If you are airplane pilot, you understand "prop wash" (or jet blast). Routinely Air Traffic Control "spaces out aircraft on takeoff" since wings (and engines) create turbulent air. If you have to cross it, you should do it at 90 degree angle (perpendicular) to the flow. Aerobatic pilots face the same thing crossing their own path on tight maneuvers.
Today, I blasting on my Wizard 105 / 7.0m and came upon a large ski boat that was idling in front of me, when he saw me approach (I was pretty close to the back of his boat), he gunned it, and his prop created that stream of bubbles, that you probably remember sitting in the back of any boat.
WELL, THAT'S PROP WASH and my Moses 1100 foil, pitched and pulled (like a stalled wing should)
, and then it was over. It was like a big speed bump. In the moment, my flight training failed me, and I was perplexed why my loyal foil fluttered so bad....but afterwards it all makes sense.
If this is the first time you noticed that you live in a nice place my friend. Lakes over here are littered with boats on the lighter foil days, the wake of other windfoilers, windsurfers and especially sailing boats are also not a treat.
Yeah, I can definitely feel the prop wash of boats. We have an annoying amount of 10-15m long pleasure boats that come out in the warm months and ferry their passengers 15 minutes so they can drink cocktails and watch the sunset. I would suggest caution when passing behind powerboats, though. A surprising number of them will have a fishing line trolling behind the boat. Some sailboats do too. Give them a bit of room. Fishing line passing across your fin/mast makes a surprisingly effective cutting tool not to mention what's at the end of it.
Hello, in my opinion and it has happened to me several times, the effect is that the bubbles generate a decrease in the density of the fluid and we lose sustainability! Many times you also feel the turbulence caused by the currents!
Not only motorboats, but I've felt turbulence behind other windfoilers and windsurfers alike. Funky feeling, but I've been able to get past it with little issue.
