Wing Foiling Session - 7/30/2023

Yesterday was interesting.  First off, there was a regatta for wingers at Hickam.  La was more excited about that than I was.  She came with and I even brought the SUP out for her to paddle around and wing on if she felt like it (I brought the strap on keels so you can hold a line and even get up wind).

Noe also came and she wanted to wing.

The wind was super flukey - when we were setting up, Bill was out riding - by the time I was bringing gear to the beach he had come in and said the wind was swirling around and would swing 120 degrees.  Plus there were significant holes.

I set Noe up with the GoFoil GL180 on the 29.5" mast and the Reedin SW1 3.6.  She should have been on the Ensis V2 4.5 (but honestly that may have not made a difference today).

And there she goes!  I told her to go over to the left so she would have some runway to drift downwind.  The wind got weak by this time and it became slim pickings.

I went out on No.30, the Eagle 1090/DW210, the 85cm Project Cedrus Mast and Kalani's SW2 6.0 (this was a race after all).  I was able to get up in the light wind with this gear.

The winds were really swirly.

So swirly that I got caught off guard on one directional switch, got knocked off the board and straight into the port wing tip of the Eagle 1090.

I'll spare you the before pictures, but instead of racing, I was in the Emergency Room for 4 hours getting stitched up (the specialists did a great job).

Crazy winds... I think I'll start wearing my helmet again when I know the wind is weird.

W:74/F:68/S:31

Wing Foiling Session - 7/29/2023

Up and down wind at WPB yesterday afternoon.  Roland insisted on winging (I was thinking prone foiling and Kalani was pushing to Foil Drive).

It was tough, but if you could get up, there was enough wind to keep you up.

I put the GoPro on the other wing to get a different perspective (face on outbound, overhead on the run in).  This shows the lean into the tacks more than the camera on the port wingtip.

When the wind was up, it was coming in hard from the NNE, which makes winging a little more confusing.  It was fun, but there were some really long lulls.

I could tell the wind was going to die so I grabbed a gust and got in without incident.

Speed over time is indicative of the long lulls.

This last round of wind has had a lot of North in it, WPB seems to handle the North better than Hickam (dead offshore...)

These are the days I wish I still had a 6.0m wing

lulls...

W:73/F:68/S:31

Garage Works - 7/29/2023

And before heading out to Noe's flute concert, I had enough time to place a seal/fill coat on to the bottom deck of No.32

5.6 ounces of aluzine epoxy mixed with 9 scoops of Thiksil and Aerosil.

Next step is to cut out the handle slot on the bottom and the footstrap/Foil Drive battery insert slots.  I may get to that later this evening (or maybe not if the wind kicks in).

Dawn Patrol - 7/29/2023

Marlon and I went on the dawn patrol this morning.  The tide was negative so I opted to skip foiling.  At the front end of the session the wind was down - but soon after the wind did come up.

Marlon was checking out the surf while I was changing.  I finished and went over to check it out and say good morning to the Stage Crew.  Marlon was walking back and said the surf was small - I told him we were here and I was going to go out for a short session - so he might as well go out anyways.  He agreed.

I knew it would be small and low tide so I packed the Sweet Potato.  And I also wanted to try out the NVS Ono Convertible keels.  Marlon brought his trusty longboard.

I saw him catch several fun ones (so likely no regrets on paddling out).

I caught several also.  I can't say enough great things about the Sweet Potato.  I would catch a wave that would normally take a longboard to pick up, setup in the power core of the wave and then do full on turns.

These Ono Convertibles are really sweet!!!  I actually don't know whether I like the more/the same/less than the Webber Transformers.  I also love the way I can throw the tail around with this twin fin config - but I'm wondering if I put in a tiny trailer if the ride will get even better....

I got to talk to Scott this morning - I haven't seen him out in a while (he's been busy taking his son to baseball).  Noel and Andrew were also out - but they didn't recognize me without being on a foil (lol).

Surfing, foiling, winging.... it's all good!!!

W:72/F:68/S:31

Wing Foiling Session - 7/28/2023

Knowing I had commitments later on today, I took a long lunch and grabbed some wind at Hickam.

Setting up, the wind looked strong so I pumped up the 4.7.

Arvin was packing up, Ryan and I (and a couple of other dudes) were setting up.

When the wind was up, it was pretty good.  But for most of the session I was chasing ghosts - it looked like there was wind, but there was no substance to it.  And it was pretty shifty.  Then it would shut down.

Here you can see the shifting -

And here you can see the gusts and lulls.

I'm not complaining - and I even got the Eagle 1090 up to 23.5 mph

Fun session!

W:72/F:68/S:30

Fine Tuning the Vyper 170

I let Roland borrow this foil yesterday.  He wanted to see if the additional 20 square inches of surface would make a difference in low end.

When turning it over to him, I saw some scratches (I did buy this one used).  When I picked it up today, I figured I should clean this one up and get it back to top performance shape.

I used the solid paint pen, filled in the scratches and let the paint dry.

And I actually just finished sanding the foil.  I went with 600-1000-1500 on both sides to get an even surface finish.

Better than new!!!

This is one of my favorite front foils for prone surf foiling in sizable waves.  It carves like no other and I can even pump it back out.  Super progressive lift so I can takeoff in critical sections without having to worry about a blow up.

I want to see if this will translate over to Foil Drive prone surf foiling... unfortunately for that plan, the wind is forecasted to get stronger over the next several days - wing, wing, wing!!!

