Evening Session - 6/28/2020

Yesterday I spent some time reconfiguring gear.  I've been noticing the skinny 4'10" is super buoyant and coupled with the Armstrong foil, this setup just wants to float away on its own.  The wide 4'10" is relatively heavy and the Go Foils are not the lightest - not that weight has ever bothered me, but I figured if I switched the skinny and wide boards with which foils I have historically been using with them, I can get closer performance as the weights get closer to each other.  Here you can see the flip flop.

I went to PTs in the late afternoon.  Originally I had the wide 4'10" setup with the Armstrong CF1200 - thinking the swell would be hitting.  I got to the parking area and I could hear the surf breaking.  The wind was up and onshore and the tide was rising - probably around 1.0' while I was out.  The big surprise was the surf was not that big.  I paddled out anyways, but the first couple of waves I caught, I could not get the CF1200 to lift.  I did get a ride - I could feel how maneuverable the foil could be, but I had to pump a lot to keep it moving.  I even felt my left hip pull a bit (ouch).  I paddled in and swapped out the front wing to the HS1550.  In theory, I should have pushed the mast forward to get more lift out of the wing, but with limited time, I knew the HS1550 would lift where the mast was bolted down.  I was able to ride like normal after the wing change.  The flatter HS1550 is faster than the CF1600 and I could pump it back out to the break pretty easily.  With the setup I had on at this point, I felt like I still dolphin-ed periodically - this tells me that I need to push the foil up a notch so I can just glide with minimal pumping.

I'm wondering if I had the CF1600 on, would everything have just clicked from the get go (and if I wouldn't have pulled my left hamstring).

Evening Session - 6/27/2020

Went foiling at PTs.  It was a bit more crowded than normal - both in the water and on the beach.  The people on the beach were not social distancing at all...  and a lot of the people in the water were newbies that don't know etiquette.  Anyways - the wind was down, the tide was rising at 1.2' and the swell was inconsistent but shoulder to head high on the sets, waist to chest on the norm.

I brought out the wide 4'10" and the Go Foil with the GL180 - I was banking on a smaller swell based on some recon La and I did earlier on an errand run.  Well - on the outside takeoffs, I could have definitely used the GL140 - I would takeoff on some pitching waves and not make the drop - I think because of overspeed.  On the ones I did make, the GL180 did allow me to ride all the way in.  The entire session I felt a weird wobble and turbulence from the foil.  I tightened all the screws before leaving for the beach - and there wasn't a lot of chop on the water so I'm not sure why the drag was there.  Maybe coming off the Armstrong for the past for several sessions, I got used to the smoothness.  I'm thinking if I had the GL140, I would have made more drops and the turbulence was caused by the big wing going faster than it likes.  Good session regardless.

Evening Session - 6/26/2020

Another solo session at PTs - today the gate was open so I drove through and parked much closer to the break.  The wind had a little more North in it today so it was really nice.  The tide was high at 1.7' - and the swell was picking up.  I had the same setup as yesterday and kept the mast in the same position - after today, I'll mark this position as it is optimized with controllable lift, glide for days and really good carves.

I had a bunch of waves where I would glide on a wall, crank a 180 on a section and repeat going back the other way all the way to the beach.  With the Armstrong, I feel like I can more easily harness the wave's energy - using subtle flowing movements to carve and gain speed - but I don't feel like I am going as fast as I do on the Go Foil GL wings with the P18W tail.  That said, and I've said this before - the Armstrong is just so smooth - and more often than not, I feel like I have the foil riding really close to the surface and I don't feel like I have to manage the ride to avoid breaching - I just go (which is not the same with the Go Foil).

I did try taking off on several bigger ones where the white water dumped on me - wiped on these.  With the swell filling in this weekend, I'll swap over to the wide 4'10" and the GL140.  The wide 4'10" is definitely a more stable platform and I seem to be more sure footed on it, but I'm getting used to the skinny 4'10".  Another great day foiling at PTs!!!

Evening Session - 6/25/2020

I pulled a solo run this evening.  Earlier I adjusted the mast back in the tracks by a quarter inch - yesterday I felt like there was too much autopilot - I figured taking it back a notch would give me back more control.  I hit PTs - and as I was walking to the break, a girl with a longboard came up to me and said "there was a tiger out there".  I asked how big and she said "It was big - but that was about an hour ago so maybe its moved on."  I kept going and when I got to the berm, I looked and there was only one other person out - it was the SUP foiler that uses the orange Kalama Performance SUP.  I looked and didn't see any dark shapes so I paddled out.

