Evening Wing Foiling Session - 12/31/20

Last session of this tumultuous year.  Wind was up for the most part, with some stiffness when on the outside by the tip of the runway.

Same setup as last time.  I did move the mast up another 1/4" and the board/foil felt way more balanced.

I foiled on the outside with Harris and even caught a few waves.  I was botching my transitions on the outside, but once I was inside the channel makers, I was getting inbound jibes, outbound tacks and switch outbound jibes.

And I stuck around to see the last sunset of 2020.

Evening Session - 12/29/2020

Marlon and I hit the beach after I finished work yesterday.  Low tide (so I did a lot of paddling with the foil up), thigh high swell, not too much wind, and a shifting crowd made for a mmmmmeeehhhh day.

I brought the low tide setup out (skinny 4'10", 24.5" mast + 3" track adaptor, GL180 and good ole' No.9 rear stab).  I got what I wanted, but the crowd kinda made it a bit frustrating with the smaller takeoff zones.  Marlon actually went in way earlier than I did (and I ended up bumping into Gary and talked foil gear for a while).  Any day at the beach is a good day (but some are better than others).

And While I was Getting Skunked...

La and the kids getting ready to sail.

Wing Foiling Session - 12/27/2020

La and the kids were headed to go sailing - so I hitch hiked and got dropped off at Hickam.  The wind was supposed to be strong enough to comfortably stay up on foil - it wasn't.

My back is still sore at this point, but I babied it and headed out anyways.

I ended up getting to the wind line, riding out to the channel, but then getting stuck for a long while on the outside.  After a mix of paddling, schlogging and popping up every now and then, I finally got some wind.  I got a few runs back and forth to get upwind and then called it.  With my range of motion a little limited, I did not land a single turn today - super frustrating (but still fun just being out on the water).

Thursday, Friday and Saturday are supposed to be strong wind days.  I may try and hit WPB this next go around.

Dawn Patrol - 12/27/2020

Marlon and I pulled a dawn patrol to try and catch the last bit of the swell that has been hitting the past few days.  I switched the CF1200 out for the HS1550.

It was a bit too cold for Marlon - he said he didn't have the same level of blubber that I have, so he passed.

There were some chest high sets still.  

I caught a handful, then missed a takeoff and tweaked the middle of the right side of my back.  I caught the next one in and called it.  It's been a long run of really good surf - time to lick my wounds and take a few days to heal up.  Perhaps this was the universe prompting me to do so.  As far as back tweaks go, this isn't a bad one - but I certainly don't want it to hang around.

Mid Day Session - 12/26/2020

I pulled another mid day run today.  Marlon had to work, so I grabbed a haircut, and hit Hawaiian Watersports.  Then I got home and figured I'd get a foil session in.  It was blowing like stink - Kalani was out winging but was getting beat up (so he said - it looked like he was riding under control to me).  La wanted to run some errands so I figured a quick foil session (instead of breaking out the wing) was in order.

I kept the CF1200 on thinking I could get a few more runs on it before this swell backs off (I did bring the HS1550 and should have put it on - the waves were still there, but it had backed off a couple of notches).  I did get several rides in but it wasn't yesterday by a long shot.

There's the HS1550 in the truck bed.  When I got home I did swap it out and repositioned the mast.  

Mid Day Session - Christmas Day

Marlon and I surfed mid day yesterday - we stayed at home to open presents in the morning.  It was worth the wait - offshore winds, overhead waves, and a sparsely crowded break - we couldn't have asked for more!!!

The CF1200/300 combo was working perfectly again - so much fun taking big drops on this foil and carving back and forth on 500 foot long rides.... 

Marlon was picking off wave after wave and he said the same thing - "Wow - best Christmas present ever!!!!"

Words can't describe how much fun this session was!

Dawn Patrol - 12/24/2020

The SSW swell was bigger this morning, but the tide was high and that was causing it to get soft on the outside.  Still, when it broke it was really fun - head+ high takeoffs, leaned over bottom turns and super long, super smooth rides.

Marlon brought out his shortboard.  I brought the same setup as yesterday - with the extra energy in the ocean, everything was that much better.  I didn't bring my Garmin watch this morning so I don't have stats, but I'd venture to say I had some really fast and extremely long rides today.

Happy Birthday to Noe!!!

Evening Session - 12/23/2020

Marlon and I hit WPB again for an evening session. An out of season 2.4' 18 sec SSW swell was hitting.  The tide was really low at 0.2' - but the swell was breaking on the outside.  And there was no wind so the shape and form were really nice and glassy.

With the swell up (2.4' at 18 secs from the SSW), I switched out the front foils - from the HS1550 to the CF1200.  After the first couple of waves, I paddled in and reset the mast further forward.  After that, the CF1200 came alive!!!  This foil lifted me pretty easily and was super maneuverable.  It reminded me of the GL140 - but as with the rest of the Armstrong stuff, it was much smoother.  

