Third Wing Foiling Session

Today was supposed to be the last day of brisker trade winds - so I brought my gear with me to work this morning.  I got off at 3pm (normal time) and drove over to the launch.  I was setup and running in a few minutes (would be faster if the foil could be transported mounted to the board - but the Hypernut is too long and so is the 29.5" + 3" track adaptor).

The wind was absolutely perfect!!!  More east and it was nice and strong.  I stayed out over an hour and was foiling all over the place - more than held my line and never felt overpowered (just flagged the wing).  I kept trying transitions and was getting tacks on the outbound run and jibes on the inside.  I was getting them, but not all the way on foil.  But heck - this is just my third session on the wing so I can't complain!!!  I love winging!!!

Second Session Wing Foiling

The wind was coming more from the east earlier today and it was blowing stronger.  I headed back to Hickam to get another session in.  I set the foil all the way forward this time (since yesterday I was having issues getting up on foil on starboard tack).  After I brought the board/foil to the launch, I took out the wind meter and I was seeing gusts to 25 with steady breeze at 16.  Not knowing what the range of the Duotone 6m is, I have to admit I was a little anxious/excited.

With the wind pulling more east, I was able to launch as soon as I cleared the point - and with the wind strength, I was up on foil pretty quick.  Everything was going better than yesterday.  I noticed once up on foil, everything calmed down - I wasn't having to fight the wing, and the board/foil just "went".  More than windsurfing ever was, Wing Foiling is totally about finesse.  Starboard tack foiling was easy today also - I can't say if it was the foil adjustment or the increased wind speed - probably both.  Most of my runs were up on foil (as opposed to yesterday when I was shlogging on starboard and only flying on port).  According to my watch, I got up to 13.7mph today.  I only overfoiled/breached once.  On most runs I'd have a lot of room to hold the wing out like a windsurfing sail and still had plenty of room below the wing tip.

There were several other wingers out today - the Commodore of Pacific Yacht Club was on a Duotone Echo also; there was someone out on a Slingshot V2 Slingwing; and as I was heading in a guy on a 4.6 Naish Wingsurfer V2 was out.  I'm glad I got the 6m Echo - knowing the winds around here, I'll need the power it has.  I also like the boom a lot - I can make small adjustments to my hand placement and make the wing balanced. I also liked moving my feet around - with no straps on deck, there was nothing to get in the way.  It made turning a little easier not having to step around/over things.  I did get one tack in without crashing and a few jibes - but these were not up on foil - the ones that were ended up being train wrecks.  I could sense the wind was shifting more to the North, so after an hour and a half, I called it and sailed in to the launch point.  I can tell this is going to be a fun addition to foil surfing!

First Winging Session

And La and I went to Hickam Beach to enjoy the water.  La went SUPing with the Starboard Element and I brought out the Starboard Hypernut, slapped on the Go Foil Maliko 200 (with the 29.5" Mast + 3" track mount).

The tide was dropping from a high of 2.3'.  The wind was blowing 12 to 16 mph, but there was a lot of North to it.  In fact, the longer the session, the more the wind shifted more North.  I actually was holding a line, but I got to a point where I just transferred the wing leash down to my ankle and started paddling in.

Winging is way easier than windsurf wave foiling - I got on foil on port tack and stayed on foil forever.  I was able to get on foil pretty much every time was close to the runway.  On the other hand, I was only able to get up on foil a couple of times.  I think this was mainly due to the north wind and me not wanting to go downwind to build speed.

Today's conditions are definitely at the low end of the Echo.  I never had to drop the wing, but I got close.  During the gusts, the wing felt really good.  Tomorrow is supposed to be better - stronger winds and more from the East.  Great start to winging!!!

Evening Session - 6/7/2020

Marlon did a double run today - he hit the beach earlier to meet a friend.  I stayed back to help get some projects completed (La fixed my board socks, and I built a new plant trellis for La).  He went back with me for an evening session.  The tide was full high at 2.2'.  The swell was waist high with occasional chest to head high sets.  And the wind was normal trades - with the surface choppy again.

I am still on the experimenting track.  I brought the wide 4'10" out and I set it up with the tall mast, the GL180 and the P17.5 rear wing. 

I set the mast to the same setting I had marked for the 24.5"+3" mast.  The big experiment was whether I would have to adjust for the different mast height.  The foil was predictable and for the most part the same as if I were riding the shorter mast.

I had some long rides again - to be expected with the GL180.  I also had a few blow ups from trying to catch the bigger set waves - I did catch a few that I didn't blow up, but those were green.  I did hit bottom once - while recovering at the end of a long ride.  Got some minor scratches (I just put a coat of spray paint over it to smooth it all out - hydrodynamics).  So the big data point from today was the mast height does not impact the mast location (for a given manufacturer).  Mast height should impact other things - like the amount of leverage you can bring to bear on a turn, but for the center of lift and the center of gravity math it doesn't contribute.  Now that I've worked through a bunch of these permutations with the Go Foil setups, I am get the itch to breakout the Armstrong foils again...

Evening Session - 6/5/2020 and the Anointing of #18

Marlon and I headed to the beach before 5pm.  The tide was pretty high at 2.3'.  The swell was waist to chest high.  The wind was up, and coming more easterly so the surface was getting chopped up a little.  I brought out the Go Foil 29.5" mast with the 3" mast track adaptor (why not?  The tide was super high).  I used the repainted GL140 (I'm going to sand the whole thing to 1000 grit - I think I could actually feel the drag from the unsanded yet relatively smooth surface) and the Ono Foil W228 tail wing.

I'll start the anointment of #18 discussion by saying the value of wax is only known when you don't have any on.  I wanted to examine the finish on this board so I didn't wax it yet.  Everything was super hard - from taking off, duck diving and getting positioned - this was operation slip n slide.  I did paddle in after the first two waves - I wasn't getting the lift I thought I could get out of the GL140, and I pushed the mast forward 0.5".  That reset made riding a bit easier - I got a few long rides.  With the W228, I believe the turns were smoother than the P18W.  And it's obvious but I'll say it anyways - riding high with the taller mast made riding less intimidating by being less worried about breaching.  I liked the front foot pad, but it did rub my stomach a little raw - looks like I'll be wearing a rash guard for a bit until the pad breaks in and softens up.

Marlon was on the outside and catching everything.  Nice fun day!

Saturday Session - July 6

Marlon and I hit it again in the evening.  The crowd was still pretty thick when we drove up at 5:30pm.

The waves were bigger, but the period was pretty short - no time between waves to rest.  Constant paddling and fighting white water.  I had bolted on the Go Foil Iwa on the 29.5" mast.  I had a hard time keeping the foil down with all the chop - Go Foils float, Slingshots sink.  I did get some rides, but I had the foil mounted probably too far forward.

Too much lift from this position.  Looking back at previous posts, I should have dropped it all the way back.  The tide was high and was just below 2.0', but even with that depth I 'bumped' bottom.  Anyday in the ocean is a good one, but dialing in a foil can slow things down.