Evening Surf Session - 9/2/2025

Thermals kicked in around 1pm and stuck around until 4:30pm.  The direction was pretty much onshore - the one direction that really doesn't work well for windsports.  Mix that in with surfers in the lineup and that's a recipe for a lot of stink eye.

Instead of heading out right away, I helped La with some things around the house, while I waited for the wind to drop off.

And I actually didn't feel like Foil Drive-ing (and setting up the system). 

I opted to surf!

And I figured it would be a good day to get a real feel for the Tappy Quads.

I caught a couple of handful of waves - three pretty good ones and the rest were shorter two maneuver rides.

These fins were sublime - they worked, but didn't really standout and scream at you.  There held when they needed to, and released when you wanted them to.  But that's pretty much anything Japanese right?  They perform and do what they are supposed to without being flashy or dramatic.

These are a good fun alternative to the myriad of twin fin sets I've been using.  I think the next fin setup I use will be the Tappy Twins with and without the Tappy Trailer. 

It's really good to mix things up every now and then.

W:56/FD:111/PW:29/S:7

Evening Surf Session - 8/14/2025

Noe left today to go back to school... and La left to take her.  I took them to the airport and traffic back towards home was not terrible (because it could have been).

I got home with just enough daylight left to get some paddling around in.

I brought the Sweet Potato out again, but this time placed the Tappy Quads onboard.

Truthfully the surf was too small to really get a feel for these (or any other) fins.  I did catch a handful, and even got a few turns in - but realistically the surf was too small for this board.

I miss Noe and La already (and wind and good surf too - but these not as much as them)

W:55/FD:103/PW:19/S:6

Evening Surf Session - 8/12/2025

The wind was blowing around while I was driving home - and I was kinda hoping to get in a PW session.

But after getting home, doing some stuff that needed to be done, and further contemplating the weather conditions, I decided to simplify a bit and go surfing!

The Firewire Sweet Potato is probably my favorite shortboard for surfing White Plains.

And I recently got these fins (when Marlon got his Dominator Pro - he got a 15% discount on all accessories), and figured I should give them a spin.

I caught a couple of handfuls of waves - and some of them I was able to squeeze out some really fun turns.

But these fins did not have 100% of the grip that I was expecting them to have.  Maybe if I use a slightly bigger trailer I can get there???  I got this tiny 2.5" trailer and a Tappy trailer at the same time as the ENs.

I'm also curious that the BMTs, being larger and with more rake felt better - what if I go in a totally different direction - the Tappy Quads...

So many fins and boards - it sucks that surfing foiling always have to compete for my time and attention.  I love both

W:55/FD:103/PW:19/S:5

Evening Session - 2/19/2025

And after the sanding session, I figured I might as well rinse off the work day (and any sanding dust) - so I headed out for a quick session at WPB.

There were decent waves coming through!!!  And there was enough wind to mess up the surf (at least it looked that way from the beach - which kept the crowd light).

I figured the conditions would be junk - so I threw (figuratively) the Sweet Potato in the truck.  I had the Britt Merrick Twins still in the board - probably the best fins for this board (and the way I surf it).

I caught some really fun waves - where I was able to make multiple turns and run along the wall.  It was a ton of fun!!!  If you look at the section right in front of you and just focus on making the most of that piece of energy, then every wave you get is a fun one.

I picked off a handful of good ones then called it for the day.

These two were hanging out on the beach when I got in. 

With all the foiling I do, I sometimes forget how much fun surfing the right board for the conditions present can be.  It's good that I forgot my FD remote and it was low tide - forces me to surf (and remember it is awesome!!!)

W:9/FD:30/PW:1/S:2

Evening Session - 11/27/2024

Yesterday evening the wind was up and down, the tide was lowish and the waves were small - I ended up bringing the Sweet Potato.  I could have brought the Mode Pro 6.8 and the Dragonfly - that for sure would have worked, but I opted to play it safe.

