Parawing Session - 7/5/2026

I went to pick up a second hand Foil Drive High Output rotor - then picked up Kalani and Stu at the NEX parking lot

I brought No.40 - which I'm thinking of taking to the gorge in August.  AFS Enduro 1100/Mako Carve Pro Medium/80cm UHM mast - power provided by the BRM S3 4.2

Another day of crazy winds - up/down - swirly and everything in between.

I spent the first runs trying to get my bearings - wind was not making it easy.

After several runs, and multiple jibes - I went out to Firsts.  The waves were supposed to be pretty sizeable.  I was able to get a few - but no retracting - wind was directly offshore.

I also worked on both tacks - and at the end of the session I was sailing out of the tacks

Crazy wind - but the 4.2 handled nicely

There is plenty of wind on the horizon... just hope it settles out and is less crazy.

PF:8/W:3/PW:70/FD:53/S:20

Parawing Dawn Patrol - 7/4/2026

Forecast favored Kailua - but reality did not match the forecast.

There was texture on the water when I was setting up - but that quickly changed.

And the parking lot was pretty crowded - the 4th of July brings everyone out to the beach.  The "tent'icles were all out and more were coming.  I actually don't like going to most beaches on holidays... too crowded and people are everywhere.

AFS Enduro 1100/Mako Pro Medium on No.34.  BRM S3 5.3 for power - but I actually needed more...

So to start - I didn't get skunked, but I wasn't far from it.

The wind was just below the lower limit of the Enduro 1100 - S3 5.3

I did get up on one gust and was getting along fine on the lower wind level.

I jibed on the outside, caught a wave, retracted the parawing and started riding the wave.  But it was mushing out and when I tried to redeploy the parawing, down I went.

And that was the end of foiling for today.  I spent the rest of the time paddling or hoping the gust was enough.

I did not do the walk of shame - but did have to paddle back.

I don't think the Enduro 1300 would have helped - the wind was just too light.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.  Lately it's been a losing proposition as the wind has been fluky.

Probably a sign to start prone foiling again... 

PF:8/W:3/PW:69/FD:53/S:20

Parawinging Session - 6/28/2026

Lazy Sunday - I didn't get out and about until later today, and water time wasn't until mid afternoon.

The reports showed Hickam to be the best bet.

I wanted to mix things up - No.42 with the AFS Enduro 1100/Mako Carve Pro on the short fuselage and 80cm UHM mast.

Power provided by the BRM S3 5.3m parawing.

The wind was a little up and down - but that was good practice for pumping up onto foil.  Which I had to move the mast up from where I had originally started (balance point).  I still think I can move the foil forward some more.... but it kinda is far up as it is.  No.42 is my version of a light wind board, but I felt like I needed more wind to get up.

With the high tide, I felt like playing around - made three trips out to Firsts to pick up a good wave and ride back in.

Holes....

Holes and the forced pit stops.

Nice low stress session! 

PF:8/W:3/PW:66/FD:52/S:20

Afternoon Parawing Session - 6/22/2026

The forecast was calling for the trades to fill back in.  And on the drive home after work, there were signs the wind was blowing.

This is just as I got to the parking lot - nice texture on the water.  The wind line was a bit further out than normal, and the waves were about chest high.

AFS Enduro 1100/Mako Carve Pro Medium, Short fuselage, 80 cm mast all bolted on to No.34

BRM S3 5.3 was the engine of choice.

As usual - the wind shifted around as I paddled out.

Prayot came out after and had his Vayu 6m.  He had a few points where he was down - but he was having a much better session than I was. 

I did not get skunked - and I used the time that I was up on foil to get the mechanics of takeoff, riding and transitioning back down.

The wind had a hard north component and that made for difficult retracting.  I tried twice but it wasn't worth it.  The botched redeploys added insult to injury.

The wind strength explains a lot.

And with the larger waves still breaking outside - it made me think today would have been a good day to burn a battery on Foil Drive.  I'll keep a closer eye on the conditions tomorrow.

I don't mean to sound down on today's session - it was nice to be out on the water.  The time up on foil was a bonus.

PF:8/W:3/PW:61/FD:51/S:20

Parawing Session - 6/5/2026

Did a downwind run from WP -

down to PVs

Norm and Stu used wings (Norm used a 4.0m - Stu on a 5.0)

I used No.34 with the AFS Enduro 1100/Mako Carve Pro

Power provided by the BRM S3 5.3

Initially I thought the 5.3 would be too much PW for the wind that was blowing through.  It actually was just a bit above perfect for most of the session.

