Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 6/21/2026

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there - and also Happy Summer Solstice 2026 - the sun starts it's journey back south after today.

The conditions were similar to yesterday - really fun surf (not thrilling or dangerous) in the overhead size range.  There was a little more wind on the water - so there was a little chop.

Cabrinha Whippit 850 with the Union 180 Rear Stabilizer - turns out this setup worked perfectly!  Just goes to show you that in a world where foils seem to be converging, there are still some unique offerings out there - I went into the Cabrinha line thinking the sizing aspects would be similar to the other foils I had been using.  But I never thought I'd be prone foiling on a 905 front foil or be using a 180 rear stabilizer on the higher end of Foil Drive-ing.  I'm glad I got into this system!

I went out with the foil in the position I had last used the Whippit in.  I took two waves and noticed I had slightly more back foot pressure than I wanted.  I moved the mast up a 1/4" and the foil performed perfectly!!!

With the 180 stab, the Whippit now balances the system weight (including my 190 pound ass) so nicely.

The Whippit is smoother and more pitch stable than the Silk.  The Silk can carve a few notches harder than the Whippit, and it can rip through whitewater without blinking an eye.  The Silk also demands more focus in order to deliver the higher performance. Despite having the same surface area and similar aspect ratios, these are different animals.

Both foils drew similar lines in similar conditions - 

According to the max speed recordings from yesterday and today, the Whippit is faster by over a mile per hour - and that was with the choppier conditions today (so there is likely more potential speed to be had).  I would not have come to this conclusion without having used the 180 rear stabilizer and finding the window where this foil works for me - no more twitchiness, no more fighting to get on foil, just something intuitive and fun with the right amount of lift.

Like I've said with the Prestige - I am not going to be getting rid of the AFS foils.  Those are incredible fun and definitely take me closer to the edge of what is possible.  The Cabrinha Union foils are just plain fun!

20 or so rides - I know I did miss a few (the wave was traveling too fast).  This weekend has been awesome for riding overhead plus, super long waves -

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:51/S:20

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 6/20/2026

Dawn patrolled WP this morning.  I didn't bother going to the shoreline to look it over - I just assumed it was going to be wonky and head high.

I was wrong - it was nice and clean outside.  And there were several energetic sets still coming through (it was better earlier).

Kalani, Noel, Dennis, Paul and Jill were all out on Foil Drive.  Prayot was out testing the Manta 700 something F4 on DW SUP foil.  Norm and Stu were out at PVs on FD.  And the Lift eFoil dude was out also.

I totally forgot MWR was holding an All Military surf contest - that squeezed the non-contest out in front of the cabins...  Good thing I was way outside.  

I wanted to confirm I had the AFS Silk 850/Usurf 135 in the right spot.

The surf was really good - I had some really long rides where I could carve hard up and down the entire over head wave.  It was actually pretty ridiculous how good it was -

These red lines were really long rides - 

The Silk 850/Usurf 135 had confidence inspiring grip - I love coming up on a peaking section and hooking a tight turn under it - epic fun!!!

18 rides -

Today was one of the better days I've had in quite some time - low stress, really good waves.

EPIC!

I received one of the two rear stabilizers I recently ordered - the Cabrinha Union 180 monobloc.  I originally ordered this stabilizer to get the Prestige 905 lined up for super easy prone foiling.  But I bolted it on to the Whippit 850 - and I'm gonna see if it gets the Whippit dialed in for me.

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:50/S:20

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 6/19/2026

Dawn patrolled at Hickam again.

Was slightly smaller than yesterday - but there was less warble.

Tide was around +0.6' so no issues.

I swapped out to the AFS Silk 850/USurf 135 - this session reconfirmed this is the hardest turning/carving foil out there!!!!

I'm calling today's sessions to be two separate ones.

First session was at Seconds.

I had the foil lined up on the S850 marks, but there was a tad bit more back foot pressure than I prefer.

The waves I rode had so many hooking turns as peaks stood up in front of me.  And I'd blast off in front of whitewater sections - SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Eleven rides the first outing.  And check the top speed -

I went in to change out the battery.  I also adjusted the foil forward a notch.

The second session was out at Firsts.

Waves were a notch smaller over here compared to Seconds, but there were more people out at Seconds.

More hooking turns and ducking in front of the breaking waves.

The foil position was perfect!!!  I could drive the foil anywhere I wanted with the utmost confidence -

Eleven waves again -

Super fun session!

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:49/S:20

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 6/18/2026

Got in a dawn patrol at Hickam.  I was originally going to surf as Prayot was launching the boat.  But I also brought the Foil Drive setup from yesterday - and when testing the flukey remote, it completely died (would not transmit).  Ryan and Bill both offered up their spare remotes, and it seemed like a better choice to test my system to make sure it was the failing remote and not something else that was causing all the issues lately.

There was a decent south swell still pushing waves in.  And it was cleaner (but still had a funky warble to it) than White Plains.

Same setup as yesterday - wanted to confirm the mast position for the Whippit was dialed in.  I think it can actually go forward a notch still.

My first few rides felt off - still trying to get used to this foil.  It was squirrely, and then when I tried to do a hard turn the stabilizer would slip out.  And the warble in the water didn't help - I breached more than usual.

But eventually I started just going with the flow and I started to get accustomed to how this foil wanted to turn.

