Foil Drive Session - 5/29/2026

Nice high tide - but that was reflecting the waves off the beach and introducing a warble on the rides.

Big surf on the outside - well overhead!!!

And there was some wind - kinda like yesterday - which made me glad I was Foil Drive-ing this afternoon!!!

I thought I grabbed the AFS Silk 850 from the garage - but it was actually the Silk 1050 (Norm pointed that out).  I only had the Silk 132 rear stabilizer - but Norm let me use his 152 (as he was using the Code 980S).  Session saver for me!!!

The warble on the surface made things challenging - but the odd thing I would not have anticipated was how well the Silk 1050/152 combo worked for me in these conditions!!!

I even got the foil setting correct on the first shot -

Obviously the Silk 850 turns harder, but the 1050 felt really good under foot.  It even seemed to balance out my weight perfectly on the efoil runs I made after coming off a ride.

I needed to go back to Ala Moana Beach Park to pick La up from an event so I headed in at 37%.  With the warble in the water, my energy consumption rate was a little higher than normal (which worked to my advantage today).

The last wave I took in was huge on the outside - and I just rode it all the way in.

Twelve rides in under an hour - phenomenal!!! 

That last wave was from all the way outside to all the way inside -

Dawn patrol tomorrow morning - two batteries all charged up!!!

PF:8/W:2/PW:55/FD:38/S:17

Parawing Session - 5/28/2026

Same thing as the last post, internet issues so this is a day late.

There was wind at the airport, and clouds moving in and out of the WPB area - so it was going to be a crap shoot.  Curt decided to just go out on his regular SUP.  No one else came out for wind powered activities. 

Good thing because I was doing more waiting than riding.  And there were some decent waves coming through so timing was everything.

I used the insurance policy - AFS Enduro 1300/HA43 with No.34 and the BRM S3 5.3

I sat for about an hour before the wind filled back in enough to get up on foil.  Once on foil I didn't have a problem staying up.

Honestly I was just glad to not get skunked.

The Enduro 1300 is such a beast - I could slow down to almost nothing and it still doesn't stall.

And it looks like I got lucky with a push of rideable wind pulling through.

The wind is starting to fall off and will be lighter for several days.  Probably good - so I can recover and rest (Foil Drive-ing doesn't use the same muscles!!!)

And I just got the BRM S3 4.2 - I'll have to wait several days before I can take that parawing out.  Time to Foil Drive - 

PF:8/W:2/PW:55/FD:37/S:17

Parawing Session - 5/27/2026

Our internet service was spotty yesterday evening, so this is a catchup post.

Did the WP to PV run yesterday afternoon.  Was pretty challenging with the up-down, shifty winds.

It looked lighter than it was -

BRM S3 5.3 - slightly to definitely overpowered on the run.  Then at times I couldn't get up.

I had the Cabrinha setup on No.34

When I was up on foil, it was fun despite having to deal with the extra power.  And what made it worse was the fact that the BRM S3 4.2 I just ordered (after selling a bunch of other gear I wasn't using) was at Walgreen's waiting to be picked up... that parawing would have been perfect.

Lots of north in the wind.

I had to make some adjustments - switching to the S3 from the Maliko V1 was not an instantaneous transition.  But eventually I got the muscle memory back.

Norm had the Triple Seven PT Skin 7.3 up, and he was fighting his gear...

Stu had his North Nova 4.2 up and was up and down with the wind.

Despite the challenging conditions, parawinging is still the way I prefer to spend my time in the water (as long as the wind is up).

PF:8/W:2/PW:54/FD:37/S:17

Parawing Session - 5/25/2026

Dawn patrolled Kailua Beach Park for parawinging!

Wind was up early (kinda always is over there) - but weird thing was no one was out - just the regulars talking story in the rigging area. 

This view never gets old...

With the winds as strong as they are - I wanted to see if the Cabrinha Prestige would deliver in these conditions.  Wind was over 20mph - so up went the BRM Maliko 4.0

This setup delivered in spades!!!!  SO GOOD!

You can totally see the upwind pinch, then the jibe onto the peaking waves, the LONG DW rides (so much fun!!!!), and finally the return leg to the starting point to recycle.

Jump City and the Beach Park are perfect for parawinging.  When you want to retract the parawing, the wind is at your back so there is zero resistance.

I was still on the jury rigged harness/stash bag - so I didn't let the hook take the full load.  Other than that the Maliko 4.0 performed great.

Kalani was riding to even further out (he can haul upwind tighter on the Triple Seven PT Hybrid than I can on the BRM Maliko).  His DW rides were longer than my rides.

The highlight of today was riding the swell outside to way inside - the longer ones had to have been a quarter mile.  No drag from an inflated wing.  No having to manage a wing that lost its wind (dead weight).  Just pure foil surfing!!!

One critique I have with the Cabrinha setup - the mast height is a touch short for unbridled attacks (I may have to get the 84cm... - gotta think about this one.  I'm not racing anymore, so I could sell the Evolution Cedrus masts to fund this...)