And the surf hadn't quite settled as much as the forecast said it would - still some head high sets running through the course.

The wind angle was more into the wave trains - that makes retracting the parawing tough.  I mainly rode swell while drifting the parawing.

I wondered if the 4.2 would have worked in the wind present.  This graph is the wind over at Hickam - it would be 3 to 5 mph less over at WP.

Honestly I was still a little iffy from the Tuesday session out at PVs.  I stuck to simple jibes to make sure I didn't come off foil (not wanting to experience the current drag again).

Kalani also set out to do the DW run, but 1/3 the way down his rear lines pigtail connector broke.  He turned back and made it back to WP.

Norm had a hard time starting - but once he got up on foil he was able to stay up.

It was a good run, but I need to shake this ghost...

PF:8/W:3/PW:57/FD:41/S:18

Parawing Session - 5/24/2026

Dawn patrolled Kailua with Stu and Prayot.

When we got there the wind was blowing, but it was just below 4.0 strength.

I bumped into Erik and he said he thought it would pick up shortly.

Prayot was there already and he had just bought this F One 6'4" 85 liter board from Felipe.  And he ran the Orca 800 today.

I setup the AFS Enduro 1100 and with the wind, I packed the BRM Maliko 4.0

This session was phenomenal!!!

Perfectly powered on the Maliko 4.0

Swell at Jump City was perfect fun size - slightly overhead, and ran forever!  The tracks to the left of the chart below are all retracted parawing riding - carving and stalling for the pocket (and banking hard on the bowled peaks) - the stuff of dreams!!!

Definite patterns in the runs today

Perfect 4.0 wind!

Midway through the session, I lost the buckle on the leash/reverse J hook belt.  I had to go in and jury rig the hook on to the stash bag belt.  From that point on I "assisted" the hook to make sure not to overload the stash bag belt buckle.

Doesn't get much better than this!!!

PF:8/W:2/PW:52/FD:37/S:17

Parawing Session - 5/22/2026

The wind looked steadier today - but it was actually more challenging than yesterday.  Twisting wind, getting stuck in no man's land in large chop, and not having the right parawing up when it was needed were the things to deal with.

I opted for the AFS Enduro 1100 and associated equipment.

I brought the BRM Maliko 2.9 and 4.0.  They both fit in the larger NSI stash bag.

I had a lot of down time today.  Mainly having one parawing up and needing to wait for the conditions to use it.  Or the chop in front of the cabins was bad and I couldn't maintain balance.

Early in the session, I was getting back-to-back retract and ride waves.  But that evaporated relatively quickly.

Then the wind shifts started.  And I got blown into the dead zone...

I eventually made in back to the area above Fenceline.  With the smoother water in this area (where I normally wing), it was way easier to get up on foil and move where I wanted to.

Way more holes than last week.

It's Memorial Day weekend - lots of crowds to maneuver through...

PF:8/W:2/PW:49/FD:37/S:17

Parawing Session - 5/19/2026

Almost a repeat of yesterday.

Wind was good, but not as steady or strong as yesterday - and it was a bit swirly, especially on the back half of the course.

Nice high tide again.

And the waves had similar energy to yesterday.

Launch point -

Robby was on Foil Drive (testing out a tiny race stabilizer).

Norm had the same setup as yesterday.  And Kalani came out today - and tried the Code 985X (or whatever it was)

I bumped up the foil to the AFS Enduro 1100 - insurance with the slightly iffy winds.

And the landing -

The waves were really good up above Fenceline - got a few stashed parawing rides that reeled for quite some time.

I was pretty much holding my line while riding - then I looked for Norm and Robby and they were both almost at Campgrounds.  I started heading downwind at this point.

You can see at Campgrounds the wind was coming in from different directions.

The waves over here weren't as good for retracting the parawing, so I just had it in drift position.  I really love flying the BRM S3!

This is Hickam's wind chart - I think our run was a notch below this (pressure reduction from up there to PV is enough to make a difference).

Pretty much the same as yesterday on top speed.  I definitely pushed the Enduro 1100 -

Another fun session!!!

Wind should be stronger tomorrow - I'll likely setup the Cab P905 and the Maliko 4.0

PF:8/W:2/PW:46/FD:37/S:17