Wing Foiling Session - 5/15/2025

Nice steady, strong winds today!

Decent tide and declining swell.

When I got to the beach, Eli was out winging and Zach was windsurfing.

I think I could have gone with the Nova Pro 4.2 - but I opted for the Mode Pro 4.8

And - seeing as how I haven't used any foils except the AFS in many months, I figured I should give the F One foils a test run and see if it reignites my interest in them.

Here is the SK8 750/Carve 161 on the Evolution Cedrus Wind mast.

Spoiler alert - I'm still going to do a run with all the F One foils - but I think I will be putting these on the market - the AFS foils designed by Laurent Borgna are just that good.

Actually the SK8 is a really good foil - just look at all these turns (it's just that the Silks carve better and the Enduros glide so nice)

On one run I came down and had to wait to get back up on foil.  While waiting, a set rolled through and the board got out from underneath me and the stabilizer "touched" the leading edge of the wing.  I guess I'm still paying taxes...  Glad it was the Mode Pro and not the Nova Pro - the N-Weave is some really durable stuff.

I thought I was going faster than this...

And here is the stabilizer hit - could have been a lot worse, but this should still be repaired/reinforced (time to call Brenda).

W:41FD:67/PW:4/S:4

Wing Foiling Session - 3/8/2025

Testing day - getting more foil positions lined up on No.40

Wind was super gusty.  Tide is pretty inconsequential at Hickam.

I used the North Mode Pro 5.5 for everything today.  Small foils need lots of power.  And this wing likes action at the upper end of it's range (meaning it is hard to overpower).

I setup the F One SK8 750 first.  Second session was with the F One Eagle 690.  And rounding out the day was the AFS Pure Race 560

The wind spread was all over the place - near glass to plowing past 30. 

The only time I headed out to Firsts was with the SK8 750.

Arvin was out when I winged up.

I was able to get a few hook tacks - feels so good!!!!

And the top speed was pretty impressive.

Next up was the Eagle 690.  I haven't used this foil much as the wind doesn't get to the speeds where I could use it with an appropriately sized wing - this outing was one of the first times I went bigger than I should have to power up the smaller foils 

This foil handles well above 22mph

And getting up to 25.2 mph wasn't uncomfortable.  It transitioned without drama and I think I could have had the Mode Pro 4.8 up and still got similar results.

And before I got too tired, I switched out to the smallest foil I have - the AFS Pure Race 560

Super long monocoque single piece fuselage.

This foil is not as hard as you would think to get up.  You still need a strong gust, but nothing crazy.

I got stuck in a long lull, so the average speed is whacked.  When the wind was up, it was screaming (and so was the foil - loud one this is).

And I matched the top speed of the Eagle 690

Fun day of dialing in the small foils.

Tomorrow I will try to get the Cabrinha H800 and the Axis ART Pro 1001 figured out on No.40

W:17/FD:39/PW:1/S:3

Wing Foiling Session - 1/13/2025

I got to the beach late this afternoon - work ran later than normal.

When I got there, the wind was still blowing nicely.  The tide was on the low side (but higher than it has been).  The waves were pretty tiny.

I pumped up the North Nova Pro 5.0 again.

And as insurance against a sudden drop off in the wind, I brought the KT Dragonfly 100l board.

I wanted to see how the AFS Enduro 1100 worked, so that rounded out the gear selected for today's session.

And here is where the mast was set (balanced out).

I had to paddle way out to get to the point where I could launch without grounding.

Duke was setting up the same time I was and with his shorter mast, he blitzed out way faster than I did.

The wind felt side on shore - you can see from the track is was predominantly coming from the SE.  And it was fun for a while... until the wind dropped off.  You can see the single (but long) blue line where I was drifting around waiting for a gust to pick me up. 

And I just barely got that gust - whew!!!!

I would have probably made it through the lull if I had the Enduro 1300.

Roland came out later - and had to paddle in.  He got up a few times, but once that lull set in, it was all over for all of us.

With that last gust, I got spared from paddling in.

W:5/FD:6/PW:1

Wing Foiling Session - 1/11/2025

The forecast was generally correct today - and hitting Hickam seemed to be the correct call.

I brought the KT Dragonfly just in case, but ended up using No.39 with the AFS Enduro 900.

And for the wing - I went with the ubiquitous North Nova Pro 5.0 (such a wide range on this wing).

And I did bring the GoPro Hero out - you can see the Solo pouch on my left hip (loosely attached to the harness - I'm working on getting this secured better).

Pretty good stats today

You can see the wind bending through my tracks.

Basically a repeat of yesterday - but with stronger wind.

Really tight correlation in the wind and speed charts - when the wind dropped below 15mph, I was down.