Unfrozen Bolt

I finally broke loose the bolt that was frozen in my 85cm Project Cedrus mast.

Roland gave me this can - he said this is what he uses on chiller repairs (where corroded bolts abound).  This stuff worked!!!  I had tried using Liquid Wrench and PB Blaster.

To be fair, I had not used this until after I got the Kano oil - a manual impact wrench.  I did not want to use the battery operated Makita - because I was sure I'd end up stripping the bolt head.  So I waited for this one to come in the mail and BAM - unfrozen bolt!!!

The universe is without tension once again.

Wing Foiling Session - 7/26/2023

Winged yesterday afternoon.  The wind and waves were slightly better than the day before (Tuesday).  Roland came out - he wanted to sampo the Vyper 170 for lighter wind winging.  Kalani also came out (and so did Gary much later).

I used the SW2 5.2, No.25 and the Eagle 890/Marlin 14"

I have been hesitant to commit to the Eagle 890 - but honestly, unless the wind is really light, the foil is completely doable.  In earlier sessions with this foil, I felt like it didn't have enough carry to get me through a tack.  I was completely wrong as the next few pictures show.  Heel - toe and toe - heel - as long as there was enough wind to pressurize the wing, I could make the tack.

I purposely pushed the camera low to get this shot.

And here is the toe - heel tack (SUP dude on the left took my wave - I guess he didn't like my wave count).

Not bad for an hour and a quarter.

Still more North in the wind than I prefer - but at least there is good wind.

The 5.2 was the call for this wind.  Even with the 5.2, there were a few lulls that I had to sit and wait for the gusts.  The 1090 would have helped here.

You can see the sitting sessions.

Fun session!!!!!

W:71/F:68/S:30

Wing Foiling Session - 7/25/2023

Wing foiling session this afternoon with Roland.  Looking at the conditions when we were setting up, I thought it would have been a better prone foiling session - but Roland said he was going to wing. 

This is what I was going to go out with - but ended up swapping the 4.7 for the 5.2 (and I'm glad I did).

With the Eagle 1090, I can get up in really light winds - and I needed all that capability in today's conditions.

I forced myself to tack onto waves more than I normally would given the conditions.  And I went about it with a more aggressive approach - and it felt awesome!

There was a lot of north in the wind - but as sucky as that is for winging, it does clean up the surf - and tacking/jibing onto a wave and riding/flagging the wing - so much fun.  Every 20 minutes a head high set would pull through - it was just a matter of making sure there was enough wind to turn and not drop off foil.

I went in after an hour+ - I could feel the wind dropping off.  It's nice to know this equipment will get me foiling in such light winds.

W:70/F:68/S:30

Wing Foiling Session - 7/24/2023

Pulled an afternoon session at Hickam.  Wind was up and down, and there were hardly any waves.

Jim had been out on his 6.0, but came in and put up his 5.0.  Bill had been out on his 7.0 - both said the gusts were pretty brutal, but nothing mattered in the lulls.

I setup the Kujira 1210/178 - it's been a while since I had this bolted on...

When I pulled up to the parking lot, there was a good gust coming through - made me pump up the 4.7

My Garmin Instinct is failing me now - wouldn't hold a charge.  So I went out without the benefit of a GPS.  The wind was hard out of the North - 

The 1210 did a great job staying up in the lulls, but after using several different foils in a relatively short period of time, it is a tad bit slower than some of the others.

What I do love about the 1210 is its carry - I got in two toe-heel tacks without any drama, and this is one of the foils I can blind heel-toe tack.

Harris went out and headed to Firsts.  The wind filled in and I headed out also - it was way too offshore for my liking - and with hardly any waves - it was not worth the risk of having to make that paddle in.

It was good to wing again!!!

Oh - note to self - the foot straps need to go back a notch or two when using the Kujira foils.

W:69/F:68/S:30

Dawn Patrol - 7/23/2023

I brought the Foil Drive prone foiling setup this morning.  I got my confidence back!

Waves were mostly waist high, but every now and then a shoulder + set would come through.

The tide was rising to 1.0', and at least at the beginning the wind was down.

Dennis and Kalani were also out on FD - but using SUP foils.  It is really amazing how early they can get in with that equipment (And I know from personal experience just how hard it really is - see yesterday's post).

The waves were actually on the weak side - I did manage to snag one shoulder+ wave, but the rest involved a lot of pumping to get to sections where turning made sense.

Despite the minor negatives, another fun day on the water.

W:68/F:68/S:30

Dawn Patrol - 7/22/2023

Today's dawn patrol was supposed to have tiny waves.  With that forecast and the effort put in to getting the Shred Sled all set up, I went SUP Foiling with the Foil Drive.

Noel and Kalani setting up.

SUP foiling is hard.  SUP foiling with a Foil Drive is hard.  I don't spend enough time doing either to get good at it.  I thought the waves were going to be smaller than they were so I brought this setup out - ART1099/460F, 80cm aluminum Project Cedrus mast on the Slingshot Shred Sled.

I had multiple servings of humble pie.  I was falling like it was going out of style.  Amidst all the falling, I did manage to get 3 rides.

I have a lot more practice ahead of me if I want to actually be good at this.  I think I'd rather be good at kitefoiling.  I can save the Foil Drive sessions for prone foiling (which I can already do).  After I get a shorter paddle, and have much more practice, perhaps I'll get good at this.

I sucked today.  I'll go back to prone FD tomorrow to get my confidence back.

W:68/F:67/S:30