Veteran's Day 2024

On this Veteran's Day, I just wanted to take it easy with La and Marlon.

First up was a dawn patrol with Marlon and longboards!  Although if I knew what the surf was going to be like, I think I would have brought the Sweet Potato.

Marlon brought his recently made longboard and I brought the Viking.

The surf was fun - and all the regular foilers were looking at me funny (like what are you doing on a surfboard???).  I caught several fun ones and didn't want to get too tired (long, fun day ahead).

W:139/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:20

Next up was errands.

I fixed our gutters on the side of the house I couldn't previously reach (you'll have to ask me about this in person if you are interested).  Then I got the last coat of epoxy onto the board Greg asked me to fix.  Then I cleaned up the garage a bit - and then we headed out.

We hit some stops and had to fight through some traffic, but ended up at the North Shore.  We got some new threads at Xcel (mahalo for the discount!!!), and then ended up at the new Patagonia shop!

Pretty cool shop!  They had some pretty cool imagery up on the walls - one was Moona Whyte kitesurfing a sizeable barrel at what looked like Teahupo'o

Which reminded me I used to do stuff like that - and that subsequently made me dig out some equipment (and get mentally prepared to do it again).  I really haven't had the desire to kitesurf because you can't do it near where I live (have to drive to Kailua or Mokuleia).

Maybe it'll be fine to take a little drive....

And lastly, Greg came over to pick up the board I repaired for his daughters.

Fun, relaxing day!!!  If you are a veteran - I hope you had a good one!

Wing Foiling Session - 11/10/2024

Marlon and I hit WPB for a mid-day foiling session.  He went prone foiling again - he caught a handful, with two good ones, then he put the drone up.

Prayot went out earlier and was back to swap out foils.  Kalani initially set up the Dragonfly - but had swapped out to the higher volume drifter.

Anticipating conditions similar to yesterday, I brought No.36 and the SK8 950/C195 - to be better prepared for surfing.

I pumped up the same wing I've been using for the past several sessions.

That said - the session started out phenomenal!!!  Turns and carves galore!!!  Plenty of power in the wing and everything was dialed in - the SK8 950/C195 were the right foils for today.

That is until it wasn't - 

I ended up going down on the outside and the wind dropped off.  It was a really long lull and I drifted pretty far down wind.  Eventually the wind came back and I was able to get back up on foil.

I beat feet back to the area by Fenceline and was back in play. 

These were taken after I came back from the dead zone

Drifting for that long and that far over is not a confidence inspiring act.

At least I didn't have to swim back.

Those are some deep lulls... the forecasts called for stronger, steadier winds - basically you get what you get and you just have to deal with the conditions you have.

Looks like I was down more than I was up.

Despite the bobbing - this was still a really fun session.  I cranked out some really fun craving turns - give me more of that!!!!

W:139/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:19

Wing Foiling Session - 11/9/2024

Got in a mid-day session - high tide!!!

There was actually some swell coming through - belly high waves!!!

And the trades came back!  All coming together to make for a really fun session!

I used the Dragonfly again - but with the high tide I used the Evolution Cedrus Wind mast.  With the nearly 10cm difference in the two masts I've used with this board, I had to reset the mast position - it went back about an inch.  Difference in lever length (increase), means you need less force to get the same effect(?) - so less lift needed(???)

Kalani was out the same time I was.  Roland came out 30 minutes before I headed in.

This position work perfectly - I didn't have to move the mast one bit.

Initially the wind was on the lighter side - not an issue with the gear I had out.  But as the day went on, the wind came up considerably (I could have been on a smaller 4+)

There were a few lulls that I had to wait out - probably the wind still shaking the rust off.

There was a lot of turbulence in the water - I could feel it riding through.

I also had some management challenges trying to beach - the board kept getting away from me and fell in a compromising way (stabilizer and front foil towards the wing/my head).  I'm going to have to develop a method to avoid this.

Super fun trades day!!!

W:138/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:19

Wing Foiing Session - 11/8/2023

Hit WPB again after work.  Norm was already finishing up.  He said it was really North...

I ended up setting up the same exact gear as yesterday (since the conditions were pretty much the same).

I'm really getting to like this board!  I don't think I would want a longer one - but at 7' this is about as long as I would prefer to use.

The wind was pretty much a carbon copy of yesterday - but it did seem to lighten up before normal weather patterns

Longer runs today.

I was out on the Nova Pro 5.0 - a little small for the really light winds - but good to know I could use it to get up on foil.  Beyond that, it was big enough to keep me going (just not as efficiently as the Mode Pros or even the Ezzy's I've been testing).

Despite the light offshore winds - today was actually fun!

Hoping to get some more wind tomorrow.

W:137/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:19

Wing Foiling Session - 11/7/2024

The winds were forecasted to come back today.  They were actually back at WPB yesterday - but today was the forecasted arrival.

