In a nutshell
This article explains an incident I had last year that led me to change my safety equipment. Staying safe is important and if my story helps just one person avoid some of the stress that I felt, then this article is worthwhile.
Inflatable wings and sharp foils will inevitably come together on some occasions leading to a damaged or unusable wing. Seeing what a falling foil can do to a wing, brings home what damage it might do to you. An impact vest with substantial protection and buoyancy is vital. If you do end up without a wing or worse, injured, then you want to be able to summon help. I now have:
- A Forward WIP impact vest that has superb body protection and provides 50n of float. The vest has a zip pocket on the front for a phone (or other device), that protects both the phone from damage and you from being damaged by the phone.
- JCB Toughphone which is a cheap low function phone that is water resistant. Mine has survived a complete immersion with no issues.
- Joto Waterproof phone pouch.
* Note that product links listed below that go to Amazon may result in commision being paid to me if you purchase the product. This does not cost you any extra. I only recommend products I use.
When things went wrong
There is a saying that there are only two types of wing foilers:
- Those that have stuck a foil through their wing.
- Those that will stick the foil through the wing in future.
I was already in the first category, having torn a canopy in shore break. This incident was worse.
It was a gusty day blowing 18 to 28 knots cross/offshore. I had already completed two sessions each of over an hour and was planning to head home. Then a late arriving friend from my local spot convinced me that one last session was a good idea. I was working on gybes and footswitches. It was all going well, when I totally messed up a footswitch and ended up with all my weight on the back of the board, which threw me off the back, and the board into the air. From here it came down foil first, onto the bladder of my wing. This resulted in what I believe space engineers refer to as, a rapid unplanned disassembly of the wing.
I climbed back on the board, gathered my torn and deflated wing up and looked around. Fortunately one of the windsurfers was close by and came over and said he would ask the coxswain from our club to come and pick me up. I sat on the board and drifted further from shore in the wind and the chop and awaited rescue. A few minutes later I saw the safety boat launch …. and go roaring to the rescue of someone else, a visitor to the lake who had been struggling in the conditions.
As he disappeared back to shore unable to hear my shouts, I tried to weigh up my options. I had drifted quite far from where the few people still out were riding and in the chop they wouldn’t see me sitting on the board (it was impossible to stand up on the board in chop with no wing to balance against). I tried paddling the board back to shore for a few minutes but against the wind and the moderate lake waves this proved fruitless and I was worried that I would exhaust myself.
In the end I decided that since I was on a lake, and already more than halfway across, the safest thing to do was go downwind and land on the far shore. By sitting on the board with the corners of the broken wing under my legs I was able to hold the front handle above my head and use the wing like a small sailing spinnaker. I made surprisingly good progress like this and after about forty minutes I was able to paddle myself ashore in a safe landing spot.
I was hoping that there might be dog walkers that would have access to a phone, but none came. I then walked up to some nearby houses, where a slightly surprised man leant me a phone to call the club and get the, very apologetic, coxswain to come and get me.
Reflections and lessons learned
Whilst not life threatening the experience was stressful enough to make me consider what lessons I had learned and what steps I would take to avoid a repeat.
My overall conclusion was that foils are sharp, falls are inevitable and no matter how hard you try to fall safely there will be some falls where the foil comes down on you or the wing. Even without a spectacular fall, the wing, your source of power, is inflatable and therefore vulnerable to failure. There is always a non-zero risk that you will end up with no power source when winging. This led me to conclude that:
- Getting hit in the body by the foil would have potentially been a bad injury without more substantial protection than the lightweight foam impact vest I had been using. I decided to get something more substantial.
- Had the foil made contact with my head that might have stunned me slightly even with a helmet on (essential). I decided to get an impact vest with significantly more buoyancy.
- I used to habitually let go of the wing in crashes. Had I kept hold of the wing I might have kept it away from the foil, so I now hold on to the wing when I crash and try to keep it safe from the foil.
- When you plan a session you should have an idea of your self rescue plan if you do find you have no power source. If there is no possibility of a safe landing somewhere (even if it is inconvenient) go to a different spot.
- Some form of communications device to summon help is a very advisable safety aid. If like me you are sometimes the only person out at your spot it is essential.
- One last session when tired is almost always a mistake. You make more mistakes when tired and pushing it too hard is unwise (especially for us foilers over fifty).
Forward Wip Impact Vest
After researching various brands I settled on Forward WIP. The brand was founded in 2015 to create gear for fast-moving, high-impact foiling sports, recognising the new risks involved with higher speeds on the water. I was impressed at the way their products offer padding around the torso, sides, and ribs, essential for protecting against impacts from the board or foil. In addition they use premium materials like high-density, thermoformed foam for better impact absorption and comfort during falls. Finally they have developed various wing foil specific products and appear to be constantly innovating.
