Dawn Patrol - 12/31/2022

Dawn patrolled with Marlon.  There was still some energy in the water - especially if you waited for the sets (20 to 25 minutes apart).  No wind and a medium rising tide made for funs conditions (but it was cold...)

Marlon brought his longboard and headed over to Coves, where he subsequently saw a 6' shark and then came in.

I brought the Axis ART 999 and tested it to see if my sanding messed it up.  I also didn't change out the mast from the last time I went out - so this was probably the first time I used this foil prone on the 75cm mast.

The extra height wasn't an issue with the tide this morning.  And it was an asset since I didn't have to worry about trimming right at takeoff (so the rear stabilizer doesn't breach).  And I found another reason why this mast height is good - I caught a few already broken waves and with the extra depth, the foil was out of the turbulence, and I was able to takeoff and ride.  With the shorter 68cm mast, I probably would have not been able to recover.

I caught several waves, got a bunch of double dips and even a couple of triples - so this was a great last prone foil surfing session for 2022.  I may try and get an evening surf session, but we'll see.

W:128/F:101/S:46

Evening Session - 12/30/2022

I hit the beach pretty late in the day - the sun was already pushing some nice color out by the time I was in the lineup.  The waves were pretty consistent and were about waist high.  The tide was pretty low and there was some wind (but nowhere near enough to wing)

I took the Firewire Sweet Potato out with the Machado Quads.  This board paddles really easily and picks up waves like a much longer board.  With these fins, I could do a bottom turn, but I was wanting for more drive to move down the wave and keep some speed up.

I caught plenty of waves in a short time frame.  This is a really fun board!!!  This board has been properly anointed.  For my weight, this is a much better board for me than either the Mashup or the Seaside.

Nice sunset!

I went ahead and switched out the Machado Quads for the Aipa Da Hook quad set.

These are going to be really interesting to test!!!

W:128/F:100/S:46

Evening Session - 12/29/2022

Marlon and I pulled an evening session after I got home from work and doing a Costco run with La.  Surfline said there would be some energy coming up from the south, and that the wind would pretty much be super light - we brought the longboards.

If you were patient, there were chest high waves on the sets.  The background energy that was breaking on the inside was still waist high - so this was a really good WPB session especially considering it is almost January.

I caught several fun ones, but the last one I caught was down right awesome!  Picked it up on the outside and was carving turns all the way in to the beach.  I called it after that one knowing I probably wouldn't get the opportunity again during this session.

W:128/F:100/S:45

Wing Foiling Session - 12/27/2022

The wind forecast was not aligned on the websites I use - so that meant today would be a crap shoot whether the wind would be favorable or not for winging.

Harris texted me and said there was wind - I got home quickly, packed up the gear and took Noe over to Hickam so she could try winging.  I set her up with the Takuma RS 5.1, the NWFB and the GoFoil 29.5" mast with the GL180.

I used the WWFB with the 85cm Project Cedrus mast, the PNL185/chopped stabilizer/Stringy direct bolt fuselage, under the North Nova Light Wind 8.0

Noe was a trooper.  She has good form on her outbound runs.  Harris even said he saw her get on foil.  But on her inbound runs, she was struggling to keep her balance and hold the wing steady.  

I tried sticking close to her to give her pointers - but she eventually drifted too far downwind.  I told her she should start paddling upwind to get to a point where she could try again.  The NWFB at 25" width was a bit much for her to get a good power pull while paddling.  I disconnected my leash and tried to tow her (but the leash didn't offer much area to hold on to).  I figured she should paddle as far as she could, and I would make a beeline in - then I could swim back out and help her paddle back.

I was nicely powered on the Nova LW 8.0 - I think the RS6.1 would have worked in these conditions as well.  I focused on making transitions without backwinding the big wing - as I was successful.  The PNL185 is a foil I haven't been out on in quite some time.  It was really fun to use - a bit loose and maneuverable, but still tracks upwind well.  Lots of glide in the transitions.  Fun setup today!

You can see the gap below where I was towing Noe.

When we got back to shore and were breaking down the gear, we were discussing the session and lessons learned.  Next time we'll use a smaller board - so if she needs to paddle, she'll have an easier time.  We'll also practice with a wing on land, and a mock board so she can work on her foot placement during her goofy foot runs.  Lastly, we'll use the Ensis V2 4.5 - the 5.1 in these winds was a little much - the 4.5 will have similar low end, but it'll have a more forgiving high end compared to the RS.

Based on the forecasts, this will likely be the last winging session this year.  And what an awesome year it has been!!!  So many awesome experiences - I am thankful and appreciative for the opportunities I have been presented and for my and the family's health.  I have so many more goals for winging next year - jumping efficiently, making more boards, learning more transitions, running more downwinders, and fine tuning my toe-heel tacks.

