As technology quickly catches up with the ambitions of sailors, we can now bolt a hydrofoil to the bottom of our existing boards and give it a try. For less than the price of a new rig, these foils will extend the wind range of your current quiver down to wind strengths of less than 10 knots - even if your largest sail is a 5.8!

The whole point of hydrofoils is to glide above choppy water. We expect to see you up on the GPS leaderboards soon - you've got no excuse now! In all seriousness, choppy water is the one thing holding back windsurfing from speed records. It's been proven that the sails are capable of remaining efficient well into the high 70 knot range, if it wasn't for the drag induced on the board in the water. Even butter smooth passages like those created in Luderitz are extremely draggy. Eliminating the drag from the board altogether is the answer.

Finally, the strength and stamina required to sail around for an afternoon is still something that prevents women and kids from getting into the sport. Sure, it's 'not that bad' when you're hooked in to a harness - but wind foiling doesn't even require a harness it's that light on the body! Because there less drag, you're sailing with such a small sail and the loads on it are significantly less. It's the same as the power different you feel when you're slogging, compared to what you feel when you're up on the plane. Take that a step further, and you're foiling.

On the other side of the argument, there's the learning curve. Wind foiling has a much shallower learning curve than other foiling sports, because windsurfers are used to having large fins in the water normally. Add to that the stabilizing effect of the mast pressure, and it's one of the easiest hydrofoiling sports to master. Some have said it's even easier than sailing a Moth!

Keen to see whether foiling will re-ignite your passion for windsurfing? Check out the footage of Slingshots new windsurfing foil gear in the video below.