Garage Works - 3/5/2025

I've been work on the signal window installation on No.31 for the past few days - I just didn't post on that work.

I probably have one last day of sanding and spraying, then this one will be ready to hit the water again (when the wind dies down - lol).  The goal here is to not have to pack the tracks with foam, and to not have signal cutouts anymore.

And as a result of hitting all the high points over at No Man's Land, I had some filling to do this evening.

I filled and sanded both the front foil and the rear stabilizer already - save one spot that could use another filling-sanding on a wing tip.

I can't sleep unless scratches are filled and the universe is in alignment.

Once these projects are finished, I think I am going to work on changing out the tracks on No.32 - it never ends (but I love every minute!!!!)

Wing Foiling Session - 3/5/2025

Big highs and deep lows today - 

The wind "seemed" to be stronger today, but the direction had shifted more easterly.

The tide was really low.... more on that in a minute.

Norm and I both setup the same equipment from yesterday.

The AFS Silk 850 - the hardest carving foil I have ever used!!!  The SK8s are good also - not shabby by any definition - it's just that the Silk is that good.

While setting up, Norm was talking about how he washed down stream yesterday and was worried about having to get in at Bunkers.  He picked up a gust that had a bunch of North in it and he was able to get back to the launch spot.

He also was talking about grounding foils if you didn't find yourself near either of the channels after wiping out.

So guess what happened to me today??? 

Norm launched and his timing was impeccable - up in the first trough (that is deep enough to not ground your foil) and out into the channel.

I on the other hand - started in a slight lull and couldn't get up on foil.  Then the longshore current started carrying me west into No Man's Land, where I proceeded to hit every high point on the bottom, and even had to turn the foil sideways to avoid further grounding in thigh deep water getting pummeled by waves.

I had gotten pushed so far over that swimming back was not an option (too much shallow reef in between me and the beach with strong wind trying to push me out).

I eventually got to deeper water and the waves slacked long enough for me to pick up a gust and get the hell out of the mine field.  From there things got better.

There were some big sloped waves coming through, and when I got out in front of them (they were moving very fast), luffing the wing and carving up the face was phenomenal!!! 

I started to feel better about the conditions and then busted out tacking onto the large waves - it's hard to see in the yellow spaghetti below, but I rode four waves like this -

Towards the end of the session, the wind slacked and it actually looked like doable conditions for Foil Drive-ing.

After I made it back to Pavilions proper, I didn't drop off foil - even with the challenging conditions.  I guess my time in No Man's Land was enough to keep me motivated to not screw up.

After packing up, I drove over to WPB to see what the conditions were like for comparative purposes.  Roland was going back out after having to come in to fix his front footstrap - pulled screw.

The wind line was further out and with the low tide you had to paddle out further anyways.  It also looked like the waves were smaller.

This has been a good run of wind!!!

W:14/FD:39/PW:1/S:3

Wing Foiling Session - 3/4/2025

The winds were pretty strong today.  Tide was still pretty low.  And the tradewinds generated some decent sized swell that was breaking on the outside.

I went slightly smaller today than yesterday.  North Mode Pro 4.8 (which handles blustery gusts without a lot of drama) and the AFS Silk 850 (best carving foil ever).

I swam out a little bit further since the tide was lower - but the wind was so strong I launched before the inside break and got out without any drama.

I only had an hour - Noe had a concert tonight so I wanted to be home to watch the live telecast!

Norm was trying out an Elev8 5.0 today (he got a pretty good deal on a 5, 4 and 3) so we stayed at Pavilions.  That really wasn't a downer - the waves were breaking over the outer reef and the whole experience was awesome!!! 

I whipped into several overhead set waves!!!  On a few of them - the ones that stood up taller without breaking, I got in some really hard carving gouges!!!

I think I could have been on a 4.0

With the chop, I did eat it a few times.  No big deal - for all but one of the wipes, I got right back up on foil quickly.

Norm looked a lot more comfortable on the Elev8 wing - he wasn't wrestling it and it had plenty of power.

Tomorrow should be more of the same!!!

W:13/FD:39/PW:1/S:3

Wing Foiling Session - 3/3/2025

The winds came back today!!!

Norm and I launched from Pavilions (he was out an hour earlier).  I had to paddle out a bit before I felt comfortable launching (the tide was pretty low - primarily why we decided to go to Pavilions in the first place).

I didn't want to risk having to paddle in so I setup the North Nova Pro 5.0

And today was also the inaugural run of No.40 under wing power!!!

I set up the F One SK8 950/Carve 195 - this is where it balanced out (and it was spot on). 

The wind was up and down - but it was always enough for me to stay up on foil.

When I took off I saw Norm out at Campgrounds so I made a beeline out.

Then I figured I'd keep on going and see how the waves were at WPB.  I surfed a few waves and headed back downwind.  I had to pay attention to where the wind channels were to stay powered.

I surfed the waves that were breaking along the way back down.  With the wind swell, Campgrounds and the reefs in front of Nimitz Beach were standing up nicely.

I ended the session surfing in front of Pavilions - the wind was filled in nicely close in and got several really fun rides.

Most of my transitions were jibes - mainly because I felt rusty winging in strong winds.  Towards the end of the session I did throw some tacks (and I nailed them). 

This was the graph from Hickam (the Kalaeloa meter gets goofy on normal trade directions).  And it looks like it fell apart around 1pm today.

That kinda feels like what was blowing while I was out.

And this graph shows a few of things.  

First - I did not go down the entire session.  Solid blue the whole way!

Second - the thin black line around :15 is me touching down and pumping back up.

Third - the three black lines around :38 minutes to :50 was me throwing my tacks.

