Wing boarding speed is a new concept that’s been given some air time recently by Liam Dinkerneck (son of multiple world champion Bjorn Dunkerbeck) and his record setting speed run down the Luderitz Speed Channel, Namibia. We appreciate not everyone is interested in wings. Especially with so much emphasis on needing to foil as well. (You don’t by the way. A SUP is enough to get some enjoyment from your wing). We feel the foil may put some people off. And even though there’s synergy with stand up paddling (a wing provides an alternative method of propulsion when breezy) newbie stand up paddlers especially fail to see this.
Winging without a foil has been something lacking. When wings exploded properly on the scene a few years ago they were touted as being perfect for foil board but lacking for stuck to water craft. Even though any paddler taking a wing out in a blow will have some fun regardless.
Wing design has come on leaps and bounds recently. These air engines are now more rigid and efficient than ever before. As such they’re now applicable to driving fin orientated boards. Not just foil. Every so often we’ve seen riders using wings for non-foiling riding. And it’s an area of interest. Wing boarding would (in our opinion) prick more interests than that of foiling, so it’ll be interesting to see how the industry evolves the concept.
You have to hand it to Liam Dunkerbeck. Taking on the ferocious winds of the Luderitz Speed Strip in Namibia is no small feat. Especially with an inflatable power source. But as we say wings are getting better and some can cope, as can be seen in the vid, with the type of gusts you get in Luderitz.
In a press release Liam said this about his record breaking run:
‘Liam achieved a top speed of 31 knots according to his GPS data and set an average speed of 26.92 knots over a 500-meter distance according to the official speeds measured by the Luderitz Speed Challenge team which system is approved by the WSSRC. For anyone thinking of attempting to break this record, here is what Liam had to say: ‘This is a new sport and it’s growing really fast. Go for it because maybe one day a new discipline will exist that is wing speed.’
Check out the range of McConks’ range of wings via the link below.
And here it the Go Fly in action, albeit foil mode.
If you have any questions about the McConks Go Fly range of wings then get in touch via the usual channels.
Our guides to all things windy will give even more info to this side of watersports.
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