Parawing Session - 9/4/2026

I got off work a little early today and the wind was blowing nicely.  The surf was breaking over the revetment at the end of the runway - so it was a good call to go to Hickam (and not have to paddle out through the whitewater and breaking waves at WPB).

Matt and Harris were also there setting up.

Same gear as the past few sessions - Cabrinha Prestige 905/160 and the BRM S3 4.2m parawing.

So not bothering with going outside into the smash fest, I focused on executing tacks.

You can see the ones I made on the outside turn - and the more I did them the easier it was getting (same discussion as many times before - its just weird how this same move can always seem difficult without practice).  I also made sure to try several tacks on the inside turn.  I got a couple of those as well.

The wind was acting up - a big hole on the outer edge, and lots of commotion on the water with not a lot of push (swirly and gusty).  The 4.2 was the right call even though I could have been on the 3.4 and the 5.3 at times.

It is fun getting the muscle memory down for both tacks! 

PF:11/W:3/PW:106/FD:61/S:25

Parawing Session - 9/2/2026

The surf got big today - and the wind was supposed to be blowing strong (spoiler alert - it wasn't blowing nearly as hard as the forecasts were saying it would).

The waves were close to closing out.  And they were breaking even harder with the lower tide.

I used the same equipment that I have been using over the past few sessions.

But - the conditions were pretty extreme - gusty wind, pitching surf and lots of chop on the surface.

Kalani was headed in as I was paddling out.

I got out, parawinged around, got dropped by the wind a few times, made it back up on foil and decided to head in before the wind dropped.

At this point, Roland was paddling out.

I did catch a couple of waves, but you couldn't ride them for a long time - otherwise I would become one with a pitching lip.

Despite these challenges, this was a fun session!

Nice correlation between these two charts.

I made it back in without too much trouble.  As did Kalani and eventually Roland. 

This may be the last parawing session for a bit.

PF:11/W:3/PW:105/FD:61/S:25

Parawing Session - 9/1/2026

Fun session today - but the winds were lighter than yesterday so there was a bit more waiting to get up on foil.

The waves were pretty close to yesterday.

Tide was lower in the afternoon (and will keep getting lower as the week goes on - this is the first signs that Fall is approaching)

Same gear as yesterday (and I love this stuff!)

Kalani was already out when I pulled up to the parking lot.  He had his 777 PT Hybrid 5.7m up again (but probably warranted with the winds today).

Despite having to wait every now and then for a gust to get up on foil, the rides were really good - I feel like today's rides were longer and had more opportunity to carve top to bottom - SO GOOD!!!!

And I felt like I had more rides and a higher redeploy rate today.

I also got some drop straight in tacks - these are pretty intense...

I rode this up and down madness on the BRM S3 4.2m (riding the gusts).

Stu showed up on wing - and he did a downwinder to PVs.  Roland came out late - and on wing today instead of his parawing (probably needed a small victory today).

The forecast for tomorrow is all over the place - might actually be a good day to go surf (before the crazy wind shows up on Wednesday-Friday)

PF:11/W:3/PW:104/FD:61/S:25

Parawing Session - 8/31/2026

I usually take Mondays and rest - but the conditions were too good to pass up.

Head high surf, stronger - mostly steady easterlies.

Decent high tide so no scratch-em conditions.

I opted to use the Cabrinha Prestige 905/160 Union Rear Stabilizer/78cm Apex mast.

With the whitecaps - the BRM S3 4.2 provided the power

This was another session where over 80% of the rides back out yielded a rideable wave at the end of the run.  And a lot of those waves were really long rides -

And I got in multiple tacks onto peaking waves - I don't know why I lost my tack for a while... I'll just have to keep doing them to make sure I don't lose them again.

Most of the inbound runs were prone foiling runs with the parawing retracted and in hand.

This latest run of wind and surf has been phenomenal!!!

PF:11/W:3/PW:103/FD:61/S:25

Afternoon Parawing Session - 6/26/2026

Smaller waves today -

Higher tide.

Same shifty wind (but slightly stronger and a little more dependable)

Same board/foil - swapped the parawing up to the 5.3

Kalani was out again - and Roland eventually came out.

With the wind questionable, I didn't take too many chances.  Regular jibes and kicking out earlier to stay in the wind line.

I only got a few rides with the parawing retracted.

I only felt overpowered once - the rest of the session was either sitting on the board waiting for sufficient wind, or riding powered.

Looks better than 50-50

Will likely dawn patrol Kailua tomorrow.

PF:8/W:3/PW:64/FD:52/S:20

Afternoon Parawing Session - 6/25/2026

Higher tide, bigger waves, and slightly better wind (compared to yesterday).

