Dawn Patrol - 5/21/2023

Tried the Foil Drive Plus Assist this morning.  This rig was pretty heavy - 

It took 2/3s of the session to get the timing right to catch waves - when I was catching, the riding was challenging as the swing weight was definitely something to contend with.

Dennis was out with his Foil Drive on his SUP foiling board (5'8" Quatro) and he was killing it!

I used the GoFoil PNL185 - not a foil that I've used recently - that didn't help my cause either. 

This is where the mast ended up - slightly forward of where the foil would have been on wing and on the GoFoil mast. 

Definitely more logistics associated with the Foil Drive - this may turn into a weekend endeavor (helps to fight the crowds).  But will definitely need to figure out how to reduce the setup weight.

W:44/F:41/S:28

Wing Foiling Session - 12/27/2022

The wind forecast was not aligned on the websites I use - so that meant today would be a crap shoot whether the wind would be favorable or not for winging.

Harris texted me and said there was wind - I got home quickly, packed up the gear and took Noe over to Hickam so she could try winging.  I set her up with the Takuma RS 5.1, the NWFB and the GoFoil 29.5" mast with the GL180.

I used the WWFB with the 85cm Project Cedrus mast, the PNL185/chopped stabilizer/Stringy direct bolt fuselage, under the North Nova Light Wind 8.0

Noe was a trooper.  She has good form on her outbound runs.  Harris even said he saw her get on foil.  But on her inbound runs, she was struggling to keep her balance and hold the wing steady.  

I tried sticking close to her to give her pointers - but she eventually drifted too far downwind.  I told her she should start paddling upwind to get to a point where she could try again.  The NWFB at 25" width was a bit much for her to get a good power pull while paddling.  I disconnected my leash and tried to tow her (but the leash didn't offer much area to hold on to).  I figured she should paddle as far as she could, and I would make a beeline in - then I could swim back out and help her paddle back.

I was nicely powered on the Nova LW 8.0 - I think the RS6.1 would have worked in these conditions as well.  I focused on making transitions without backwinding the big wing - as I was successful.  The PNL185 is a foil I haven't been out on in quite some time.  It was really fun to use - a bit loose and maneuverable, but still tracks upwind well.  Lots of glide in the transitions.  Fun setup today!

You can see the gap below where I was towing Noe.

When we got back to shore and were breaking down the gear, we were discussing the session and lessons learned.  Next time we'll use a smaller board - so if she needs to paddle, she'll have an easier time.  We'll also practice with a wing on land, and a mock board so she can work on her foot placement during her goofy foot runs.  Lastly, we'll use the Ensis V2 4.5 - the 5.1 in these winds was a little much - the 4.5 will have similar low end, but it'll have a more forgiving high end compared to the RS.

Based on the forecasts, this will likely be the last winging session this year.  And what an awesome year it has been!!!  So many awesome experiences - I am thankful and appreciative for the opportunities I have been presented and for my and the family's health.  I have so many more goals for winging next year - jumping efficiently, making more boards, learning more transitions, running more downwinders, and fine tuning my toe-heel tacks.

W:128/F:100/S:44

Wing Foiling Session - 6/11/2022

The trades started to come back today.  A large group assembled to go winging at Hickam - me, Kalani, Roland, Tim, Marvin, Erik, Jim, Arvin, Dennis, Harris and one other guy (that recently started coming out).  Kalani got a new set of wings - Reedin SW2 in 6.0 and 5.2.  Roland busted out the Cloud IX 4.2 (looked smaller than that).  Really cool to see all these wingers out!

There was definite texture on the water, but it wasn't whitecapping.  It also looked like it was coming more north than the usual tradewinds.  I pumped up the Reedin SWX 5.2.  I also bolted on the GoFoil PNL185 onto the Stringy fuse and used the 85cm Project Cedrus mast.  Really good setup for today's conditions!

I did bring the demo Reedin SW2 4.7 that Jeff let me borrow - but there were holes in the wind and I already had a bunch of ups and downs with the 5.2 (maybe tomorrow the wind will have steadied out more).

I tried out the Insta360 harness mount today also.  Interesting perspective, but I think I need to aim it lower.

