Dawn Patrol - 1/4/2025

Hit the dawn patrol at WPB with Marlon this morning,

Nice conditions!  High tide, low wind and fun sized swell.

Marlon opted to foil this morning!  He said he got several rides!

Same as what I've been setting up as of late - but moved it up a notch - which ended up being perfect!!!  Time to mark this setting for the Spitfire 960.

These conditions are really good for working out mast positioning.

When the water is this smooth - I get more battery life.  I actually got out of the water with 40% after this longer session.

Zero pattern - I was just chasing the swell where the high tide would allow it to develop a pocket.

18 rides this morning - good fun!!!

There may be a chance of west wrap coming through tomorrow...  I may bring a surfboard in addition to the Foil Drive just in case it is that good.

W:1/FD:3/PW:1

Wing Foiling Session - 11/15/2024

The wind was up again - and even though gusty, the conditions seemed better than the day before (at least for me).

After the long-haul paddle in at dusk event at the previous session, I opted to go with a more powerful wing and the Eagle 890.  I also reset the foot straps on to No.36 (still need to adjust the port strap)

SW2 4.2 - it's been a while since I pumped that wing up.

Good stats - average speed down as I ended up taking a few breaks in the water.  The SW2 with the soft handles is a little rougher on the elbows...

Lots of waves today.  The low tide made for a long paddle out to get to deeper water - and landing was tricky, but I did get through the session without issue today.

The dense part of the chart below is where the outside wave bowls - you can dig hard on the bottom turn and bounce of the top of the wave nicely here.  Marlon took some drone footage - and the regulars were going off - we'll see what is on the videos.

Kalani had his foil take out the front of his wing (still repairable with tape - but it is bagged out).  Prayot ended up hitting the bottom with his AFS Pure 900 - just after he got the stabilizer to quiet down.

There were times I felt overpowered on the 4.2 - but I did not want a repeat of the previous session.  

No surprises here.  With the chop and turbulence, top speed was to be expected.

Fun session!!!

W:143/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:20

Wing Foiling Session - 11/10/2024

Marlon and I hit WPB for a mid-day foiling session.  He went prone foiling again - he caught a handful, with two good ones, then he put the drone up.

Prayot went out earlier and was back to swap out foils.  Kalani initially set up the Dragonfly - but had swapped out to the higher volume drifter.

Anticipating conditions similar to yesterday, I brought No.36 and the SK8 950/C195 - to be better prepared for surfing.

I pumped up the same wing I've been using for the past several sessions.

That said - the session started out phenomenal!!!  Turns and carves galore!!!  Plenty of power in the wing and everything was dialed in - the SK8 950/C195 were the right foils for today.

That is until it wasn't - 

I ended up going down on the outside and the wind dropped off.  It was a really long lull and I drifted pretty far down wind.  Eventually the wind came back and I was able to get back up on foil.

I beat feet back to the area by Fenceline and was back in play. 

These were taken after I came back from the dead zone

Drifting for that long and that far over is not a confidence inspiring act.

At least I didn't have to swim back.

Those are some deep lulls... the forecasts called for stronger, steadier winds - basically you get what you get and you just have to deal with the conditions you have.

Looks like I was down more than I was up.

Despite the bobbing - this was still a really fun session.  I cranked out some really fun craving turns - give me more of that!!!!

W:139/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:19

Dawn Patrol - 7/7/2024

Dawn Patrolled WPB this morning.  I brought out No.37 and the Foil Drive - Marlon brought his new longboard.

There were waves on the outside, but they were intermittent.  There was zero wind while I was out, and the tide wasn't low when I got there (but it was dropping).

I bolted on the Spitfire 960/Skinny 365 = perfect for the chest high waves that were coming through on the outside.

Marlon longboarded for an hour - then he switched up to flying the drone.

I had some really great rides today!  Tons of hard carving and speed runs down the line.  I got to play matador with a couple of the overhead ones that were breaking on the outside - so easy when the conditions are this glassy and smooth! 

I came in with a decent amount of battery power - 48% (but I didn't want to make La upset with me being out forever).  Pretty good stats today!

Kalani was out ripping on the board he recently picked up (and the one I placed transmission windows in).  Dennis was also out.  There was another guy on a bigger SUP with a Foil Drive Assist Plus.  I saw Tim foiling when I was heading out - and Noel was out in the outside lineup with us.

