Wing Foiling Session - 4/30/2025

Originally the forecast was calling for conditions that would suck for Foil Drive-ing, and also suck for winging.

Well - in defiance of the forecast, the winds came up and made for decent winging.

No.40 + AFS UHM 85cm mast + Enduro 900 + HA40 powered by the North Nova Pro 5.0

Roland, Eli and Duke came out to wing.

The tide was on the high side, but I still had to paddle out a bit.  There were waves and they were hovering around the belly high range.

When I first pulled into the parkign lot, the wind was onshore but cranking.  Roland was there and I returned his board to him - then I said I was going to wing instead of Foil Drive-ing.  He said he didn't bring a wing, but that he was going to go home and grab one.  I said that was fine because I brought everything except a foil.

When I got back, I set the pump to inflate the wing and I went ahead and broke out the D-Wing to fly it around a bit.  It really is more stable than the V1 BRMs.  I wanted more wind before taking it out on the water.

I had a good time except for a significant lull where I was down for quite some time.  I kept chasing a wind line that seemed to always be just 10 feet away... I did eventually get back up and the rest of the session was pretty standard.

That lull was pretty unnerving - being driven down wind with the prospect of having a long paddle back... not something I aspire to...

In the end, this was a fun session!

W:32/FD:65/PW:1/S:4

Evening Foil Drive Session - 4/29/2025

I got to the beach a little later than I normally do.  Zach was riding prone.

The tide was really high again.  The waves were a notch smaller than yesterday.  And the wind was not blowing as hard either.

And this Monk Seal was chillaxing at the normal launching point - but these guys get priority.

I took a few minutes to put the Flow D-Wing 4.2 up in the air.  Definitely feels a little easier to fly and keep happy than the BRM Maliko v1.  With the wind coming back soon, if there is an opportunity to bring this out (smaller waves, strong wind), I'll take it out - it's time to get this under my belt, even if it means eating lots of humble pie.

Back to Foil Drive-ing - today reinforced the AFS Enduro 900 having an incredible range.  The waves were really small today and it handled it all turning the lemons into lemonade!!!

For less than an hour out, 15 rides is really good!

I made sure to peel off before I hit the lineup - I didn't want to draw any anti-foil ire...

Super fun session (I'm turning into a broken record on this statement).

W:31/FD:65/PW:1/S:4

Garage Works - 4/29/2025

The repairs on Roland's wing board are complete.

Here are the mast track replacement and the bottom signal window.

This is the repair of the nose cracks

This is the added footstrap inserts

And the top deck signal windows - in case he ends up using this for Foil Drive applications.

New lease on life for this board.  How long that lasts... Roland pushes his gear harder than almost anyone I know - this will be a good test of my repairs.

Evening Foil Drive Session - 4/28/2025

WPB Foiling Crew out today!

There were waves, but the super high tide made them funky.  Super high tide was great for launching and landing - off and going just a few yards from the shore.

Wind was a totally different story - it was forecasted to be glassy.  Instead it was blowing in from the west.  Looks like a cloud was sucking up air and where it was lead to the west wind.  That brought a lot of surface chop.

Then it went slack for a bit before turning and coming in from the east - in front of a squall.  By this time there was chop coming in from both directions.

Needless to say this made for challenging conditions. 

Still had a great time on Foil Drive!

There was some height to the walls that were coming through - you just had to pick the right line and weave through the chop.

I used the Enduro 900/HA40 lined up to the last point I had adjusted it to on Sunday - worked great!

24 rides by the time factor

21 by distance.

As always - fun session!

W:31/FD:64/PW:1/S:4

Dawn Patrol Foil Drive-ing - 4/28/2025

Two battery dawn patrol at Hickam this morning!!!

First session - super glassy conditions and the swell was pushing good energy into Firsts!!!

I used the same setup as yesterday, but swapped out the Silk 142 rear stabilizer for the HA40.  I left the mast where I had marked it from yesterday.

And what a difference!!!  This setup was perfect in every way!!!  Super hard turns and fluid transitions.

