Evening Session - 8/9/2023

Yesterday afternoon I had originally set out to wing.  There was good wind, there was some pumping swell, and the tide was decently high.

I set up the Eagle 890/Marlin 14" and pumped up the SW2 4.2

Well - while paddling out, the ocean said "Nope" - I kept drifting downwind and did not have enough wind to get up.  On one beating (of many), I saw the rear stabilizer graze the strut and "pop"

I paddled in and waited for Marlon to come back (he had went home to grab a board).

He came back and I packed up.  I went home to grab a board also - but while at the house, I debated about bring a surfboard or a prone foilboard.

I ended up with the Vyper 170 on No.21

I had three really good rides, despite the pitching lip close out waves that were coming through.

Marlon on the other hand was able to generate enough board speed and paddled into some really good waves.

This was a tough week for the WPB crew - wings torn and deep cuts...

Sometimes you win - sometimes you lose.

W:77/F:72/S:31

Wing Foiling Session - 6/21/2023

There were whitecaps when I showed up.  I didn't trust the wind strength - this is the first day the trades are supposed to be back and filling in - so I had setup my lighter wing foiling gear.  Then when I was paddling out it started to back off (glad I pumped up the 5.2 instead of the 4.7).  

The SW2 5.2 was the right call for most of the session - could have actually used the Takuma RS 6.1 at a couple of points.  The Eagle 1090 was perfect.

The tide was high and the waves were largely flat - so launching was pretty easy.

The wind had some north in it, so it was natural to end on a line that pulled high along the coast line.  I had figured I could ride up past Hau Bush and then do a mini downwinder to practice for this Saturday.  The plan was going well, but then the board got yanked out from under me.  I originally thought it was the wind dropping off, but at one point my leg felt something - it was some really thick fishing line.  I went under to check it out and the foil had picked up a lot of braided line - really thick stuff like 200 to 300# test.  It took a bit, but I cleared it and made an attempt to get back up on foil and outta there.  I wasn't getting up and it seemed like I was still stuck so I checked again.  I was now dragging a big plastic bottle that was being used as a float for more fishing line.  This looked like a setup that uses the wind to bring a line way out. 

Well - I cleared everything and finally got back on foil.  Then I noticed there were two pretty good gashes on the mast - AUTHENTIC BATTLE DAMAGE.  These slices into the leading edge were making a lot of noise and causing turbulence while I was up and riding.  It became smooth again as I rode way up on the foil.  When I dropped off foil a good distance away, I checked to make sure I wasn't still dragging line.  The pictures below are the two damaged sections.

I emailed Kyle from Project Cedrus to get his opinion on a repair.  I think I can just trim off the bad stuff, and use Flex Seal to make the damaged area smooth again.  Or even trim the bad stuff, stuff it into the slots from the fishing line, then use a heat gun to soften the flexible PVC back into the original condition.  We'll see what Kyle says.

This chart tells the story - the dark blue was the first time I went down.  The light blue is the second.

I did head back to WPB and proceeded to ride the tiny swell for a bit.

Shakey wind - but it was ridable for the most part.

More telltales...

Funny what getting tangled in fishing line a bit offshore will do to your heartrate.

Short session, but understandable given the circumstances.

W:56/F:57/S:28

Authentic Battle Damage

Paying my dues...

The front wing scratch was from the Saturday session. I picked the tail wing scrape during the last session.  I thought it was deep enough to paddle back out incident free and "crunch".  Kind of frustrating - but now I feel like I can go all out.