Dawn Patrol - 10/29/2023

Dawn patrolled yesterday morning.  This was looking to the SE - the other islands were really visible in the back lit clear sky.

There were waves coming in - pretty lully (but that lets me get out without burning too much battery), but when they were in, it was at least head high.  The tide was pretty high with the full moon - which dampened the waves a bit, but also made a quick paddle out.  Zero wind.

Marlon brought his longboard, but said it was a bit frustrating with the lull in sizeable waves and the weekend crowd. 

Same setup - but I did add a 0.25 degree negative shim to the 375P stabilizer.

The waves were coming in with a faster velocity and weren't standing up as readily (as they would on a lower tide).  I had to stay on the throttle longer to pick up rides.  This is a situation where the smaller hub would have worked better (where I could get to a higher top end speed to catch the wave and not have to use more energy).

The 0.25 degree shim worked well - made for faster/longer rides, easier pumping (since I retained more speed), and more response from the stabilizer (I was turning more today - funny how quickly you lose that feeling if you don't foil everyday - surfing uses different foot pressure applications).

I did lose it a few times - hard falls from high up and going fast - had to take a break after those falls.

I had a few rides where I rode to the inside where the waves were standing up - the walls did pop to at least head high (while I was up on foil) - these runs were back side (which is what I predominately do on weekend sessions to turn away from the large conglomeration of longboarders in the middle break) - if they were front side, I would have been tempted to tuck in....

Slightly lower wave count this session at 23 - largely because of the mid morning slump.  Still had a great series of rides!

W:104/F:99/S:52

Evening Session - 10/27/2023

Marlon and I got in an evening session.  There were still waves, but they were acting a bit funny - pulled back from breaking and fat.  The wind was a seabreeze, but not strong enough to mess with the surf.

Marlon did a bit of everything - in water photography, surfing the Seaside, and drone photography.

I brought the Foil Drive setup with the Spitfire 960.

Noel and Prayot were out.

I didn't want to pull a 3-hour session so I was a little heavy on the throttle.

And with all the surfing I've been doing lately, I wanted to ease back into foiling to get my footing (and not get hurt in the process).

I caught 21 waves (a few were double dips) in less than 2 hours.  This Foil Drive is a game changer - 

I didn't try to crank turns as hard as I could - this is where I was pulling back.  The waves weren't really optimized for that either.

I have errands to run in the morning, so I'll likely be on a midday session tomorrow.  Conditions are likely to be the same... Foil Drive!!! 

W:104/F:98/S:52

Wing Foiling Session, Part 3 - 9/23/2023

Last change - swapping out the -0.5 shimmed Progressive 375 rear stabilizer for a straight Progressive 350.

On the forums, there is a lot of chatter about what rear stabilizers work best with the Spitfires - most posts say the smaller the better.

I keep saying this, but with the Progressive 350, this setup is as close to a high performance shortboard.

The 350 seemed to smooth out some of the abrupt feeling that the 375 had - this may actually be a figment of my imagination.

I was down more than I was on the previous session.

This one ride was sick!!!  I thought I had placed the camera in the correct spot - but the wing was not horizontal enough to get the shot I was trying for - but this is close.

Was just in front of a decent sized breaking wave.  The GoPro seriously makes big waves look small accentuates bellies.

I took the back footstrap off - I am not really interested in jumping with a foil.  This freed my back foot so I can actively balance out the foil.

Tacking onto a peaking wave!!!  Incredible feeling when the timing is perfect!

Tomorrow I think I am just going to stick to one foil - 

Wing Foiling Session, Part 2 - 9/23/2023

I came back in and swapped out the SK8 to the Spitfire 840/375P 

The Spitfire 840 is just over 1000 sq cm, while the SK8 950 is 950 sq cm.

But here's where the difference is - the Spitfire is pretty flat, while the SK8 has a lots of shape.

And here it is all ready to hit the waves.  The mast stays in the same spot as the SK8 950.

This foil is quite different than the SK8.

