Evening Session - 2/29/2020

It has been really windy the past couple of days - those past couple of days it was also mostly flat so no big deal.  However, a south swell was poking through so Marlon and I went to check it out this afternoon.  It was definitely showing - belly to chest high on the sets - but the wind was howling pretty stiff.  The tide was lower than I thought - when we got out it was 0.7' (I thought it was at least 1.1') and it barely broke 1' by the time we left.  I touched bottom twice, but there was hardly any damage.  If I knew it was this low, I would have brought a surfboard... (but then that wind would have been something else - I guess I really should have gone kiting).

I brought out the 4'10" and the HS1550/232 - and adjusted the foil back in the tracks about a centimeter, since during the last session it seemed like I was breeching.

I caught a few but the rides were short - the wind was tough to deal with at first.  The second half of the session I got used to dealing with the wind and I was getting much longer rides and taking off on bigger waves.  This is so much fun.  I breeched or lost lift on one ride where Marlon was paddling back out - he said it looked like the ocean opened up and swallowed me (maybe it was on one of the runs I was aborting…)

I think I'll move the mast back up a half a centimeter - I didn't feel like I was really gliding and had to pump a bunch more than usual.  Because of all the chop, I still ended up breeching a couple of times anyways.

There was a pretty big monk seal on the beach, and the sunset was a good one - great session on a day that only comes around once every four years!

Evening Surf - 2/25/2020

La took both kids to sailing so I figured I should get some exercise.  The report said the surf was supposed to be down (but it wasn't).  I had placed the Viking on the racks and headed out.

The swell was breaking on the outside and was chest high.  The wind was up - 15 to 20mph, and the tide was at the smaller high at 1.3'.  I caught a couple of handful of waves in just over an hour.  I rode several from the outside all the way in - threading the flats and maneuvering to catch the bumps.  I was thinking this board can go as long as the foil...  I did see a few of the foil guys out, but the wind was wreaking havoc on their rides.  They'd pick up the wave and could only get any distance if they went left (with the side shore wind) - turning right meant getting wind under the board and ending the ride in a wipeout.  I had a few wipeouts myself - taking off on a bigger wave requires a lot of juggling to keep the board from pearling and to also to keep on the wave (and not get blown off by the same headwind the foilers were dealing with).  I am really impressed with the versatility of the Viking.  It is a completely different ride from the TJ Everyday (nose rider + carvey longboard, versus a strict "glider" which I did not even really know about until getting this board).  I really like this board and I'm starting to figure out why there is so little visibility on the web about it (fans are surfing this board and it is letting them surf way more - so they spent a lot less time on line talking about it - plus they don't want more people buying gliders so they don't have to compete for waves).  And with that, this is likely the last time I talk about how much I love this board.

On to the next topic - White Plains has a resident chicken (Red Jungle Fowl sounds more intimidating).  And this gal viewed this SUV as hers.  When I pulled into the parking lot, it was hanging out on top of the vehicle parked in this spot - ON TOP.  Then when I was packing up, it was asleep on the windshield of this SUV.  While I was loading the board, it woke up and started looking at me (pretty annoyed too - like "can't you see I'm trying to sleep here??!!!).  Then it even started scratching the windshield wiper area like it was looking for food.  I'm glad it didn't claim the Odyssey.

Dawn Patrol - 2/23/2020

We did hit it again early this morning.  Swell was smaller than yesterday on average - less than waist high on the normal waves, but every 20 minutes or so there was a wave train with head high waves.  The tide was a dropping high (1.5' to 1.2' while we were out).  And best of all, there was hardly any wind.

I set up the 4'10" with the Armstrong HS1550 and the 232 tail wing.  Marlon had caught two waves by the time I had paddled out - nice takeoffs and fades, but he said he would drop off the wave early to avoid having to make long paddles back out to the line up.  Like always, I couldn't help myself - take off, line up and glide as far as I could - that guarantees a long paddle back out.  I hadn't set up this tail wing before so I had the mast set just a bit forward of where I had the CF1600 and the UNI Rear wing (almost a cm) to compensate for the reduction in lift.

I caught my first wave and everything was perfect!  The HS1550 and the 232 rear were fluid together and the tail was looser than riding the UNI.  The performance was more lively and twitchy, but that also made the turns more carving and less drawn out.  The second wave I took, Marlon was also on and he watched me setup only to breach (and instantaneously drop out/wipeout - he said he couldn't stop laughing).  I caught several more and redeemed myself.

We paddled in once the crowd started to form (about 8am), but I was totally satisfied anyways.  I've been breaking down the foils lately to keep the garage open, but I'm going to keep this setup ready to go for a bit - I want to get the positioning fine tuned and ride this setup some more.

Just need the higher tides and some swell which can be hard to line up with my free time this time of year.

Dawn Patrol - 2/22/2020

Marlon and I hit it early today - we were out in the water well before the sun came out.  The swell was a little bigger than I thought it was going to be - solid waist high.  The tide was a lowering high at 1.4' and there was zero wind.

