one side, especially with a 156cm wingspan wing like the one I was using that day.

Pumping on this big wing loosens the screws quickly, so I stopped to check them just in case. They had loosened a little, but much less than when I'm pumping.