Wing Foiling Session - 2/24/2024

Dawn patrol at Kailua!  Conditions were fantastic!

I setup the same gear as yesterday - primarily to get the sand off of it, but also because the wind was up and down and there would be benefit to having the 5.2 up instead of the 4.7 (or in some gusts even the 4.2)

Nice stats!

And there were some really good waves too.  I stayed out just shy of 2 hours, but staying upright in the strong winds and even stronger gusts and side chop took effort.  With the strong wind forecast across the next 10 days (at least), I didn't want to risk injury. 

The peak speeds were had coming down the faces of some of the bomber coming through.

As I was leaving, the winds got even stronger!

I got to talk with Rex on board building trends.  He said he's primarily on the Eagle 790.

I saw several SK8s setup also.  I got my Evolution Cedrus F One adapter in the mail today - tomorrow I think I'll mix it up with one of the F One foils (I have been on an Axis trip recently).

I needed the successes of today to shake off the ending of yesterday's walk of shame...

W:17/FD:13/F:4/S:8

Wing Foiling Session - 2/23/2024

Got to WPB at 3:30. Norm was there, but had popped his wing yesterday - so he was going to prone foil along with his son.  Kalani was there already and just setting up.  

The wind looked good - but the windline was pretty far out.

I setup No.32, the SW2 5.2, the ART999/400P on the Evolution Wind mast.

After paddling out to the wind line, foiling was awesome!!!  There were head high waves breaking on the outside.  Lots of luffing and long rides going right.

The wind was coming in from the ENE at good speed.

Until it stopped.  I kept looking for a gust to get me back up so I could get back to the launch.  That gust never came.  There was a long line of rain clouds and it killed the wind.

Unfortunately I was way outside when the wind died.  The current was actually taking me west.  After drifting past the Cabins, I figured I could make landfall at Campgrounds.  After a hellacious paddle, I finally made it back to land.

It was too dark to walk over the rock ledges along the beack, so I deflated the wing, rolled it up, draped it over my shoulder and put the foil/board over my other shoulder and started walking to the road.  I got halfway back and Kalani met me in his SUV. 

No doubt the wind died off.

I usually can tell when the wind is going to drop off in the afternoon - I got tricked into staying out longer today.  It was definitely a great session on the front side.  And on the back side it was definitely a kick in the nuts.  Days like this are inevitable - and when you get back in one piece with no damaged gear, you get stronger from the experience.

W:16/FD:13/F:4/S:8

Wing Foiling Session - 2/19/2024

I hit Hickam again today - I didn't want to deal with the low tide shenanigans that would have come with winging WPB.

I also wanted to give Jim a chance to try out the boards I use (as he is asking for a custom).

The wind forecasts were divergent - iwindsurf called a drop in wind speed while surfline was saying it would stay up.  When I got there, a whole crew was just coming in and they were saying it was dropping fast.  I figured that was the que to pump up the North Mode Pro 5.5

Board and foil was the same as yesterday - I wanted to see if the board would make a difference in the lighter wind.

And now I can say definitively that I can get up faster in lighter winds with this board.  The wind was up and down - but as gusts would come through, I would point downwind and after pumping both the wing and the foil, I'd be up within 5 board lengths.

At the beginning of my session, the wind was really light.  I was questioning my judgement in even paddling out.  But the wind did fill in, and there were numerous up and down cycles - perfect for testing the light wind capabilities of No.34

Arvin made a break for Firsts so I followed (and so did Bill eventually).  The waves were small, but fun.  I think I caught 2 breakers and the rest rolled on through.

Not sure what happened to the airport anemometer - but that was pretty much when I was out.

I really like the North wing - it has enough low end to get you going and it doesn't blink when the wind picks up.  Time will tell if the canopy material retains its current tension, or start to stretch (like the heavily used Reedins I have)

And after I came in, I ended up committing to Matt to make another No.34 and to Jim for either a No.25 or a No.34 (he still needs to ride No.34 to see if that is what he wants).

Looks like I'll be busy for a bit.

W:15/FD:13/F:4/S:8

Wing Foiling Session - 2/18/2024

Hit Hickam with Kalani today.  The wind was nuking, but the waves were on the small side.