Really long lefts today.

Looks like the waves were all breaking over the same high spot again.

I'll call this 15 waves in an hour and a half.

I love this s4!t!!!!

W:82/FD:48/F:4/S:13

Dawn Patrol - 5/26/2024

Dawn patrolled this morning with Marlon.  He brought his longboard -

I brought the Foil Drive.

The tide was low, and so was the wind.  The swell was surprisingly good - maybe overhead on the good sets. 

I had some fun rides!  With the lower wind, the surf was actually behaving nicely.  Not buttery smooth, but way better than it has been.

Noel, Dennis, and Kalani were out on SUPs.

I had one wave where I outran one section, waited for the reform and shot back across to the other side and repeated the outrunning on the other side.

I ended up with 15 rides today - several of the spikes above are aborted takeoffs - the waves were moving too fast.

Super fun morning!!!

W:61/FD:39/F:4/S:12

Evening Session - 2/16/2024

My neck seems to be back to normal - so after a quick nap this afternoon, Marlon and I hit the beach for an evening session.

The waves were not as clean as yesterday - but if you waited and had the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time, there were some gems to be had.

Marlon brought his longboard, his new drone and his water photography equipment.  He longboarded first and was catching a bunch of nice waves.

I had expectations that the XXL swell hitting the North Shore would have enough West in it to wrap around to WPB.  The reports from yesterday were that it was showing at Swabbies and Bunkers, but that wasn't the case at WPB today.

What I did get to do was swap out the fins on the GWT from the Endorfin Twins over to a set of True Ames Stussy Power Twins. 

The profiles of the two sets of fins were not far off from each other, but the Power Twins are made of volan so they are meant to flex way more than the Endorfin Twins.

It was actually pretty crowded despite the time of day - a lot of Wavestorms in the lineup. I was not overly aggressive in trying to catch a bunch of waves - I was still gun shy for my shoulder/neck muscles.   But I did catch a couple of nice ones.  

If the swell was a foot more, the GWT would have been the magic carpet.  Today's conditions were more suited to the Sweet Potato - but it was a really good session to get into the water!  From what I could tell - I think I will enjoy surfing with the Power Twins.

W:13/FD:12/F:4/S:8

Wing Foiling Session - 12/23/2023

So that last winging session wasn't the last of the year - the forecast was calling for good strong winds this morning at Kailua.  Marlon and Kaylani came along to check the sunrise and take pictures.

It's always good when the forecast ends up being what you are observing.  Yup - strong wind!

No.32 with the F One SK8 950/Carve 200, and the Reedin SW2 4.7m wing

Despite some initial issues (couldn't get up on foil for several minutes at the start - drifted down a bit before picking up a gust) - this was a good session.

The waves were sizable and even breaking - but if you followed the wind to pick off the waves from further east, it got really choppy and bumpy quick.

Spent a lot of the session up on foil.  When I did go down it seemed related to the venting fence position.

20.1mph - not too shabby.  About 2/3s the way through the session a pretty significant squall moved through - it felt really good to be powered up on a smaller wing.

I picked up plenty of long rides, but the waves weren't pushing all the way through (needs just a little more size or a lower tide).  Marlon got several videos today (and he got them to me so I could use clips from them in this post).

The F One SK8 has a more relaxed feel to it.  It turns incredibly - but the Axis Spitfires turn harder and with more intensity.  

So more on the ventilation fence.  After moving this to higher up the mast, I did have more control today.  I think I only had 3 vents, and I recovered from one of them.  The other two were in some really choppy conditions.

I'm pointing to the original location.  I've already removed the fence and will likely place it another 0.5" higher.

Super fun at Kailua!

W:126/F:108/S:58

Winter Surf on the South Shore

Low tide this afternoon and the rain clouds were starting to breakup (after nearly a week of persistence).  I was hoping to take out the Pigfish, but ......

The surf was really small at WPB.

So small I figured I'd be better off not going in.

It's rare I turn down a session - but at this point I figured I'd be better off working in the garage.

Marlon did get a chance to fly his drone around.  He found a manta, but no sharks.

Hopefully tomorrow is a little better (Foil Drive).