Parawing Session - 11/2/2026

The wind was blowing nice and strong all day - it was whitecapping when I pulled up to the parking lot.

In anticipation of a nuking session - I set up No.40 (5'6") with the AFS Enduro 900/Mako Carve 130.

And for power I pack up the PPC Orbit 4.5

As typical - as soon as I started paddling out, the wind dropped a notch.  By the time I was outside the breakers, the wind had dropped another notch - and it wasn't even whitecapping anymore.

I ended up drifting to out in front of the cabins trying to takeoff.  No.40 has a lot less buoyancy and stability than No.44.  8" makes a lot of difference when trying to get up in marginal conditions (for the equipment you have).

I eventually got up with a good gust, and I didn't blow any jibes.  I got some fun rides (drifting the parawing) - but eventually the wind lulled out again.

Looking at this chart, it seems as if I need 20mph to get up on the Orbit 4.5

With a bigger board and a bigger foil, I can probably get takeoff at 15mph.

By the time I was ready to launch, I could have actually used the BRN S3 5.3

If I could rewind and start the session over, I would have used the AFS Silk 1050/USurf 150 and the BRM S3 5.3 - but you just never know!

I still had fun challenging myself with gear that needed stronger wind.

PF:11/W:3/PW:135/FD:77/S:29

Parawing Session - 11/1/2026

I had to run to Kailua to pick a used foil up for Kalani - then I ran some errands and was able to squeeze in a session at Hickam.

The wind was trying to come up - and normally I would have probably got back in the truck.  But today the forecast was calling for decent conditions and it felt like it was just a matter of time.

You can see the wind line where the water changes color.

I took some time to fix the Truce stash pouch (bent Ride Engine reel leash bolts), I took the tags off the Sealine wearable dry bag, and sent pictures of Kalani's new to him foil (all to pass the time waiting for the wind to come up).

I set up the Cabrinha Prestige 905/Union 160.

I tested the Sealine dry bag by stuffing the BRM S3 5.3 inside it.

And I used the BRM L1 6.5 for primary power. 

I was basically riding gusts this session.  I think this is the lower end limitation of the Prestige - I needs a minimum amount of power to stay up (duh) and when the lulls set in there just wasn't enough power.

The wind was super north - despite my best efforts, I still needed to paddle the last bit to get back to the beach.

Lots of practice jibing in uber light winds.  I got tangled up in one - but the rest were fine.

Pretty light wind -

I'd say there is a correlation between the ups and downs with the gusts and lulls.

The next multiple days should see strong winds - we will see how it shapes up.

PF:11/W:3/PW:134/FD:77/S:29

Dawn Patrol - 11/1/2026

On the way in from yesterday's session, I noticed the surfers on the inside were getting some really good waves.

I figured with similar conditions this morning, I should try and get some rides on one (of probably too many) shortboards.

Enter the Firewire Cymatic -

And the Kohola thrusters were still in place - so those were the fins I used.

The waves were slightly smaller than yesterday - but there were still head high rides to be had.

Of the five waves I rode, three of them involved multiple powerful turns.

And that is the sole reason I still have my shortboards - the feeling from pulling off a hard top turn and flowing through into the follow up bottom turn - keeps me coming back for more!!! 

PF:11/W:3/PW:133/FD:77/S:29

Garage Works - 10/31/2026

Roland asked me to install a set of tracks forward of the originals on this board (his parawing board).

I found the center line (he said the tracks were crooked), marked it and the points where he wanted the tracks to line up, and measured out the centerline of the block.

With everything lined up, I traced the outline of where I'll need to route out the foam.

First cuts were with the Dremel and a small cutoff wheel.  I pulled off the carbon that covered the area to be removed.

Then I used a multitool to cut the foam lined up at the "remove" line.  I also cut the track boxes where the line lay.  I was considering removing the whole track, but I think it would be better to leave them in place as additional reinforcement at the rear of the new block.  I'll just fill them with 2-part foam, level and cap.

The last thing I did was sand the area where the cap sheets will go on.

Tomorrow is routing and gluing in the new block.

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 10/31/2026

350kJ on the Surfline forecast.  2.5' high tide.

And no wind -

With the larger surf and the weekend crowd, I figured it would be best to Foil Drive.

And knowing the full tide would somewhat dampen the intensity of the surf, I figured I'd try something different - the HA Ultra 750/UGlide 41

I couldn't remember if the forward most marks were for the Ultra 750, or if I had worked out that the Silk 850 and the Ultra 750 shared the same mounting point.

I started out using the forward marks - but after the first few waves I brought it back in the slots (to the Silk 850 marks).  I could more easily control the foil after the adjustment. 

I kept moving to the right towards 5-O's

The waves were heavier out there and the chop that was on the inside cleaned up nicely.

The waves were well overhead - I had some really challenging rides (adjusting to the nuances of the Ultra 750)

16 rides and no getting smashed - good score!

Not sure I hit 29.5mph....

PF:11/W:3/PW:133/FD:77/S:28

Parawing Session - 10/30/2026

Marlon was coming in from Guam this evening - so I figured I would get a session in during lunch.

There was wind, but it was coming in gusts and then would lull out.

I opted for the Cabrinha Prestige 905/Union 160/Apex 78 bolted on to No.44

For power I put up the BRM S3 5.3 

When I paddled out, I actually considered paddle back in - it lulled out a lot.  But I had seen some wind on the water earlier so I figured it would come back through - I only need to get up once for it to count as a session!

