'Wingers': The only Wellingtonians not whingeing about the wind

Wilton man Sam Price looks forward to the next windy day in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

While most Wellingtonians enjoyed a spate of warm weather earlier in the month, one Wilton man was itching for the winds to pick up again.

Watersportsman Sam Price got his wish yesterday morning, when he made the most of the conditions by "wingfoiling" in Porirua Harbour, in winds up to 75km/h.

"If I don't get a windy day for a few days I do start to get a bit itchy," he said.

"We had a bit of a run of a few nice days in Wellington and everyone was absolutely loving it, but I was getting itchy feet, I was like 'when's the next bit of wind coming?'"

"I kept checking the forecast and going, 'oh no another sunny day, what am I going to do?'"

Originally a windsurfer, Price got into wingfoiling - or "winging" - about two years ago when the watersport was even less well-known. Winging involves mounting a hydrofoil under the board, and an inflatable wing that you hold in your hands, he said.

"You stand on the board and you use the wing to gather a bit of speed up and the foil starts to lift you up."

"It just glides through the water, basically there's no resistance at all. The board you're on is actually flying above the water."

Unlike windsurfing and kitesurfing, the wind range for wingfoiling is quite large.

Sam Price, of Wilton, Wellington, out enjoying the conditions while wingfoiling across the entrance to Porirua Harbour. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Though undoubtedly a dangerous sport, "wingers" could also go out in very flat conditions, anywhere from 10 knots (about 18km/h).

Though in a city which this week recorded winds up to 124km/h in some areas, wingfoiling around Wellington could definitely be considered a more extreme sport, Price said.

"People from Auckland that are wingers come down and they can't believe we're doing it in the conditions that we are because they're used to sunny, no wind, hardly any waves."

"Down here we want wind and we want waves and we want it to be as exciting as possible."

Wingfoiling involves a board with a hydrofoil attached below it. Photo / Mark Mitchell

"We were out in 40 knots [about 74km/h] today and we were content and happy, and it didn't really feel like we were taking any risks."

Winging is still a niche activity: there are only about a dozen people in the community around Wellington. But this has grown from just two people a year ago, Price said.

The sport was also starting to take off in Europe, and Price said more people may venture into Wellington's winds when they had mastered the basics.

"They have quite a low wind out there so it's probably more popular to do it in the low wind ranges at the moment," he said.

"But I think as people improve and get better they will start to do it in stronger and stronger winds."