I think everywhere else was cloudy and rainy.  At work the wind really wasn't blowing and there were no moving trees along my route home.

But once I got into Ewa, the signs changed.  Blowing trees and clearing skies -

I had planned to test this KT Dragonfly and get the foil settings dialed in.  Using the wing first is faster to do that, but ultimately the goal with this board is the parawing.

Kane's method actually worked perfectly on this board to balance out the foil. As this is generally a lighter wind board, I'll likely use larger foils - this is the F One Eagle 1090/DW210

With the low tide (it's that time of year where the afternoons will tend to be low tides) - I also opted to use the shorter Project Cedrus masts - this being the 78cm.

The winds were not what they were forecasted to be.  In fact, it was coming hard out of the north (NNE).  That made for unusual conditions - perfect for testing out light wind setups!

Normally I would have needed the North Mode Pro 6.8 to get along efficiently in the wind conditions present today - but with the 100 liter Dragonfly, the energy from the wing went straight into developing forward speed (and not having to get a sinker up and out of the water).  So I pumped up a smaller wing to test the postulate (and spoiler - it worked).

Today's focus was getting used to the Dragonfly - which didn't take too long.

If this doesn't say north winds, nothing will.  It isn't that often that I get to do runs out to Shark Country and back to WPB without a single transition.

With the wind being offshore, I'm not sure the magnitude is correct (this is the Kalaeloa tower) - regardless, it was challenging to ride today.

The Dragonfly definitely floated me, with extra capacity.  It was a joy to ride!  If the forecast calls for questionable winds - this will definitely be on the shortlist of boards to use.

And there were times I was waiting around for a gust to come along.

Kalani was out with his 8'2" Dragonfly.  Duke and Roland were out on wing also.  Zach got there later and opted to prone foil.

Good first session with the KT Dragonfly!

W:136/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:19

Taking a Break

I've been working late the past few days - I actually wanted to get a winging session in, BUT it was a really low tide and by the time I got to the beach I knew I wouldn't have much time out on the water.

I figured I'd just sit and watch Norm and Roland get some good turns in.

Norm was out on No.38 - first time winging with it and he said it was doing well for him.

I hung out to ask them how the session was - then I went home to finish the SK8 950 repair.

I rough sanded it with 40 grit using the random orbital sander.  Then I used 220, then used the solid paint marker, then redid the 220.

I finished with 320-400-600-1000-1500

It feels as strong as the original (same sound produced as the other side when tapped).

This is smoother than it looks

Sucks that the wingtip got crushed to begin with - but pretty darn satisfying to get something repaired well.

Garage Works - 11/4/2024

As with most recent Mondays, I took the day off from foiling/water time and took a short nap in the afternoon.

Then I hit the garage to get some of the projects further along -

I started with the SK8 950 repair.  I sanded the excess carbon and epoxy off to see where I was at.

You can see the little clear "hook" or cutout - that still needs to be filled, so more carbon and epoxy...

The extra layers will also help strengthen the wingtip so no big deals.

Slow and steady is the best way to fix a broken wing tip.

I'll sand this down again tomorrow and get it faired in.  If it goes well, I can use the solid paint marker and get it filled in and wet sanded.

And I got the center line filled in on Greg's board.  That's after sanding the excess epoxy from yesterday off the center line delamination repair.

This fill will help even out the unevenness between the two sides (and how they took the epoxy differently based on the condition of the foam). 

Tomorrow I'll sand this to get it flatter - then I'll put some rail tape over it to help make sure it doesn't ever open up unexpectedly.

I'll also sand the bottom fills and see if I can get rail tape over the nose and tail repair areas.

Dawn Patrol - 11/3/2024

I decided to Foil Drive this morning at WPB - Marlon indicated he was excited to use the Takuma foils  so I changed plans (Hickam).

There were fun sized waves still coming through.  Dean and Noel were out - 

I believe this is No.18 that Marlon is riding - and he was out on the Takuma Kujira 1210 (haven't said that in a minute...) 

I had the same gear out - I really love this setup (and the Spitfire 900 when it gets bigger).  No.34 just works so well to get up quick.  And it still turns super hard without touching - what more could you ask for?

I actually burned through half my battery in 30 minutes - the waves were that good (for Foil Drive-ing - the poor longboarders were just sitting around and fighting for the scraps_.

So many carves.... so much fun!!!!

I even got a few double dips buried in the track somewhere.

17 waves in the first hour - ridiculous!!!!  20 overall for today - no room for complaint.

Marlon said he caught several, and he was even starting to make turns!

And today was the first day winging/foiling didn't tax me (no blood drawn, no smashed foil, no torn wing - even keel today).  I like to think it might have been the plastic bag I picked up and put in the trash.  Whatever the factor - I'm glad I didn't have to pay today (for once). 

W:135/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:19