Dawn Patrol - 5/31/2021

Pulled a dawn patrol at Firsts this morning.  Marlon brought he longboard, I brought the wide 4'10", and the short Go Foil with the NL160.

Seconds had more waves breaking, but there was also a SUP crowd on it.  Marlon was picking off some good ones, but it didn't seem like the rides were long. 

 

I stayed at First the whole time.  The bigger waves were coming in, but the wait was pretty long - maybe 15 to 20 minutes.  I caught some awesome waves - with a running left wall with rides touching 500'.  My longest was almost 800'

The speed off the Garmin is pretty suspect (64 mph...) - though the 22 mph on the long runs are probably correct.  I was able to pump back out on a couple - and got a 2 for 1 - its been a while (not sure why...???).  Prayot was out on his Lift HA170 and Marvin was using his HA120.  On Marvin's last wave he was able to take off on the inside of Seconds, pump across the channel and pick up another wave at Firsts!  

Evening Session - 5/30/2021

Marlon and I waited for the higher tide to go to the beach.  We got there around 4pm - and there was a howling south wind (straight onshore) - thermals likely from the stagnant winds today.  There were some sets of size today, but you had to wait patiently for them.  I brought out the NL160 again - fourth session with this front foil and it has yet to disappoint.

I got really lucky with the initial placement of this mast/foil - spot on!

I caught several really long waves - and kept going left (crowds to the right and the swell was coming from the south - left was what was open).

I got a couple of waves where I pumped back out - this front wing is really versatile.  I got past 22 mph today, so it is fast.  I can pull banking turns redirecting on breaking sections easily - maneuverable.  I hate to admit it, but this is quickly becoming my favorite front foil.  

One last note, I did put a coat of carnauba wax on the fuselage, the front foil and the rear stabilizer - now it cuts like a hot knife through butter! 

Kalani's Wing Board Templated

Kalani commissioned this wing foiling board.  I took the template from a Jimmy Lewis Flying Vm.  I got a chance to transfer the template to the blank this morning.

When I done placing resin on Tim's board, I'll cut this board out of the raw blank (don't want to mess up a resin placement).

The blank already has a rocker conducive to foiling (duh - it's a foil board blank), so this shaping should go pretty quick.

Getting Close to Finishing Tim's Board

I got the bottom cap sheet (2 ounce fiberglass) on the bottom deck yesterday morning, then I got the top cap on this morning.

I also got the top fill coat on.  I'm going to try and get the bottom fill on tonight, then all I have to do is sand and this one is done.

Wing Foiling Session - 5/26/2021

As I was getting ready to head home from work, a number of people were making comment about how much wind was kicking up - that perked my interest and I checked the reports.  WPB was blowing from the SE at nearly 20 mph!!!  I headed home and packed my gear and away I went.  Well, from the track below, you can tell it was an interesting session.

The first half was actually really fun - perfect amount of wind for the 5.2 wing and I was able to get up on foil quick as I had the HS1850 bolted on.  I even stayed up on foil on my transitions despite the significant chop in the water.  I tried to get as far upwind as I could early on so I would have slop to mess with riding waves.  I did catch a few and rode them in goofy (with some pressure in the wing).  Then the fun really started.

A little less than halfway through this session, the wind totally shifted and dropped off in strength significantly.  From that point on I was schlogging just trying to get back as close to WPB as I could.  You can see it was a long time getting back in from the way outside. 

Eli and Kalani were also out.  Eli made it in before the wind died - and he was kind enough to tell Marlon that I probably would make landfall over at Campgrounds - which was 100% true.  Marlon was waiting on the beach for me and helped get my gear back to the truck.

It's totally ok to eat humble pie every now and then.  This was still a really fun session (while the wind was up).

I need to mention a few really cool things that happened - first, while I was down after the wind shifted, I booby (bird) came flying straight to where I was sitting - just flew over me to check out what was going on.  Second - I passed up a few rather large omilu swimming pretty far offshore (but in still relatively shallow water - there were breaking waves so it had to have been shallower than the surrounding areas).  And lastly it isn't all that often that you get to actually be in a wind stream exactly when a significant directional shift occurs.  Yes it totally sucked having to schlogg and paddle back in - but being there while that happened was pretty cool!!! 

Evening Session - 5/25/2021

The swell that started hitting yesterday was in full swing - Marlon and I went after I got home from work.  I didn't even see Marlon out the entire time.  I paddled out to Two Cots - catch two on the inside to get used to the extra height on the takeoffs, then paddled to the outside to catch some of the bigger waves.

