Evening Session - 10/31/2025

The wind was flukey again yesterday afternoon - gusts would pull through then periods of calm.

When I got home I finished sanding the CI Neck Beard 2, grabbed the Kohola thrusters, waxed the board and headed to the beach.

It was light offshores and waist high surf - not bad for late October.

At 35 liters this board paddled well.  Not as effortlessly as the Sweet Potato - funny how much difference a liter can make.

My first wave was pretty darn fun.  And so were then next handful.  I really loved the projection this board/fins have coming off the bottom and lining up for a run.

If I end up keeping this board, I'll replace the deck pad and use one that has front extensions.  I could feel my back foot forward of the pad anytime I wasn't turning.

What an awesome surprise finding/fixing/surfing this board has been!  Realistically though - I got this to see if the wide tail would be good knowing I've been eyeing the Firewire Neutrino...

For the dawn patrol I'm going to break out the 5'9" Cymatic and see how a further reduction in volume (that board is 34 liters) will impact wave catching ability.  The 5'8" Neutrino I'm contemplating is 33 liters... 

And I turn 54 this year.

And I foil like a madman (so when do I really have time to surf)...

But the chance at finding a magic surfboard that I gel with - even the chance that may happen is enough to drive the search for all this time.  I really only look forward to surfing when the wind is down/flukey, and when the tides are low when I have the time to go out.

If I do end up getting the Neutrino, I should probably look at thinning the quiver down to the boards I have gelled with.

Then I can use that cash to get a new foil!!!  Or if 34 liters is already pushing it, I can just sell the non-gelling boards and get a new foil!!!

Enduro 1100, or Silk 1050....

W:58/FD:127/PW:61/S:10

Garage Works - 10/30/2025

And I got some more work done on the Neck Beard 2.

Basically I just sanded the patches I added last time and placed more patches.

Underside of the nose -

This was a weird low spot on the tail.

I'll sand these down tomorrow.

If everything comes out alright, I'll go ahead and wax up the board and get it ready to surf.

Wing Foiling Session - 10/30/2025

I did get that lunch session in today to get the F One Momentum 800 dialed in on No.34

There was wind that was up and down - but it was completely doable.

Especially with this trusty engine!  North Nova Pro 5.0

Anson was out getting more parawing experience under his belt - Flow D Wing 4.2

Miles was also out.

I made one adjustment and the foil felt really good.  It basically aligned where the Enduro 900 lines up.

Of note, I was able to do multiple back-to-back tacks up towards the most SE buoy - probably five in a row in a tight series.  That speaks to the glide on this foil.

Just enough wind -

Not a bad top speed for getting a foil dialed.

And I actually went back out again at WPB with this same setup and the Flysurfer POW 5.0 to test it on parawing. Unfortunately I totally got skunked -

W:58/FD:127/PW:61/S:9

Parawing Session - 10/29/2025

The forecast called for lighter winds today.  I was actually looking forward to getting a second back-to-back session with the Sweet Potato/Tappy Twins.  But around 11am, there was some good wind blowing around my office.  While I was driving home, the harbor was super textured - I was beginning to think it was going to be a parawinging session this afternoon.

I got home, loaded the truck and got to the beach to see a strong wind outside the surfline.  There was actually some sizeable surf breaking.  The inside was closing out -

I setup No.34 with the Enduro 1300.  And I didn't want to get frustrated not being able to get up - so I packed the Flysurfer POW 5.0

The session was really good - taller waves on the outside, stayed upwind, largely perfectly powered on the POW 5.0 (actually just slightly overpowered), made darn near all of my transitions, and even kept the parawing up when I landed and used it to get me in to the beach without paddling!

I kept thinking it would have been a good session to be riding the F One Momentum 800/DW135XS... faster and more glide - 

This wind speed chart is from the Kalaeloa Airport meter - usually off by 5mph.  On the water, it was just starting to white cap.

I actually think the BRM Maliko 5.1 would have be a better choice - more collapsable and better on the upper end of the range.

Pretty much up on foil for the vast majority of the session.

The wind is supposed to start ramping up again.  I may sneak out at lunch and get the Momentum dialed in (using the wing).

W:57/FD:127/PW:61/S:9

Evening SURF Session - 10/28/2025

Yesterday when I got home I crashed on the couch for a couple of hours.  I was groggy when I got up, but I knew the wind was down and I wanted to paddle around for some exercise.

Despite what is in the picture, these waves were rideable - especially with the lower tide.

Roland was setting up his Foil Drive when I got there.  I wanted to use this session to get back to surfing for a bit.

