Today was the first showing of this big south swell. It was big -
I setup No.41 with the same setup as I have been using but swapped out the Enduro 900/HA40 for the Silk 650/HA38
I wanted to get the mast position dialed in using this foil on No.41 - and initially I felt I needed a bigger day to do this.
Turns out that needing to be on the throttle longer to lift a smaller foil starts to position you in a more critical takeoff position. Something I've gotten away from since I started Foil Drive-ing.
But I kept trying to take waves - and after three waves and three adjustments, I think I have found the sweet spot.
It was nearly double overhead on the big sets breaking outside. The problem was there was too much water moving all over the place. There was plenty of wind - enough to have gone winging comfortably - and that put a lot of chop on the surface.
That in turn made catching waves harder.
Picking the right wave was everything today.
An issue made even more challenging by using a different foil for the first time on a shorter board - factors that individually make for longer takeoffs.
Despite the challenges, I did manage to catch a few notable waves. And the Silk 650 is tremendously nimble. It just needs a lot of energy to move it through the water.
.
I think the perfect conditions for the Silk 650 would be a glassy head to head and a half high day, with a lower tide to get the waves running
By the data sets, I count 12 waves ridden - with multiple attempts that ended up with the waves leaving me behind, or me pulling out of a bottom dropper.
I need to spend more time on the Silk 650 to get it past the twitchy stage (me, not the foil).
But tomorrow morning, as this swell peaks, I am going to use the Silk 850/HA40 and No.40 to be able to get up onto a rising wave faster so I have the ability to get onto the section where I want to be (and not where I find myself due to the late takeoff).
W:55/FD:101/PW:19/S:4
No comments:
Post a Comment