And the wind did kick up a bit this afternoon. I was in the garage sanding when the texts started flying - "There's wind - anybody over there yet?".
I packed up and headed over - with the intent to test out the Eagle while winging. The wind was really light. There were no waves to speak of at Firsts (but Jesse did go out to Seconds). Most everyone was staying on the inside. Harris had his CWC 7.0 out. Jim had his new Froth board. Bill had his new aluminum PC mast (and his Stringy fuselage/Kujira 1440). Most everyone came out with the minimal trades (more likely thermals).
This foil amazed me yet again - once I got up on foil, I hardly went down. In the lulls/dead zones (the wind had a lot of North in it), I could just pump through to get to the next wind line. It jibed easily, and I got a tack in, but it wasn't pretty.
Even with the 75cm mast, this foil was easy to control.
You can see the jibe loops I made in the image below. I was taking the turns a little wider than normal - more a factor of getting used to the foil.
Along with the findings from my prone sessions with the Eagle, this foil under wing power was fast.
You can see the spikes in the wind on the chart above, in the speed graph below (interesting correlation as usual). But what is most interesting is the top speed. I did not think the wind was coming in faster than 17 mph in the gusts. With my top speed at 20.1 mph, and that showing more than once, tells me that this foil may be capable of matching (or even beating) the wind speed. This is the first foil I've used that has come close to did that.
I have a lot more testing to do on this foil, but if the Eagle is indeed that fast, I may have to sell the ART899 and 1099 (the 999 is too much fun in the surf).
W:97/F:88/S:32
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