Beginner parawing guide

Parawinging is the newest sport on the beach: a small pocket kite you fly by hand to get onto the foil, then stow away and ride the swell like a downwinder. Here is what you need and, just as importantly, what you need to know first.

Who it is for

A parawing is not a beginner's first foil sport. You need to be comfortable on a foil already, ideally wing foiling or prone foiling, and happy in open water. If you can foil upwind on a wing, you are ready to look at a parawing.

Parawing size

Parawings run from about 2m to 6m. They are far more powerful for their size than a wing, so size down compared with your wing. Most riders start on 3.5m to 4.5m for 15 to 25 knots. Two sizes cover almost all conditions.

• Under 70kg: 3.0m to 4.0m
• 70 to 85kg: 3.5m to 4.5m
• Over 85kg: 4.0m to 5.5m

Board

The magic of parawinging is riding without the wing in your hands, so a compact downwind-style board makes sense: narrow, long enough to paddle onto the foil, and 5 to 15 litres above your body weight. Your wing board works fine to learn on. Many people move to a smaller, narrower board once they can stow the parawing reliably.

Foil

A higher aspect front wing, around 1000 to 1400cm², gives the glide you need to ride swell once the parawing is stowed. Pair it with a longer fuselage and a mast of 80 to 90cm for open water.

Safety and where to ride

Wear a leash for the parawing and for the board, and a buoyancy aid or impact vest. Start in side-shore wind with a lift home, not in offshore wind, and learn to stow and relaunch in shallow water first. Come and talk to us before your first session and we will point you at the right spot on the day.