Parawing Dawn Patrol - 9/19/2026

Hit Kailua with Stu on the dawn patrol.  Needed to get a session in with the wind being opposite to the South Shore before the race tomorrow.

Wind was 15 to 20mph.  Initially it was from the NE, but then it got shifty.

Same board and lower foil set as the previous several runs.  Switched back to the BRM S3 5.3m

Had some good retracted PW runs at Jump City.  And I had some good redeploys.

But I also had one that made a birds nest, and a couple that field stripped me off the board.

And with the possibility of the race course being the opposite of what I usually do on any given Kailua Bay day, I wanted to at least see how running opposite would feel and what angle I'd have on each leg of the course.

We'll see how that all shapes up tomorrow.

Good wind - but there were still a handful of times I had to wait for a gust to get up onto foil.

I did try to get some tacks in, but I wasn't able to sail out of them.  It is so odd that I can't consistently tack here.

Good session!

PF:11/W:3/PW:112/FD:65/S:25

Parawing Session - 9/18/2026

It was windy today - strong, solid wind!  I used the BRM S3 4.2 - was overpowered early, but by the end of the session, I needed the gusts to get up.

The waves were getting big also - well overhead on the sets.

Same everything as the past couple of days - just downsized the parawing to the S3 4.2m

With the size of the waves adn being overpowered, the front half of the session had a lot more wipes than I would have preferred.

But after I adjusted to the conditions, I was staying up more.

I had more retracted rides today, but they were not as fun as the few that I got yesterday - the chop and the size made things challenging.

In fact - on one wave that was almost double overhead, I was going so fast down the face that the Cabrinha foil was screaming - never did that before.

I think I'm going to move the front lines back to the forward position on the parawings.  I guess I got used to the original configuration.

Pretty exciting days on the water!

PF:11/W:3/PW:111/FD:65/S:25

Parawing Session - 9/17/2026

Gusty conditions today - I opted to rig for the lulls and took the BRM S3 5.3m with the modified D handle.

Surf would get good on the sets.

In order to isolate the difference the modified D handle would make, I took the same gear as yesterday.

And it was a really good session - until the wind just dropped off (rain clouds shut it off)

I had a few phenomenal retract and surf rides.

Prayot and Kalani were out ripping also.  Duke was learning to handle the parawing, Roland was out on wing and Norm came later with his Foil Drive.

I had to paddle in after the rain clouds settled in.  I tried catching a wave and riding prone - but something about longer boards and riding prone don't mix in my head.  Or it may be the water entrained parawing on my back throwing my balance off.

Kalani managed to catch one and ride it in.

This was Hickam's wind chart - WP had it more from the north and higher differences between the gusts and the lulls.

Flying the modified BRM is different - with the front lines back it feels more like the modified BRM Maliko V1.  It also felt more like a straight bar and less like the D handle.

Not better - not worse, but different.

The good thing about this setup is you can actually move it back to the forward position.  I'll do that after several more runs with the fronts pulled back so I can get a better feel for this.

Fun session!  The wind should get stronger and more steady over the next several days.

PF:11/W:3/PW:110/FD:65/S:25

Foil Drive Session - 7/27/2026

The wind looked promising - but I opted for the safer bet (Foil Drive).  Originally Stu was asking if I wanted to go to Kailua (nope, the traffic back would suck).  Then Norm and I were gonna do the WP-PV run on parawing.  But the wind was already breaking down.

So Foil Drive it is!

And Roland was anointing his new Foil Drive board!  Amundson 4'1"  

I setup the Whippit 850/Union 180 Rear Stab/Apex 78cm mast all bolted on to No.40

This setup flows through the water smoother and turns like a greased pig.

The wind was side-off shore so the waves were relatively clean.  It looked to be doable for parawing, but Foil Drive-ing was a blast!  Top speed almost 22mph!

The swell was still pushing through - nice rides to be had and you didn't have to wait too long.  The runs to the right of the takeoff spot had peak bashes galore -

While the runs to the left had super long walls.

16 rides - the Whippit is fun!!!

Tomorrow I'll set up the AFS Silk 850/USurf 135...

Another direct back to back comparison!

PF:9/W:3/PW:86/FD:56/S:20

Parawing Session - 7/26/2026

Hit Kailua again this morning - the south shore is still pumping and without stable, non-swirly wind, it is worth the drive over.

Wind was lighter than yesterday - for a bit, until a squall blew through (and dumped a lot of rain).

I headed out as the squall was settling -

BRM S3 4.2 - nicely powered!  Cabrinha Prestige 905/Union 160 rear stabilizer on the Apex mast all bolted on to No.34

I actually did two sessions -

First was riding the squall's tail end

Short but really nice session -

You can see the wind coming in from the NE

The 4.2 turns so nicely - and I rode it out until the end of the squall -

I drifted in and was going to pack up and head out - but I ended up talking to a bunch of people and the wind built back up.

I took the 5.3 out and was again nicely powered.

I have been trying to develop a more standardized method of retracting and packing the big parawing.  I did get better redeployments.

The waves weren't so energetic that I was able to ride long distances without the parawing.  Was good practice for drifting the S3.

Did botch a redeploy and had to wait a bit to takeoff again.

It has been nice riding more stable (magnitude and direction) wind for a change.

We will see what Fausto brings over the next few days -

PF:9/W:3/PW:86/FD:55/S:20

Parawing Session - 7/24/2026

 

Left my watch at home this morning, and didn't feel like taking pictures today -

So this is the only frame of reference for today's session.

Lots of wind again - but it didn't have any ass to it.  Just a lot of swirly blow that didn't easily produce any tow.

