Wing Foiling Session - 6/19/2023

La dropped me off at Hickam as she went on to check out some shops in town.  The wind was supposed to be dead (FORESHADOWING) and Bill and I were going to test drive some Foil Drives, but it was strong enough to wing with a 5.2 and the 1090.

Midday winging - you need lots of sun protection.

The wind was pretty light - strong enough in the gusts to get up easy, but then it would lull out to just enough to stay on foil.  I spent this session just making turns - which I think is just as fun as riding waves.

Heel to toe tacking is the transition that takes the most commitment - leaning hard into the turn is an act of faith that you will come out the other side and ride away.  It is also a great g-force generator (which is addicting).

Jibes are better in lighter winds - you keep up your board speed and have a much higher chance of keeping up on foil compared to tacking.  Done tight, they can be just as fun as tacks.

I used a mount that I haven't used that much - but I kept losing GoPros when using the magnetic mounts.  This one is a clamp.

With the wider wing span of the 5.2, I got this shot -

You can see from the track I had a great session upfront.  Then the wind just died.

I think the Nova 8m would have carried me through - but I guess I could look at it as me getting some paddling in today.

It was good while it lasted - but such is the nature of thermals.

Bill did go out on his Foil Drive.  He had it mounted high on the mast - but for where he was, I think he would have had more fun with it in eFoil mode (lower on the mast).

W:55/F:56/S:28

Wing Foiling Session - 2/13/2023

The wind was forecasted to be wingable strength, with a favorable ENE direction for one more day.  Throughout the day, there were signs it was going to ramp up - but it only got up to the marginal range.

Unfortunately for me I only brought out my RS5.1 (not the 6.1 of the North LW 8.0).

Having has psycho nuking winds for the past several days spoiled me.

I bolted on the F One Eagle 1090 setup.  This foil does get up early and is responsive to pumping.

I didn't stay out long - and my motivation was not getting stuck outside.

This picture was from the only tack I got in today.  My objective today was to just work on tacks (so much for that).  Leaning in to heel-toe carving tacks is so much fun!!!

The rest of my transitions were jibes - just trying to stay up on foil...

And these pictures are pretty much in reverse order (you can follow my trail below - the tack was the last thing I did before going in).

Not having to swim in definitely caps a short but good day of turning.  The northerly shift seems to have arrived early.

Not a bad top end speed considering the conditions.

I guess it's time to break out the surfboards again for the evening sessions!

W:16/F:7/S:11

Wing Foiling Session - 4/1/2021

There was some wind this afternoon - on the light side, but I'll take it!  I had the wide WFB, HS1850/Chopped 300 Rear Stabilizer paired with the Ensis 6.0

The wind had a lot of north in it today - pretty much offshore the whole time.  There were also a few lulls where I had to wait for a gust to get back up on foil.

I spent today running the inside tracks.  I wanted to practice my turns - got at least one of each of them - but I really had fun with the inside jibes.  I'd start on my weak side on heels, wait for the wing to get powered, switch feet and drop into a carving downwind turn, finishing up with switching the wing's direction.  The best part was not coming off foil during these turns.  On my outbound tacks, the wind was so up and down that I'd complete the turn, but I'd come down from foil and had to catch more air to get moving again.

Using the HS1850, I got to 14.7 kts - no surprise (drag limited).  From the chart below, you can see the lulls and also the runs where I stayed on foil through the turns.

Fun session (as always)!

Wingfoiling Session - 12/19/2020

The wind was supposed to be slightly less than yesterday - I ran some errands with La and Noe while waiting for the wind to come up.  It was 11 by the time we got to Hickam Harbor and the wind had filled in nicely - maybe even as strong as yesterday.  I pushed the mast further up by another 1/4" to lessen the back foot pressure I was having to exert yesterday.  There were a couple of other wingers that came in as I was headed out - they said the outside was more consistent.  Everything felt great today - foil was balanced, wing was just a touch too big for the gusts (but perfect for the steady state breeze), and I was practicing jibes (like this one below)!

This next picture is pretty significant.  It has only been over the last few sessions where I've been able to complete jibes.  Yesterday felt like walking through the jibe door.  Today was back to back success.  I have been nailing my outbound jibes now and even riding toe side for significant distances.  This picture is me coming out of an inbound jibe and riding out of it.  I am crediting the Armstrong foil's maneuverability in getting me to this point.

Honestly I felt very comfortable winging today - through the gusts and sheeting out to manage, going through the turns both tacks and jibes on the outside (missing both on the inside - but getting better).

The scratch repairs I did yesterday felt really good - the foil was quieter and smoother through the water.  I did feel like I was limited in speed - I think next time I may either swap out the Uni 300 for the HS232, or swap the HS1850 for the HS1250 - but only one so I can discern what differences each change is making.  But this is supposed to be the end of the wind for a bit.

My hands are so worn out from winging these last two days

I stayed out for 2.5 hours.  My arms, back, legs and hands were all Jello when I came in - and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face!

After Work Wing Foiling Session - 11/13/2020

Hit Hickam again after work today.  The wind had lightened up a bit by the time I got there (4pm) so I pumped up the 6.0 - the board and foil were the same as the previous days.  You can see in the picture the wind was fairly light on the inside - but if you squint, you can see Harris riding on the outside and he is lit on his 4.4.  I got lit too once I made it out there -

Even though it looked light, I was able to milk enough juice to get up on foil quickly.  I was pulling upwind easily so I decided to fall off a bunch to get to the channel and I rode out to the end of the runway where Harris was.  I was able to get lined up, and got on a couple, but it wasn't like prone foiling.  I also couldn't flag the wing (never had to before) and that made me outrun the waves.  The wind started to get light so I started back.  Then it pretty much died for about 20 minutes.  In these lulls I practiced pumping the wing and the foil to get up sooner than just waiting for the wind to blow harder.  I also got more practice on the tacks and even got a couple of jibes in (because I had to way out there).

I took this picture just because - need some gas?