Wing Foiling Session - 8/3/2023

Stronger wind today.  Equally super high tide (great for launching and recovery).  And the set waves were bigger than yesterday.  Can't really ask for more!

With the great conditions, I pumped up the 4.7 again and setup the X-1 to mix it up.

Spent an hour winging - not too bad stats 

When the wind and the set waves lined up, awesome rides were had - near overhead waves (while up on foil).  I had one really long one - but the others mainly peaked, walled, then backed off as they made their way to the inside.

Winging is so much better when the wind is over 20mph.

I have to remember (NOTE) that the footstraps need to come way back (or be removed) when using the X-1.  I can totally see the relation between the center of lift of the foil and where the straps should be positioned (or where your feet should be placed).   One day when there isn't any wind, I'll bolt on the different foils and try to mark where the CoL is lined up to the bottom deck.  Takumas are a little back on the current footstrap setup; F One is just right; I can't remember how the Axis felt.  I think the Vyper was back.

W:89/F:82/S:32

Wing Foiling Session - 8/30/2023

Good winds this afternoon (but still a little up and down).  Also good waves -

the Eagle 890And the tide was super fat!  Easy launch, easy recovery.

I used the Eagle 890 today (with the 14" KD Marlin) and the SW2 4.7

Quick session - just over an hour

Direction was consistent - velocity would go up and down.  If I knew that would be the prevailing conditions, I think I would have put the 1090 on.  But it all worked out.

Most waves were chest high - but there were some overhead sets that came every once in a while.

I never felt overpowered on 4.7 today.  In fact I did feel a little underpowered at times.

Not a bad top end speed!

Roland, Prayot and Norm were out today.

I rode one wave pretty far in and had to find a hole through the lineup to get back out.

Super fun day!!!

W:88/F:82/S:32

Wing Foiling Session - 8/29/2023

The wind was up and down during today's session.  Eli, Roland and Prayot were out to cultivate some stoke..

The tide was really high - +2.6' - thanks to the Super Blue Moon

And there were some decent waves coming through - head high on several occasions.

But the wind was a little bit flukey.

I thought it would be a hair stronger, so I brought the Kujira 980/178 stab on the Stringy fuselage.

At times it felt like I needed more lift - even though this is where I have historically set this foil.

Not too bad for an hour's worth of winging.

I tried to stay further towards Fenceline to keep in the flow of the wind.  It was a dead zone in front of the surfboard rental shack.

Not bad - but it's hard to rig for these kind of ups and downs.

Again not bad.  The Kujira 980 did feel a bit unstable today - but I'm going to say it was the small chop riding the backwash and having to ride through that stuff.

Prayot saw a pretty big shark in the surf zone.  I had already gone in by that point (La wanted to run some errands tonight - so I wanted to get home early).

The wind is supposed to build up for the next several days (until Saturday).  So winging until Sunday (then it'll be Foil Driving time for Sunday and Monday).

W:87/F:82/S:32

Dawn Patrol - 8/27/2023

And on Sunday morning Kalani, Dennis and I ended up at Hickam to Foil Drive.

Wind was really light, tide was on the low side, and the waves were about belly high (with shoulder to head high sets every now and then).

I tried the Magic Hub today - it has more push for sure, so I was on the throttle less when a properly shaped wave came my way.  I also seemed to be moving at a faster pace when on cruise control.

We all caught plenty of waves.  We were out for over 3 hours and I came back with the battery at 43%

Fun session!!!

W:86/F:82/S:32

Wing Foiling Session - 8/26/2023

Race day!  Nick and I carpooled and got a spot by the first coconut tree.  Hung out with Arvin and Matt from Hickam.

The wind was way up and way down.  With a full rising tide, getting out was pretty easy (as was landing).

I ended up using the Eagle 1090/DW210 with Kalani's SW2 6.0

I got in three separate runs - first was playing around before the start, second was the race and the last was playing in the surf waiting for more people to get back in.

Way up - then way down.  Made for a crap shoot for what equipment to put up.  Turns out that I rigged big for the lulls, but that did slow me down a bit (both is foil size and wing size).  If I could do it over again right now, I would have setup the Eagle 890 and the SW2 6.0 - to move faster through the water.

Pre-start

Race track - I'm guessing the group stratified based on foil size (the smaller the faster).  I beat a small cluster of guys up to the mark (blinker buoy), but I went for the inside track and I ran smack into a long lull.  The others took the outside track and had wind (and I dropped several spots from this).  I also had some trouble with the dive boat going back to the marina (and not acknowledging that I am a sail vessel and have right of way).

And when I finsihed, there really wasn't anyone in my immediate vicinity.  So I figured I'd just go ride some waves - turned into over 5 miles of waves, but who is counting....

I came in 12th in the Masters group.  Nick came in second from last - but finishing a race like this where he is at experience wise is a pretty awesome accomplishment!!!

Next year - bigger wing and smaller front foil.

W:86/F:81/S:32

Wing Foiling Session - 8/25/2023

Posting a few catch up days worth of activity.  Wanted to get a final training run in before the race.  When I got to the beach, it was blowing but light.  Still doable with the 6.0m SW2 (that I borrowed from Kalani).

I bolted on the F One Eagle 890 to see the upwind ability compared to the other foils I had been using.