From my track below, you can see the amount of north in the wind.  Since it has been a while since I've winged in decent steady winds, I wanted to warm up - I focused mainly on turns today.  The PNL185 actually gets up on foil easily, and I can turn it, but it does seem to want a wider turning arc.  I think tomorrow I'll break out the Takuma Kujiras again (Marvin was using his Kujira 1440 today and he said he was having a much easier time compared to the Armstrong HS1850).

The wind was definitely better than any we've had recently (which really has been thermals) - but while I was out it was pretty weird (but super fun).

I'll have to look through the previous posts where I used the PNL185 to see what the top speed was.  Tomorrow I think I'll use the Axis ART...

W:47/F:59/S:17

Wing Foiling Session - 6/9/2022

The forecast called for light winds today, but I was keeping an eye on the thermals.  Around 1pm they kicked in.  I was out there around 4pm.  Harris had already had his session - said he had to wait 45 minutes before the thermals kicked in.  By the time I was unloading, he was already chatting with Kalani who had pumped up.

I used the GoFoil setup on the Project Cedrus 85cm mast again, but today I bolted on the PNL185.  When I was rigging there were definite whitecaps - so I pumped up the Reedin SWX 5.2

The wind was coming on strong from the SE - side onshore conditions.  It was good for the first 15 minutes, then the thermals all fell apart.  I drifted for a long distance and I was way past Camp Grounds before I was able to pick up some light wind.

There was still some drama - I came off foil a couple more times - pretty demoralizing when you have a long paddle ahead of you.  But that same kick in the teeth served as motivation to get back up and wing back in on foil.

I finally made it back - I landed at the first lifeguard tower.

So you can see it was good until it wasn't...

When there was wind, it was actually pretty good.  I winged a total of 10 miles and got to 16.5 mph.

At least I didn't have to swim back!!!

W:46/F:58/S:17

Wing Foiling Session (if you want to call it that) - 3/18/2022

The wind had been blowing all day - so naturally I grabbed the winging stuff, but headed to WPB (so Marlon could also go out and surf).  I brought out the OR A 5.0, the NWFB, and the GoFoil PNL185.

Roland had already launched - I watched him get up on foil twice, so I decided I'd go ahead and launch.

As soon as I got outside, the wind dropped below the strength I needed to get up on foil.  I kept heading outside trying to get to stronger wind, but it wasn't happening.  Twice when I had turned back in, I was able to use the waves and a slight puff to get up on foil.  But I was still too far away to land on sand.

I decided to would just try to land at Campgrounds.  I did manage to get up on foil one last time and got to ride a wave in most of the way to the sandy spot.

Marlon did see me beach at CG and he paddled in to come grab me.  Good thing he had the key this time...

You win some, you lose some - just glad to get wet!

W:15/F:28/S:10

Wing Foiling Session - 3/11/2022

 The forecasts were converging on solutions that called for decent wind this afternoon - and for once, the forecasts materialized!!!  OR 5.0 pumped up for today's run - and I wanted to see if the strut bladder was leaking (was soft last time).  Wind was over 20mph - but the water wasn't whitecapping.

I wasn't expecting steady, strong winds so I brought the 32.5" GoFoil mast, and the GL210 and PNL185. 

The wind was good a strong when I pulled up at 4pm.  Ken was coming in (had his new 7.0 Cabrinha Crosswing X3).  Matt was also coming in.  Jim and Harris were still out.  Harris and I headed out to Firsts - there were waves and the wind was holding so this made for a great session!

During the second half of the session, I was just practicing turns to get them back to second nature.  And I was able to get a duck jibe in!!!  Second attempt was successful - but every other try after that was botched.

It has been so long since we had wind like today!

W:12/F:26/S:10

Wing Foiling Session - 2/1/2022

The wind was forecasted to be wingable on Tuesday afternoon.  Well - as I was pulling up it was wingable, but by the time I was rigged and waterside, it was barely moving.  But I went out anyways because....

I wanted to test the repaired Narrow Wing Foiling Board.

While repairing this board, I decided to move the boxes forward since the previous iteration ended up being short up front while using smaller front foils.  I had the PNL185 mounted and it was sitting towards the very back of the tracks.  At 1305cm2, this is now one of my larger foils (along with the Kujira 1210, the GL210) so I think the box placement was pretty good.

