Parawing Session - 7/8/2025

Another WP-PV parawing session

Stronger, more consistent wind compared to yesterday.

Waves, but nothing that would make me reconsider putting up the parawing.

Nice high tide (so minimal chance of grounding).

And Norm went out for his first parawing session!

Same board-foil combo as yesterday.  I did switch to the Maliko 4.0.  I also moved the foil forward a notch (and it helped tremendously with early takeoffs and relieving backfoot pressure).

Norm set up his winging board with the AFS Enduro 1300 - same foil I am using.  He has the one parawing - the Ozone Pocket Rocket 5.0

This was my best session yet!  Early takeoffs (probably due to the foil repositioning), mostly perfectly powered on the Maliko 4.0.  I was on foil more than off.

I also retracted the PW multiple times.  I didn't successfully redeploy the PW... but I did get a few longer rides with the PW stashed.  The type of waves we have here are not conducive for this type of stow and go - except on the outside peaks, but these are not super long rides.

This is the reading from the Kalaeloa meter.  I'm pretty sure it was reading low.

I did switch a couple of times while riding inbound.  I also got one inbound regular stance start.  Progress every session (even if it is just developing more muscle memory).

And Norm got up on foil - on his first PW session!!! He hinted that if he gets comfortable with the PW, he is likely to replace winging with the PW.  I can't blame him - pretty easy to stash, doesn't take up space, sheds heavy equipment and after you get used to it can actually replace the wing when the conditions are right (and you can FD when the winds are light anyways).

Awesome session!!!

W:51/FD:92/PW:16/S:4

Parawing Session - 7/7/2025

Did a WP-PV downwind run with some of the WP crew.

I was on parawing, Roland winged down, Norm was on Foil Drive and Duke was on DW SUP foil.

The wind had a bit of north to it - so running over to PV was not too much issue.

There were small waves - which made for good parawinging conditions.

The tide was high so minimal issues with grounding.

Same board and foil as yesterday.  Check out the new sticker layout on No.34 - I wanted to redo it and went heavy front this time.  Great boards deserve awesome sticker layouts!

Took a little bit of time to get out to the wind line (similar to yesterday).  After that, I spent a majority of the session up on foil.

I did have a regular stance takeoff inbound (toe side).  It was actually pretty uneventful (as long as you have enough wind).

The long blue line outside Campgrounds was me going too far inside and getting caught in the wind dead zone.

I made it in without having to paddle - second day in a row!

There were some walls lining up - left runs were particularly long.

Duke saw a 6' shark over at Campgrounds.

Everyone made it in uneventfully.  Heading in before the cabins is the way to go.

W:51/FD:92/PW:15/S:4

And Derek was out test driving a Tow Boogie.

And after the session, I gave Norm and Derek a lesson on flying parawings

Parawing Session - 7/6/2025

Parawing session today!!!

Rising tide - nuking winds - and a little more wave than I would have preferred.

Solo mission - Duke and Prayot ran the Voyager Race; Roland wasn't going out until much later.

I brought No.34 out.  I want to start using it more for parawinging.  I also used the AFS UHM 85cm mast.  With all the chop I'm glad I had this mast.

I feeling the need to start stepping down the front foil size from the Enduro 1300/HA43 to something else - but I'm not sure which foil and also maybe not just yet.

I had both parawings with me today - but with all the whitecaps, even the Maliko 4.0 was realistically too big (thinking Flysurfer POW 2.5)

The waves were actually pretty good sized - most likely up from the strong tradewinds.  And with the rising tide, that seemed to accentuate their vigor also.

I took my time getting situated - just to make sure nothing went wrong (flying solo remember).  I would just wait for a lull then work the parawing-board-foil to get up before the next set lined up to break.  It took me a while to get to the wind line initially, but eventually I got into the stream.

The blue lines were all at the front end.  The winds were easterly so I don't know why the wind line was so far out.  You could even see the heavy texture on the water - but still couldn't get up early on.

I tried to keep everything in slower motion today - again primarily to not get into a bad situation, but also to get a better feel for how each component was working.

I originally was aiming to get three runs up on foil in - that would have made me feel accomplished.  Instead, I got in multiple runs and I made every jibe.

One thing I learned was turning downwind, the apparent wind drops off and the wing just drifts - which I eventually took the opportunity to retract the PW.  I did it three times and the third was perfect.  I rode the wave I was on pretty much like a prone setup (which made me think I need to push the foil-mast forward just a touch - felt like not enough front foot pressure).

That felt like an accomplishment!!!

I also got an inbound start while in regular foot stance (first time doing that).  In fact I didn't ride goofy foot at all today (I didn't want to risk a crash).

With the harness line, the range on the Maliko 4.0 is decently large.  Despite all the strong gusts and steady stiff wind, I wasn't really ever overpowered beyond being able to manage.

I think before I size down on the foil, I maybe should size down on the parawing...

It's awesome to progress!!!

W:51/FD:92/PW:14/S:4

Wing Foiling Session - 7/5/2025

Yet another day of weird wind - if you looked at the water's surface, you would have thought a 4.5 would have been perfect.  But that was an illusion and the direction was shifting a lot.

There were waves at Seconds and the tide was favorable for not hitting stuff underwater.