All the same gear - just changed out the rear stabilizer from the 180 to the 160.

When the wind was present, it was nice and strong.  But it would lull out and with the BRM S3 4.2, I'd have to take a break and wait for the gusts to push through.

But retracting the parawing to ride a wave... epic today!  The waves were standing up much taller than yesterday.  Hooking turns and aligning to sections that had push - so much fun!!!

I even got in a couple of Prayot's "stash before jibing onto a wave" jibes - and that move actually works.

Based on this wind chart and comparing it with the speed graph, I'm gonna say at my weight the range of this parawing is 17 to 28 mph.

Almost 50-50 today.

If I had the 5.3m out, I think I would have been up on foil for over 80%.  Kalani had his 5.7 Hybrid up and he was on foil for the majority of the session.

I'm going to pair the Prestige 905 with the 160 rear stabilizer, and the Whippit 850 with the 180 rear stabilizer.  I just felt more nimble on the 905/160 today - being able to retract and ride bigger faced waves prone for super long distances - no debating that performance aspect!

PF:8/W:3/PW:63/FD:52/S:20

Evening Foil Drive Session - 6/23/2026

Rain clouds moved in - so the wind was marginalized.

That's what Foil Drives are for!

There were still some bigger waves - but it has definitely come down.

I opted for the Cabrinha Whippit 850/180 monobloc rear stab setup today.

Despite the rain and the wind induced chop, I had some great rides.

One thing I will add to the Silk - Whippit comparison, the tubercles on the Silk offer "grip".  There were some waves today where I felt I was "slipping" when pushing the foil hard through a turn if there was chop.  Not every turn, but cranking under a developing hook mostly.

I never had that happen with the Silks.

Norm came out and he was on the Silk 1050.  Roland passed today (even though he was hanging in the parking lot again).

22 rides in 1.25 hours - pretty ridiculous!

I did fall a bunch the second half of the session.  With the clouds overhead, I lost the ability to discern wave from flats and I'd lose it.

The rest of the week should be perfect for parawinging!

PF:8/W:3/PW:61/FD:52/S:20

Foil Drive-ing 6/10/2026

We are in between swells at the moment.  This weekend is supposed to be big again.  But for the meantime, there were chest high waves on the sets, a decent mid tide and low wind for the pau hana session today.

And it was a perfect day to dial in the Cabrinha Whippit/Tweaker 390 + 140 rear stabilizer.

Foil Drive Max onboard No.43

I used the wing bolts to make sure I could get the mast position dialed in.

I adjusted the foil to go further forward after each of the first three waves.  I got it in a spot where it felt comfortable, but through all the rides I noted I was really using my rear foot and the setup was pretty pitch sensitive.

Tomorrow I will likely swap out the rear stabilizer for the Union 160 - seeing if that reduces the pitch sensitivity.

What I loved about this foil was how well it carved.  And I'm not sure if it was designed this way, but with the rear foot bias, this foil felt way more like surfing a shortboard than any other foil I've used.  The Silk 850 carves even harder, but it feels distinctly like foiling.  I feel like I can push the Silk 850 harder, and that it is more balanced - but this reinforces my decision to get the Cabrinha Union based foils - they are different than their contemporaries - and because of that they do not really overlap. 

The Foil Drive itself felt a little sluggish today.  Not sure if it was the chop or the unit settings, but something was off.

It may have been the full-bodied motor mount (maybe I was feeling the drag???).

This is definitely a better way to get to know a new foil (unlike the last "wing" outing I had).

As I mentioned earlier, I'll move to try the 160 monobloc rear stab next - but I definitely want to try the other shims on the modular 140 rear stab also.

If you look closely at some of the tracks below, you can see some pretty curvy shortboard surfing lines -

18 rides (with a few others where I didn't pick up the wave).

Prayot and Duke paddled out on their DW SUP foil boards. Kalani and Roland chilled in the parking lot discussing the boom box build, and then ground handling the PW Derek loaned/gave Roland.

Fun session!!!

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:42/S:18

Parawing Session - 6/8/2026

I was going to rest today, but the wind started blowing around the house - I figured I'd at least check it out.

Robby was in the parking lot - working on a call he got, and not really looking like he was going to be able to head out.

The wind line was further out - and it looked doable.

BRM S3 5.3 and the Cab setup on No.34

The wind actually sucked.

I was hard pressed to connect my runs because the wind would not allow me to jibe.

The whole session was really just trying to get up on foil (which I probably did because of the S3)

At least I didn't have to paddl back in.

Trap wind - the gusts make it look doable, but the wind really isn't there

It was still good to get the work day off with time in the water.

Might be time for FD -

PF:8/W:3/PW:60/FD:41/S:18