Evening Session - 11/23/2024

La went to an awards ceremony for the Hawaii Yacht Racing Association (I'm totally not interested in yachting community) and Marlon and his girlfriend went up to the North Shore for the evening.

So after I finished placing epoxy on the repairs, I headed over to the beach to see what the waves looked like.

Pretty low tide, light wind, and small but ridable waves. 

I knew the waves would be on the smaller side so I figured I'd try the Sweet Potato or this - the J. Splee Boogie Fish.

The Boogie Fish got the nod.

I was having a text conversation with Norm today about surfing - he doesn't surf much these days because he doesn't want it to mess with his foiling.  I said I surf when the waves are either super good, or if the tide is super low.  Today (like most evenings in the winter) fell into the tide too low category.

At the onset, I was having trouble catching waves that still had a face to work.  After a few missed waves, I finally got a good one - and three turns later I was stoked.  I caught several more after, and the sun set.

Landing any surfcraft over towards fenceline right now is risking cutting your feet - zero sand in the area right now.

Fun session!!!  I'm glad I still surf - if you look for the good sections and try not to dwell on the length of the ride, surfing is actually really fun!  And groveller boards notch things up also!

W:145/PW:2/FD:82/F:5/S:21

Dawn Patrol - 8/17/2024

I headed to WPB this morning to get Tim's Armstrong foil back to him.  

It was a 0.2 low tide so foiling was out of the question.

The forecast was calling for decent sized waves so I brought the Boogie Fish.  I've been wanting to get back on this board for a bit.

I ended up realizing how out of paddling shape I currently am.

I did catch three so I didn't get skunked, but the whole time I was thinking I should have brought the Seaside and Beyond.

I know I keep saying this, but surfing is fun!

W:103/FD:58/F:4/S:16

Evening Session - 11/21/2023

Got in an evening session after work - the tide was low, the wind was light and the waves - even though a little lully - were really fun!

Marlon also came to the beach - he was a little upset at first because he brought the Seaside... I don't know if he stayed frustrated or not (I was actually quite happy with the conditions and choice of equipment).

I brought the J.Splee Boogiefish.  I wanted to test out the fins I had heard were recommended by the builder - Futures K2 Keels.

These were really fun!

It had less drive than the other sets I've used in this board - but the sliding added a lot of dimension to riding this board!

I had plenty of waves by sitting inside of everybody and picking off the waves that got through.

Roland was out also - but he was complaining about his lower tricep (like a pulled muscle).  We looked at the weather - and it looks like the next few days will have small surf and light winds...  might be time to try surfing MCBH, or breaking out the kites for some kitefoiling practice.  That's let the adhesive on the Great White Twin deck pad cure nicely (more on this in the next post...)

For such a short board - this thing always puts a smile on my face!

W:115/F:101/S:56

Evening Session - 10/30/2023

Pulled an evening session after work yesterday.  The waves had size, but it was all jumbled and even a bit hard to catch.  You'd sit in the lineup thinking you were in the right spot, but the wave you were lined up for would get fat and not even carry.

Marlon caught a nice one from the outside.

I had a few where I got some turns in but not much distance.

Still a fun session.

I could have used more paddling power (maybe the Seaside and Beyond).  I'm skipping Tuesday since we will be going to our annual "Don't Support Diabetes" campaign.

W:104/F:99/S:53

Dawn Patrol - 10/13/2023

The surfline forecast called for the best wave energy to be present at dawn.  I figured I'd go in a tad late so I could take advantage of the conditions (and I also told Marlon I'd take him to where his ride to Makapuu was - school project).

The waves had more of a SW bend to them - which kept the rights open!!!

There was zero wind and the tide was on the high side.  I only had under an hour to surf so I got to it. 

I find myself wanting to keep surfing this board - the Boogie Fish!  And I also wanted to try it out with the Futures Mayhem Evil Twin Large fins I picked up yesterday.

I was able to get into some nice waves and these fins are continuing the streak of "the next set of fins are even better than the last!!!!"

This stint of riding short fishy surfboards has been reinvigorating.

W:103/F:93/S:45

Evening Session - 10/11/2023

I was wasted (super tired, not drunk) after I got home from work so I took a nap.  I got up after an hour and felt compelled to go surf.  Supposedly there was an increase in the wave energy - gotta get it before the south swells go dormant.

And I wanted to get more waves in with the Boogie Fish. 

I got several fun ones - but almost every other wave had military people dropping in - "I love this place because everybody shares waves" - wrong - you just keep dropping in.  

I still had a good time getting to know this board better.

W:103/F:93/S:44

Evening Session - 10/10/2023

Got in an evening session after work - sometimes just swimming around in the ocean after a long day at work is good to wash off the work day.

The tide was dropping and the waves were about waist high.  The wind was up and down, and it did have more North in it.  There was a winger out in front of Campgrounds - they looked to be powered up and on foil.

I brought out the Boogie Fish!  I placed the True Ames Hess Noriega keels.

This board is different than the other boards I've been using lately.  The end result is this board is really skatey (compared the more drivey feel I get from the Sweet Potato).  This is especially noticable when completing a top turn and redirecting - slides a bit more at the end of the turn.  This is likely due to the bottom deck elements  - some spiral V and concaves that have an edge on the rail side of the feature.

I think the best way to describe this is "fun"

It did seem like it wanted more energy to open up and run.  The waves today did not have that much energy behind them, and it was good to find the low end of this board's range.  Going forward through the week, the waves are supposed to pick up. What a convenient excuse to keep using this board!  

W:103/F:93/S:43