Parawing Session - 4/3/2026

Grinding concrete floors at work... needed to rinse all that dust off

Wind was just parawingable -

Nice high tide - waves if you were patient.

Same equipment as last session, but bolted on the AFS Enduro 1300/HA43 (from the lesson learned last session)

Stu, Prayot, Kalani, Eddy, Robby, Roland, Duke and Derek were all out at some point.

The wind was more up and down than I thought...

If I wasn't so stubborn, I think I would have had a blast with the North Nova Pro 5.0

But instead I had a 50-50 session - half up, half down.  I could have gotten up pumping the wing - but instead I chose to train in lighter wind.

I did get a few double loop jibes in.  And I did get field stripped a few times.

In between those extremes I did a few normal jibes.

I did get to ride a few waves - but Robby and Eddy got the good ones.

I could sense the wind backing off so I figured I'd try and catch a few waves on the way in.

I got up on two - but the parawing pouch was full of water and my weight was not distributed properly.  But I did get up so it counts!

PF:5/W:2/PW:31/FD:23/S:9

Parawing Session - 4/1/2026

There were winds blowing on the outside - more of an offshore wind.

Tide was nice and high.

Minimal waves

Big stuff - except the foil... I should have used the Enduro 1300 - but I bolted on the Enduro 1100

For generating power, I brought the Triple Seven PT Hybrid 5.7

The first half of the session was really fun.  I did not attempt to tack today - the big PT Hybrid needs a specific technique to get it moving.

The second half, I got dropped by a wave and the wind wasn't strong enough to get me moving. I drifted a long ways trying to get back up on foil.  I eventually was able to get up on foil, but I'd wreck and have to wait for another gust.

Eventually I got back to the launch.

Turns out Norm cut his ankle early on (gonna need stitches), Prayot and I got washed downwind, and even Roland had a hard time getting up on foil.

The Triple Seven PT Hybrid 5.7 needs a hard bank to get it to initiate a turn - I'm gonna have to practice this more.  The Hybrid 4.3 turns way easier.

Lots of on top of the water time just waiting for a gust.  Almost all the falls were from me messing up a jibe.

I think I'm gonna take a break tomorrow and clean the garage.  I definitely need a break...

PF:4/W:2/PW:30/FD:23/S:9

Parawing Session - 3/31/2026

Today was a bit stronger wind than yesterday, but smaller waves.

Nice high tide again - definitely made launching and landing way easier.

Two monk seals were basking away today.

Parawings are so easy to carry - and that leads to swapping.  I initially took the Maliko 5.1 out, was a tad bit overpowered then went in to swap out to the Maliko 4.0

And something else new - I used the Silk 1050/Silk 142

This graph usually goes before the speed graphs, but since I went out twice, I'll put it here.  If I had thought it through, I would have packed both and swapped out when the wind dictated.

I took the Maliko 5.1 out first

I waited a bit, but when the wind and the swell were aligned more side off, I started throwing tacks.  I got in at least three riding out of, and a few more that I got hung up on.  Heelside tacking feels way more like you are about to crash the parawing nose first compared to an inflatable wing.  I'm getting more accustomed to this now so it should start to feel less critical.

Not bad for the Silk 1050 -

I did go in and I moved the foil forward a couple of notches and I swapped PWs out to the Maliko 4.0

Unfortunately the wind started to get a bit more up and down.  I was still able to get up, but it involved a lot more pumping.

With the Maliko 4.0, I could tack over easier and jibing was almost automatic.

I got in several more tacks - some good, others where the wind seemed to fade as I was coming back down.

And there was a big lull where I needed just a couple more mph to get up.  I thought I was going to have to paddle back - but I did manage to get up and had enough wind to get back to the launch point.

Always a great session when you don't have to paddle back!!! 

PF:4/W:2/PW:29/FD:23/S:9

Parawing Session - 3/30/2026

The wind was blowing around pretty strong while I was driving home.

When I got to the beach, it was the opposite - it looked pretty light.

Tide was nice and high.

Surf was small, but if you were patient, chest high waves rolled in.

Same board-foil, swapped out the parawing for the BRM Maliko 5.1

The Maliko 5.1 was the perfect PW for this afternoon's wind.

Out the gate - the first turn I did was a heel side tack.  I got it around, but didn't retain enough speed to sail out.

If there was wind flowing through, I tried tacking again and again.  I ended up getting all my attempts around and I sailed out of three of them!!!

Tacking a parawing feels a lot different than tacking an inflatable wing.  The wing "flips" as you get it through the eye of the wind.  A parawing has to be twisted through the eye (pushing a rope...)

I'm now motivated to keep doing this until I can tack at will.

On a couple of waves I had retracted the parawing and rode for quite some distance.  The first of these I redeployed successfully and rode back out.  I got twisted up on the subsequent ones.

Norm and Roland were out on wings.

Today was super fun!!!

PF:4/W:2/PW:28/FD:23/S:9

Parawing Session - 3/29/2026

Much shorter session this morning.  The wind was up around 10:30 - but clouds moved in and messed with the wind (which was already offshore).

Low tide again.

And the swell was pushing fun looking waves through (hmmmm - maybe I brought the wrong equipment???)

Same gear as yesterday - but looking out at the wind on the water, I had contemplated packing the BRM Maliko 5.1 and 4.0

I didn't remember to throw tacks - I was too busy making sure I didn't come off foil (with the lighter, questionable winds).  But jibing seemed to be smoother (repetition) and I'll hop onto some bigger swell.

