Garage Works - 9/27/2025

I trimmed up the filled in spots along the split seam, cleaned out the interior of the block slot and glued in the mast track block.

I should have done this yesterday to be able to laminate both sides of the board over this weekend - but oh well, better to go slow and steady on a new shape.

I should be able to get the bottom deck laminated tomorrow.

Dawn Patrol - 2nd - 9/27/2025

I went in to swap out batteries and Norm drove up.

I also switched out to the Silk 850/HA40 (and that's the reason I'm counting this as a second session).

Tide had dropped a little and the waves when they came through were a little more energetic.

I used the "fat finger" distance I noted on No.40 for the initial spacing on the Silk 850.  I ended up moving it forward a bit to get a little more lift - I was having a hard time getting the foil to carry through.  This foil won't have the carry of the Enduro foils, but it was dropping out too early.  After the adjustment it was good.  The back end felt a little more loose - but that was the Silk 142 rear stabilizer.  I marked this position.

I had a bit more trouble riding the Silk 850 on No.39.  Having way more reactivity on the roll axis, No.39's narrower width made control that much more critical.  But after I got it dialing in, it was awesome on the bigger waves.

11 rides - some of the peaks shown are blown waves due to me adjusting.

I think No.39 will be the next board I use to parawing.  It has forward footstrap inserts already (to help with pumping) and it's propensity to build speed quickly will work to engage the foil faster.  And using the Enduro 1300, the narrower width sensitivity will get dampened a bit.

Now we just need wind...

W:56/FD:119/PW:43/S:8

Dawn Patrol - 1st - 9/27/2025

Did two dawn patrol sessions this morning.  I had actually stopped over at WPB - and it was really good.  But it was pretty crowded and I really didn't feel like dealing with people today.  Then I drove over to PV and checked it out.

The waves were smaller - and there was wind there (even though the forecast called for dead winds).  But I figured smaller with no crowd is way better than dealing with aggro people.

Stu showed up and Jill was already into one battery when I was heading out.

Same setup as yesterday.  I did bring the Silk and I wanted to get it worked out on this board - but with the tide pretty high and the swell direction not really working consistently at PV, I stuck with the Enduro 900/HA40 for the 1st session.

Every 30 minutes or so, a good set would roll through and break - so it was a good opportunity to confirm the mast setting for the Enduro 900 (changed it up a couple of times and felt good where it ended up - got it marked).

I cheated over to the break in front of Nimitz Beach/Campgrounds and caught some good ones over there.

14 rides - long lulls between sets.

W:56/FD:118/PW:43/S:8

Evening Foil Drive Session - 9/26/2025

I got home from work and the onshore winds were blowing again.  I sat down on the couch and ended up taking a small nap.

Then I texted the crew and only Roland rogered up.  He said the conditions were better than yesterday - less wind and more surf.

So I loaded up the truck and headed to the beach.

Same setup as the previous session, but I moved the mast back a notch to get the edge off the initial takeoff - it's pretty good now (and actually could probably come back a half notch or so, or I could cutback on the boost).

No.39 still impresses upon me that it is a high performance board.  Being narrower than my usual boards, turning input is much less than normal and foot placement is pretty critical.

Roland and I pretty much were just trading waves on the second reef.  The swell was showing, but it'll probably be bigger tomorrow.  The waves would fade pretty quickly - but some gems would roll through and let you ride them for a good distance.  And lots of carving!

19 rides in an hour - ridiculous!!!!

Tomorrow I think I'm going to use the Silk 850

W:56/FD:117/PW:43/S:8

Day Off - Garage Works - 9/25/2025

I charged up the HO battery and even brought the already setup board/FD/foil from yesterday - but with the wind directly onshore and decently strong, I opted to sit today out.

Instead of Foil Drive-ing, I ended getting some ground handling practice with the Flysurfer POW 4.0 and the BRM Maliko 2.9

I ordered a demo POW 4.0 and it arrived today.

And this is the first time I had the BRM Maliko 2.9 out and flying.  I had already changed the bar out, and I've been trying to confirm the bridle mod was already completed (it has).  There wasn't enough wind to get this parawing to pull like it should, but I did get a feel for it (and I really think it is going to be a blast!).

This 4.0 seemed to have the same power distribution as the Maliko 5.1 - will be interesting to see how close they are.  The 5.0 is definitely more powerful than either the POW 4.0 or the Maliko 5.1 - so that is off on it's own.

This parawing changed direction easier than it's bigger sibling.  That means the jibing challenges I was having on the POW 5.0 is the larger size and difference in handling.

I should be able to test drive this in the water on Sunday and find out first hand.