The board performed flawlessly!  No speed records broken, no epic turns - just some mellow action (with hints of mega potential without the drama).

The wind is forecasted to be strong for at least 2 weeks - I have to pace myself so I don't get hurt along the way.   I'm glad to be winging again!

W:12/FD:39/PW:1/S:3

Garage Works - 3/2/2025

The winds are already picking up - so I will likely not be Foil Drive-ing for a bit.  So no time like the present to get this board tuned up for action (after the wind dies back down).

Starting with the top deck, I drilled out the holes for the signal windows.  I'm going for 2 on top so I can stretch out a bit.

And here they are filled in.  I'll sand these down and place a fiberglass patch over these tomorrow.

And with the top deck hardened enough to stay put, I flipped the board and drilled out the bottom deck window hole.

And here it is filled in.  I think I'll have enough time to get the top deck to harden (fiberglass patch), to be able to do the same to the bottom deck.  Not that I'm in a rush, but I do want to clear the rack to work on other issues (No.32 needs new tracks and I'm still playing around with what No.41 will be - but soon enough I'll be cutting out the blank).

Dawn Patrol - 3/2/2025

This morning was way better than yesterday. Waves were about waist to chest high (only occasionally).  The north wind made it a tad chilly and even a bit of work to stay on the running swell.

A higher tide made for an easier launch. 

Same gear, but switched back to No.40 - it's just too easy to use this board.

Fun session today.

With the slightly increased size, carving was easier with more sections to push off of.

I also mixed in efoiling to get back out and to slingshot onto waves.  I would cut it short when my right knee started to get tired.

And 3/4 of the way into the session I checked the nuts that hold the mast onto the Foil Drive unit and one of the four was loose.  I kept riding, but checked and hand tightened the bolt after each ride.

Dennis, Andrew, Dean, Prayot, Shari, John, and Marvin were all out.

Amidst all the action I was able to pick up 21 rides - and most were pretty long coming from all the way outside to the beginning of the inside (and then motoring back out).

Perhaps I need to start carrying a wrench...

W:11/FD:39/PW:1/S:3

Evening Session - 3/1/2025

And back again for the evening session.  Dennis, Norm and I hit the first session (and Marvin came out for the second evening session - with Norm burning a second battery).

The waves seemed even smaller than this morning - but I needed to check if the foam strips would solve the signal cut out issue...

Same gear as this morning - although No.34 would have made things way easier.

Norm punished himself as well by setting up the Cloud IX FS850

Hard times in the quest for foil knowledge. 

The foam plugs worked - almost - perfectly.  When I really pushed the situation, I would still get cut outs.  But it only really happened a few times.

What is notable is being able to get up on No.31 on the micro waves that were coming through.  I had to dolphin kick to get over the hump - but it actually got ridiculous how small a wave I could get up on.

Dennis brought his 4'10" out and was ruling the place on efoil and whipping into outside waves.  That made me try more to stay on foil after coming off the back of a wave.  I made a few successful runs, but I also had several attempts that had the board bog down.  It was definitely easier with No.29 and 31.

And I did get a few double dips also - which are visible in the "distance" data plot.

By this count I got 18 rides.

By this count using "time" I also got 18 rides (I know I had a few missed waves - so I don't count every line - just the wider ones).  But the distance plot seems easier to read.

I'm going to go ahead and install signal windows in No.31.  If I'm going to use it on bigger wave days, I'm going to have to be sure it won't cut out when I am trying to catch a wave.

No.29 will stay as is - the innegra is really good at transmitting signal.

And tomorrow morning may be the last FD session for a while - if the forecast comes true and we get roaring trades back!!!! 

W:11/FD:38/PW:1/S:3

Garage Works - 3/1/2025

After the dawn patrol, I went ahead and got the foam pieces sized for the 10.75" tracks with the bolts positioned for the Spitfire 960.

Ready for Round 2

And Roland came over to get some deck pads installed on his new wing board.

58 liters of fun!  Now we just need wind -

Dawn Patrol - 3/1/2025

Small wave Saturday - but it is the weekend so you have to go.

Tide was on the higher side.  Not much if any wind.  And microwaves.  But on Foil Drive - you just start thinking "how small can I go?"

And to make it harder on myself, I brought out No.31

This series of boards I've been bringing out of long term storage never really got a fair shake.  Shortly after I built them, I picked up the Foil Drive Assist Plus - and that changed everything for me.  These boards went into hibernation and I went in a different direction with boards - these look almost nothing like No.40

And this one in particular had the tracks changed out early on - so I wanted to see if the signal connectivity would be an issue.

A common factor with all three of the shorties I've been rigging the past few days is they are super tail heavy now while paddling out.

As I look back at this board, these are refreshing numbers

And this board rides nice with the Foil Drive!

I just had some cutout issues when trying to pick up more speed after just standing up - its actually funny when that happens as I come to dead stop and "go over the handlebars".  Testing these boards is actually better on smaller wave days as consequences from issues are not consequential.

And for a small, sub-5' board I quickly learned how to build speed running to intercept a rising wave (relative term today) and then banking to catch it.  I also worked on the "pop tart" start.

Eddy and Dennis were out Foil Drive-ing also.  It was almost comical trying to catch some of the bumps coming through.

I found this other set of data when going through my recent runs - progress shown in Distance.  The wider peaks are definitely longer runs - i.e. rides.

And comparing it to the traditional data set I pulled - time - the rides stick out but in a different way.

Using "time" below, I would say I had 14 rides today.  

Using "distance" above, I would say I had 12 rides.

I think when the waves return and I pick up waves from way outside, the distance view will be more telling.

I went out for a second session this afternoon to test No.31 with foam filled tracks (to negate the sudden signal loss).

W:11/FD:37/PW:1/S:3