Really fun session today -
I got a late start because of some things we had going on at the house. I was at WPB parking lot around 12 and the wind was blowing, but it was up and down. The tide was rising but was already above 1'. There were waves, but it seemed more background energy and not direct swell.
Since I already had the Triton mast on the board and the SW2 5.2 in the truck, I decided to stick with what I had.
I saw Kalani coming in from his winging session while I was headed out. The wind looked like it was more east, and it was filled in over towards Coves/Hau Bush. My first few runs took a bit of time to get to the wind line.
Today I got a much better recollection of the performance characteristics of the Triton X-1. This foil surfs really well - cranking turns on a section is what this foil does best. Getting up on foil is not too bad on this - just point a little further downwind than I normally do and up to goes. I have this foil pegged up at the front of the tracks - I think I may have an easier time if I was able to get the foil further forward. I need to get through the No.31 rebuild and heping Marlon glass his longboard, but after that I'm going to build another wing board that will also pull double duty as a Foil Drive prone board. No.32 will have the track a lot further forward than No.25
This foil needs constant power input - so it is harder to use when the wind is up and down. It floats - and it really wants to float. During a wipeout, I always come up to the surface to find it floating. This is actually a really good attribute for the landing cycle - when I pick a spot to drop, the fact that the foil floats helps keep it from hitting the bottom - I think I need to use this foil more often over here at WPB.
This wind graph below is from the airport sensor - obviously from the track above the wind had bent by the time it got to WPB.
The front end of the session had the wind lighter. I got to work the low end of the foil - and it wasn't terrible - just not a competitor against the Eagle 1090. I was working hard to get up wind, but when I did get there, the wind started to fill in and the rest of the session was well powered.
The pitch (in)stability of the X-1 really makes you have to pay more attention to what you are doing. I actually get more tired using this foil - but that is one of the aspects I like most about it - it is challenging to use, and rewarding when the sections show themselves.
I think tomorrow I'll get the repair on No.31 finished.
W:51/F:52/S:28
No comments:
Post a Comment