Beginners to wingfoiling and freeriders who want to cruise comfortably usually use a leash to stay safely connected to the board. However, those who foil in the surf, do ambitious freestyle tricks or speed runs often do without a leash, as this can pose a safety risk in certain cases. If you lose your board in the middle of a front flip or during a wash, you will usually be glad if the board and the sharp foil do not cross your own radius of movement - otherwise there is a considerable risk of injury or of damaging the wing on the foil. But even normal leashes can break or come undone - in both cases the board is then quickly several metres away.
If you have to catch up with your board while wingfoiling, it is not a good idea to rush or panic. Swimming with the wing in tow, you will hardly be able to reach your board in stronger winds and swells. Instead, use the wing to pull you along - we'll show you how to do this in the following picture gallery. Click through!
Ideally, you should try out this technique close to the shore before you have to rely on it in an emergency. You'll soon realise that you can catch or even overtake your board on the water. On our YouTube channel there's also a detailed video about this, which we don't want to withhold from you.
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Manuel Vogel
Editor surf
Manuel Vogel, born in 1981, lives in Kiel and learned to windsurf at the age of six at his father's surf school. In 1997, he completed his training as a windsurfing instructor and worked for over 15 years as a windsurfing instructor in various centers, at Kiel University sports and in the coaching team of the “Young Guns” freestyle camps. He has been part of the surf test team since 2003. After completing his teaching degree in 2013, he followed his heart and started as editor of surf magazine for the test and riding technique sections. Since 2021, he has also been active in wingfoiling - mainly at his home spots on the Baltic Sea or in the waves of Denmark.