Of note, there were only brake lines leading up the canopy from the bar.  I'll have to see if that is the same as the 5.0

Also happening today - I got some garage time in.

I placed some epoxy and glass bubbles in the seam of No.42

I'll sand the overage tomorrow and get the track block glued into the slot.  That will set up a weekend lamination.

And I got the bolt holes deeper on Felipe's mast repair.  I still can't get the bolts to just drop in, but I'm really close.

Once the bolts can drop in, I'll clean up the holes and place either epoxy/milled fibers, or JB Weld (probably the epoxy).  After that is in place, I'll drill holes for the helicoils, tap the holes and get the helicoils installed.

Just in time to get Prayot's AFS UHM 80cm foil into the garage for repair...

Foil Drive Evening Session - 9/24/2025

And as forecasted, the wind has left us.  Well not exactly - when the trades slack, the thermals become the dominant factor.  Then all bets are off.  Depending on how the land heats up, you get different results.  When I got to the beach today the wind was light and from the west.  Then it was calm for a bit.  Then by the time I was headed in, it was light trades.  Doesn't matter - I was Foil Drive-ing

There were some fun waves!  But they were spaced out a bit.

And probably better for me to have some time between rides.  I'm still nursing my right knee from taking too much pressure.  And I also setup No.39 -

I bolted on the Enduro 900 and used the wing screws in case I needed to make adjustments in foil position.

It has been a while since I've used No.39 and I've been thinking it may be time to try it out for parawinging in stronger wind conditions.  To get used to it, I set it up for today's session

This board is all business and no slack.  Definitely the highest performing board in my quiver.

I had several waves where I was cranking turns back and forth and this board/foil was eating it up! 

15 rides in an hour - and the waves were lully - ridiculous (thanks Foil Drive!!!) 

I'm going to stick with No.39 for the next several sessions

Today felt like the first day of Fall - a little cooler and the sunlight was coming in at a lower angle.  This year was not particularly fruitful regarding strong wind days or endless runs of south swell - but it did offer conditions that helped me develop my parawinging skills and super fun Foil Drive-ing.

W:56/FD:116/PW:43/S:8

Downwind Parawing Session - 9/23/2025

The forecast was calling this the last of the trade winds for 7 to 10 days - so the regulars hit WPB to get the last bit of wind-driven stoke.

But the wind looked really North and lighter than yesterday.

Stu got back from a Mainland trip and he brought back an Enduro 1100 for Norm - and Norm bolted it on his new board to wing it.  Stu used the Pure HA 1100

And I used the same gear, but switched out the parawing to the Flysurfer POW 5.0

This actually was a great session!  I botched my first jibe (PW wouldn't turn over to the new direction) - but I got darn near all the rest of them.  I think I was better than 70% today (this being an issue only with the Flysurfer POW).

I also got a few goofy starts.  And I think one or two were front foot first.  I'm trying to get multiple of these starts in during each session to make this easier.

You can see tons of north in the track.  And this felt more like a wing session - partially because I was tailing Norm while he was winging.  He looked really smooth and perfectly powered on the Enduro 1100.  Stu had a hard time today, but made it all the way to the PV landing spot.

And Marvin was back from travel - he used the Foil Drive to make the run.

Yup - lots of north in the winds.

And it feels absolutely awesome that the Flysurfer POW 5.0 can get me up on foil in winds this light, and keep me moving nicely once up on foil.  I definitely am getting the feel down for jibing this parawing - but it still throws curve balls.

That's what makes this so fun!

I really dig the floaty feel I get from the PW and a bigger foil - I have always wanted to kite foil - but I never got into it (primarily because of the space required to launch the kite and the huge issue if the wind drops and I have to paddle back in), but I imagine this is similar to how kite foiling would feel.

Super fun session - and a great run of parawinging these past several days!

W:56/FD:115/PW:43/S:8

Downwind Parawing Session - 9/22/2025

Prayot, Norm and I did the WP-PV downwind run this afternoon.

Wind was just under whitecapping speeds when Norm and I got there.  Prayot had already launched and was up on his Appletree Chicken Nugget wingboard.

There were waves, but nothing threatening.

Nice high tide made launching and recovery relatively easy.  

Norm got a new board!  125 liter Naish DW Hover board.

I went out with the same board/foil/mast combo as the past several sessions - but opted for the BRM Maliko 5.1 as the wind seemed a bit stronger.

I got up on foil without too much drama and I stayed up for quite some time.  I could have easily held my line, but after Prayot and Norm passed the cabins, I felt we were committed, and I embraced the longer flow of riding along with the waves.

Norm did get up on foil intermittently - he needed to move the foil forward to get up faster.

Prayot wasn't getting up being on the wingboard.