And here is what I have been wanting to test out - the True Ames Tappy Twins plus a Tappy Trailer fin.

The Firewire Sweet Potato has been such an awesome board for me - as long as the waves are waist high, I can get some really satisfying turns in.

I picked up a handful of waves in the 40 minutes I was in the water.  A couple of them I was able to get in some great turns.  Another just kept on going and even though the turns were not as hard as the other two referenced, they were more than satisfying!

These fins really feel great in this board.  Like the Tappy Quads I had out last time, these felt more subtle - they were there doing their job, but doing it so well I didn't notice them.  No tracky, sticky feelings - release coming off the top turns, and drive going into a bottom turn - these let me do what the section in front of me expected me to do, and I was able to do it well.

These do have more "presence" than the quad set did - but I'll do some back-to-back testing to really get the differences down.

Super fun session!

W:57/FD:127/PW:60/S:9

Garage Works/Foil Hanger - 10/27/2025

With F4 foils and the new version of Axis foils coming out, everyone is dumping their Code and F One foils.  With such cheap prices on virtually new gear, I figured I'd rekindle my F One relationship.

This is the Momentum 800 front foil with a 16.5 aspect ratio, and the accompanying DW135 slim rear stabilizer.  I got both of these for a fraction of their new cost and there are barely any scratches on them.

The span of this foil is pretty similar to the AFS Enduro 1300, and so is the fuselage length.

So I think this will be a faster version of the Enduro 1300.  Perhaps with a similar takeoff and more glide.

Faster - Higher - Further

Garage Works - 10/27/2025

I've been eyeing the new Firewire Neutrino by Daniel Thompson - but I'd prefer to get it at 35 liters and they don't have a version like that.  I saw this Channel Islands Neck Beard 2 in Varial foam for a steal on Craigslist.

I stripped the wax off a couple of days ago and there are a bunch of pressure dings on the top deck, several weird circular dings, and open/broken glass.  I had placed some fill into some open spots (nose and tail) yesterday.

Today I sanded the fill flush and cut out patches to place over areas than needed a little reinforcement.

Here is the tail -

And here is the top side of the nose.

Here's the tail patch

Nose patch (I'll need to get another patch on the bottom side of the nose tomorrow)

And I'm working to get this previous repair cleaned up and more flush.

I'll place more patches on the tail and nose tomorrow.  I might be able to surf this on Thursday.

If it surfs well, I may still end up with the Neutrino.

I have a bunch of Futures fins I want to cycle through this board - the Scimitar 2 +1, the Alpha 3/2 Vectors, the Kohola Thruster set, the Fiberglass EA, and even some other 2 + 1 setups.

Parawing Dawn Patrol - 10/26/2025

I headed to Kailua to get a dawn patrol in - the forecast was calling for good winds early (and dying winds everywhere else).  I also went to get Felipe's mast back to him.

There was good wind - not nuking but white caps were popping up.

I setup No.42 with the big stuff and packed the BRM Ka'a 4.8.

I needed to get to Waikiki to pick up a foil so this was going to be a short session.  And it got shorter because I ended up talking with Felipe, Donnel and others.  Donnel had a prototype gen 3 Ezzy wing set up.  Oddly enough he swapped it out for a different wing mid session...

And I bumped into Stu after I came in - he was out at the same time.

The tide was up so the waves weren't really forming for long rides.

There was enough wind that I could hold my line with the Ka'a.  The more I use both of the Ka'a PWs, the more I really like them.  Looks like 18 to 25 is the sweet spot for the Ka'a 4.8

Fast session - but up on foil for most of it and perfectly powered!

Good fun this morning!

W:57/FD:127/PW:60/S:8

Parawing Session - 10/25/2025

I stalled a bit today on going out.  First I picked up a rear stabilizer for a good deal (F One DW 135 XS).  Then I did a bunch of laundry.  And finally I packed up for the beach.

Whitecaps everywhere!!!  This is what I thought it was going to be like yesterday afternoon.  It was likely similar to this, but also at the same time of day (while I was at work).

Regardless, when I got to the beach the debate in my head was Maliko 2.9, or Ka'a 3.6 - I think this is the windiest session I've had on parawing to date!!!

No.34, the BRM Ka'a 3.6 and the AFS Enduro 1300/HA43 were the calls for the day!

Roland launched probably 30 minutes behind me.

The Ka'a 3.6 was the right call.  And it was powered perfectly to keep me upwind.  That said there were two stints where the wind dropped and I ended up downwind in front of the last cabins.  With the conditions today, it was a waiting game to get strong gusts funneling through again.

