Finally there was enough wind to wing foil!!! The last time I was out winging was 11/5. A lot of the regulars came out to partake of the wind (not sure when we will have it again - not any time soon according to the forecasts). Matt was out when I got there. Bill, Arvin, Harris, Jim and two others I do not know their names were all out.
PNL185, the refoiled No.9 rear stabilizer on the 32.5" mast, all bolted on to the WWFB. Pumped up my "big" wing (Ocean Roden 5.0 Glide Series A). This was the view from the launch when I drove up. The wind was pretty much up into the OR Glide 5.0's range, then back down (check the chart below for what the wind meters were reporting and my correlated speed).
With the exception of one run out to Firsts to see what was going on out there wind-wise, I spent the majority of today's session making runs in and out, and really focusing on getting the transitions tweaked. Surprising to me was making almost windless tacks and jibes - not sure why I wasn't getting these before today. I even attempted the elusive in bound tack. I actually really like turning.
Powered transitions are super fun with this wing - it just goes wherever you send it. No arguments, disagreements or delays - start carving, send the wing and switch hands. Lately I've also had more time to get through the transitions - I'm thinking that may be more from the PNL185, but I'm sure the wing isn't hurting the process.
Speaking of the PNL185 - if you are frustrated with the HA foils from the other brands - with their high stall speeds, their stickiness in the turns, and other lack of user friendliness, the PNL185 has been the best high aspect foil I've used so far.
I got in 17.75 miles today in 2.5 hours. You can pretty much see between these two graphs that when the wind was below 15mph, I was schlogging. If it was higher than that - I was up and going.
Truthfully - I think only having a 5.0 on the low end of the wind scale has been making me a better winger. More attention to easing the foil up and picking up speed using apparent wind are some of the things I'm thinking about more, and am glad when I get going in lighter and lighter winds - but a 6.0 or bigger would have made winging much easier today.
Good time on the wing today!
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