And then I hit the dead zone - and didn't get back up until I lined up on Nimitz Beach.  I cut my losses and made a beeline in.

Riding with the BRM Maliko 5.1 is actually a joy - it turns well, has a decent low end and pulls upwind without drama.  I didn't try to retract the PW because I didn't want to have to deal with relaunching.

As I hit the dead zone, I began thinking whether I would have been better off taking the Flysurfer POW 5.0

I probably would have been able to get through the dead zone on foil, but I would have missed out on the perfectly dialed in power that the Maliko 5.1 had today. 

Tomorrow looks like the last day with wind for at least a week.  One more day of parawinging!

W:56/FD:115/PW:42/S:8

Parawing Session - 9/21/2025

I went back to Hickam today - specifically to get more practice in on starting goofy footed and jibing (with the Flysurfer POW 5.0)

Wind was up and down (I sound like a broken record on this topic).

Same gear as the second session from yesterday.

I took a different perspective on parawinging today - this is less like winging and more like kite foiling.  With that mindset, a lot of today's actions were easier.

I slowed down the transitions and had a better success rate.  And I practiced the heck out of starting on starboard tack (goofy foot for me on the south shore).  I will admit it is getting easier - hopefully that will be the case at WPB-PV so I don't have to venture way out to start.

I had to remind myself that a bigger parawing is usually the better bet than what you would think initially - the trees were moving around nicely, but the wind wasn't really visible on the water.  Based on the trees I would have packed the Ka'a 4.8.  But I ended up taking the big one - the Flysurfer POW 5.0

And I never felt overpowered.  In fact for periods during the end of the session, I was perfectly powered and not even hooked in to the harness line.  I really like the Flysurfer POW 5.0

Midway through the session, I saw a guy in the water and an efoil motoring away from him.  I knew I'd lose a bunch of ground, but when someone is in trouble the law of the sea is you help.  I had to chase his board down and it too forever to catch (it was still on and running in gear).  I caught it and started heading back to him.

After that, I had some ground to make up.  I drifted a bit waiting for a gust - and once I got up on foil, I was close to the reef line.  With the high tide I just went over it and wanted to ride it out a bit.  I ended up riding to inside Firsts.  I jibed on a wave and rode back to the inside harbor area.  

First to parawing Firsts!!!!

I worked a lot on my jibes.  I made some really ugly crashes and got yanked off the board trying a high-speed tack.  I got wrapped up in the parawing a couple of times.  So there was a lot of bad.

But through all that, I think I got some muscle memory developed on the good jibes.  Because this POW 5.0 is a bigger wing, it is harder to initiate the turn.  But combining back stalling with a pivot turn (of the PW, not the board) had a bit better rate of success for me today.  I'll take that as a win with all the shifty wind out there.

And the floaty feeling the foil and parawing had chasing tension and drift - what a cool sensation!!!  This never happened in winging - everything was "tighter".  Wondering if I'm going to come out of a jibe moving is the exciting part!

Parawinging rules!!!

W:56/FD:115/PW:41/S:8

Parawing Session 2 - 9/20/2025

Second go around was definitely lighter.

Swapped out to the Flysurfer POW 5.0

When the conditions are right, this PW is just super easy to get up on foil.  Lining up the wind's power core and the board, this wing pulls like a truck and gets you up on foil faster than most other parawings.

However - the flip side of this benefit is the turning I get out of this wing - turns like a truck.  I'm still experimenting to find a way to get more consistent turns.  It's really the initial part of the turn and getting the PW to twist over to the new tack.

I've said this before, but the upwind tracking is phenomenal!  Even schlogging, this wing moves upwind.

And I definitely broke my parawing distance record today.

I did get a heelside tack in and actually foiled out from it.  Tacking with the parawing is way different compared to an inflatable wing.  The parawing is way less "direct" - almost just "aloof"

And I also forced myself to start going inbound (my weak side - goofy).  I got at least 3 start ups this way.  I'm going to have to really develop this skill more - it's actually faded a bit when I wing also.  This was easier to do at Hickam because of the flat water, but despite that I positioned myself further back on the board and got my rear foot up first - made getting up to speed easier.

Zach was out wind foiling.  Naomi was wing foiling.

Mark went out first with the Neilpryde Fly wing, then he went out on his BRM Kanaha 4.7 (and got up!  He still washed downwind - but getting up on foil is a huge step).

And Prayot came out with the F One Frigate 4.7

Being able to get out in wind this light is an exciting prospect.  I would have normally setup the Foil Drive and be a little frustrated at the chop and spray.  Now I can lean more towards using the wind instead of fighting it!

Super fun despite the lulls!!!

W:56/FD:115/PW:40/S:8