I had expected it to be knee high so I had brought the 5'6" and the Maliko 200.  I took this out for a bit since it was already setup, despite the less than optimal (for this setup) conditions.  First wave confirmed it - waves were too big.  I was still able to control the foil and got some fun rides, but I was surfing less and wrestling with the lift more.  After several waves, I rode one in and headed back to the van.  I had brought the Iwa and the Kai tail and swapped them in and adjusted the mast forward.  I paddled back out and all was right in the universe.  Takeoffs were easy with no fear of breaching from too much lift; long rides with minimal pumping; torquey turns to go from section to section - what more can you ask for.


Marlon was catching everything, but got cold after I had paddled back out.  He was back on the beach and took these pictures.

Totally fun session!!!  Will hit it again tomorrow morning!!!

Evening Session on The Viking - 2/20/2020

The wind was way up, but I figured I needed to paddle to shake off the stress.  The swell was waist high - so nothing really to complain about.  The tide was pretty low, so I brought out the Viking (I would have brought it out even if it was a high tide - it's a new board).

This board is a wave catching machine.  I haven't pearled, but the waves haven't been big enough to dig the nose in - I just make sure to adjust my fore and aft positioning before committing to the paddle.

This is the first time I've had room at the back of a board to set the Go Pro behind me.  When I looked back, the camera had nothing but spray on it - I guess I was lucky to get this picture.

This board is awesome!  And it really doesn't feel like an 11' board...

Anoiting the Viking - 2/17/2020

And of course I had to paddle this board today.  The swell was still pushing so there was energy to ride inside and out.  The tide was low and the wind was still up.

The board paddles easy (no surprise here) and it doesn't feel like an 11' board.  I wanted to test the low end first so I paddled for a small wave on the inside.  Again - no surprise - caught with ease and glided forever.  First wave!

Then I paddled to the outside to see what this board could do on the top end.  I caught three chest high waves on the outside and rode them all the way to the inside.  I put my Hobie F Curve 9" fin in forward of the midpoint in the fin box - it felt good.

It looked like there might have been a green flash - but I didn't see it.  The GoPro is really far away when you mount it on the nose.

This is definitely a board to use when the tide is too low to foil and the crowd is thick.  I am looking forward to summer with this board!

And This Happened - The Viking

I've been eyeing this board for a while - and I wanted to get one before they go out of production (as they sometimes do).  La got this for me on our 19th Anniversary - welcome The Viking!

This board is 11' long, 23 5/8" wide, and 3 1/2 thick - 96.55 L of volume.  For its length and girth, the board doesn't weigh what you think it would - EPS core helps a lot.  But it does have some good weight to glide in and keep moving in the flats.  There have been days where the TJ Everyday hasn't picked up waves - small days mostly, but I wanted to have this board to be able to ride anything - ankle high snappers all the way up to overhead rollers.  And with this glider, I can catch waves earlier than most now.

The guy at the shop said to use a regular fin - something not over 9.25" - and if possible something in the 8.5" range.

On the truck, it actually doesn't seem like an 11' board.

I really like the Firewire Timber Tech construction - I'm expecting this board to last a very long time !

19th Anniversary!!!

So La wanted to eat pancakes for our Anniversary - pancakes from Highway Inn.  We got started a little later than we should have (breakfast stops at 11am) so we ended up eating lunch stuff instead.

Ahi Fish Tacos

Hawaiian Plate

Poke Bowl

I love you La!  Happy 19th!!!

Dawn Patrol - 2/17/2020

I had to drop Marlon off at the airport this morning - he'll be on Kauai for a day and a half.  Since I was already up, I did a few errands and then hit the beach on a dawn patrol.  It was windy.  Pretty windy.  And the waves were piling up (too close together) - but they were waist to chest high ;)  And the tide was rising to an all time high of 0.6' (yes, that is low).

I brought out the 4'10" with the Iwa.  I caught several - and most were really long.  I hit bottom a couple of times (damn low tide and foiling...) - just paddling out.  I'm going to have to do some repairs soon (because I'm anal like that).

Another fun session!  Oh - and I got home before La woke up (it's our 19th Anniversary)!

From the Other Go Pro - 2/16/2020

Marlon had the other Go Pro out so both of us had pictures of each other.  It is neat to see the other person (yourself) from the other camera.  Here's a few of each other from the other camera.

I especially like these from Marlon's camera (I'm grinding!!!)

And a few of Marlon from the camera he was using.

He's getting that board way over on the rail ;)

Dawn Patrol - 2/16/2020

This early season south swell was supposed to be getting bigger in incremental stages.  And to beat the weekend crowd (and also because we had evening obligations), Marlon and I hit it on an early dawn patrol.  The swell was a hair bigger if not the same as Saturday.  The tide was low-ish around 0.5' - but the main difference was the wind.  It was breezy and there was texture and chop for sure.

At the last minute, I changed out the Greedy Beaver for the TJ Everyday - figured I can't lose with the longboard.  I was glad I made the change as the swell was not Chest to Overhead (which is what I like on the shorter board), but more like waist to chest.  I waited for the bombers and I got some fun ones!  

With the wind, Marlon got cold pretty quick (he doesn't have all the "insulation" that I have), so we called it before the crowd got too crazy.  Great session!