Just got caught up on this thread, and Wow! Congrats to your wife for not letting it get the best of her, and finding little victories that inspire her to keep pushing forward. I'm not sure given the circumstances of not having any previous wind sport or foiling experience...that I would have had the gumption to stick it out as she has.

Kudos to her...and to you also Phils, for having the patience, and continuous encouraging attitude to help her along her journey. My wife and I would have definitely been in marriage counseling by about session six or seven...if she hadn't already beat me with the foil or tried to strangle me with the ski rope for saying something stupid as I usually do in those kinds of situations.

Last several days have been on the lighter side.  She is doing long surface rides on strong side and actually going upwind.  Her weak side remains weak....unable to stand up.

Some stronger wind and she will likely foil more consistently on strong side.

We have a lesson scheduled with Oregon kiteboarding in Lyle.  If nothing else, she can get more water time.  aka: I get a break from carrying her massive rig upwind ).

Update and video. 

Mel has been persisting despite challenging conditions at the Gorge for a learner of her experience level.  Many of the locals have seen her struggle in the river.  She had one session in which she counted her falls and remounts (=57).  She had been making slow progress but was off the water for about 2 weeks while we traveled to our winter home in Florida.  The time off did wonders for her and she is now really coming along.  Below is a video from today.  Those of you who saw her at the Gorge will appreciate how far she has progressed.

That is so cool.  Way to go Mel!  She has it now.  I am sure it seemed like an eternity to her, but really just a few months to put together a lot of stuff.  Sweet.

Very cool, she's a trooper. Everything comes quicker once she's up and flying. Now you need to get DW to make her a board that's not as tall as she is.

Quote from: PonoBill on October 05, 2020, 02:29:26 PM
Very cool, she's a trooper. Everything comes quicker once she's up and flying. Now you need to get DW to make her a board that's not as tall as she is.

Agree.  There is definitely a DW board in her future.  Mine is amazing.

That is one determined lady! Looks like Dwight's stomping ground at Kelly Park. Is that where your winter place is?

This is inspirational! Thx for sharing.

Quote from: obxDave on October 05, 2020, 06:28:49 PM
That is one determined lady! Looks like Dwight's stomping ground at Kelly Park. Is that where your winter place is?

We are in Sarasota but often foil at this location in Tampa Bay/Skyway.   It is ideal for learning to foil because there is a large sandbar upwind that keeps the water flat and but is deep enough.

This sort of story is inspiring for everyone. Seeing others put the hard work in to break their own ability boundaries certainly gives me the motivation to keep my skills moving forward. Awesome work Mel!

Time for a update.  The Journey continues.  Brief summary for those who don't remember or want to read all the details:  My wife took up winging with essentially zero experience with any board or wind sports.

Strange, but it took quite a while for us to figure out which her strong side was.   Ultimately, right foot forward declared itself.  After progressing to foiling consistently on both sides, she hit a major challenge in gibing and riding toeside.  Many, many, many tries and falls.....more lessons....more falls.....broken thumb (all healed now)......finally some successes.  She is now gibing consistently on her strong side and dialing in this riding toeside mystery.  On her weak side, she is foot switching on the surface.

She started on a 7-4 board and is now down to a new 5-5 Armstrong board.  She is loving the sport and hopefully the worst is over.

Bravo! 

Fantastic!

That's great to see -- thanks for posting the photo!

So epic! My wife is not interested to say the least. Says she can barely stand on a SUP. I got a SUPwinder dagger fin so I can try to get her on the water on the perfect day and get her hooked. Fingers crossed my wife can be as bold and determined as yours! Kudos to her!