The highlight of the session was stowing the Ka'a and riding rising swell for damn near the whole length from the outer breaks all the way inside in front of the first cabins!!!

I got two like this and it was the best feeling to ride these waves as if I was prone foiling with nothing to drag me back (windage was non-existent).  This upcoming summer is going to be epic if we get wind and swell to line up!!!!

I really like how the BRM Ka'a 3.6 works - it's just as advertised.

Can go upwind well (to hold your line, not necessarily to plow upwind long distance), stows to nothing and quickly, turns on a dime, and has plenty of power (in the upper end of its range).

Based on today's conditions and the correlating performance of the Ka'a 3.6, I'd need the wind to be sheering off the tops of the waves in order to have enough wind to use the Maliko V1 2.9

This was the peak of this wind event.  There will be some wind lingering around through to this coming Friday, but it won't be like today.

This was probably my best parawing session yet!!!

W:57/FD:127/PW:59/S:8

Parawing Session - 10/24/2025

Wind was strange and not aligned to the forecast yesterday - strong gusts followed by periods of calm.  And the other spots were not the same - pretty much nuking.

Same gear as Thursday's session.

This picture is probably the best shot of looking at the rocker profile on this board.

My watch stopped recording for an unknown period of time - so this data set isn't exactly correct (and I don't know by how much).  It's probably close with all the ups and downs that were present while I was out.

Roland came out around 4

With the wind the way it was, I think I should have put up the Flysurfer POW 4.0 - but I didn't want to get overpowered during the gust runs.  Overall this session was more practice for non-optimal condition takeoffs, and more practice being underpowered.

There were some waves to ride and I took several to just before the lineup where the surfers were trying to catch waves.  On a lower tide I prefer not to go in this far, but the conditions allowed.

What made it even harder was the swirly wind direction - pretty hard to figure out how to line up to get power to takeoff.

It was really weird that the wind got goofy when it was forecasted to be borderline nuking.

W:57/FD:127/PW:58/S:8

Parawing Session - 10/23/2025

More wind again today - but not as strong as yesterday.

Same gear as yesterday, but swapped out the Ka'a 3.6 for the Maliko 4.0

Gratuitous board photo -

Today's session was pretty fun.  Lots of waves, wind that was mostly filled in, and a really light crowd - I pretty got to surf whatever wave I wanted.

Lots of north in the wind.  Which actually made the surf really clean.  I got tempted and threw a heelside tack onto a wave - didn't make it.

Roland came out after I had been in the water for about 40 minutes.  His line would take him closer to the 2 cabins and back out in front of the first lifeguard tower.  I didn't want to get stuck in that swirly wind zone so I was more in front of the Wai Kai pool back towards Fenceline.

Not all the downs were light wind.  One was a big turtle surfacing near me - I didn't want to hit it and ended up losing it.

And for the record - this session tied winging and parawinging sessions.  On this trajectory, I'll end up with parawinging doubling the winging sessions.

W:57/FD:127/PW:57/S:8

Parawing Session - 10/22/2025

This afternoon had some strong Trades blowing!!!

When I first showed up, the whitecaps were everywhere!  But as my luck would have it, the wind did back off a bit as I was swimming out.

The waves were on the small side and the tide was going up to the lower high tide of the day to 1.0'

Prayot was out on his Ozone Pocket Rocket 4.3 and Duke was out with his Ensis 4.2 - they both said their arms were being pulled out of their sockets.

Board, foils and mast were the same as yesterday - I switched out the BRM Ka'a 4.8 down to the Ka'a 3.6

This was the second time I had this parawing out on the water, and this was it's first really session (the first time was by mistake and it was to trying using the wing in conjunction with the Foil Drive)

I absolutely love the BRM Ka'a 3.6!!!  I was able to hold my line throughout the entire session.  You really just need a lot of wind for these parawings - upper end of its range.

And the Ka'a parawings are so easy to retract - super short bridle lines.

These turn so easily also - I made every jibe today.

And I even made a toe-side tack and rode out of it (but just ran into a light wind patch).

I got two retracts and two subsequent re-launches.  One of them was a nice long wave and I re-launched after jibing around Prayot.

Really strong wind!  Looks to be 19 to 25 (30) mph 

Below 20mph, the Ka'a 3.6 would lift my fat ass out of the water - that's the black areas in the graph below.  But above 20, this wing is so good to fly!

Roland showed up around 4:30 - so the parawingers actually outnumbered the wingers today.

W:57/FD:127/PW:56/S:8