Dawn Patrol - 4/27/2024

Rainy morning dawn patrol.

The surface had a lot of texture on it and the waves had some size.  Pretty much the opposite of the forecast.

And I brought the HPS980 thinking there wouldn't be a whole lot of energy in the waves... wrong!

And I'm not absolutely sure but as I was having a hard time getting the foil to lift the board clear of the water, I suspect the velcro straps were working to make the board "sticky".

Despite all that, I still had fun!  And if on my next session I can pop up and clear the board, I'll have learned something (fabric causes drag).  Which would be a darn shame because I'd rather not have to waste tape all the time. 

7 miles on the session - 2.5 hours out and came in with 25% battery.

Rides were kind of all over the place.  When I did clear the board, I did have some long rides.

I count 16 longer rides - which seems about right.  I did throttle up a lot more than that, but for the reasons listed above, I did not catch and ride those waves.

Definitely using the Spitfire and electrical tape tomorrow...

W:53/FD:27/F:4/S:9

Evening Session - 4/11/2024

Marvin picked up a Foil Drive Max, and I told him when he takes it out that I'd like to tag along to make I can answer any questions - I didn't want his experience to be negative.

The wind was actually strong enough to wing and it was onshore - so the surf was on the messy side.

At least the tide was nice and high.

I thought the waves were going to be smaller than they were - I setup the HPS980/400P.  I could have used the Spitfire 960/350P (tomorrow - or I might even use the Vyper 170)

Despite the conditions, I did have a pretty good session.  The only issues were the onshore wind mushing up the waves (which had some size to them - head high in most cases) and the cloudy conditions which I have a hard time detecting contrast when the waves are all one color.

I had some long rides today!  I adjusted the setup to be more forward, and I think I actually got it too forward (but it could have been the waves also).  Not many cranking turns - more long glides.

This was the first time I've been in the water since Sunday - and the first time I've prone Foil Drive (d) in a while.  I botched the first several waves getting used to this again.  But shortly after I was dialed in and catching.

I actually ended up catching 14 in an hour... RIDICULOUS!!! 

Marvin said he wanted to go a smaller board already!!!!  That's Marvin -

W:47/FD:21/F:4/S:9

Dawn Patrol - 3/30/2024

I got a late start on the dawn patrol this morning.  And when I got there, I talked with Andrew and Kalani - making me even later ;P

I setup No.33 with the HPS980/400P and took a guess at the unit/mast positioning based on what I've been getting with the Spitfire 960. 

The waves were small - and they only got smaller.  And then the wind came up making catching waves even harder.

I did get some fun rides at the front half of the session.

Kalani was enjoying the beach and took some videos.

I stayed out almost an hour and a half.  I came in with 35% battery - and I was on the throttle the whole time.  This is pretty typical battery performance.

That jog towards Fenceline was me thinking I could get a mini downwinder.  By that point the waves basically died out.

I'm counting 21 rides - taking out time for the paddle out and back in, that's a ride every 4 minutes.  The front end was where I caught the most rides the quickest - after the midpoint of the session the wave count was blah.

This front foil - rear stabilizer combo has always been a session saver.

It was a fun session, even if it was probably wingable.

W:40/FD:20/F:4/S:9

Dawn Patrol - 2/11/2024

I woke up with a weird feeling in my neck - turned into a full on muscle spasm, that pretty much went from weird feeling to knock me on the ground in the span of three hours.  I was able to get home, but at that point it hurt badly.

The wind was lighter, the tide slightly higher, and the waves more finicky, but bigger when the right sets came through.

Lots of the regulars out - Dean (who sold me a 325P I want to try out winging with the Spitfire 840), Andrew, Rick, Scott, Kamaka - then Dennis, Kalani, Noel and I were way outside with the Foil Drives.  And welcome to Eddy!  He was out in the waves for the first time with his new Foil Drive Slim.  I got to see him pick up his first really waves with Kalani talking him through the technique.

I thought the waves would have been smaller so I setup the lower energy equipment - HPS980/400P.  I could have easily used the Spitfire 960 again.

The waves were actually really good and there was not much chop in the surface.  I only missed a few - pretty much caught anything I was aiming for. 

Some were actually pretty steep as the rolled into the inside.  These felt like they were coming in from the SW.  I got a couple of repeats, but you had to pick the right waves to even have the opportunity to recycle.

Got 20 waves in two hours.  And that's about the time my neck started to hurt.  If I gave myself a Vulcan neck pinch I go keep going.  I was able to make it in, back to the truck and back home before it just blew up on me and hurt like crazy.

I'll be out of the water for a few days to get healed up.

W:13/FD:12/F:4/S:7

Garage Works - 1/17/2024

Today I really needed to rest from yesterday's - so I repotted some plants, fertilized some of our big plants, the headed to the garage.

First up - I sanded the lap on No.34, and then I put a fill coat on the areas of the bottom deck that will get the labels/decals.

Tomorrow will be a light sanding where I placed epoxy today, the apply the decals.

After that, I put away the Foil Drive (after lubricating the parts) and confronted the HPS980 repair.

