Garage Works - 6/28/2026

Needed to fix Kalani's Triple Seven PT Hybrid 5.7 again.  The D line pigtail was getting frayed again.  I installed and new one and encased it in vinyl tubing.

NO WAY this is going to get frayed again!

I settled on a template for the new prone foil board

I reshaped the previously broken AFS 80cm UHM mast Stu had smashed.  I'm going to have to place more epoxy slurry and do another round of shaping to get this back to 100%.

And I opened the tracks on this conversion (from tiny prone to tow boogie)

I'll add a fill coat on this, sand some more and sand again.

I also sanded the track area on the big wing board.  I didn't take pictures - but I'm preparing to laminate more carbon to cure the shifty box.

Gonna need to setup my hot wire cutter....

Parawinging Session - 6/28/2026

Lazy Sunday - I didn't get out and about until later today, and water time wasn't until mid afternoon.

The reports showed Hickam to be the best bet.

I wanted to mix things up - No.42 with the AFS Enduro 1100/Mako Carve Pro on the short fuselage and 80cm UHM mast.

Power provided by the BRM S3 5.3m parawing.

The wind was a little up and down - but that was good practice for pumping up onto foil.  Which I had to move the mast up from where I had originally started (balance point).  I still think I can move the foil forward some more.... but it kinda is far up as it is.  No.42 is my version of a light wind board, but I felt like I needed more wind to get up.

With the high tide, I felt like playing around - made three trips out to Firsts to pick up a good wave and ride back in.

Holes....

Holes and the forced pit stops.

Nice low stress session! 

PF:8/W:3/PW:66/FD:52/S:20

Dawn Patrol Parawing Session - 6/27/2026

Did a dawn patrol at Kailua - the wind was supposed to be really strong from the get go -

There was texture on the water - enough that I brought up the BRM S3 4.2

Then the wind pretty much stopped - for 45 minutes.

Cabrinha Prestige 905/160/78cm Apex mast on No.34

So the wind was just below where I could pump up.  Just as I was getting up on foil, I'd outrun the parawing.  I paddled to shore and walked back up to the launch.  To add insult to injury, I got stung by a man-o-war.

I switched out the 4.2 for the 5.3 and paddled back out.  I still had to wait a bit - but the wind did fill in - the 4.2 would have been perfect.  I really should start packing two parawings.

But the S3's can handle a wider range of wind and I made it work.

I did get in several fully retracted DW wave ripping runs - this is what this is all about!!!!

I did end up getting tangled a bunch.  I'm going to re-evaluate my leash, the stash belts, and my retracting technique to avoid this issue.

This wind chart is all jacked, but that was the point of showing it.

Fun session - even with the gear issues.

PF:8/W:3/PW:65/FD:52/S:20

Afternoon Parawing Session - 6/26/2026

Smaller waves today -

Higher tide.

Same shifty wind (but slightly stronger and a little more dependable)

Same board/foil - swapped the parawing up to the 5.3

Kalani was out again - and Roland eventually came out.

With the wind questionable, I didn't take too many chances.  Regular jibes and kicking out earlier to stay in the wind line.

I only got a few rides with the parawing retracted.

I only felt overpowered once - the rest of the session was either sitting on the board waiting for sufficient wind, or riding powered.

Looks better than 50-50

Will likely dawn patrol Kailua tomorrow.

PF:8/W:3/PW:64/FD:52/S:20

Afternoon Parawing Session - 6/25/2026

Higher tide, bigger waves, and slightly better wind (compared to yesterday).

All the same gear - just changed out the rear stabilizer from the 180 to the 160.

When the wind was present, it was nice and strong.  But it would lull out and with the BRM S3 4.2, I'd have to take a break and wait for the gusts to push through.

But retracting the parawing to ride a wave... epic today!  The waves were standing up much taller than yesterday.  Hooking turns and aligning to sections that had push - so much fun!!!

I even got in a couple of Prayot's "stash before jibing onto a wave" jibes - and that move actually works.

