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.

Surf Check - 3/19/2026

I told Noe that I was headed to check the surf and that there would be a high chance one or more of the monk seals would be chilling on the beach -

Noe did go today to see the small one up close.

Wind was onshore so the waves were pretty crumbly.

I figured I should get another ground handling session in, focusing on turning the PT Hybrid.

I got in 15 minutes before the rain started again.

Roland was just in his van - the surf didn't look nice enough to get him out.

The weather is going to start turning for the worse again - until Monday (when I have to go back to work).

Garage Works - 3/18/2026

Noe is back home (if only for a short Spring Break stint) - 

While La and Noe were clothes shopping, I hit Foodland Farms and grabbed a bento and this!!!

I haven't had kava in a long while.  I really didn't feel much - but I did notice my speech was a bit delayed and a tad slurred (I had to take a few phone calls while eating).

Anyways - back in the garage I got the patches sanded down

And the clear coat sprayed on.

Tim already grabbed the board -

And I got this in the mail - the replacement for the Triple 777 PT Skin 5.4 that Kalani bought from me - this is the Triple 777 PT Hybrid 5.7

I got to the beach pretty late so I just focused on ground handling this new parawing.

I really like how it flies!  It lofts in very little wind (probably due to the enhanced air foil section), is really stable in flight, responds well to bar pressure and collapses easily.

It was blowing light (under 15mph) while I was at the beach - this was definitely below minimum getting up of foil wind speed.

This makes me think I should put up the Paia...

Humans aren't the only creatures to express affinity for this beach -

There were two monk seals chilling on the beach

And I also got this new rear stabilizer in the mail - the KParts Mako Carve Pro Medium,

I think this will pair well with the Enduro 900, Silk 1050, and the Enduro 1100 - we shall soon see...

Garage Works - 3/17/2026

Got these signal windows sanded CAREFULLY

And covered in fiberglass

And pressed to optimize the epoxy-fabric ratio

Top deck - same deal

I used 0.14 ounces of epoxy (with slow hardener to buy time) and it was just enough for the 3 windows

I'll still likely have to feather in the edges, and then I can spray with clear coat

This should be done tomorrow