Today the wind seemed a little bit more consistent compared to yesterday. It was forecasted to be this way, so I had packed my gear in the truck and was prepared for the after work session at Hickam. The tide was rather low this afternoon, so I opted to wing at Hickam to avoid the inevitable grounding that would have happened at WPB. I wanted to continue exploring what the PNL185 was about on the wing, so back on it went.
There were whitecaps on the water as I pulled up around 3:30pm. I went ahead and pumped up the largest wing I currently own - the Ensis 4.5 (which not too long ago was my smallest wing). With the PNL185, I was cruising in no time. I really love the glide this front foil provides. The lift also comes on very gradually - I never feel like I'm going to get bucked off (at least while winging - of which this is only the second time I've had it out for winging). I was able to get out to Firsts without even touching down. I picked up a few waves and made several transitions. The glide through tacks really makes staying up on foil very easy, and I've breached the leeward tip of the foil on several jibes - with zero issues. This foil is so user friendly! If you are a Go Foil basher - you absolutely do not know what you are missing.
The wind felt fairly strong, so I made a beeline in and pumped up the demo Reedin 4.2 the Jeff has loaned me. I really wanted to see the difference in usability and power - the best way being a back-to-back comparison in as close conditions as possible.
By the time I was back in the water, the wind had already dropped a notch. I was already committed so I just kept going. This was totally surprising to me that I not only was I on a 4.2 in as light winds as was present, but that I was actually moving pretty quick and efficiently. I would not credit it all to the 4.2 - the PNL185 really is a great front foil - just pumping it through the lulls was enough to save me from a long and grueling schlogg back to the launch.
I did ride several more waves with the Reedin. I wanted to see if the twisting at the front handle while luffing was still a factor. It wasn't - and I'm thinking now that it was the shear magnitude of the winds and the steep offshore angle that I was having to contend with that produced the twisting.
In the above picture you can see the leading edge continuous curve on the Reedin. You can also see the span is pretty comparable.
The most notable difference from this angle is the wingtips - flared out more on the Ensis and pulled back on the Reedin.
I had also brought my 3.6 so I could compare it to the 4.2
You can see the depth of the chord is shorter on the 3.6 (as one would expect).
And here they are deflated one on top of the other.
It is amazing that this much material would make that much of a difference in controllability and power that a wing has.
I'd say the Ensis 4.5 and the Reedin 4.2 are good for wind speeds from 20 to 30(+)mph. In my earlier days, I would have said this is the range of the 5.2. With time on the water and knowledge/experience on getting the foils to lift, you can totally size down on your wings.
And so ends this really long run of great wind that we've been blessed with. For at least the next week, the winds will be super light... time to start prone foiling again!
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