Stu was out on his 4.2 wing and he paddled out pretty much the same time as I did.  And we both went in as the wind started to peter out (lots of clouds moved in).  

Kalani, Roland and Prayot paddled out a bit later.  They got caught way outside by the clouds (and the lack of wind).

It's good to know the Triple Seven PT Hybrid 4.3 can reach down this low.

I did get some down loop jibes in - 

As I am typing this, the clouds have cleared and the wind is back to strong and dependable.  But I also got home early and got a bunch of honey-do's completed (give and take - so I should be able to get out tomorrow afternoon - and it is supposed to be strong and consistent).

PF:4/W:2/PW:27/FD:23/S:9

Parawing Session - 3/28/2026

The forecast called for the wind to pick up mid-morning - so I delayed my water time until 9:30am

The wind was hard off shore and strong!!!

The tide was really low and if you were patient, there were some good sets rolling through. 

Strong wind setup - Enduro 1100/HA40 (although I think I could have gotten up on the Enduro 900/HA38...), No.34 mounted with the AFS UHM 80cm mast

The engine was the Triple Seven PT Hybrid 4.3

Kalani and I paddled out at the same time.  Prayot came out an hour later and finally Roland put up his wing.  The wind was really strong on the outside - I was a little nervous when Kalani was way outside trying to get lined up to take off.  But like normal - his will power got him back to the "safe" riding zone.

Somewhere in all these tracks I got a tack in early (but wasn't able to foil out of it), and I got a second tack later (and sailed out of that one fully in control and up on foil).  I had another attempt but got field stripped of the board.  I'll be practicing the heel side tack every time I go from now on. 

Ridiculous gusts!!! The hybrid ate them up and I was able to ride through.

Every now and then a good set would come through - I only had one ride where I retracted the PW, rode the wave and then redeployed.  I had a couple of fails also where lines got stuck on things on me (J hook, belt, PW pouch).

On the inside jibes, I had multiple down loop transitions.  And the outside jibes went really well today also.  I'm guessing the transitions were easier because I was using the 4.3 - but I also think muscle memory will apply to the 5.7 as well.

Awesome session today!!!!

PF:4/W:2/PW:26/FD:23/S:9

Parawing Session - 3/27/2026

After work session - I was expecting light, but parawingable conditions.

I brought the big stuff -

But the wind turned on big time

I thought I'd be overpowered on the Triple Seven PT Hybrid 5.7 - but surprisingly I was able to manage the gusts by pointing higher into the wind.

That offshoot to the SW was me bearing off to say hi to Norm (just got back).

Paul Cooper zoomed through on a North Ranger.  Norm and Stu were on wings.  Derek was going off on his parawing.  And Ben and Roland were out on Foil Drives. 

Gusts into the high 20's

I really used this session to try to better jibe this big PW.  Banking is key (no brake and twist - you have to push and twist simultaneously).

Running back in and jibing to go back out, I was finding it easier to downturn the PW to complete the jibe.  I'll be practicing jibes for a bit to make sure I'm ready for the summer swells.

If I knew the wind was going to be as strong as it was, I would have bolted on the Enduro 1100/HA40 and put up the Hybrid 4.3

Derek was up and hauling upwind like an expert - not to mention already jumping!!!!

The wind is going to be with us for the foreseeable future!!!

PF:4/W:2/PW:25/FD:23/S:9

Parawing Session - 3/25/2026

The wind didn't meet the forecasted expectations.

It had a ton of north in it, and it was way up then way down.

I figured it would be a good opportunity to try out the Triple Seven PT Hybrid 5.7

Board and foil were the same as yesterday.

I did mix it up and used the Dakine harness that I use for winging and the Camelbak backpack/

When I was up - I was good to go and moving fast.  This PW is a bit trickier to turn.  I'm going to have to practice banking this big PW more to get the hang of it and to turn on a whim.  The 4.3 was way easier to turn.

Prayot came out on his Ozone Power Pack 4.3.  Roland came out on the 3.5 F One Strike V something wing.  Robby came out on FD.  And there was another guy on an Ezzy wing (who I first thought was Norm - but this guy had a Lift foil).

At one point Prayot was up and I was riding relatively close - I leaned in and drove the Hybrid as hard upwind as I could.  I opened up a huge gap (the Power Pack is similar to the Ka'a, Quest and other lower aspect, short lined PWs meant to ride waves and pack down tight)

On a few turns the lines would drape over my head... and on others the lines would trap a part of the wing tip and down I would go.  I'm gonna have to learn to bank this wing in lower wind (and higher wind for that matter).

I do like the way this wing develops power and upper end of the range comes with not a ridiculous amount of bar pressure.

The wind graph above is from the airport.  The Kalaeloa meter was off by a bit.  This session gave me the confidence to go out and use a parawing this big.

You can see the lulls in the above speed graph.  Despite the downtime, this was still a really fun session.  I doubt I will use the Camelbak with the Triple Seven PWs - too much for the lines to catch.

And I didn't feel like I was gaining a lot from using the Dakine harness.  I did feel like the NSI Stash bag and the dive belt/Stringy reverse hook was a better way to harness a parawing.

PF:4/W:2/PW:24/FD:23/S:9