Wind was down, tide was high at 1.8' and the swell was small - maybe waist high.  I had a couple of calibration waves and then it all clicked.  I was catching and riding bumps all the way in to shore.  Using the CF1600 again after riding the Go Foil GL wings for so long felt like learning to foil all over again.  The CF1600 has a ton of lift and on almost every wave I was riding with the majority of the mast up and out of the water.  It is not nearly as fast as the GL wings, but it is way smoother.  After about 7 waves or so, I did not see the SUP foiler - he had gone in.  I can live with 50-50 odds but being the only splashing entity out there, I figured I was better off going in.  The mast adjustment was spot on - a fraction less lift and the board needed just a hint of back foot popping to get it rise up - just the way I like it.

So pretty much the same conditions as yesterday, but none of the crowd.  I'm spoiled by this place - even if I get run out every now and then by the landlord. 

Evening Session - 6/24/2020

Marlon and I hit WPB in the late afternoon - was kinda hoping for a repeat of Tuesday evening - but alas, everyday is different.  The tide was high at 2.0', the wind was light, but the swell had started to decline - waist high was the norm and that was infrequent.

Marlon headed over to the Fenceline side - and he was catching a bunch.  I didn't see him much because I was way over on the right side in front of the cabins.  Even over there the crowd was thick.  But I did manage to get a couple of handful of waves.  After a calibration period (I botched the first three waves - the skinny 4'10" has a ton of buoyancy on its own - with the Armstrong foil bolted on it basically wants to fly away on its own so it is rather twitchy in the water).  I rode most of the rest all the way to the beach and got a few pumps back out.  Not a bad day out - even though the crowd was a bit stiffling.

Marlon's Evening Session - 6/23/2020

After I packed up at PTs, I asked Marlon if he wanted to check out WPB - he said yes.  When we got there, it looked pretty good.  I asked if he wanted to go out and he said yes.

He caught some good ones despite the crowd.

I sat on the beach this time and got to talk with Dennis about foil equipment performance.  Given the two separate breaks this afternoon, it seemed as if WPB had the better conditions - like I said on my previous post - tomorrow WPB may be the call...

Evening Session - 6/23/2020

Changed it up today - 72cm Armstrong Mast, CF1600 front wing, UNI tail with the 60cm fuselage - mounted on the skinny 4'10".

The tide was really high - 2.2'.  The wind was up from the E - 15+ kts - enough to chop up the surface.  It was so choppy at the onset that Marlon actually sat out the session.  The waves were waist high and fairly consistent.

The conditions made it challenging to get up on the board.  This setup has a tremendous amount of volume - left to it own, the board and foil would pop up out of the water.  It made for easier paddling, but it took me a few tries to get the balance points down.

This setup is super lightweight and once up on foil, it was pretty nimble.  I initially had the mast set just forward of where the Go Foil mast was (I had marked it with a pencil).  I came in after two waves and pulled it forward almost 3/4 of an inch - Transformed a bouncy ride with lift I had to work for into a smooth high riding easy glide festival.

If I go out tomorrow, I may hit WPB as Marlon had a good session there (next post).

In Between Sets

Noe was manning the camera for a bit.  When Marlon and I weren't riding waves, she was taking note of the other beachgoers.

Evening Session - 6/21/2020 (Father's Day)

My family indulged me today - I got to take TWO NAPS!!!  And they took me to the beach!  That's all I really ever want on Father's Day!  We hit PTs - the tide was full (running up the beach) - 2.0'.  The wind was way up when we got there - but then it just dropped off to almost nothing.  And the swell - was forecasted to be bigger than yesterday, was actually just overhead (but to me seemed smaller than yesterday - probably something to do with the bathymetry).  Lots of pictures - I'll just let them do the talking.

Marlon was catching everything - but bailing early to pick up more drops

I knew La was taking pictures - so I launched the board right before coming in (she takes great pride in catching our wipes)!

I had a great day today!  Thank you La, Marlon and Noe!!!

Evening Session - 6/20/2020

Happy International Surfing Day!!!  To celebrate, Marlon and I went surfing (not foiling - surfing).  We opted to checkout WPB - super crowded, but manageable.  The tide was high at 2.0', the wind was up, but not fast enough to shred the surface, and the surf was overhead as a new swell was hitting.

Marlon brought his shortboard and I used the asymmetric fish.  I caught a couple of bombs and had a blast going right.  I can lean in to the bottom turn and project out.

I watched Marlon on a couple of waves - the board suits him!  Hope you all out there got a chance to get wet today!

Evening Session - 6/19/2020

I pulled a solo evening session today - Marlon went to chat with the Navy Recruiter (yes- I did not want to go - I would feel better if he went in by himself, did the research and make his own decision).  The wind was down relative to yesterday - and the quality of the waves were much better than yesterday.  The swell was slightly smaller - waist to stomach high, but since the chop was mostly gone, the ride were so much better.  There were a few sets where the waves were chest high, but these were the rare birds.  This was the perfect size for the GL180.  The tide was high at 1.5' (ish).