I caught several really long waves - one was nearly 600' and I hit 18.1 mph.

Today was a super fun day!!!  With the foil, I love WPB/Campgrounds more with every session (especially if there is no crowd).

Evening Session - 12/22/2020

Marlon and I hit WPB this afternoon.  There was supposed to be a bump and the wind was forecasted to be zilch.

Well - there was a bump up compared to yesterday.  A few of the bombers that rolled through were at least chest high.  The wind had an onshore flow component to it (convection).  And the tide was low at 0.1'.  I paddled the board/foil upside down and with the increased energy, I was able to stay on the outside and ride worry free (about grounding).  Marlon as always - cruising into to waves and riding casually.

I brought out the same setup as yesterday.  That weird draggy feeling was present today (unlike yesterday when the foil felt like it was slipping through the water).  Might need to put a coat of carnuba wax on the foil.  I did get some really long waves - 781' and 18.1 mph according to the watch.

The swell is supposed to peak tomorrow... I think I'm going to switch to the CF1200...

Evening Session - 12/21/2020

 La wanted to take some family pictures this evening so we can mail out Holiday Cards this year.  She bribed Marlon and I with the chance to surf/foil while she took pictures.  We were going anyways - the surf/foil session was just bonus points.  I brought the shallow water setup, Marlon brought his trusty longboard.  A short but really fun session!

I love foiling this break!!!

Blown Center Strut Bladder

I tried to patch the blown bladder.  Patch after patch after patch and the damn thing still leaked when I put it back inside the strut housing.

Getting a new bladder from my friend that sold the Ensis to me - don't want to risk loss of pressure when out on the water.

Wingfoiling Session - 12/20/2020

The wind was not supposed to be up on Sunday, but when La said she was going to Hickam to go shopping, I figured I could hitch a ride and extract some of the energy in the air that was making all the trees dance around.  Same setup as last time, but the wind was lighter, so I ended up using the Ensis 6.0 (had actually already pumped up the 5.2 - but the center strut popped while I was setting up the board - I was better off with the 6.0 anyways).  I also swapped out the 300 rear stab for the 232.  As suspected, I felt a little more back foot pressure - I'll need to bring the foil a hair more forward to compensate for the reduced lift from the tail.

Made a beeline straight for First's.  Perfect 15 to 25mph for the Ensis 6.0.  After going back and forth out there for a bit, there were two lulls where I had to sit and wait.  Once was while I was way outside the channel.

Really pretty water out there - super clear and can see the bottom.  Almost too clear - let's just say it felt good once the wind picked back up and I could head back in.

I love winging!!!!

Dawn Patrol - 12/20/2020

Went on the dawn patrol with Lance.  He was out on his SUP, and I brought out the wide 4'10" with the HS1550/Uni300.

We met at Campgrounds, but the waves weren't really breaking, so we went to WPB.  The crowd was manageable and there were some waves even though the tide was rising.  It didn't seem that these waves were wrapping from the WNW swell currently hitting.  It was breaking belly to chest high.  I caught several really fun waves, getting lots of turns in and even pumping back out a few times.

We called it as the tide came up to the point where it wasn't really breaking anymore and the wind was starting to fill in.  If the wind keeps filling in....

Wingfoiling Session - 12/19/2020

The wind was supposed to be slightly less than yesterday - I ran some errands with La and Noe while waiting for the wind to come up.  It was 11 by the time we got to Hickam Harbor and the wind had filled in nicely - maybe even as strong as yesterday.  I pushed the mast further up by another 1/4" to lessen the back foot pressure I was having to exert yesterday.  There were a couple of other wingers that came in as I was headed out - they said the outside was more consistent.  Everything felt great today - foil was balanced, wing was just a touch too big for the gusts (but perfect for the steady state breeze), and I was practicing jibes (like this one below)!

This next picture is pretty significant.  It has only been over the last few sessions where I've been able to complete jibes.  Yesterday felt like walking through the jibe door.  Today was back to back success.  I have been nailing my outbound jibes now and even riding toe side for significant distances.  This picture is me coming out of an inbound jibe and riding out of it.  I am crediting the Armstrong foil's maneuverability in getting me to this point.

Honestly I felt very comfortable winging today - through the gusts and sheeting out to manage, going through the turns both tacks and jibes on the outside (missing both on the inside - but getting better).

The scratch repairs I did yesterday felt really good - the foil was quieter and smoother through the water.  I did feel like I was limited in speed - I think next time I may either swap out the Uni 300 for the HS232, or swap the HS1850 for the HS1250 - but only one so I can discern what differences each change is making.  But this is supposed to be the end of the wind for a bit.

My hands are so worn out from winging these last two days

I stayed out for 2.5 hours.  My arms, back, legs and hands were all Jello when I came in - and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face!