Evening Session - 3/18/2024

The wind did not materialize this afternoon as I had hoped.  So I put the winging gear away and I brought out the Great White Twin with the Power Twins in place.

The waves looked good when the sets rolled through.  The tide was pretty low at 0.3'

I caught about 10 waves - but they were either really short, I got dropped in on, or I got in a couple of turns and they flattened out.  Weird conditions today...

This setup felt sticky today - probably needs a lot more energy (or at least a wave that runs open a bit more than what was coming through today).  Surfline showed the swell coming in from 184 degrees (almost straight south) and at 64kJ energy.

Almost the whole time I was thinking I could be way outside not having to deal with the surfers and flying on the Foil Drive.  But I quickly remembered why I decided to surf today - super low tide.  No need to scrape bottom again - been doing plenty of that recently.

I was hoping the surf would have been better - glad I'm got out there regardless.

W:30/FD:19/F:4/S:9

Evening Session - 2/16/2024

My neck seems to be back to normal - so after a quick nap this afternoon, Marlon and I hit the beach for an evening session.

The waves were not as clean as yesterday - but if you waited and had the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time, there were some gems to be had.

Marlon brought his longboard, his new drone and his water photography equipment.  He longboarded first and was catching a bunch of nice waves.

I had expectations that the XXL swell hitting the North Shore would have enough West in it to wrap around to WPB.  The reports from yesterday were that it was showing at Swabbies and Bunkers, but that wasn't the case at WPB today.

What I did get to do was swap out the fins on the GWT from the Endorfin Twins over to a set of True Ames Stussy Power Twins. 

The profiles of the two sets of fins were not far off from each other, but the Power Twins are made of volan so they are meant to flex way more than the Endorfin Twins.

It was actually pretty crowded despite the time of day - a lot of Wavestorms in the lineup. I was not overly aggressive in trying to catch a bunch of waves - I was still gun shy for my shoulder/neck muscles.   But I did catch a couple of nice ones.  

If the swell was a foot more, the GWT would have been the magic carpet.  Today's conditions were more suited to the Sweet Potato - but it was a really good session to get into the water!  From what I could tell - I think I will enjoy surfing with the Power Twins.

W:13/FD:12/F:4/S:8

Evening Session - 2/8/2024

A new Tasman Sea swell was supposed to be arriving.  The wind was "supposed" to be down and the tide was low.  I figured I mix it up and bring the Great White Twin.

Well - the thermals kicked in and the wind was blowing almost straight on shore.  I think with the Eagle 1090 and the SW2 5.2 I could have been up and riding - but the tide was REALLY low and the waves were up.  Whatever foil I brought out would have gotten beat up.

And I actually want to swap out the Endorfin Twins to some of the other twin sets I recently purchased, so I'm glad I brought this board.

I paddled out and caught several really fun waves.  I got plenty of turns in, but the rides were relatively short.  I think this board needs another foot in surf height.  Surfline was calling today's waves at 29kJ.  So I think 35kJ will be the point at which I'll take the GWT out.

Derek was out winging on a 5.0.  Gabe and the two teenagers were out prone foiling.

I felt good about shortboarding - but I think the Sweet Potato would have worked better today.

W:13/FD:10/F:4/S:6

Evening Session - 1/21/2024

I did end up getting a second session in - the onshore flow was pushing, so it was lumpy.  At least there was some size still.  You can't really complain about quality in the middle of winter - there are waves on the South Shore so just go surf!!!

I brought the Great White Twin out.

I caught a handful of waves in the short time I had (I came really late, so there wasn't much daylight).

A couple were really fun - lined up and I was able to get some turns in.

W:5/F:11/S:4

Dawn Patrol - 1/18/2024

It's Marlon's 21st birthday - so we went on a dawn patrol to celebrate!

And the Earth also celebrated by providing a nice swell!

Aquaflagued and longboarding -

I brought the Great White out again.  I caught several fun ones - but there was a good one that I caught and as I made the drop and tried to lean into it, the fins lost grip and I slid out.  C'est la vie...

I think I would have done better with the Cymatic equipped as a thruster - but hey, it's January and there's good surf on the south shore!!!

Happy Birthday Marlon!!!

W:5/F:7/S:3

North Shore Outting

Noe had a sleep over up at Pupukea yesterday.  We went to pick her up and since we were going to be up on the North Shore...

When I checked the forecast, they were calling for head high and under.  Marlon and I brought our smaller wave boards.  Kaylani brought her new shortboard.

La dropped us off at Ehukai Beach Park (really Sunset Elementary) and off we went!!!  

It was super crowded - I bypassed Ehukai and paddled out at Gas Chambers (least crowded spot - but still crowded).

It had been a while since I've been in well overhead waves up there - yes, the waves were breaking well overhead.  I actually setup the Hydronaut last night - but opted for the Great White Twin...

If I had the paddling power and entry rocker of the Hydronaut, I probably would have gotten some sweet rides.

Kaylani caught a nice one.

I finally caught one and rode it to the inside - the time had come to get picked up.

Crowded surf spots... that probably the biggest reason I use the Foil Drive and the wing - it was still nice getting wet up there! 

W:4/F:7/S:2

Evening Session (and the Anointment of the GWT) - 12/8/2023

The waves were bigger today (surfline was calling it 47kJ)!  The tide was still low (really low) - so I wanted to shortboard again.  I brought both the Boogiefish and the Great White Twin.  With the nice conditions, I opted to get the GWT wet!

I'm glad I got the 6'0" (36 liters) - I caught every wave I paddled for (until the end of the session - and it was more likely that I was spent and not the board being too small).

I got in multiple hard, tight turns on each wave - this board is magic!

One of the female Bobs took off on a wave, couldn't control the board and proceeded to hit me... that was to only bad part of the session.

Roland was out - he was foiling.  He got a few airs today.

I could not have asked for a better session to properly anoint the Great White Twin!!!

For the record, I had the Endorfin Twins installed on the board. 

W:117/F:105/S:58

Evening Session - 11/19/2023

Marlon and I were burning some time yesterday afternoon and I ended up with the chance to demo this board - the Firewire Great White Twin.  This one is a 5'11" at 34 liters.

After taking a nap to recover from this morning's session I placed the Endorfins Twins in and headed to WPB to check the evening surf and demo the board.  The surf had cleaned up significantly and the waves were chest to head high on the sets - perfect for the demo!

This board is sick!!!  It turns so good, and even these fins turned out to be perfect (I hated them on the Sweet Potato and the Cymatic).  Drives when you need and doesn't stick when you want to do a top turn.

I'm going to get the 6'0" 36 liter version so I can paddle in with more consistency (I missed a few that had my name on them).  I don't think the extra area will cork out the board for me.

I really don't need another board, but life is short and twin fins are so good - this is a niche I actually do need to fill (twin fin board that can handle bigger surf).

W:115/F:101/S:55