I brought the SW2 4.7 and 4.2 - I should have brought the 3.6.  I pumped up the 4.2 and bolted on the ART999/400P to the Evolution Cedrus mast on No.34

I ended up talking to Jim, Bill and Matt - so I was out on the water for just over an hour.

No.34 did not disappoint - in fact Matt and Arvin asked to take a test drive and they loved it.  Gained speed quickly to engage the front foil, did not lift entering transitions, and felt well balanced was the feedback I got.

I had taken it out to Firsts and managed to snag a couple of rare breaking waves.  I can turn this board as hard as I wanted to - so I think a 6'0" is a good balance in capability and length.  The gem for today was tacking onto the biggest breaker and getting to do several top to bottom turns (riding goofy foot).

Yup - I could have used the 3.6 today!

I had planned on switching out the ART999 for the Spitfire 840 - but when I came in, I let the other guys ride the setup as is.  By the time they were done, I figured I had better go pickup La and Marlon.

Fun session today - and great getting to catch up with Bill, Jim and Matt.

W:14/FD:13/F:4/S:8

Wing Foiling Session - 2/3/2024

More foil placement testing for No.34 today.  Strong (but gusty) trades again today - and they shifted a notch to the East.  Still not an easy run out and back, but better than yesterday.

With the wind strength, I pumped up the SW2 4.2

I brought out the ART 999/400P and the Spitfire 840/350P to get them dialed in.

I setup the ART 999 first.

With all the new fancy foils out, this foil has fallen out of the limelight - but realistically it is still every bit as relevant today as it was a couple of years back.  It is fast, glides really well, turns (after you learn to shift your weight with it) and even surfs.

I thought I clean the GoPro lens before I went out... obviously I didn't

I actually thought the wind would have been stronger.  I was able to get up and go with the SW2 4.2 - which was probably more the point of the testing runs.  When everything lines up - No.34 pops up quickly.  With the narrower/longer board profile, there is a hesitancy for the board to "plane" initially - and in fact this and No.30 tend to "twist" or round up to the wind.  And then countering that tendency, the board starts to roll a little - all preventing a fast pop up.  But every now and then the board sits still and it takes off with very little run.  I'm going to have to keep working on developing the technique to get up and go.

On the first run, you can see from the track the wind was still shifting.  You can also see the spots where the wind dead zones were (blue clumps)

I think if I got a Skinny rear stabilizer, I could get this top speed up a couple more mph.

I went in for a bit to change out the lower assembly to the Spitfire.  The Ultrashort fuselage I have fits easier on to the Axis adapter than the Advance + Crazyshort fuselage.  I have to wrestle the Crazyshort off the mast - and I may actually stop using it for a bit just to save the wear on the track boxes.  I'll use the Classic Project Cedrus masts when I use the Axis foils on the shorter fuselages.

I placed the Spitfire 840 further up in the boxes and set it at the balance point.  It did get up in this position, but it seemed to be a lazy get up.  Halfway through the session I moved the mast forward a half inch to see if it would make a difference.

It did - the takeoff was a little less lazy (progressive).  I'm starting to think that with a lower aspect ratio, the positioning of the foil is a little less critical.  I have also noticed that with the lower AR foils, there is a sticking point in the takeoff where I almost have to force the nose down, then everything behaves normally.  I don't mind experimenting in the inner harbor at Hickam - but that is the last thing I want to be doing when riding waves. 

I tried to do more toe-heel tacks today - psychologically tacks are easier on trades on the South Shore because that where I do them the most.  I did get a few in, but I'm still 50-50 at best on that tack.  The heel-toe tacks I was 90% today (good to be back at them).

This speed chart is all wrong - I might have gotten that speed on a crash - but not on any particular run.  I think I did get a 20.5 mph reading in there somewhere.

Now that I've got some time winging back under my belt, I'll likely hit Kailua tomorrow.  The waves have been really big there, but with the more Northerly wind direction the runs have been less out and back and more across (need to paddle to get out into the wind line).  Tomorrow is supposed to be even more East.