I actually got up on several waves - but there was so little energy it was hard to get maneuvers in.  At least I didn't get skunked.

Roland and Prayot on the other hand did take out their prone foil setups and had some good rides.  Three-peats were common.

This was Roland's last wave of the day - he took it all the way in.  But it wasn't sand on the inside....

Hopefully the wind comes back soon.

W:145/PW:2/FD:83/F:5/S:23

Evening Session - 11/25/2024

I finished fixing Roland's boards this afternoon - then headed to WPB to get the mold release from Norm, get Prayot's Pure 900 back to him, get Roland's boards back to him, then hit the beach for some more low tide surfing.

When I went to check out the surf, I could see Norm out in front of the Cabins riding wave after wave after wave.

Roland was setting up his prone gear.

I opted to play it safe with the Sweet Potato (outfitted with the BMT fins)

I also was out to try this new rashguard from Aloha Xchange - half the price of the Xcel ones I use.  And this actually did a decent job.  It's true to size in case you want to grab one.

Once I figured out where to line up with this board, I actually had a great time!  I caught five waves that I got in a bunch of turns on.  Made for a great session!!!

I love twin fin boards!!!

W:145/PW:2/FD:83/F:5/S:22

Evening Session - 2/9/2024

I was pretty tired after work so I wasn't going to go surfing today - but Roland texted and said it was better than yesterday.  And I ate a whole bag of Planters Trail Mix, so I ended up going (largely to burn of the trail mix).  It was actually pretty good - but you had to wait for the bigger sets to pull through.

What I wanted to do was take the Great White Twin out again, but switch out the fins to the Britt Merrick Twins.  When I decided to go surf, I was still pretty groggy from a not so fulfilling nap - and I ended up just grabbing the Sweet Potato with the BMTs already installed.

I ended up catching some really nice waves - and I found myself wishing I had installed a small trailer fin to get a tiny bit more drive than I had with just the BMTs.  And the other thing that was going on was the waves would flatten out really quickly - like you'd takeoff on a steep section, pull a bottom turn than had to grovel to stay on it.  And if you were lucky, you'd be in position when the reform popped up.  So as luck would have it - this was the board and fins to have today! 

Tomorrow is a Foil Drive day!

W:13/FD:10/F:4/S:7

Evening Session - 1/30/2024

Marlon and I hit the beach later in the afternoon today.  There were good sized, clean waves breaking - definitely a West wrap!!!

Marlon brought his longboard - and he caught some fun waves.

I brought the Volcanic Sweet Potato -

And I replaced the Wayne Rich Nightmare Twins with the Britt Merrick Twins.

These fins made this board more playful than it had been with the other fin selections.  It is never easy to get the comparisons down with differences in swell, wind, crowds, and even time between usages.  I recall the Nightmares having more drive and hold, yet I could make a top turn and wrench the board around with the ability to recover on the rebound.

These BMTs trimmed off the sharp edges of the movements and made everything more fluid.  Kind of like the feelings I have when I wing foil with the Axis Spitfires (more visceral and snappy) and the F One SK8 (more fluid and flowing).

I caught some gems today - takeoffs were awesome, I got in lots of fun turns and made some long runs.

I love experimenting with fins on the Sweet Potato!!!

Roland was on his mini longboard (T&C) and Prayot was out on a shortboard.  Fun day!

W:8/F:13/S:5

Evening Session - 1/12/2024

Marlon and I went to WPB to fly drones - but we saw the surf, ran back to the truck, went back to the house and grabbed our boards of choice.

Marlon brought his longboard, and I brought the Sweet Potato.

This was a short session - but I ended up catching some really fun waves.  Each one caught was better than the previous one.  on my last one I had some really good turns and it was pretty long.

Marlon was catching whatever he wanted - longboard definitely helped.

