The 2023 Waterbourne Beach Festival was held at Mount Maunganui in early March and hosted by the Global Wingsports Association (GWA). It’s the first time the GWA event has been hosted outside of Europe.
The Festival is a wing foiling competition consisting of three disciplines: race, freestyle and wave – bringing together some of the best wingfoil athletes in the world. Armstrong Foils, a business originating in Raglan was a sponsor of the festival and we caught up with the team to hear about the event.
For those not familiar with foiling can you explain the concept? How do people describe the experience?
Foiling is often likened to riding powder on a snowboard due to the floating sensation which is highly addictive. Hydrofoils have been around in the sailing and board riding world for more than 20 Years, but due to the advancement in tech in the last five years, the sport has become far more accessible and easier. A hydrofoil kit is made up of a specialized board that features a wing-shaped foil attached to its underside. The foil is designed to create lift, allowing the board to rise out of the water as it gains speed. This reduces drag and allows the rider to move much faster than with a traditional surfboard or kite board. As seen with the Americas Cup and Sail GP the advent of the hydrofoil has changed the face of sailing due to the incredible efficiency that foils bring, much higher top speeds (40knots) and a better wind range makes for very exciting sailing and viewing. The hydrofoil allows a boat or wing foiler to travel up to 3 times wind speed.
In the open ocean, the hydrofoil allows riders to ride open ocean swell instead of relying on a breaking wave. If you have ever been on a boat and seen the rolling waves and mind surfed riding ocean swell instead of a breaking wave, the hydrofoil makes this dream a reality. You can literally ride an open ocean bump for kilometers.
There are several different disciplines to enjoy Foiling.
Wing Foiling: A handheld wing to propel a hydrofoil board through the water. It’s the fastest growing Foiling discipline
Wake Foiling: Riding a standing wake from a boat
Kite Foiling: Allows kiting in low winds
Tow Foiling: Being propelled into waves using a jet ski or boat
Surf Foiling (Prone Foiling): Paddling into waves like traditional surfing. Once the board has forward momentum, the rider is lifted out of the water to ride above the wave. Advanced riders can ride a wave, then pump back out to link up multiple waves to create one long ride (world record is around 3 hours on foil).
SUP Foiling: Stand up Paddle foiling
Wind Foiling: Windsurfing, but on foil
Can you talk about the origins of the business? How did you come to enter the world of foiling design and production?
Armstrong Foils was born right here in Raglan with Armie Armstrong at the helm, Rob Whittall, Andrew McGregor and Bryce Rhodes all came in to support the quest to create ultra high quality foils and associated equipment. It all started back in 2015 with just an idea that then turned into prototypes before releasing to the public in 2017 after lots of development and problem solving. In 2017/18 the sport began to take off globally as people began to realise the advantage of foiling, combined with social media’s reach the sport of foiling exploded.
What are the different products you produce and who are they mainly targeted towards?
Today Armstrong has a complete range of foils, wings, and boards that cover everyone from beginner to expert. The Armstrong goal is to get people out there enjoying the feeling and excitement of foiling but also the experience of being out there in the elements, harnessing the powers of nature… it’s good for the soul!
You have been described in your industry as ‘leading the world’. How has the business progressed to the point it is now and what key factors have contributed?
As a company we are very motivated to be at the cutting edge of the sport and our passion is spread across the various disciplines. Our goal is to make top quality equipment to explore and enjoy the sensations created.
For sure we are a major player but that is just a result of our drive and passion to create equipment that gets us and our friends out there having fun and improving.
Sponsorship and events are obviously an important aspect of the company. What is in the pipeline moving forward?
Straight off the back of the GWA event, we had our team attend the Sail GP event in Christchurch where Armstrong sponsor the Inspire programme aimed to support Youth into sailing and foiling. Armstrong will be involved in the Inspire programme as Sail GP moves around the globe, as well as sponsor other events that bring awareness to the sport.
At a local level have you seen an increase in the sport? Does Raglan have the conditions to support it? Will we see more of it?
Raglan is a fantastic location for foiling, we have great conditions for all foil disciplines. We are blessed with wind and waves so almost everyday you can get foiling here in Raglan. We have seen great local growth, lots of people wing foiling but also surf and SUP foiling is now growing as people begin to realise the potential. On top of that Morgan at Adrenaline Alley runs foil lessons and gets people foiling in a matter of hours. Morgan also has a wide range of stock for all disciplines.
We have recently had Armstrong’s pro riders here in Raglan and they were all blown away by how amazing this place is for all foils disciplines. We were towing in at the bar with them, wing foiling at Manu and the harbour entrance as well as some Surf and Sup foiling at the beach and Mussel Rock. We are in a foiling paradise right here.