All the same gear as yesterday - but I switched out the rear stabilizer to the Tweaker 390/160 with the blue shim (standard 2 degree setting).

I got up, made some runs, got some clean outside tacks and down loop jibes on both approaches.

And there were a few times I was getting overpowered in the gusts.  I figured it would be a good time to test out the Flysurfer POW 2.5

It wasn't.  No ass in the wind (at least when I had the 2.5 up).

Well - at least I got out.  The rest of the south shore is getting hammered.

Tomorrow BRM is having a demo session at Kailua!

PF:9/W:3/PW:83/FD:55/S:20

Parawing Session - 7/23/2026

It was blowing at Hickam - but it was up and down.

The waves were gear smashing size (breaking over the runway revetment) - so I just stayed inside. 

The other lunch bunch said they were overpowered on 4.2 wings

I used the Flysurfer POW V2 4.0 for power and No.34 with the Cabrinha Prestige 905/160 rear stabilizer (78cm Apex mast).

Along with the up and downs with wind strength, it was also a bit shifty (typical - not as wide swinging as it has been). 

The down loops are great on this parawing.  The tacks in lighter wind are also good - but that wasn't the case today.  I tried tacking a few times but got slammed on the way out of the transition.

And getting up with this parawing is still eluding me....

If I go tomorrow (at lunch), I'll use the BRM S3 4.2 to see if it is different or if it is still difficult (which means it is the wind).

I'm guessing the S3 will be easier to get up with (because it has a massive sweet spot).

On foil already, the Flysurfer is pure magic.  I think I could have been on the Flysurfer POW 2.5 (which maybe that is the parawing I should use tomorrow instead of the BRM) 

These down periods are lulls below the start up threshold of the POW V2 4.0

It is really nice to have an option to just chillax when the entire south shore is getting body slammed (the last time I went out at PVs in conditions like this - it was one of those days when I started praying to get back to shore...)

PF:9/W:3/PW:82/FD:55/S:20

Parawing Session - 7/10/2026

Conditions similar to yesterday - especially the shifty winds and the high tide.

The surf has come down - but if you were patient - there were sneaker sets still coming through.

Same board/foil - back to the BRM S3 5.3

The wind was slightly better - at least there was less up and down.

When I launched, I was good with the BRM S3 5.3 - but as the session went on, the issue became the strong gusts coming through - wishing I had the 4.2.  But then the wind would slack and I was glad to have the 5.3

And you can see the wind shift in these charts.  That was the hard part - the wind was swirling and the parawing wouldn't hold shape.

Before the wind shift, I was able to get several retracted PW runs.  And miraculously those were lined up with some of the larger waves (longer runs on taller, more energetic waves).

Prayot was out using the Ozone PR V2 5.0 that I just fixed, but he forgot his harness.  If I was getting blasted with my harness on - he was using gorilla arms.

Derek and Roland came out on wings later.  Everyone was lining up more parallel to the beach after the wind shift.

These last two runs of wind have definitely had big ups/downs and directional swings.

More comparisons between the S3 and the Maliko.  The S3 is way more stable in flight.  With the handle and harnessed in, the S3 has a pretty big range (also tied to the canopy stability - and that is a direct result of the additional upper bridle lines).

Neither likes swirly wind.

The bigger sizes need more meticulous packing to increase the chances of successful redeploying.

The upper bridle lines on the S3 like to grab the end sections of the canopy - which sometimes makes the launching process a little longer.

Fun session (even if a little frustrating with the wind shift... how do you even rig for that???? - backpack with the next smaller size and frequent swaps???)

PF:8/W:3/PW:74/FD:53/S:20

Parawing Session - 7/9/2026

I got home from work and there was wind blowing - but it wasn't as strong as the past couple of days.

By the time I got to the beach, it seemed to have filled in a bit.

Waves were definitely down in size (but again - some sneaker sets coming through).

Same board and foil as the past couple of sessions.

I changed the PW from the BRM S3 over to the BRM Maliko.  I wanted to change things up and get a more direct comparison between these two PWs.

I primarily used the 5.1, but I had the 4.0 in a plastic bag out with me.

The beginning of the session saw good wind.  During a few runs I had contemplated swapping out the 5.1 for the 4.0 - but didn't because the wind didn't stay on for more than a few minutes at the higher strength.

The belt I had on went through multiple failures.  First it came off by becoming unbuckled.  Then the cleat that holds the leash on popped off.  And lastly it kept sagging.  But I made it work.  I needed to use this specific belt because of the reverse J hook.

I got a few great retracted rides early on.  Not as good as the previous two days - but still really good.

Then the wind took a turn for the worst.  It was still blowing, but it did not have any push to it.  I spent more time trying to get into a wind stream to get back up and over to the launch.

It took forever, but I finally caught a gust towards the last cabin.  I rode that wind back to the first lifeguard tower and eventually picked up another gust to get back above Fenceline.  I did a final retract and headed in.

Thsoe blue lines were my first class ticket on the struggle bus. 

This chart was not indicative of what was out on the water.

Looks like 35-65 up verses down.

So in a nutshell - the BRM S3 has more control, way less fluttering, launches off the water way easier, stays in the air better.  The Maliko seems to have more raw power (but also gets overpowered faster), is simpler to fly, and redeploys easier.

With the bar mod on the Maliko, it wants to stay further up in the wind window flying off the front lines.

The way I fly the S3, it sometimes sits at a weird angle near the front of the wind window - only when it is underpowered.  This is likely more me than the parawing - but time will tell.

Typing this after the session - I feel like I work harder flying the Maliko - my arms, back and hands feel more strained.  But the Maliko is still fun to fly! 

PF:8/W:3/PW:73/FD:53/S:20