And of note is the top speed on the AFS Enduro 900 - I finally got this foil to break 21mph.  It's as if I broke through a wall.  I even thought about bolting on the Enduro 700 to get more data on it's top speed (since I was breaking through walls).  Maybe next time - 

W:4/FD:6/PW:1

Wing Foiling Session - 1/10/2025

The forecasts kept changing throughout the day.  I ended up doing a bunch of errands around the house and even cut out a window on Marvin's board.  Eventually the wind did start to pick up, so I went to do more errands (dropping off mail at the Airport Post Office) and then swung over to Hickam to get in a light wind session.

This gear gets it done!!!

AFS Enduro 1300/HA43/Short Fuselage

Evolution Cedrus Wind Mast and the KT Dragonfly 100 liter DW board

With the efficiencies gained on the board/foil side, I can use a much smaller wing that I would have in the past - the North Nova Pro 5.0 does such a good job at the low end, while still having good performance when moving at speed.  This has become my favorite wing -

Despite the light wind, I had a really fun session.

I primarily wanted to take this board out to start getting muscle memory established with it - so when I take it out with the parawing, it will be second nature.

But in doing that, I got to throw in a bunch of transitions.  Even toe-side to heel tacks were made without drama today.

I also headed out to Firsts.  Tacked onto waves and got in some turns on the microwaves.

I don't think I could have gotten the same rides out of the F One Eagle 1090/DW210 - that combo needs a tad bit more power to get up.  I'll have to do a back-to-back to resolve this question.

The big Enduro actually rolls decently.  I never felt locked in.  This was with the stabilizer in the forward position.  Dropping it back will be another test.

Generally this foil wanted to stay in the 18 mph range - which is different than the Eagle 1090.  What the Enduro lacks in top speed it makes up for in lifting speed.

My right knee (strong side back leg) is still pretty sore so I am not pumping hard.  That is where I was able to get the 1090 to lift faster than it would on its own. 

Tomorrow and Sunday will have similar wind so I just left everything in the truck.

Monday should be stronger wind.

W:3/FD:6/PW:1

Wing Foiling Session - 12/25/2024

Yesterday the forecasts were calling for a spike of wind (in the wingable range) - so I passed on the dawn patrol (plus it was Christmas and I wanted to spend it with the family in the morning).

When I got to the beach, it was blowing - but onshore (so the whitecaps were a little deceiving).

I setup the North Nova Pro 5.0 (which seemed like it would be a little too much wing - but it was actually perfect), No.34 with the F One Eagle 890/DW190 on the Evolution Cedrus Wind Mast.

I had to paddle way out to get to water deep enough to flip the board over.  And even then I found myself in some shallow spots (and the Eagle touched down a few times - ugh).

The wind on the outside was strong - fueled by the heated land.  And it bent more eastward than SE.

The swell was small but it did offer push on the foil.  The whole session actually felt like a continuous downwinder.

I totally got the thermal at it's peak.

I was up on foil for a majority of the session - except for the gap towards the end.  You can see the drop in the wind towards the end of my session up above.  The earlier drops were me tripping on the foil while trying harder turns.

I only did a couple of tacks - with the wind direction I thought they would have been slower to execute (and would have me in the water more).

Eddy came along after I was in.  I told him it was dropping and might not be worth it since this was a thermal event.

Nice to get in a wing session when the forecast has us in a light wind period.

W:153/PW:2/FD:99/F:5/S:29

Wing Foiling Session - 12/23/2024

Winged Hickam today as I wanted to get No.39 dialed in.

The wind was pretty wild - nuking gusts, followed by lulls, and direction shifts - super challenging and fun!

I used the North Mode Pro 5.5 for the entire session.  Since the wind was all over the place, I figured I'd split the difference between the nuking gusts and the lightly blowing lulls.  This wing handled it all.

First up for testing was Marvin's AFS Silk 850 with my HA40 rear stabilizer.  I had to move the footstraps back from this position.

Starting, this board likes the weight a little more centered.

I got this setup to 20.7mph.  The Silk 850 is just so nice to foil - smooth, nice lift, and turns like an F22.

I came back in and swapped out the front foil with Prayot's AFS Enduro 900 (standard fuselage and HA40 rear stabilizer).

I got this setup to 21.63mph

I still felt I never got to a happy place with this foil (because it feels like it is going lift more than it is).

Even easier to run and the glide is just ridiculous - 

So much so that I got in a Goofy jibe on this foil.

And last for today was the F One Eagle 890.  I've got hours of time on this foil and it was a good benchmark for the two others (which I've foil a few times each - but not have had a chance to do a back-to-back comparison).

This foil never feels like it has too much lift - and from the GPS, it also was the fastest today - 22.9mph

I think I could have put up the North Mode Pro 4.8 with the wind the way it was.

The wind is forecasted to drop below wingable levels until the weekend.  Time to Foil Drive!!!

W:152/PW:2/FD:98/F:5/S:29