On the big ones, the first few were more tests on the claim that the NL foils can punch through the whitewater.  I found that for the most part, the claim was true - and I would make it out of the wash and onto clean face more times than not.  A few broken waves had too much whitewater and I ate it - but those were the exceptions. Towards the end of the session, I started paddling for green, unbroken waves.  Honestly, I believe this is where the Go Foils really shine.  I think on the overhead faces, I would have had less drag (I could feel it on the really long runs on the lined up walls) if I used the GL140.  According to my watch, I hit 21.3 mph.   

This distance chart is where I disagree with the watch.  I know I caught one wave way outside and rode it all the way in - that should have been close to 1000' - I got a 900' ride the other day and this felt much longer.

Marlon had the Go Pro - and he had some good rides from the look of it.

Super fun session!  My verdict on the NL160... its a keeper and super fun.  I now need to thin out one of the G10 rear stabilizers I made - I want to make this foil go even faster (but I think it is the overall surface area and profile limiting the speed - but 21.3 mph is pretty darn good; if this swell sticks around, I'll bolt on the GL140 to compare the top speed).

Evening Session - 5/24/2021

A new south swell is hitting now - I kept the same setup as yesterday to get more time on the NL160.  I had some really long rides today - according to the Garmin, I got a 906' long ride.  I got three others that were at least 500'+ and several more between 350' and 500'.

I was able to paddle in to some white water bombs, stand up and ride through the turbulence, get setup on the face of the wave and ride the heck out of the waves.  I really like this front foil - so easy to ride!

Everyone was out today - Prayot, Kalani, Jeffrey, Scott, Roland and at least five other foilers - Eli launched with his Ensis 6.0 - from what I was seeing, there wasn't enough wind to get him going. This swell is supposed to stick around for a few days - looks like I won't be getting much else done... 

And in the name of science, I'll likely ride the Go Foil gear through this swell.

Setting the Foil Track Boxes in #21

And since I was working with epoxy yesterday, I figured I needed to get started on the hard part of the new prone board (glassing). 

Next step is drilling holes from where the vent plug will get installed through the two stringers so the whole board can breathe as one.  This will be on the top deck.  Once that is done, flip back over and work on getting the bottom deck laminated.  

I'm planning on trying to go lighter on this board.  So carbon patches instead of whole sheets, and possibly just innegra as a nose to tail laminate.  We'll see...

Board Modification

I got the carbon overlay on Tim's Pyzel yesterday.  I didn't have a single sheet long enough to cover nose to tail.

And he changed his mind on the tail deck pad after I got the first group of patches on.

The deck pad came off without too much drama.

Now some sanding, some filling, a cover sheet of fiberglass to ensure the rails are covered completely, more sanding and then done again for the fourth time.

Dawn Patrol - 5/23/2021

Marlon and I hit WPB again on the dawn patrol.  The waves were pretty much the same as yesterday.  There was very little wind so it was really clean.  Unfortunately the tide was really low - more on this last bit towards the end of the post.

Marlon brought his longboard - and from what I saw he was catching a bunch.

Seeing Kalani and Tim foil yesterday made me want to bring a foil out today.  And I also wanted to try out my new to me NL160 - so I setup the Go Foil 24.5"+3" on the wide 4'10".  It was pretty shallow - but if you paddled out far enough, there was a small band where the waves still broke and you did not have to paddle into a grounding.  I caught three waves (had to come in earlier to bring Noe out to a sailing event) - each one was progressively better.  This front foil needs a bit more forward speed before it takes off - but when it does take off, it is solid, nimble and pumps well.  My first two rides were on the shorter side - take off, pump the foil up to speed, then ride high with plenty of pressure until the wave closed out.  Definitely more technical to lift compared to the GLs.

My third wave was a little different.  Caught the wave, started figuring out the lift pattern of the foil - pushed it to get to speed, up and running - then decided to go as far as I could.  I got over 500' (according to the Garmin) then found myself in less than a foot of water.  I pumped some more to a slightly deeper spot and kicked out.  The board went high, I went low.  I flattened out to avoid hitting the bottom at speed - then all of a sudden I felt the wing tip dragging along my left shoulder.

Ever since these NL foils came out, there has been a lot of debate on the internet about what these tips could do to you.  No debate from me - these tips need even more respect than normal!!!

I think I'm going to use this foil for this upcoming swell so I can get to know it better.