W:10/FD:10/F:4/S:5

Wing Foiling Session - 9/25/2023

The wind was decent this afternoon.  With the high (but dropping) tide and a lully Tasman Sea born swell pushing through, this was a really fun session!

I opted to use No.25 today - but from using No.32 a lot recently, I did not think I would have the adjustment to get the Spitfires over to where they needed to be.  So to mix it up, I used the ART 999 mounted on the Advance + Crazy Short fuselage.

And the verdict is the Advance + fuselage really loosens up the characteristics of the ART 999.

Definitely had the mast pegged forward -

I had to paddle pretty far out to get to the wind line.  Once I was outside, getting up on the new setup was actually kind of easy.

The set waves were stupendous when they came through - over head (while up on foil) and a couple of them just kept churning down the line!!!

I've been trying to get in more toe-heel tacks - and I got one under duress today (the left had a pitching lip, so I exited right and had to tack to clear the wave).

I also caught a few waves by tacking on to them - epic!  I did botch more than I made - the ART 999 took some getting used to in this less stable mode. 

You can see the wind shifts on the image above and the chart below.

High speed was probably from one of the bigger waves.

I did trip quite a bit today - the ART999 felt totally different today - but it was super fun getting to feel a different flow from this foil!

W:99/F:89/S:36

Wing Foiling Session - 8/23/2023

Still mixing things up to see what works under what conditions.

The tide was rising, the wind was up and down, and the surf was compact (closer period than what I've seen recently).

I was going to have a short session - and the wind when I drove up was kicking up whitecaps, so I decided to pump up the SW2 4.7

And I bolted on the ART999/400P.  This foil having a higher aspect ratio, I wanted to see if it could out pace the Eagle 890 going to weather -

That said, I changed too many variables at once.

From the chart, you can see I didn't get too far up wind today.  With the wind being up and down, I'm attributing the lack of upwind drive to the smaller wing I put up, and not the foil.

And it has been a while since I bolted on the ART999 - but it reminded me that it is a good foil.  If I go again tomorrow, I'll use the Eagle 890 and compare that to the ART999.

After I stopped trying to haul upwind and just settled in to riding waves, I ended up picking off several good sized rides!  The Reedin SW2 wings are so good, even catching the flaky winds and turning it into forward momentum with a slightly under sized wing was no big deal.

And there's the story of today's wind - strong when I got to the parking lot, then flukey and up and down the rest of the session.

I thought I had gone much faster than 19.9 mph - I'm thinking I might have to use the Eagle 890 on race day...

Eli, Roland, and Prayot were also out today.

W:83/F:81/S:32

Garage Works - 7/20/2023

I got some work done yesterday on equipment in addition to the winging session.

I sanded the ART999

And got the mast track reinforcement block epoxied into place.

I actually sanded down the HPS 700 also.

Wing Foiling Session - 7/20/2023

Yesterday evening's session - super high tide, tiny waves and just enough wind to wing (although it was blowing in from more North than East)

I bolted on the newly refinished/tuned ART999

And I pumped up the 5.2 - there were times I could have used the 4.7, but then there were times that the 5.2 wasn't enough.  And with the flow more Northerly, the normal patterns were all off.  The wind bands were in different spots (mosty closer in to where the surfers were stacked).

Since I got out late, this was a shorter session.  And it was made even shorter because I found a big piece of tarp and fishing line...

I wasn't sure what it was at first pass - and the wind had lightened up to the point where I didn't want to risk touchdown.  But when I was inside, the wind picked up and I had enough to go back out.  I found the tarp and got it onto my board (HEAVY).  I got it to shore and in a garbage can - but it definitely gave me an appreciation for light weight and streamline stuff.

The amount of north in the wind can be seen in my tracks...

This was the airport meter - it sometimes would blow at the indicated strength - but it seemed like this wind was being shadowed.

And this result would make it seem as if the Eagle 1090 is faster than the ART999.  The Eagle to me also has more carry (as tacking with it is pretty easy - I had to have a lot of factors line up to tack with the ART).

Fun session, but would have been better with more waves, more wind and a few friends around.

W:68/F:66/S:30