W:128/F:100/S:44

Garage Works - 12/26/2022

After I got back from foiling, I settled into the garage to get some progress on some projects and to help my beautiful bride with her big project.

This was the template I settled on for No.29 - this is an asymmetric prone foil board.  Dimensions should come out to something like 4'6" x 18.8" - and I'm planning on keeping the volume around the high 30's - so the thickness will be 3.75"

Here's the template transferred to the blank

And here's the trimmed up blank.  I used a Japanese pull saw to cut this one out instead of my normal long blade jig saw.  The jig saw had been melting the foam - so after I pick out the melted beads there would be gaps.  In most instances the gaps did not impact the shape, but they are a pain to deal with.  I had to fair in the template at the top deck with a surform to remove the excess foam, but that wasn't really an issue.  I did not get around to skinning the blank and foiling the volume distribution - because I also worked on....

Fixing the dings on Dennis's wave ski.  I have to sand down the patches and then add fiberglass to the nose repair.  This does take up a bunch of room in the garage...

Lastly, I helped La work on putting together the French cleat art table she has been wanting to complete.  We got the desk top built and also made sure the desk mounting rack would work with the dowel sections she bought.

Totally fun afternoon with my wife in the garage!!!

Dawn Patrol - 12/26/2022

Marlon and I dawn patrolled on Monday.  I was hoping for some residual surf similar in size to Christmas Day (evening), but even if it was there the super high tide drowned it out.  It was still ridable, and in fact it was pretty fun - but it wasn't the same as the evening before.

Marlon brought his longboard, but opted to pilot his drone.  Funny story - his girlfriend's family saw him sitting on the other side of the fence and went over to chat with him.  I was wondering why the drone wasn't out for a while.

I brought out the Kujira 1095 mounted on the direct bolt Stringy fuselage, one of my thinned out rear stabilizers and had it on the 75cm Project Cedrus mast.  I had a blast catching several waves.  It was funny that the 178 rear stabilizer can pump, but with my rear stabilizer I have to work it.  I did get several doubles - but it got crowded.  I called it when newbie longboarders were moving into the foiling spot and were complaining about wavestormers pushing them out...

W:127/F:100/S:44

Evening Session - Christmas Day 2022

We had a really fun and relaxing Christmas this year.  Towards the end of the day, Marlon and I brought our longboards out.  To our surprise, the conditions were really good!  Waist to chest high surf, with zero wind and a medium tide perfect for longboard surfing!!! 

I caught several long rides where I could carve up and down the walls.  This seemed more like a summer evening session than conditions for Christmas.

This was a great Christmas present from Mother Nature!

W:127/F:99/S:44

Template for No.29

I've been contemplating making an asymmetric prone foil board for quite some time.  I've got one repair job on the bench, but after that I think I'm going to go ahead and build No.29 as an asymmetric.

The hard part is trying to nail down the template.  My strong stance is regular foot, so my right foot is towards the back of the board.  Asymmetry in a foil board is going to be way more subtle than what you would see in a surfboard or windsurfer.  The asymmetry is only supporting the rider's natural stance while riding - and really does not influence how the board performs in the surf.

The first thing to note on these templates is the "left" side is the constant side.  This side is adjusted to accommodate my front foot hugging the left/port rail, and my back foot riding more centered and over the foil mast plate.

Why do you have to make these accommodations?  You don't have to - but if you look at your feet, the answer should be obvious - you can apply way more pressure with your toe side.  So in the case of my front foot I am augmenting a weaker heel side by adding more foam under my left heel, and I'm taking an advantage I have with my back foot more centered and trimming off excess board.

The right side of the board template has two versions.  This first one is more representative of how I have been designing my own templates - straight parallel rails for developing paddling speed and a square tail for getting assists from waves during takeoffs.  This version shows a more drastic difference between the two sides (and making the asymmetry more obvious). 

This second version has the right side with a more subtle difference - less square tail and more curvature in the rail.  You can see some bump out in the nose area on the right, and the tail area is fuller compared to the left.

For my first asymmetric prone foil board, I'm going to go ahead and use the setup shown in the first picture.  I don't want the differences to be subtle - one, so that I can determine if this is actually worth incorporating into future builds, and also to make it obvious that this is an asymmetric (and they won't think I was drunk while making this board).

Teaching Noe to Wing

Happy Birthday to Noe!!!

We went out for a family water day - Marlon and La used SUPs and I gave the intro lessons for wings to Noe. Managing the wing, setting up for takeoff, riding weak side, launching and landing from the beach, and schlogging were the topics of the day. 

Actually - she is a natural and showed proper form and understanding.  We just needed a little more wind and she would have been up and riding already.

Even with the giant wing I wasn't able to get up on foil.  Honestly, being able to drill on managing the wing and schlogging are important topics and skills - not being distracted with getting up on foil helped focus on the core skills (for getting back to the beach when the wind drops off).