Foiling Lessons

Out of the blue, Marlon asked if I could teach him to foil this summer.  I told him it would be way easier to tow him behind a boat and have him get the feel for the foil and how to control it.  Then I remembered I have a friend with a boat.  Then I remembered that friend only has the boat for another couple of weekends...  Well - we got out today.

And Noe came along for the lessons as well - she wants to Wing Foil, while Marlon wants to prone surf foil.  

Our special guest was La!

Both Marlon and Noe got up on foil!  Mission success!  There were a few falls (and a couple where people with less constitution would have said "this is dangerous and I'm done with it") - but they kept going and they got it done!

Initially I had Marlon on the M200.  When Noe got on, the foil would lift her immediately so I switched out the M200 for the Iwa.  Both she and Marlon did better on the Iwa.

This was the setup - one kid in the water - observer and driver.  When the kid fell I yelled "stop" and they picked up the tow rope again.  This saved the kids months of effort.

After the foiling lessons, we hit the outside so Prayot could shoot fish.

Great day on the boat!!!

Dawn Patrol - 5/22/2021

Dawn patrolled WPB - tide was low so I opted to bring the Viking out.  As you can see in the first picture, Tim was foiling (HA1125).  The waves were waist to belly at best.

I caught several, as did Marlon.  It was still infrequent - but fun when the sets came.  Tim and Kalani were catching, and they were far enough out to avoid grounding the foil.

Fun session!

Wing Foiling Session - 5/19/2021

I have been doing some other things the past couple of days - so despite the cranking winds, I was not out winging.  Well - today is likely to be the last windy day for a week or so - and I hit the beach after work.  I rigged the same foil and board as the past few times - but the wind seemed to be on the lighter side - since I was limited on time, I pumped up the 6.0

Well - I got tricked because the wind was pretty spectacular (check the graph below).  I was out from 3:15 to about 4:20 - with gusts hitting past 30mph - this was Mr. Toad's wild ride!!!!  With plenty of power in the wing, I was nailing every single transition.  I was up on foil for so long, my hair was getting dry.  I did wipe three times, but only because I was pushing the turns.

I think if I had the HS1250 or HA1125, I wouldn't have been overpowered (but then again, I wouldn't have been overpowered!!!!).  Super fun session today!!!!

More errands and garage work for the next week (low wind and small surf).

Wing Foiling Session - 5/16/2021

I got out for a mid afternoon winging session today.  I used the same setup as the day before yesterday - and even with the gusty winds, the HS1850 took everything in stride!!!

There actually was a difference - I used a +1 degree polycarbonate shim when bolting on the rear stabilizer.  Totally worked better (on the A+ the unshimmed tail is at -1 degrees compared to the original fuselage).

I was out from about 2 to 3:30.  I made a beeline for First and caught a few really fun waves.  The wind was nuking - would have been perfect for the 4.5m wing - I figured I should play it safe and after my fourth great ride, I headed back in.  The best thing about winging today was I nailed just about every transition I tried - flying tacks and jibes both ways - some much fun!!!

Wing Foiling Session - 5/15/2021

The wind was picking up through the day - so after I took another ding repair/board modification job (Tim's Pyzel again) - I headed over to Hickam.  I had a lot going on and pretty much got skunked.

When I first went out, I was trying out the Chameleon harness and Chinook harness line on the Ensis 5.2.  I had high expectations of the wind and bolted on the HA1125/232.  But I forgot to move the mast forward from the HS1850 position and had figured I might as well ride out once and back just to get the feeling on a poorly set mast/foil.  I did try out the harness and I wasn't feeling it.  And the wind looked really funny - not coming from the typical direction but more from the north.

That was just the beginning.  I did make it back in from the first run - and took off the harness and harness line, then moved the mast all the way forward.

I spent the next hour trying to get back to the launch.  The wind pretty much DIED and I was having to work hard to keep my balance on the board and then try and catch every little puff of wind.  I don't want to paint the picture I wasn't riding - but that was the exception and not the norm today.  Here's proff I was up on foil.

             And I even got several transitions in - here I am mid-tack - I love turning while winging!!!

On the left hand tracks, you can see how "north" the wind was.

I was out from 2:30 to just after 4.  You can see the huge lulls in the wind chart below.

I only got up to 15.1 kts - it sure felt like I was going faster (once I was up on foil).  Looking at the graph below, today was pretty much the opposite of yesterday - only a little bit of riding and a whole lot of schlogging.

Despite the huge levels of frustration, I recognize today was really good training for light wind situations.  If I had the Ensis 6.0 and the HS1850/chopped 300, I would have been better equipped.

I was tricked by the weather forecasters!!!