I rode plenty of set waves - didn't hurt that there was only one other surfer out.  Rode half of my rides all the way to the beach.  Its days like today that fuel the stoke for wanting to foil, and foil super fast.  

Pure fun today!

Evening Session - 6/18/2020

Marlon and I went to PTs for an evening session yesterday.  The wind was up and it was chopping the surface up.  I could even feel the turbulence from the surface interacting with the foil as I was riding.  It made catching waves more difficult - so Wednesday was not a fluke - the choppiness made the waves at WPB harder to catch.  The tide was high at 1.7' and the swell was chest high.

Marlon was catching, but the wind seemed to be affecting his ride length - lots of aborts after the drops, especially as he went right (straight into the wind).  I had the same setup out as on Wednesday (wide 4'10", GL140, P18W, 24.5" mast) and I had a few takeoffs that made it totally worth it.  Towards the end of the session the wind did back down a hair and I was able to catch a few waves from the takeoff zone all the way to the beach.  A challenging but still fun day.

Evening Session - 6/17/2020

Hit WPB this evening instead of PTs - figured with the larger swell, it would be good enough.  The size was there, but you had to paddle out to the outside break to catch the waves.  The wind was up and the tide was high (so no issue with interacting with the bottom).

I had the GL140 on the wide 4'10" (P18W tail, 24.5" mast + 3" track adaptor).  I actually should have kept the GL180 on - the waves I picked up would mush out quickly and the extra lift would have been useful.  I eventually paddled to the inner break and started picking up the reforms - had some fun ones carving, but the wind seems to be stronger here compared to PTs.  Tomorrow I'll hit PTs and use the GL180.

Evening Session - 6/15/2020

I did another solo session this afternoon.  The swell-wind-tide were pretty much the same as yesterday.  I had the same setup as yesterday but switched the front wing for the GL180 to try and get longer runs.

Not only did I get longer runs (the GL180 and squeeze blood from a rock), but I was having a blast on the takeoffs.  If the waves were any bigger I would have been blowing up on the takeoffs - instead I was carving straight from the takeoff.  I had to pick my waves - but it was really fun (again) today!!!

Evening Session - 6/14/2020

Did a double dip yesterday evening - solo though - Marlon had his fill on the dawn patrol.  It was a tad windy - enough to be noticeable going right, but not enough to blast the surface.  The tide was lowish at 0.6', and the swell was chest high on the sets, but waist for the most part. 

I had the wide 4'10" with the GL140 - fun takeoffs, but it was tough getting longer rides after.  Fun session! 

Dawn Patrol - 6/14/2020

Marlon and I woke up early to get some surf before the wind picked up.  The swell was chest high, the tide was low and the wind was minimal - but the water surface was choppy.

I brought the Viking out because I didn't want to contend with the crowd.  It did not disappoint.  The funny thing was the outside waves would pitch and throw, and after a good drop and short wall, the wave would fizzle out - in my mind I kept thinking "why can't I pump through this lull?" - duh - not on a foil.

We stayed until the wind picked up - probably an hour and a half on the water.  Fun session! 

Windy Saturday Part 2

Here's Noe and her sailing bunch - oddly enough the wind was stronger where Marlon and I were.

Hiking!!!

Since the corona virus lockdown, this program has been closed.  Noe has been patient - but I'm glad she gets to fly again!!!

Windy Saturday, Part 1

The trades were up and strong today, so we brought the kids to Pearl Harbor to get some windsports in.  First we dropped Noe and La off at Rainbow Bay Marina where Noe could go sailing.  Then I took Marlon to Hickam Harbor to learn how windsurf.

We brought the old Kailua sailboard and the iRig inflatable sail.  You may recall seeing this inflated on a post a while back - well it has taken this long but I finally got one of the kids on it.  I originally started teaching the kids on my smallest sail - an old Naish Hokua 3.75 m2 wave sail.  That sail on a mast and boom was a little too heavy for Noe and barely manageable for Marlon.  I got the iRig, but we've all been doing other things.  With the wind up, the surf would have been a little rough - Marlon was game while Noe opted for the Laser.  I took the rig out first just to make sure it all worked (this was the first time out).  I through on two foot straps and placed a SUP paddle through them just so if something did go wrong later, Marlon could paddle back.

He took off after a short lesson and was buzzing around powered up nicely.  He was doing so well that I setup my wind foiling rig (7'4" Starboard Hypernut, 29.5"+3" Go Foil mast, Maliko 200 and Maliko tail, Naish Lift 4.7 m2 sail).  I got up a bunch but the wind was on and off.  There was a wing foiler out (Duotone V1 wing and Kalama Performance foil board) - made me wonder if it would be easier to just wing foil....

Marlon and I both finished up around the same time - and we went off to pick up La and Noe (Part 2)