It is a lot more dynamic - I actually have to stay super alert when using this foil because there are a lot of shifts happening.  This isn't a bad thing, just different.

This foil setup is noticeably heavier than the SK8.

This foil setup is like a shortboard - hard carves in tighter radius turns is what this foil excels in.

I spent the most time with this foil today and it really is a blast to use.  Another benefit Axis has over F One is the ability to change up nearly all parameters - different fuselages, stabilizers both lead to multiple ways to setup the foil.  This can be confusing - especially if you are just starting pick up Axis equipment - too many choices. 

The waves were probably best during this outing.  There was a longboarder in the line up (my personal opinion is that it was way too windy to be surfing).

So - with the dynamic and vigorous response of this foil, I did end up falling more while pushing to see how far this foil would go.

Wing Foiling Session, Part 1 - 9/23/2023

Winged at Hickam today.  Went over with an objective to back to back test the SK8 950 and the Spitfire 840.

Dennis, Kalani, Jim, Jesse, Harris and a few others were out.

Decent wind - I didn't want to chance getting stranded (especially with No.32), so I opted for the SW2 5.2

First up was the SK8 950

To keep this series of posts a little less cluttered, I am placing the summary pictures here - another 30+ mile day

Strong winds - but they kept shifting around - made trying to liftoff difficult at times.

What I noticed about this foil -

It is super smooth - the flow is very nice.  You can actually see the weaving in my track below.

The whole setup is very light.  This helps when pumping through lulls and carrying the board back and forth to the beach.

This foil is high performance - at times I would look at my watch and see I was going much faster than I thought I was.  This foil is also whisper quiet.

This foil surfs like a fish - fast speeds and drawn out (but still tight in the pocket) turns.

Something else to note - I did not fall much with this foil - a different picture will be painted in the next couple of posts.

W:97/F:89/S:36

Evening Session - 9/14/2023

Evening session was smaller today than yesterday.

I caught some fun ones, but with the higher tide, the backwash was raging.

Prayot was out using the Eagle 990.  Roland was on the P140.

I have the P170 dialed in again for sure - not messing with this anymore as it is optimized.

W:92/F:88/S:35

Dawn Patrol - 8/22/2023

Pulled a dawn patrol with Nick and Lance.

I decided to prone foil - and setup the normal gear - Progression 170/Flex Rear Stabilizer/68cm Project Cedrus mast/4'8" Prone Foil Board

The wind was actually on the surf pretty early... and it turned the surf into a choppy mess.  I actually could have been winging.

I did get some rides in - I just couldn't turn upwind, otherwise I'd get slowed down to stall speed.

Despite the challenging/choppy conditions - it was really good hanging out with Lance and Nick!

W:82/F:81/S:32

Dawn Patrol - 8/12/2023

Dawn Patrol conditions were good this morning.  Decent sized swell running - you had to wait a little, but when the sets came in they were head high (while I was on foil).  The wind would eventually come up, but the for the first hour it was really light.  If the tide were a touch lower, more wave would have broken on the outside - but overall the session was really good!

I have been wanting to test more of the different foils that I have - today the Vyper 170 was bolted on.  It performed the way I thought it would - great roll when I wanted to bank off a shoulder, not so great pump back out, predictable lift on takeoff.

I had several really good waves - the foil just wants to flow.  I think I can drop a size on the stabilizer and that may help to regain some speed and carry during a recycle attempt.

I also noticed I needed more throttle on takeoff attempts - less surface area on the foil means less lift generated for a given speed compared to the larger foils I've used.  Basically I get up faster on the HPS980 and that foil being larger can provide more carry - and I can get takeoff using less battery power (which means I can stay out longer).

If you look at the picture above, you can see that Unifoil positioned the mast pocket closer to the front foil (as compared to the standard Axis mast positioning) - that means I needed to push the mast more forward using this foil.  I adjusted it once while I was out today and here is where it ended up (pretty much as far forward as it could go in the boxes).

Great session today!!!