Based on this wind chart and comparing it with the speed graph, I'm gonna say at my weight the range of this parawing is 17 to 28 mph.

Almost 50-50 today.

If I had the 5.3m out, I think I would have been up on foil for over 80%.  Kalani had his 5.7 Hybrid up and he was on foil for the majority of the session.

I'm going to pair the Prestige 905 with the 160 rear stabilizer, and the Whippit 850 with the 180 rear stabilizer.  I just felt more nimble on the 905/160 today - being able to retract and ride bigger faced waves prone for super long distances - no debating that performance aspect!

PF:8/W:3/PW:63/FD:52/S:20

Afternoon Parawing Session - 6/24/2026

The wind line was further off shore... signs that the wind had a lot of north in it.

There were some good sized waves still coming through. 

No.34 with the Cabrinha setup - Apex 78cm mast, Prestige 905 and the Union 180 Rear Stabilizer.  I wanted to try the 180 with the 905 to see if this setup was more balanced (compared to the 160).

Prayot and Kalani were there when I parked.  Roland came out later.  There was a debate about which size PW to take out.  I opted for the BRM S3 4.2, while Prayot took all three of his out.

The wind was not as strong as the forecast said it would be.  And it was way up and down (where the forecast called for steadier winds).

The flavor of the day was to ride out, catch a wave and retract the parawing.

We all had some bomber waves - overhead in the breaking area.  I had a few waves that went on for really long rides.  One of these I miraculously was able to redeploy in light wind and rode back to the outside.

If the wind had materialized as forecasted, this would have been epic.  It was still a great session, but getting a no stress, good wave riding day at WPB would be nice sometimes.

The peaks were definitely the long rides.  Flying along pretty much prone foiling on waves you would have never been able to catch paddling in -

Hopefully the wind fills in solid -

PF:8/W:3/PW:62/FD:52/S:20

Evening Foil Drive Session - 6/23/2026

Rain clouds moved in - so the wind was marginalized.

That's what Foil Drives are for!

There were still some bigger waves - but it has definitely come down.

I opted for the Cabrinha Whippit 850/180 monobloc rear stab setup today.

Despite the rain and the wind induced chop, I had some great rides.

One thing I will add to the Silk - Whippit comparison, the tubercles on the Silk offer "grip".  There were some waves today where I felt I was "slipping" when pushing the foil hard through a turn if there was chop.  Not every turn, but cranking under a developing hook mostly.

I never had that happen with the Silks.

Norm came out and he was on the Silk 1050.  Roland passed today (even though he was hanging in the parking lot again).

22 rides in 1.25 hours - pretty ridiculous!

I did fall a bunch the second half of the session.  With the clouds overhead, I lost the ability to discern wave from flats and I'd lose it.

The rest of the week should be perfect for parawinging!

PF:8/W:3/PW:61/FD:52/S:20

Afternoon Parawing Session - 6/22/2026

The forecast was calling for the trades to fill back in.  And on the drive home after work, there were signs the wind was blowing.

This is just as I got to the parking lot - nice texture on the water.  The wind line was a bit further out than normal, and the waves were about chest high.

AFS Enduro 1100/Mako Carve Pro Medium, Short fuselage, 80 cm mast all bolted on to No.34

BRM S3 5.3 was the engine of choice.

As usual - the wind shifted around as I paddled out.

Prayot came out after and had his Vayu 6m.  He had a few points where he was down - but he was having a much better session than I was. 

I did not get skunked - and I used the time that I was up on foil to get the mechanics of takeoff, riding and transitioning back down.

The wind had a hard north component and that made for difficult retracting.  I tried twice but it wasn't worth it.  The botched redeploys added insult to injury.

The wind strength explains a lot.

And with the larger waves still breaking outside - it made me think today would have been a good day to burn a battery on Foil Drive.  I'll keep a closer eye on the conditions tomorrow.

I don't mean to sound down on today's session - it was nice to be out on the water.  The time up on foil was a bonus.

PF:8/W:3/PW:61/FD:51/S:20

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