Duke was out and prone foiling the board Prayot gave him to wingfoil.  Pretty smart to figure out where the foil goes by proning the board.  And he was also catching pretty much whatever wave he wanted. 

Fun (but really cold for Oahu) first surfing session of the year!!!

W:4/F:4/S:1

Evening Session - 12/7/2023

Small wave evening session.  I'm just happy that there are still ridable waves on the south shore (surfline was calling this 20 kJ).

It was super low tide - so I opted to surf.  And for the given conditions, I brought out the Firewire Sweet Potato (in Volcanic - because it already had the Wayne Rich Nightmare Twins on board).  

I got out late because I took a short nap at home after I got home from work.  The crowd was not too bad (still lots of Wavestorm Gerry Lopez foamies in the water),  The waves were waist to belly high on the sets.

I caught maybe 7 good waves - where I could throw the board around and got some distance from the ride.

Roland and Prayot were on foils.  I didn't want to go there (0.1 low tide....).

Fun day!!!

W:117/F:105/S:57

Evening Session - 11/1/2023

I got in a late afternoon session today.  I thought the waves would still have a little size from earlier this week - but the waves were belly or less.  There was very little wind so it was nice and glassy.  And the waves did standup a little bit better since it was low tide.

I brought the Firewire Sweet Potato in Volcanic, and I put in the True Ames Wayne Rich Nightmare keels.

I caught a bunch of gut-less waves, but did get a handful of really fun waves where multiple hard turns and gouges were had.

Roland was out in his longer board - he was more patient and waited for the bomber to roll through (relative size wise).

Such a good combo!

If I go tomorrow, I might have to break out the Viking...

W:104/F:99/S:54

Evening Session - 10/16/2023

I got in a late afternoon session.

The surf was the biggest it has been in quite some time - head high sets!!!  I don't even know what the tide was - all I saw was sets rolling through that didn't close out right away.

I caught a few long rides - some fun turns, but the crowd usually got in the way to truly unleash... 

I'm not sure where this swell came from - but it is truly appreciated.

W:103/F:95/S:47

Dawn Patrol - 10/14/2023

Hit the dawn patrol this morning.  Special guests Lys and Matthew Maceda!!!!

No wind, dropping tide and a ridable swell in the water.

Since Lys and Matthew were on longboards, I opted not to setup the Foil Drive, and instead brought the Sweet Potato.  I was also curious about the Mayhem Evil Twins on this board.

Initially I had it setup with the trailer in place.  The rides were fun, but I was finding I wasn't able to push it hard through the turns.  Halfway through the session I paddled in, took off my vest and the trailer fin and headed back out.

Without the trailer. this setup was super fun!!!  The Evil Twins have a hair less "pop" than the Mackie Keels, but they can be overpushed through a topturn into a roundhouse.

Give and take - 

I think this set of fins will reside on the Boogie Fish, and the other keels will rotate on the Sweet Potatoes.

I had three outstanding rights this morning - this recent run of shortboarding sessions has been awesome!

W:103/F:94/S:46

Dawn Patrol - 10/9/2023

Dawn patrolled this morning with Marlon.  Nice lines coming through on a low tide with minimal wind.

Marlon brought his longboard and was nabbing plenty of waves.

As a part of my continuing experimentation with the fins I have in my garage, I swapped out the Hess Noriegas for these Wayne Rich Nightmare keels/twins.

I was floored by how good these fins are!!!

Drive and release are hard to balance, but that was not an issue here at all.  I got multiple waves in the short time frame we had.

Down the line speed (which these fins actually enhanced - speed builders with the concaves in the upper portion of the fin), and release when cranking turns.

It's like every set of fins I put on the Sweet Potato is better than the last...

W:102/F:93/S:42

Dawn Patrol - 10/8/2023

Noe has a flute performance today so I knew I didn't have time to Foil Drive.  And the time was low so I didn't want to prone foil.  Along those lines, I have actually been having lots of fun getting back into surfing with really short boards - so I'm not looking at this as a compromise - it is what I've been looking forward to doing.