Tomorrow the surf is forecasted to be slightly bigger - I'll either bolt on the 980/375, or use the Vyper 170 again but change the stab to the Kujira 218....

W:77/F:74/S:31

Evening Session - 8/11/2023

Evening prone foiling session the wash away the work week (and what a week it has been).

Decent conditions - good energy to ride, wind to cool things down (but not wingable), and a nicely high tide to avoid hitting bottom.

No.21, the Progression 170, the new asymmetric rear stab, the 14.875" rear stabilizer I normally use, and the 68cm Cedrus mast

I tested the new stab first.  It is definitely looser turning back side - there was hardly any resistance throwing the tail around.  But that did translate to a noticeable loss of lift.  On toeside, I felt like I could grab more water and wrench my turns just as hard as before (this side of the stab is nearly the same as my normal stab).

At the halfway point, I went in a changed out the stabilizer back to the normal one I use.  And just like that I was able to float around with not a lot of hard pumping and still carve the shit out of a rolling wedge of energy.

I have the asym placed on top of the standard

After the first test, I'd say this is a good stab to use when the waves have energy behind them and it's going to be a carving session (GL140, Vyper 170, Kujira 980).  I'd also like to try it winging - especially since I switch around alot and will be able to see what each side does.

Tomorrow morning the wind is supposed to be low... Foil Drive -

W:77/F:73/S:31

Wing Foiling Session - 7/30/2023

Yesterday was interesting.  First off, there was a regatta for wingers at Hickam.  La was more excited about that than I was.  She came with and I even brought the SUP out for her to paddle around and wing on if she felt like it (I brought the strap on keels so you can hold a line and even get up wind).

Noe also came and she wanted to wing.

The wind was super flukey - when we were setting up, Bill was out riding - by the time I was bringing gear to the beach he had come in and said the wind was swirling around and would swing 120 degrees.  Plus there were significant holes.

I set Noe up with the GoFoil GL180 on the 29.5" mast and the Reedin SW1 3.6.  She should have been on the Ensis V2 4.5 (but honestly that may have not made a difference today).

And there she goes!  I told her to go over to the left so she would have some runway to drift downwind.  The wind got weak by this time and it became slim pickings.

I went out on No.30, the Eagle 1090/DW210, the 85cm Project Cedrus Mast and Kalani's SW2 6.0 (this was a race after all).  I was able to get up in the light wind with this gear.

The winds were really swirly.

So swirly that I got caught off guard on one directional switch, got knocked off the board and straight into the port wing tip of the Eagle 1090.

I'll spare you the before pictures, but instead of racing, I was in the Emergency Room for 4 hours getting stitched up (the specialists did a great job).

Crazy winds... I think I'll start wearing my helmet again when I know the wind is weird.

W:74/F:68/S:31

Dawn Patrol - 7/23/2023

I brought the Foil Drive prone foiling setup this morning.  I got my confidence back!

Waves were mostly waist high, but every now and then a shoulder + set would come through.

The tide was rising to 1.0', and at least at the beginning the wind was down.

Dennis and Kalani were also out on FD - but using SUP foils.  It is really amazing how early they can get in with that equipment (And I know from personal experience just how hard it really is - see yesterday's post).

The waves were actually on the weak side - I did manage to snag one shoulder+ wave, but the rest involved a lot of pumping to get to sections where turning made sense.

Despite the minor negatives, another fun day on the water.

W:68/F:68/S:30

Evening Session - 6/29/2023

Headed out to WPB for an after work prone foiling session with Marlon.

Waves were small, and the wind would often reach winging speeds - but today was a day for Marlon to progress.

And progress he did - catching several waves and getting up on foil (although I think the mast could have come forward a notch so he would have been up higher on foil - but it's best to let each rider mae the call for when they are ready to take the next step).

I caught a bunch, got several recycles, some really sharp carving turns, and some fast downwind down-the-line runs.  The Progression 170 is such a great foil!

W:61/F:58/S:28