I just ordered a BRM S3 4.2m - this (and some other equipment procurements) are why I sold the F One foils, the Unifoil Progression 170, the Evolution Cedrus adapters I no longer used, and the two Triple Seven PT Hybrids.  After this round, the equipment selection should be stable for a bit - just outings to get miles on everything and enjoy it.

The wind is forecasted to be with us for quite some time.  With La coming home tonight, I may take a break for a couple of days to rest up (or maybe just do shorter sessions).  

PF:8/W:2/PW:53/FD:37/S:17

Parawing Session - 5/24/2026

Dawn patrolled Kailua with Stu and Prayot.

When we got there the wind was blowing, but it was just below 4.0 strength.

I bumped into Erik and he said he thought it would pick up shortly.

Prayot was there already and he had just bought this F One 6'4" 85 liter board from Felipe.  And he ran the Orca 800 today.

I setup the AFS Enduro 1100 and with the wind, I packed the BRM Maliko 4.0

This session was phenomenal!!!

Perfectly powered on the Maliko 4.0

Swell at Jump City was perfect fun size - slightly overhead, and ran forever!  The tracks to the left of the chart below are all retracted parawing riding - carving and stalling for the pocket (and banking hard on the bowled peaks) - the stuff of dreams!!!

Definite patterns in the runs today

Perfect 4.0 wind!

Midway through the session, I lost the buckle on the leash/reverse J hook belt.  I had to go in and jury rig the hook on to the stash bag belt.  From that point on I "assisted" the hook to make sure not to overload the stash bag belt buckle.

Doesn't get much better than this!!!

PF:8/W:2/PW:52/FD:37/S:17

Parawing Sessions - 5/23/2026

Got in a double session at Hickam.

Initially the rain clouds were stalling the wind, but the clouds did clear and the wind filled in.

Kalani, Stu, Ken, Prayot, the other Ken, Harris, Naomi, Zach and a few others I didn't know all came out at some point.

I used to different setups.  First out the gate was the Cabrinha Prestige setup.  Then I came back in and swapped to the AFS Ultra HA/UGlide 41

The winds were really shifty and gusty - pretty hard to nail anything when the wind is like this.

The more I use the Cabrinha Prestige, the more I love it - the AFS foils are so high performance they demand attention and expect you to be focused.  The Cabrinha is just so easy to use and is just plain fun.

There are a few tacks buried in the red spaghetti.

The end of this session saw wind speeds that exceeded the BRM S3 5.3's upper limit.  That's when I went in and swapped setups.

Lots of up and downs with the gusts.

I actually did a middle session where I had the BRM Maliko 2.9 parawing out.  I did get up on foil, but mostly I was riding the struggle bus.  I thought the blasting wind from the end of the previous session would hold - 

It didn't.  At least I didn't paddle in.  I swapped the 2.9 for the 5.3

I got a tack in somewhere in this track.

The wind flopped - and it was tough even with the S3

Again - a demanding race horse -

Super fun session!

PF:8/W:2/PW:51/FD:37/S:17

Parawing Session - 5/22/2026

The wind looked steadier today - but it was actually more challenging than yesterday.  Twisting wind, getting stuck in no man's land in large chop, and not having the right parawing up when it was needed were the things to deal with.

I opted for the AFS Enduro 1100 and associated equipment.

I brought the BRM Maliko 2.9 and 4.0.  They both fit in the larger NSI stash bag.

I had a lot of down time today.  Mainly having one parawing up and needing to wait for the conditions to use it.  Or the chop in front of the cabins was bad and I couldn't maintain balance.

Early in the session, I was getting back-to-back retract and ride waves.  But that evaporated relatively quickly.

Then the wind shifts started.  And I got blown into the dead zone...

I eventually made in back to the area above Fenceline.  With the smoother water in this area (where I normally wing), it was way easier to get up on foil and move where I wanted to.

Way more holes than last week.

It's Memorial Day weekend - lots of crowds to maneuver through...

PF:8/W:2/PW:49/FD:37/S:17

Parawing Session - 5/21/2026

Zach was finishing up when I got to the parking lot.  He put in two hours windsurfing.

Conditions were similar to yesterday - but the tide was a little lower, and the wind a bit less gusty.

Gear was all the same except the board (went up to No.34) and the mast - the Evolution Cedrus Surf 77.5 (plus 4).

And the riding was similar to yesterday also.

The retract and ride waves were far and few between - but I snagged a handful.  Bigger faced wave, maneuvering to stay close to the pocket - perfection!

Kalani was out on the Triple Seven PT Hybrid 4.3

Prayot and Norm came out later on 4.0 wings.

The Maliko 4.0 was powered up nicely at times and overpowered on multiple occasions.  

Good correlation between the two charts.

Tomorrow is looking to be similar - I'll take it!!!

PF:8/W:2/PW:48/FD:37/S:17