The wind did pick up and I was able to stay up on foil.  I got through two tacks on the outside and a couple of downloop jibes on the inside.  I didn't want to risk going down (especially if I had to paddle in - this was a lunch special after all).

The wind was not this strong - the anemometer is probably closer to the tower.  It did feel more north than what is shown on the wind chart.  I'd say it was 17mph gusting to 23, and lulling to 12.

Looks like I only got 20 minutes of foiling in -

I'll take it!

Fun session!  And it is good to get the feel of the Cabrinha set again (with an inbound Domani 960).

PF:11/W:3/PW:133/FD:76/S:28

Evening Parawing Session - 10/29/2026

All day the wind was showing signs that it was blowing hard enough to parawing.

I packed for parawinging (but had the thought to bring a surfboard in case the conditions were not enough).

You had to paddle out a bit to get to the windline (and also outside the breakers - to safely deploy the parawing).

For gear - I chose the AFS Silk 1050/USurf 150/Standard Fuselage/80cm UHM mast mounted on No.44 with the BRM S3 5.3 for power.

The waves had some size - and the wind was up and down (but mostly up, and strong enough to not have to pump too much to get up onto foil).

But the waves, as big as they are, would fade and rise based on whether they were above a reef or not.  So with the exceptions of the big ones, it wasn't worth retracting the parawing.

I did retract twice - the first one was short, and the second one was the last wave I took - and that was from all the way out to all the way in.

That last ride is the furthest line to the left of the chart.

This is Hickam's chart.  It was probably 5mph less at WPB.

Up and down -

I was glad that I got in what I did, and that I didn't have to paddle back in from way outside.

Tomorrow is forecasted to have some wind also... not sure where it is coming from (but don't look a gift horse in the mouth!)

PF:11/W:3/PW:132/FD:76/S:28

Evening Session - 10/28/2026

It's been 2 days since I've been in the water so I figured I needed to get some exercise today.

The conditions were not clean - understandable with the monsoon system overhead.

Having recently surfed the longest board I have (The Viking) - I wanted to surf the shortest board I have - the J Splee Boogie Fish.  At 5'1" and what I'm guessing to be 34 liters, I got along with this board just fine.

I ended up catching five waves in about an hour.  With these lower volume boards, my earlier waves seem to be better than the ones I take at the end of the session.

My first wave I got one of those mystical over-rotations on the middle turn of three while going right.

Honestly I'm just happy that I can still have fun surfing board like this (I'm closing in on 55 yo soon).

PF:11/W:3/PW:131/FD:76/S:28

Garage Works - 10/28/2026

There was some light rain coming down when I got home from work.  I figured I'd wait it out before heading to the beach.

And since I was waiting.... I figured I should put some time into shaping No.45

Looking at the rock (or lack of) - I figured it really didn't matter if I took the excess foam from the top or bottom.  To make it easier - I opted to take the excess from the top.

I want this board to be a little thinner than No.43

At this raw shaped stage, the thickness is already at around 3.75"

I might try and get this shaped over the weekend.

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 10/25/2026

The north winds were blowing this morning.  It was actually 5.0 strong out at the outside breaks (but it was pretty calm on the inside).

The waves were there, but on the outside where you would have thought it would be top to bottom, the waves weren't standing quite as tall as they could have.  And it was a dropping tide as well - quite the conundrum... 

Based on yesterday's conditions, I opted for the AFS Silk 850/USurf 135

I spent most of my session out at 5-O's.  Brent was SUP Foiling out there and I followed.

My Garmin watch had stopped twice during the session - and I don't know how many waves/rides weren't recorded (at least two, maybe up to five).  That means the rest of this data is incomplete.

In fact you can see one of the "forced data fit" straight line mods the app did.

I did pick off one wave that gave me a ride from 5-O's all the way to where I would pick up waves on the inside (super long).

These charts say nine rides - I think I was closer to 15.

Fun session (but yesterday had much more thrilling rides)

PF:11/W:3/PW:131/FD:76/S:27

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 10/24/2026

Dawn patrolled PVs this morning.

There was a northerly wind - so the waves were groomed.

And when the sets came in - they had some energy

Norm and Stu were out on Foil Drives.

Lance and Nick were on SUPs.

I brought out the same gear as yesterday.  The foil position for the Silk 1050 is perfect.

The plan was to run one battery - then go in and put Nick's foil on the board and let him run.

The waves were just overhead.  The swell was coming from the SW and the rights were firing at what I came to found was called "Tree" (the break to the left of PVs - it's what Pat Caldwell calls it).

Nick didn't want to leave Lance's board out alone, so he asked just to get a few runs on the battery I had in place.

He caught 3.5 (one double dip) waves and we swapped back.  I even caught a wave on the SUP 

he was using (haven't done that in years...)

12 rides on the first battery

I followed Norm in because I wanted to trail him going back out.

Which I did (and I also took the time on the way back in to do some soundings to find the potential high spots.

The waves didn't seem to have the same energy over the course of the second battery.  And Stu got his heel cut open (from the foil).

11 rides that second battery.

It was great being out on the water with Lance and Nick again!

Super fun session!!!

PF:11/W:3/PW:131/FD:75/S:27