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

Parawing Session - 3/24/2026

Stu wanted to do a downwind run to get more jibing practice in.  That was good for me because I wanted to test out my new Triple Seven PT Hybrid 4.3 parawing.

Nice strong wind - whitecapping but not blown apart.  Also smaller waves (so I could get this parawing figured out without having to worry about getting smashed).

No.34 with the AFS Enduro 1100/HA40/Short fuselage on the AFS UHM 80 cm mast.

And considering the wind strength, I packed the BRM Maliko 5.1 for anti-paddle in insurance with the intent to primarily fly the Triple Seven PT Hybrid 4.3

This parawing pulls nicely, handles gusts like no other parawing I've taken on the water (perhaps the BRM Paia might handle better???), and is super stable.

It drains really quickly when water logged.  And with as many lines as it has, tangling was not really an issue.

To turn this PW, I was banking it instead of dropping it back in the window then twisting.  That actually made this parawing feel more dynamic to fly.

I spent the first 30 minutes seeing how tight to the wind I could ride.  The answer is really close - the highest upwind I've ridden with a parawing.  And it wasn't hard to do so.  And I was going fast while doing it - even if getting hit by a gust.

After the first 30 minutes passed, I saw Stu heading down towards Campgrounds so I started to make my way down the coast.

There were some light spots working my way down - and I never did drop off foil because the parawing didn't have enough power - probably something to do with the double skin section.

The three sections where I was down were trip ups with the foil.

Mentioning the foil - the Enduro 1100 with the rest of this setup was super easy to use... so easy it had me thinking maybe I should have bolted on the Enduro 900.

Really good performance from the Hybrid 4.3

This session felt really good!  Foil dialed in and the parawing perfectly sized for the wind conditions.

Stu got his first open ocean jibe.

Robby was out at PVs getting really the only waves breaking in the area.

Paul Cooper was parawinging (downwinder) when we were packing up.

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

And Roland was winging at WPB while these two were chillaxing.

So much fun today!!!

Foil Drive Evening Session - 3/23/2026

And my lower back felt pretty good this afternoon so I headed out for a session.

Plus with the wind forecasted to come back up to wingable levels, I needed to get my charged up battery down from 100% to storage levels.

White Plains had some size, but the wind was starting to fill in and there was some texture on the water.

Typical setup - but took out No.40 today instead of No.43

I came in with 40% battery.

I was harder on the throttle than normal (wanted to get back home to eat dinner).

The tide was a little high for the swell coming in - the waves would stand up, but only after they had made their way in a decent amount.

But if you were patient, a good-sized set would come in and offer up really fun rides.

17 rides!

Fun session!

PF:4/W:2/PW:22/FD:23/S:9

Garage Works - 3/22/2026

All sanded down and ready for paint.

I put two coats on so it would look good

'Cause when you look good, you foil good!

Looking good!

Garage Works - 3/21/2026

I hurt my lower back while moving some stuff around in the yard (we have some work being done to the house this week) - so no water time today (and maybe tomorrow...)

But I did try to get more work done on this board (for Noel to Foil Drive).

I got the fill sanded down.

Then I got the fiberglass patch fitted and epoxied on.

Tomorrow will be a light sanding to fair everything in, then a spray with primer gray.

Garage Works - 3/19/2026

And I got to pick up my new router and vacuum attachment today (delivered to Home Depot Kapolei).

When you get a new router, you have to test it.

So the vacuum attachment isn't the best - it did take in some of the cut material, but maybe 40% still decided to go elsewhere.  I might try to glue up the sides to get less bleed by.

And the bit slipped twice.  I don't know if that was the router breaking in, or something I'm going to have to monitor more...

But the handle trigger is really nice.  And the unit quieter than the Hitachi. 

I figured I should get as much done as I could, so after dry fitting the block and trimming a tiny bit to get a great fit, I went ahead and glued in the block.

And while I was working on the tow boogie, Noel stopped by and dropped off the board he's been using for Foil Drive-ing to get a ding fixed.

I got the ding opened, sanded and prepped for fill.

And I got the fill placed.

Tomorrow I'll sand the fill down and get a fiberglass patch epoxied on.

That means Saturday I can fair it in, sand a bit and get a coat of spray paint on the board.