The wind certainly light - but there were three gusts that I was able to pump up onto foil with.

Far from a "fun" session, this was strictly testing.

Considering the wind speed, the recorded speed is impressive - that I am attributing to the SWX 5.2

At least I got up on foil!!!

W:4/F:10/S:4

Wing Foiling Session - 1/29/2022

The wind that was forecasted did come - but it was several hours late.  I got to Hickam at 11:30 and was in the water by 11:45. There was strong wind coming in from the ESE.  I pumped up the Reedin SWX 5.2, put on the harness line and setup the WWFB with the PNL185.

It felt awesome to wing again!!! I took it easy and decided I needed to practice transitions today - outbound tacks and jibes, inbound jibes (I think I tried to do an inbound tack - ahh it doesn't matter - there was strong wind!!!!).

You can totally see the different angle of the wind.  I did not even want to try and get out through the channel to get to Firsts.

I checked the weather sites and the gusts weren't out of control.  The 5.2 was super powerful (it is everything I was afraid the OR A 5.0 was going to be) but on a day like this, this wing performed flawlessly.  When the wind was just lighter than optimal (this wing has a pressurized point where it'll just pull you up onto foil - I think it is 15mph), you could synchronize your board pump (sliding the foil forward as opposed to straight up and down) with the wing pump and in three cycles you were up on foil.

I got the PNL185 up above 23mph - I think it was the SWX.

I don't know why we've had this long streak of no winds.  I am thankful that there has been surf on the south shore - but I really miss winging.

W:3/F:9/S:4

Wing Foiling Session - 12/20/2021

 The wind was filling in so I headed to Hickam after work (or maybe just a hair early) and pumped up the Reedin Super Wing X 4.2m.  Compared to the Ensis V2 4.5m and even the Reedin regular Super Wing 4.2m, this one had some weight to it.

I ran it without a harness line and without the leash extension first to get situated.  The foil choice of the day was initially the PNL185.

The wind was pretty strong - this wing definitely likes steady conditions over 20.  There is zero give on this wing - the Xply harnesses and delivers everything the wind has to offer.  But it only does so when it has enough wind.

I didn't bring my watch so I don't know how fast I went - but it felt really fast.  I headed in and changed out the PNL185 over to the NL160, and I attached the leash extension and harness line.

Since it has been a while since I used the NL160, I made some inside runs and transitions to get reacquainted with it - then I saw Harris headed out to Firsts.

At first I was thinking "breaking in a new wing and heading out to Firsts... especially after losing the Ocean Rodeo the day before seems like throwing caution to the wind.  Call it what you want but I headed out.

Caught a few waves and then felt the afternoon winds starting to drop.  I headed to the inside and shortly after that the wind did die off.

After the session, I noticed the injuries I got from winging before I started using the OR came back quick - tennis elbow on my left elbow and a sore right shoulder.  I'm going to have to pay attention to how I use this wing so I don't get a lasting injury.

Wing Foiling Session - 12/9/2021

Hit Hickam after work again - wind was better than yesterday, but still on the light side.  Same exact setup as yesterday.  

I made a beeline out to Firsts - there were chest high waves coming through - remnants of the storm earlier this week (I'll take it!!!  Waves coming from the South in December!!!).  I made one really long tack out to get into a solid wind field.  I tacked back and rode a wave all the way in to the second red channel marker.  I caught a few more - a couple of which I even got to ride regular footed with the wing flagging.  But I did botch two really good top turns (jibes onto a wave with an immediate drop into the pit) - pretty much the PNL185 not keeping up with the faster top turns like I had been executing with the NL160. 

There was a lot of wildlife out today - the big monk seal was swimming in the line up - had to continuously do double takes to make sure it wasn't the other long, dark colored friend...

There were also a pair of rather large turtles constantly popping up in the outbound line.  Kept things interesting.

Just like yesterday, you can correlate the wind graph with the speed chart - this is really cool!

Tomorrow the winds are supposed to be a hair stronger again, and it is forecasted to build up from there into mid next week!!!!