If you keep doing the same thing over and over again, your learning eventually slows down.  I feel like that is where I am with foiling - so moving to super short boards is definitely a way to freshen things up.

I took the H2 Sweet Potato out again and kept the Mackie keels on.  I caught a handful of waves in the short window I had - and they were so much fun.  Using the fins to derive more speed out of wave, and then converting that speed into torque as I crank a hard turn - this simple act is so addictive.

When I first got to the beach, the waves were stacked up and it was really consistent.  After an hour, the waves started to back off - but I had already caught a handful of super fun waves and I called it a session.

Now I can go about my day (because my stoke meter is pegged to full)!

W:102/F:93/S:41

Evening Session - 10/6/2023

Got home from work and did some errands in the yard.  After that, what better way to start the weekend than getting in a surf session!

Marlon brought out his longboard and headed off to Middles.

I brought the Volcanic Sweet Potato - and I ripped!!!

I finally got to put in the Hess Noriega Keels from True Ames.

Obviously these keels have more release than the Mackie's I've been using in the Helium Sweet Potato.  Different feel but just as fun!!!

I caught plenty of waves - actually pretty ridiculous considering the size of this board.  The best one was belly high and I got in some roundhouse top turns and rebounding projected bottom turns.

I think my surfing has actually gotten better because of the Sweet Potato rides.

I never thought I'd still be shredding on a shortboard in my 50s - but here I am shredding daily!!!!  I love this shit!!!!!

W:102/F:92/S:39

Evening Session - 10/4/2023

Another low tide session.  Waves were coming in better, but they were smaller.

I used the Sweet Potato again - I got many waves and several were slashed apart by me.

The Sweet Potato definitely is a lemonade making machine! 

Roland was out on the Progression 140 -

And busting airs!!!

I absolutely love this board - it does things that defy logic and physics.  And it is saving my foils from horrible bottom scars (that I would be getting if I felt desperate enough to foil during low tides like today).

Thanks to Marlon for taking water shots today!!!

W:101/F:92/S:38

Evening Session - 10/3/2023

I did some work in the garage when I got home (that's the next post) - but after that and after Marlon woke up from a nap, we headed to get some surf in.

Marlon got to try out his new board bag - and he got plenty of waves on his longboard.

Super light, offshore winds, low tide and small waves were the conditions.

I brought the Sweet Potato with the Mackie Fish Keels - I LOVE THIS COMBO!!!

I got plenty of waves - and they just got better as the session went on.

My last wave was bottom turn, carving top turn 4X over - incredible!!!

It's hard to take out fins that work really well - but I do want to try out the Hess Noriega keels.

Super fun session!!!

W:101/F:92/S:37

Evening Session - 9/20/2023

Yesterday there was wind throughout the day - and I had been looking forward to testing a new fuselage and some front foils over at Hickam.  Jeff wasn't able to make my supply run, so I figured I'd get a session at WPB (since I didn't need to test stuff out).

Marvin and Fabian got to the beach the same time we did - and looking out at the water, there was some wind, but it was lighter than I thought it was going to be.  Marvin just picked up a second hand Eagle 1090 and a 75cm F One mast - so no doubt what he was going out on.

Prayot was jonesing to try out his new wing board so he setup his winging gear.

Marlon was going to fly his drone, I told him I was going to head back to the house and grab a prone foiling setup - he said he would go back also and grab his longboard.

While driving back, I was recalling how shallow the tide was make the water column - so I opted for the Sweet Potato to get a surf session in.

I caught a handful of fun waves.  I also missed a few - if the top crumbled, I would get discombobulated from the foam.  Still great fun (even though the rides were relatively shorter than most foil rides).

Marlon was catching some really nice rides.

Prayot came back in and made some adjustments to his new setup, then headed back out.

Fun session! 

W:94/F:89/S:36