“Ever seen someone defy the calm and get their glide on even when there’s not a whitecap in sight? Dive into this mesmerizing video as our friend and F-One Rep, Billy Ackerman, showcases the magic of wing foiling in ultra-light winds. Armed with the cutting-edge F-One Strike CWC 9m Wing and F-One Rocket SUP Downwind Pro Carbon, Billy effortlessly dances across the water, proving that with the right gear and technique, you don’t need gale force winds to have an epic wing foiling session.” – MACkiteboarding
The Mac Kiteboarding King of the Great Lakes 2023 was back and better than ever. Billy Ackerman and Andrew Crane scored some of the nicest fall weather you could ask for in Muskegon. With plenty of sun and warm weather for the three day event, we threw on some Manera boardies and headed out to the beach at Pere Marquette in Muskegon.
Friday morning kicked off the event and with a tent full of the latest F-one and Manera gear we were sure to get people out on the water. Day one started off with very light wind, so we setup the newest lightwind combo F-one has to offer: 9m Strike CWC, ROCKET SUP DW PRO 20″ 7’5 x 21″ – 120L, 80cm HM Carbon Mast, and 1900 Jam with monobloc XXS 200 Pump Tail. With 5 to 10kts of wind, Billy was certain he could make it work, incredibly he was the first person on the water to make it work.
For the late afternoon the wind started to taper off at the end of the day, so we set out to try and flat water SUP foil. With the same setup, minus the 9m Strike V3 CWC, the challenge was set to see who could do it first. The Rocket SUP DW Pro in the 20” wide series is a great place to start if you are just thinking about starting. The DW Pro has the best compromise between length, width and volume. It is highly stable thanks to the volume distribution and optimized rails, while remaining highly efficient to paddle on to foil. Billy, Andrew, some of the Mac crew and event participants gave it a go. With little wind and no waves, it was quite a challenge for everyone as we had never tried flatwater SUP foil, but after giving it a few tries Andrew and Billy got some small flights.
Day two, Saturday, was a bit of a rinse and repeat but slightly more wind in the late morning and early afternoon. Starting with the morning, more people wanted to try flatwater sup foiling. Andrew was one of them determined to get it dialed in and after a few attempts got some decent flights.
Andrew’s Take Away
“It is a different technique than paddling Downwind or getting on foil with a Wing. You have to generate enough forward momentum with a paddle only, but with a 1900 foil it wants to take off with almost no speed. So you have to try and keep the foil from foiling. Once figuring this out its shocking that you can foil without wind or waves. Knowing this can be accomplished, the ideas are limitless on what bumps you can catch to foil.”
Once the light winds filled in for a few hours in the afternoon, we saw many customers looking around for the ultimate lightwind gear. Consistently the 9m CWC, 8m CWC, DW Pro, 1900 Jam and 1400 Seven Seas was out on the water tackling the challange. We even saw a slight spike where Andrew took out the 5.5 Swing V3, the DW Pro and Seven Seas 1400. Andrew said, “I cant believe how well this worked in such low winds. As long as you timed your tack properly, staying on foil with the 5.5 Swing V3 and Seven Seas 1400 was quite effortless.”
Wrapping up day two, Andrew and a few of the other brand reps hopped on the Mac pontoon boat to chase down the high speed ferry boat. Andrew took the Sk8 1050 and the 120 Pocket Carbon. Andrew was paired with Fred Hope on the same rope and they both took aim at the high speed boat wave.
Andrew’s Recap
“Just shocked at how fast the ferry took off. You could hear the engines rev up and next thing you know, there was a large wake coming off the back and you had to be ready for it. Shortly after the large wake, the boat accelerated to 30+ kts and it was a game of small bump pumpkin. The Sk8 1050 and Pocket 120 Carbon were the perfect combo to do this.”
Sunday was the final day of the KOGL and it was the lowest wind day on Lake Michigan. There were a few people who went into Muskegon Lake where some lighter winds were working. This however didnt last long, so the beach once again filled up with event spectators and participants. The final day more people were interested in paddling the 7’5 DW Pro and 1900 Jam. It really showed that this will be a fun and growing segment of foiling.
We hope you join us next year!