Early on the waves were bigger.  As the tide filled in, it started to bog the waves down.

I caught eleven waves in an hour - not bad.

Tomorrow I'm going to bring the Silk 850 or the Enduro 900 and see if it was the warble or the foil that was limiting my hard turning today.

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:47/S:20

Evening Foil Drive Session - 6/17/2026

Went out to Foil Drive to test the remote.  Surf was energetic, but the chop was pretty intense.  Largely from the onshore wind that was blowing.

Nice higher tide.

Cabrinha Whippit 850/Union 160 Rear Stabilizer bolted on to the Cedrus Evolution Surf and No.40

I wanted to get the Whippit mast position dialed in on this board.

I rode the foil in the Silk 850 position for a few waves.  Then I adjusted it forward as it seemed like it needed a little more lift.

With the adjustment, the foil worked a lot better.

This foil is smoother than the Silk 850, but it needs more energy from the wave and with the 160 rear stabilizer, it doesn't seem to have the same grip as the Silk.

This was a short session really to get things dialed in and make sure the remote was working - and towards the end of the session the remote actually started acting funny again.  I called it and headed in so I wouldn't lose signal completely and have to paddle in from outside.

Eleven rides in a short session.  With the chop I fell a bunch - but there were a few really good rides!

Questionable remote makes for a distraction while foiling...

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:46/S:20

Garage Works - 6/16/2026

I got home from work and wanted to take a short nap.  I did get up - and had contemplated getting in a Foil Drive session - but I then figured I should just get another rest day in.

La was going to go to the Cactus and Succulent club meeting - I figured this would be a good opportunity to get the Tow Boogie conversion project closer to completion.

I had the reinforcement strips cut out from a long time ago - today I cut out the cap sheet from the basalt supply I have.

Once that was cut out and trimmed, I went back and taped over the tracks and sanded the area where I needed epoxy adhesion.

I also mixed a small batch of microbubbles infused epoxy to fill the voids in the seam around the block.

This took 6 ounces to properly cover.  There was probably an ounce on the roller and another ounce left in the mixing cup - so the epoxy to matrix ratio was about 2:1.

And the areas where I needed the fabric to unconditionally stay flat to the board, I went ahead and used the remainder of the peel ply and some batting to keep the work flat.

I'll let the cure, remove the peel ply, sand the perimeter, and add another fill coat to level out the new layer.

Even if this doesn't work as a tow boogie, it will definitely work as a tow device to get me on a shortboard out to the breaks that no one surfs - for that prospect alone I am pretty excited for this.

Garage Works - 6/14/2026

The Cabrinha Apollo 7m that I was asked to fixed was pressure tested today.

I went ahead and changed out more of the sprint tubes, and glued on the velcro ring at the main inflation valve.

This one is done and ready to go back to the owner.  It would be interesting to fly the two kites...

Dawn Patrol - 6/14/2026

The big south swell that is coming up from New Zealand arrived.  It was pitching lip way outside.

The tide was super low at dawn, and dropping into the mid morning.

I opted to surf -

And I got in two sessions -

First was with the Album Twinzer Twinsman.

I caught a few of the bigger reforms on the middle break.  There was a lot of water moving around - with the current dragging to the east.  I launched from the single cabin and at one point was out towards Coves.  I was lucky and my last wave I was able to take towards shore almost to Fenceline.

The twinzer was fun - especially when picking up the bigger ones, but with the amount of water moving the fins didn't feel loose.  On the rides it felt a little tracky and not at all like a twin.

I came in a swapped to the J Splee Hammah Fish

For the given conditions, this board worked so well - 

First wave had three top-bottom turn combos

And I had a few more like it.  Pure fun!!! 

The swell should peak this afternoon - and tomorrow will likely be manageable on Foil Drive outside.

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:45/S:20

Garage Works - 6/13/2026

Got through a few projects today.

First up - I got the Cabrinha Apollo leading edge bladder valves installed, the last strut bladder inflation valve re-glued, the whole thing put back together, inflation stems set, and the bladder strings removed.

I'll pressure test the kite tomorrow, install zip ties and try and get these kites/wing back to their owner.

La got the sunshade for this garden space completed and I helped her hang it up.

Looks awesome!!!

And I pulled the Twinzer Twinsman off the racks and waxed it up.  This is the vehicle of choice for the bigger waves expected tomorrow.

I've been waiting for waves that will do this board justice!

And to finish off the day/evening, I got a sheathing of heat shrink over the 'd' line pigtail on the Triple Seven Hybrids

Th e thermals/onshores should kick up tomorrow afternoon - I'll test these two wings then.

I feel productive!

Foil Drive Session 2 - 6/13/2026

Phil, Elan, Bill and Arvin were all out with Stu and I.

Lots of kayak fishermen also launching this morning.

I swapped batteries and headed back out.

I did not check my remote battery charge level.

When I got out to the channel, I figured I should foil over at Seconds to mix things up.  Plus the crowd that was there earlier had cleared.

I caught two waves (the first one was phenomenal) - and then my remote went dead.

I had just spoke to Bill about this and he said if I needed it, he would tow me in.

Well - I'm glad he offered.

Hopefully my remote is not dead and it just needs a charge.

With the surf getting big tomorrow and Monday, I'll likely surf anyways so I'll get the remote settled out.

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:45/S:18