After yesterday's adjustments, I was a little puzzled by the position the Silk 850 ended up being in (further back than the Enduro 900).  I stuck with it and with the HA40, it was spot on target!

You can see all the turning I was doing and even that they were tight.  It is amazing what changing one small detail can do!

13 rides by speed and distance measures.

And while I was in for a battery change out, I went ahead and switched out the foil to the Enduro 900 (with the HA40 rear stabilizer).

I originally set the mast where I had it marked off for the E900 previously.

I ended up changing it multiple times - pretty much after every couple of waves.

I did cross over to Seconds and caught some fun bombs over there.  The rest of the time I was at Firsts replicating the first run.  There was also an onshore breeze kicking up early (so not as glassy as the first session).

I had originally thought the Enduro 900 setup where I had it was the best turning foil I've ever used.  And after the final adjust I would say the Enduro 900 properly setup is one of the most versatile foils I've ever used - it turns almost as hard as the Silk 850 (and not nearly as effortlessly), and it can glide through soft sections with very little effort.  I can also pump it out way better than the Silk 850, and by the data charts - given the same conditions, the Enduro is faster.  But the Silk 850 rolls so much better than the Enduro - so the Silk takes the carving crown!!!

15 rides by both metrics.

It was a full house today!  Dennis, myself, Bill, Jesse, Grant, and Arvin pretty much spent the entire time trading waves.  Super fun sessions today!!!

I'm counting this as two sessions today even though I was at the same spot.

W:31/FD:63/PW:1/S:4

Garage Works - 4/26/2025

Yesterday I got more work on Roland's board repair.

I sanded the epoxy fill at the bottom deck nose.

Then I sanded the first fill coat on the track box replacement area.

I filled this drain hole with thickened epoxy and a fiberglass cap.

And then I got a second fill coat on top.

I have some honey-do items I have to knock out, but this afternoon I'm going to get the fiber glass patches on the top deck to reinforce the signal windows and the footstrap insert. 

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 4/26/2025

Really good conditions this morning - except the low tide.  Weekend crew out - Andrew, Mark, Kalani, Dennis, Roland, Noel, Marvin and others.

Similar size to yesterday afternoon minus the choppy drama.

Same setup as yesterday evening - I want to get this foil position dialed in.

HO battery - and I was gentle with the throttle so nearly 3 hours of runtime.

When the sets came, the waves were well overhead.  I think I need to switch out to a different rear stabilizer.  I felt like I had some good turns - but Marvin said I was turning the Enduro 900 tighter.  On the bigger ones, I actually felt that I was overfoiled on the Silk 850...

Looking at the speed chart, I got 19 rides.  I know I missed multiple waves, so not every line here is a ride.

Now looking at the distance chart, I still got 19 rides.  So this is a good way to corroborate the data.

Super fun session!

W:31/FD:61/PW:1/S:4

Evening Foil Drive Session - 4/25/2025

After missing two days because of the onshore south winds, I was going today regardless of the conditions.

The winds were there - and Roland and I went out anyways.

Nice high tide, pretty good energy levels in the water pulsing up from the southern hemisphere....

No.40 with some change outs - I used the original motor with the 15cm cable and the AFS Silk 850/142 rear stabilizer.

Once I got the characteristics of the foil down, this thing ROCKED!!!  The differences are well publicized - but you often don't get it until you experience it.

The Silk 850 is a devastating carving weapon - and it cut through big white water with zero drama.  I could feel the turbulence, but I never lost lift while moving through the aerated zone.  Not many foils out there that could do that.

The Enduro 900 also carves, but it isn't as visceral and it glides and pumps through the flats with ease. 

Today was challenging - the waves were really fat so they were hard to get on and stay out in front of.  And when I did get on them - they were jacking (and thus the opportunity to carve hard).

And Roland was finally getting up and riding using the Foil Drive.  He was getting up on both feet much faster.

He got even better (catching waves more consistently and riding) when the wind died back and we had moved over to the Cabins side.

22 rides on this choppy wave, challenging day.

I'm going to keep riding the AFS Silk 850 for a bit -

W:31/FD:60/PW:1/S:4