Marc (Hilo lifeguard) was out.

There was enough wind to make a solid run up to the end of Hau Bush - but then I could sense the wind starting to fluke out.

I made a beeline for the beach (and made it back).  But then I got suckered in to making another run out -  then I got stuck.

You can see the valley in the wind strength graph - and the peaks on either end were what I was using to ride out and then back in.

Nick saw what was going on and decided to avoid the misery.

Despite the waiting around and bobbing, this session put a lot of confidence in the abilities of the Eagle 890.  Just a little more wind would have been nice -

W:85/F:81/S:32

Wing Foiling Session - 8/24/2023

Afternoon winging session with Roland (and eventually Prayot, and almost Nick).

Wind was sometimes whitecapping, sometimes not while I was setting up - so I opted for the SW2 5.2 and the Eagle 1090.

There were times I definitely needed the gear I brought out, and there were a few times I was almost overpowered.

There were some fun waves - but the waves 2 days ago were a lot better and more consistent.

I forgot my watch so I don't have any data - but when I did my upwind test, the Eagle 1090 was pulling upwind like it was on rails - with the wind up and down, it was hard to get a good downwind run in today - but it was still fun trying.

W:84/F:81/S:32

Wing Foiling Session - 8/23/2023

Still mixing things up to see what works under what conditions.

The tide was rising, the wind was up and down, and the surf was compact (closer period than what I've seen recently).

I was going to have a short session - and the wind when I drove up was kicking up whitecaps, so I decided to pump up the SW2 4.7

And I bolted on the ART999/400P.  This foil having a higher aspect ratio, I wanted to see if it could out pace the Eagle 890 going to weather -

That said, I changed too many variables at once.

From the chart, you can see I didn't get too far up wind today.  With the wind being up and down, I'm attributing the lack of upwind drive to the smaller wing I put up, and not the foil.

And it has been a while since I bolted on the ART999 - but it reminded me that it is a good foil.  If I go again tomorrow, I'll use the Eagle 890 and compare that to the ART999.

After I stopped trying to haul upwind and just settled in to riding waves, I ended up picking off several good sized rides!  The Reedin SW2 wings are so good, even catching the flaky winds and turning it into forward momentum with a slightly under sized wing was no big deal.

And there's the story of today's wind - strong when I got to the parking lot, then flukey and up and down the rest of the session.

I thought I had gone much faster than 19.9 mph - I'm thinking I might have to use the Eagle 890 on race day...

Eli, Roland, and Prayot were also out today.

W:83/F:81/S:32

Garage Works - 8/23/23

I sanded down the top deck laminate laps this morning.  And then I immediately laminated the rail band.  On this one, I decided to use the 3" tape all around the board.

I cut reliefs across the nose and tail - then I used saran wrap around the board to make sure the edges were nice and tight.

And after some time to harden, I removed the saran wrap to reveal a beautiful board coming to life!!!  I'll sand the rail tape edges a bit, then place the first fill coat tomorrow.  This first coat will be a thin one - just to smooth out the bumps a bit so I can add the decals/labels.

After that its sanding, filling, sanding, drilling, adding plugs, filling, sanding, sanding, sanding.  This board will likely get wet sometime next week.

Also today, La and I got the teak lawn furniture all cleaned up.  Tomorrow she said she'll add the teak oil.  That was actually a lot of fun!!!!

Dawn Patrol - 8/22/2023

Pulled a dawn patrol with Nick and Lance.

I decided to prone foil - and setup the normal gear - Progression 170/Flex Rear Stabilizer/68cm Project Cedrus mast/4'8" Prone Foil Board

The wind was actually on the surf pretty early... and it turned the surf into a choppy mess.  I actually could have been winging.

I did get some rides in - I just couldn't turn upwind, otherwise I'd get slowed down to stall speed.

Despite the challenging/choppy conditions - it was really good hanging out with Lance and Nick!

W:82/F:81/S:32

Wing Foiling Session - 8/22/2023

Roland was at the beach finishing getting setup when I pulled up to the parking lot.  At my house the wind seemed a lot stronger than what was blowing at the beach.

I decided to pump up the SW2 5.2 and bolt on the H800 that I'm fixing for Ken.

The wind was a little flukey today - so I'm not sure if the performance I got out of the H800 was pulling its potential.  With enough wind, I got up on foil just a tad slower than the other ones I've been using lately (but the Eagle 890 seems to get up a lot faster).

I can say the H800 is one of the smoothest flying foils I've ever used.  It is really quiet and I don't feel any drag.  There were a few instances where I did feel it lose lift abruptly, but the longer I used it, the easier it became to get it to do what I wanted it to do.

The complaint I do have about it is that it really wasn't pulling upwind as quickly as I thought it would.  I'm not sure if that was because of the wind, the chop in the water, or the foil - but after riding the Eagle 890 yesterday, I know I should have been pulling upwind faster.

This foil needs more wind power to tack successfully - but I did get a few tacks in.

This chart is from the airport - we had light winds except for a few strong wind events - with the bigger wing, I was able to get the H800 going (especially using waves to get me going).

And here is a second dislike - I feel like I should have been going faster than what was recorded....

Roland, Eli, Prayot snd eventually Gary were all out winging today.  

W:83/F:81/S:32