I chose the Impact Vest 50N. Which has substantially more protection and buoyancy than my previous light foam (much cheaper) vest. It also has a zip pocket at the front, and a cut away profile that allows a harness to be worn over it.
Pros
- Very high level of protection from board foil or water. It is substantially safer than the cheap lightweight vest I had been using.
- Lightweight and compact, it fits snugly and doesn’t feel bulky for such substantial protection.
- 50 Newtons of buoyancy provides significant float at my weight (~80 Kg).
- Large zip pocket accommodates a phone easily and front and back padding protect the phone from the board and you from the phone.
- My harness belt fits with it comfortably and rides in a comfortable position.
Cons
- It’s at the pricier end of the market.
- I looked at various alternatives including Mystic and Ion before settling on WIP for the reasons mentioned.
- Had it been available at the time I would have bought the Wing Impact Vest 50N. This vest has a built in harness hook, a ring for a board leash and a front line for a wing leash. The chest hook will work well for winging and it eliminates the need for a separate harness belt.
Joto Waterproof Pouch
I didn’t do a huge amount of research on the waterproof pouch to be honest.
I wanted one with a catch style lock, as I read that these were best for keeping water out. I also wanted one with a lanyard so I could wear it around my neck if for some reason I didn’t have my impact vest with the pocket.
I selected the Joto case, because it had the features I wanted and was available on Amazon fairly cheaply.
Having used it for a while I am happy that it is robust enough for what I need and has not let any water in so long as the locking mechanism is correctly closed. I failed to do this once and the pouch flooded and the phone got wet, but this was 100% user error.
JCB Phone
The Joto case could easily accomodate a standard smartphone, but after some thought I decided to get a specific phone for winging.
I decided to get a specific phone for several reasons:
- Even in the waterproof pouch and impact vest a smartphone is vulnerable to damage in a fall.
- If the pouch leaked I didn’t want to ruin my iPhone, both because of the expense and because of how reliant I am on it for multiple apps.
- I thought that calling with an iPhone from the lake might be tricky with wet fingers not working on the screen.
Pros
- Shockproof to withstand 1.8 m drops.
- Waterproof to IP68 standard. I (unintentionally) tested this by leaving the bag unclipped and flooding it. I dried the phone with a towel and turned it on and it came on no problem.
- It is button operated with ability to store key numbers (emergency contacts, safety cover duty phone) and dial with a few button clicks, so calling with wet hands is easy.
- Very long battery life, I charge it about once a month at most (it is not getting any use but the retention of charge is good).
- Less than £100.
- Low level of functionality for a phone (e.g. cannot run map applications, typing a message is clumsy).
Considerations for others
A mobile phone to communicate makes sense for my situation as I am wing foiling on a lake, where there is mobile coverage and the coxswain provides a direct contact number. I could have opted for a VHS radio as the coxswain also monitors a club specific safety channel, but this offered less flexibility (e.g. if my wife wanted to contact me whilst out on the water).
If you wing on the sea you have more risk to manage. A phone is not such a good option and you might want to consider a VHS radio instead.
- Mobile network coverage can be patchy at sea even relatively close to shore.
- A VHS radio allows direct connection to the coastguard with the added benefit that nearby vessels are also monitoring Channel 16 so in an emergency may be able to offer help sooner.
- A VHS equipped with DSC (Digital Select Calling) will automatically send your GPS position with the distress call.
If you do decide to go down the VHS route you need to understand the protocols for VHS communication. In the UK the RYA provides education on this.
For even more backup, a personal locator beacon can automatically send position and distress signal directly to rescue services. The beacon identifies the owner, and emits a homing signal that the emergency services can use to help them spot you once in the vicinity. This is not something I plan on buying as I will not be putting myself in the situation where I would ever need it. Having windsurfed for many years in the sea on the south coast I would:
- Not go out in offshore winds, use an alternate spot, inland lake or river.
- Have a clear understanding of my safe landing options should things go wrong.
- Not go so far off the coast that I could not be seen from shore.
- Have a buddy out with me (ideally), if not have told my wife exactly where I was going out and my rough timings.
- Have a handheld VHF radio.
In Conclusion
Whilst not life threatening my powerless drift across the lake did give me pause for reflection.I hope that, if you have read this far you may have thought about how you would fare in a similar situation, and made any adjustments you feel necessary.
If you have any safety tips of your own or hard lessons learned please share them in the comments. Let’s help each other stay safe out there and Let’s Go-Wingfoil.