I brought several boards (to give Miles a chance to figure out what he is looking for in a board) - I used No.40

I wanted to test out the positioning for the AFS Silk 650/HA38

And to compensate for the small foil, I pumped up the North Mode Pro 5.5

As I took out two foils - I put the wind chart up first to cover both

The issue with the first session was the lack of wind.  Yes - lack of wind.

Long blue line - most of the session I was just drifting.

Eventually the wind came back at a level I could get the Silk 650 up.

This foil does not have the weird hesitancy that I was experiencing with the F One SK8 750 - but I do need some wind to get this foil going.

While up - I figured I should just get back in.  I did go down on the way back - but I was lucky to have enough wind to get back up.

Once back on shore, the wind seemed to straighten out.  And everyone was headed out - Mark, Harris and others.  I went back to the truck and swapped out the foil and adjusted the mast.  

The AFS HA Ultra 750/HA38 was bolted on!

With the wind straightening out, the Ultra 750 was spot on!

When I got out to the surf - I ended up spending most of the time at Seconds.  It was breaking harder than Firsts and only Zach was out (and he was windsurfing).

Overhead breaking surf!  Not as big as 2 days ago but still super fun!

The wind was still a little shifty - but I could pump through with the Ultra 750

The big gap was when I went down on the inside of Seconds - I didn't want to try and takeoff over the reef so I paddled back into the channel.

Super fun session!

W:51/FD:92/PW:13/S:4

Wing Foiling Session - 7/4/2025

Roland texted the group about doing an upwind-downwind from WPB up past Hau Bush, down to Campgrounds and back up to WPB.  We headed over early to get the wind while it was forecasted to blow.

Tide was high at +1.6'

Wind was there - but another offshore wind line day.

And if you were patient - the outer reefs were breaking. 

And everybody and their kitchen sinks were out at the plains today... ugh

Same gear as yesterday.

I made it out to Hau Bush twice.  Roland and Duke didn't.  And the wind was flakey again so I didn't go past the cabins.

The waves at outer Hau Bush were really fun - still overhead and walling up for long runs with sections to carve full top to bottom turns!!!

But Duke caught the wave of the day outside of the cabins - well overhead and he was screaming!

More north in the wind - especially the more east I went (that Hau Bush area and up doesn't have a lot of trees to alter the flow of the wind).

The wind dip above can be seen on my speed graph.

Tomorrow I'm letting Miles demo some boards so he can make up his mind on a custom - at Hickam.

W:50/FD:92/PW:13/S:4

Wing Foiling Session - 7/3/2025

There was wind, but the line was way outside.  Out towards Coves, the wind was stronger.

Decent tide.

The pleasant surprise was the fun sized surf that was breaking outside.  Really long overhead (while up on foil) walls!!!!

But - the wind was barely wingable.

I setup the standard I've been using - No.40/AFS UHM 85cm/Enduro 900/HA40 and pumped up the North Nova Pro 5.0 for that little bit of extra power.

Super fun session!  With the swell walling, I focused on carving.

Had some great feeling tacks onto incoming waves.

Roland was out but was hanging more on the inside (I couldn't because the wind there was really flakey).

Slow start - and the one time I fell I also had to wait for a gust, but other than that, I was trying not to go down (because at one point the rear stabilizer tapped my knee and I had a cut that bled a little).

Winds should be stronger today (I'm writing this on Friday) - and the waves smaller... parawing....

W:49/FD:92/PW:13/S:4

Garage Works - 7/1/2025

I went ahead and repaired the crack in No.41 yesterday evening.

You can just see the crack here -

Not sure why I added this picture - kinda the same thing as the first.

And this is the peel ply over the 2 ounce patch placed on with epoxy.

I already pulled the peel ply this morning, sanded the repair and sprayed replacement clear coat.  I'll post more pictures of the completed repair shortly (since the wind is in that "in between" level - I figured I should rest up today after yesterday - that way when the wind comes up tomorrow, I'm better prepared - I'm not doing anything else... might as well oogle over the board and stick some more stickers on). 

Evening Foil Drive Session - 7/1/2025

Marvin, Norm and I did a Foil Drive afternoon session at Pavilions.

Wind was rotating back to trades, but they were light.

Medium high tide (I just followed Norm out - he's the guru for this place and he hardly hits bottom - unlike me - I can easily find the high spots...)

And if you were patient, the sets were still good sized.

Same setup as yesterday.

I nudged the foil up a notch - and it was perfect!

I nabbed several of the set waves - and they were well overhead and pitching lip.  With the Evolution Cedrus Surf mast and the AFS Enduro 900/HA40 - I would bank off sections and take the line just below the white water.

Until it wasn't.

I took off with my feet in the wrong place on one of the bigger waves and I ended up in a bad wipeout.  I got hit by the foil and the board (it's Taco Tuesday isn't it???)

I ended up cracking the carbon up near the nose - probably with my knee as it is swollen.  My right toe and my side also got hit by the foil/mast.

Dinging a board in it's first few outings is a sign that you are pushing it as hard as you can!!!

14 rides with a few failed attempts.

I got some legit double dips.

I think to get the board to move faster, I'm going to have to cover up the front of the trench.  I can feel something going on in that area that is slowing the board down.  It only makes sense - void near faster flow = low pressure area (basic fluid dynamics).

I'll dig out some rigid plastic sheeting and make a cap sheet that I'll keep in place with aluminum tape.

W:48/FD:92/PW:13/S:4