This was actually one of the easier repairs.  It's back to good as new.

Dawn Patrol - 1/15/2024

I had to burn through the battery I charged yesterday (change of plans today - headed up to the North Shore) so I got in a quick dawn patrol.

The waves were even smaller today than yesterday...

Same gear as the past few days.  I ended up grounding on one return trip... going to have to do some repairs soon.

Despite the tiny waves - I got my share of waves.

My watch wasn't charging - so I brought my cell phone out with me.  My wave count was 12.

Dean and Andrew came out.  Dean caught a few.  I figured I'd go ahead and go in and let the longboarders try and get some (they weren't able to catch many).

West winds are supposed to come up tomorrow...

W:4/F:7/S:1

Dawn Patrol - 1/14/2024

Today's dawn patrol was probably the smallest waves I've ever caught with the Foil Drive - but I caught waves!

Same setup as the previous few sessions - HPS980/400P on No.33

When I popped up, there was very little gliding - I had to pump to keep on the waves.  There were a few rides where I got to carve some turns, and I did get a few double dips - but it was still a lot of work.

My tracks were largely straight - this was me pumping to stay with the waves.  Having the 3-bladed prop was key - I don't think I could have done this with the standard prop.

From this graph, I caught 18 waves (but this was over nearly 2 hours - so not as productive a session as the past couple of days).

I am amazed at what this equipment can enable - 

Kalani paddled out on his Dragonfly - and he caught multiple waves.  He is definitely ready to do a downwinder.

Tomorrow may actually be a tad bit bigger than today...

W:4/F:6/S:1

Dawn Patrol - 1/13/2024

Hit the dawn patrol this morning with the small wave Foil Drive equipment (No.33, HPS980/400P).  I did not have long (had to take Noe to music), and the waves were small - but I did not want to turn down an opportunity to get some rides on the 3-blade propellor. 

This is the first session I was on this prop entirely.  It definitely has the torque of the Magic Hub and the high end of the standard prop.

The waves were really small - the regulars weren't even paddling out (I think they were waiting for the tide to drop as it was really high at +2.5').  The 3-blade prop made getting onto nothing waves easier than either of the previous prop setups I had.  

The waves were coming in so I could ride one wave for a bit, then peel off and catch to one behind it - so most of today involved double dips.

A conservative count has me at 14 waves in under an hour - again in waves that couldn't be caught by longboarders. 

Its been slim pickings with both the north winds and winter in the northern hemisphere.  Having a Foil Drive has been a game changer!!! 

W:4/F:5/S:1

Evening Session - 1/5/2024

I stopped off at the beach after work to check if it was worth coming back.

There were waves!  The tide was really low though...

I felt the need to Foil Drive -

I setup the HPS980/400P on No.33.

I only had time to partially charge the battery - it got to 91% (better than I thought I'd get).

I was actually out where the crew normally wings to pick up waves (towards the wind dead zone).  I was getting chest high waves on takeoff - but then it would back down to waist high walls.

Counting conservatively, I caught 18 waves in just over an hour (thank you Foil Drive!!!!)

Tomorrow morning is calling for slightly bigger surf and a more foil friendly tide - battery is already charged up!!!

W:2/F:2/S:0

Dawn Patrol - 12/31/2023

Dawn patrol saw slightly bigger waves today.  Nice way to complete 2023. 

Marlon came with and brought his longboard.  I brought the same setup as yesterday.

Dennis was out and had switched up some equipment - magic hub, Spitfire 960 - and with the FD Max he was taking off on nothing waves.  Kalani was motorless on the KT Dragonfly again.  Dean, Andrew, Rick, Scott and others were also out.

The waves tended to pop up (where I would catch them) then fizzle out.  Had to pump a bunch to get to the wave standing up to the inside.  I saved a bunch of battery power by pumping back out.

Despite the high tide influenced waves, I got a bunch of doubles and a few triples.

Got 30 waves in 2 hours - 

It has been another year of solid wave rides and tons of winging - I feel so lucky to be able to spend as much time in the ocean as I do!!!  Looking forward to doing it all again and getting even better in 2024!!!

W:126/F:111/S:60

Dawn Patrol - 12/30/2023

Dawn patrolled today - really small waves again.  You could tell there was a little bit more energy coming through - but the tide was super high so it was getting drowned out.

Everybody was just staring out contemplating if they should go out or not.

I had the Foil Drive so I went out.  Small wave foil (HPS980/400P).

The waves were actually just big enough to get plenty of turns out of a running wall.  Surfline had the energy at 14 kJ.

Most of the usual suspects were out - Dennis (on the new FD V2 Max), Kalani (SUP foiling on his Dragonfly), Dean (out with his new ART Pro 1401), Andrew, Noel (regular SUP), Scott, and others.

Most of my waves were doubles.  Carving turns on most rides (super fun).

The conservative count on the number of waves caught - 28.  That was in 2 hours.  Ridiculous wave count!!!!

Waves should be bigger tomorrow (still a full high tide on the dawn patrol though).

W:126/F:110/S:60