Mixing it up

I went for a foiling session Friday afternoon.  Decided to try out the smaller of the two boards I recently made, and to give the Maliko 200 another shot in the surf.  The waves were small, the tide was full (+1.5') and it would have been frustrating if I was on a surfboard - but it was perfect for foiling!!!  I can't remember the last time I was so excited to see such dismal conditions!!!

I ended up catching about seven waves - had legitimate long rides up on foil on three of them (earlier ones - I guess I was less tired???), got pitched off on three (I knew my front foot wasn't out far enough when I got up), and one other where I was up and riding, but I wasn't off the water.

I'm glad I tried this board out - it seemed like it caught waves easier and with it the foil was easier to control.  Not sure how true that is because I also have gotten smarter on foil placement - with as much lift as the Maliko produces, I jammed the foil as far back as I could in the tracks.  So on what the surf report was saying, the Maliko is good for wave faces less than 3' and on much fuller tides.  I would periodically dismount the board and check how deep the water was - at a +1.5' tide I only touched bottom a couple of times with my toes and that was much closer to shore - minimal risk of grounding the wings. 

One more observation - the Go Foil wings definitely have more buoyancy than the slingshot.  I'm wondering how much that factor plays into being able to get the foil to lift.  

Good session!!!