Fun family day!!!!

Fairing in the Eagle 1090

This front foil has been singing up a storm.  Sometimes it emits three tones (but I think one of them was from the rear stabilizer - which I also sanded already).

The designer at Levitaz has a video out that demonstrates how to put on a Donaldson Trailing Edge on to the foil.  I went ahead and sanded this in hopes of eliminating the really loud noises.

I used 180-400-600-1000-1500-2000 grit wet sandpaper on some new sanding blocks.

I have some high hopes that this is going to work... now I just need some steady winds.

Evening Session - 12/21/2022

Marlon and I did an evening surf session yesterday.  Waves were waist high, the tide was low and the wind was still coming in from the west (but not strong enough to wing).

I opted for the Viking to negate any small surf issues (and kill the crowd factor).  For a board this long, you'd think it is just for going straight - but that is quite the contrary.  If there is some height to a wave and it is standing up, I love to move to the back of the board - the thinned out profile of the back rail really bites into the wave and (besides the extra swing weight) this board surfs way shorter than it is.  That coupled with its ability to paddle into bumps well before they are breaking waves makes this board magic!

I have really grown to like the True Ames Greenough High Speed Volan fin on this board.  It wasn't instant affinity like the Futures Randy Rarrick Black Tip fin I have on the TJ Everyday, but more a gradual appreciation for what this fin can do.

The monk seal was back - but had moved over to the beach in front of the MWR rental shack.

There were still some good sized waves coming in from the wind event if you were patient.  I caught multiple fun rides.  Kalani was out on his foil.  I saw him catch a few triples.  Roland was out also, but he was under the weather (and probably should rest to shake the bug that he has).

La was using the truck this evening so we took the other surf mobile out.  Fun session!

W:127/F:99/S:43

New (Used)Triton T1

The proceeds I got from selling No.28 got turned around immediately to purchase this new foil - the Triton T1 Monofoil.  I got a really go deal on this as it was a demo.  There were a few scratches - but nothing that some 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper couldn't take care of.

I dissembled the mast base plate - mast, then placed ultra tefgel on the bolts.  The plate-mast is a really tight fit (which I prefer over a looser fit - less chance of a shift under load).

And as one would expect, as soon as I get this in the wind dies... It'll be several days before the wind comes up strong enough to test this foil out.  Patience in effect -

Wing Foiling Session - 12/20/2022

There was a monk seal chilling on the beach this afternoon.  It was hogging up the launch area...

The west wind was still blowing strong this afternoon so I was out rigging up my gear at 3pm.  The tide was pretty low so I had to paddle my gear out pretty far before I could flip the foil over.  The waves were decent sized on the inside - enough to make paddling pretty tough.

Eventually I got to deeper water and rode out on my knees to the wind line and from that point I had plenty of wind.  The softer sunlight was making it hard to see what was a wave and what was flat water - or I'm getting old and just can't see.  And there was a lot of chop in the water so I had to really move around a lot to keep balanced (oh - and my front foil was a little loose - so that's what I get for not tightening down everything before hitting the water - I was feeling the wiggle the whole time - I bet my riding would have been much cleaner if I had tightened the bolts).

For all the challenges to get out - it was totally worth it - the waves were really fun and every 15 minutes or so, a bomber set would roll through - head and a half high!!!!  And it is the middle of December!!!!

Luffing was so easy on these big waves - if westerlies were the norm at WPB...

On one monster wave, I jibed right under the standing peak, made the drop and was getting out in front of it - well it caught up to me and I wiped out.  The board ended up on top of the wing and I was tangled up in both leashes.  I cleared the wing and then untangled the board leash.  During the wipe, one of the winglets grazed my right tricep - I picked up another cool scar!!!

The Reedin SW2 is a really well built wing - there were multiple times over the past few days where most other wings would have picked up some kind of damage - collisions with the board and the foils.  That or I got lucky.

After Monday, I didn't entirely trust the wind.  I kept my eye to the west making sure the wind was barreling in.  For the most part it was - but then the opposite occurred.  At around 4:30pm I could see a squall line setting up in front of a band of showers - I had enough time for two more runs and then I beat feet for the landing.  By the time I hit the beach, the rain was coming down and the wind dropped off.  Roland didn't see what I was doing and got stuck outside for a bit.  Eventually the wind did fill back in but not as strong as before the last squall.

Got in 14.73 miles this session - I think if I check the front foil screws I would have gotten more miles in and gone faster.  You can see the wind was pretty much straight west.

This chart was from Hickam - I think we had it just a hair stronger (but the Kalaeloa meter is inland at the airfield, so it doesn't reflect the wind over the water).

Honestly with the waves as big as they were, I'm not sure if I would have wanted to go faster today - besides the wobbles, this was a perfect session!

I love this place!

W:127/F:99/S:42