Fifth Winging Session

And to make an already great day even better, the wind came up.  I figured I should get it while it's here (forecasted to fall below 15 mph for the next several days).

I stayed out for nearly two hours.  The wind was up and down, but when it was on to had more east to it and that made for worry free riding.  Fun long runs back and forth.  At the end of each, I would try transitions - out to back I'd throw a tack.  I was very close to getting one without coming down from foil.  I got several tacks without falling off and often it was back up on foil quickly (as long as the wind was up).

At the end of the return leg, I would try jibing.  I got a few non-foiling jibes completed, but coming in at speed and trying to stay on foil while switching my stance proved to be a lot to ask.  Still -  practice makes perfect.  I may try to setup the 5'1" next session...

Windsurfing Lessons for Marlon and Winging Session #4

The wind was supposed to be up, and from the East just like the last time I went out. 

Marlon and I went out to Hickam and all along the drive there were signs the wind was not going to be like last time (Session 3).  We got there and the wind was blowing in more from the North.  I talked with the other wingers in the parking lot - they were mostly done and said the wind wasn't really good.  Marlon and I setup anyways (it looked promising).

Well - upon launching we both lost ground and spent the next hour trying to get it back so we didn't have to paddle upwind back in.  I ended up with some good runs the second half of the session.  I pulled of three moving tacks (touched down at the apex of the turn but got back up quickly) - hopefully I'll start nailing these sooner than later.  Would probably have made them if the wind had been coming from the East...

Marlon was out and sailing with almost no input from me.  At the beginning, I went through assembling everything again and discussed how to turn and uphaul.  He was suffering the issue that I was (lost a bunch of ground early and fought the whole session to get it back) - but got back to the launch spot with no drama!  Hopefully the winds will pull more east tomorrow.

Third Wing Foiling Session

Today was supposed to be the last day of brisker trade winds - so I brought my gear with me to work this morning.  I got off at 3pm (normal time) and drove over to the launch.  I was setup and running in a few minutes (would be faster if the foil could be transported mounted to the board - but the Hypernut is too long and so is the 29.5" + 3" track adaptor).

The wind was absolutely perfect!!!  More east and it was nice and strong.  I stayed out over an hour and was foiling all over the place - more than held my line and never felt overpowered (just flagged the wing).  I kept trying transitions and was getting tacks on the outbound run and jibes on the inside.  I was getting them, but not all the way on foil.  But heck - this is just my third session on the wing so I can't complain!!!  I love winging!!!

Second Session Wing Foiling

The wind was coming more from the east earlier today and it was blowing stronger.  I headed back to Hickam to get another session in.  I set the foil all the way forward this time (since yesterday I was having issues getting up on foil on starboard tack).  After I brought the board/foil to the launch, I took out the wind meter and I was seeing gusts to 25 with steady breeze at 16.  Not knowing what the range of the Duotone 6m is, I have to admit I was a little anxious/excited.

With the wind pulling more east, I was able to launch as soon as I cleared the point - and with the wind strength, I was up on foil pretty quick.  Everything was going better than yesterday.  I noticed once up on foil, everything calmed down - I wasn't having to fight the wing, and the board/foil just "went".  More than windsurfing ever was, Wing Foiling is totally about finesse.  Starboard tack foiling was easy today also - I can't say if it was the foil adjustment or the increased wind speed - probably both.  Most of my runs were up on foil (as opposed to yesterday when I was shlogging on starboard and only flying on port).  According to my watch, I got up to 13.7mph today.  I only overfoiled/breached once.  On most runs I'd have a lot of room to hold the wing out like a windsurfing sail and still had plenty of room below the wing tip.

There were several other wingers out today - the Commodore of Pacific Yacht Club was on a Duotone Echo also; there was someone out on a Slingshot V2 Slingwing; and as I was heading in a guy on a 4.6 Naish Wingsurfer V2 was out.  I'm glad I got the 6m Echo - knowing the winds around here, I'll need the power it has.  I also like the boom a lot - I can make small adjustments to my hand placement and make the wing balanced. I also liked moving my feet around - with no straps on deck, there was nothing to get in the way.  It made turning a little easier not having to step around/over things.  I did get one tack in without crashing and a few jibes - but these were not up on foil - the ones that were ended up being train wrecks.  I could sense the wind was shifting more to the North, so after an hour and a half, I called it and sailed in to the launch point.  I can tell this is going to be a fun addition to foil surfing!

First Winging Session

And La and I went to Hickam Beach to enjoy the water.  La went SUPing with the Starboard Element and I brought out the Starboard Hypernut, slapped on the Go Foil Maliko 200 (with the 29.5" Mast + 3" track mount).

The tide was dropping from a high of 2.3'.  The wind was blowing 12 to 16 mph, but there was a lot of North to it.  In fact, the longer the session, the more the wind shifted more North.  I actually was holding a line, but I got to a point where I just transferred the wing leash down to my ankle and started paddling in.

Winging is way easier than windsurf wave foiling - I got on foil on port tack and stayed on foil forever.  I was able to get on foil pretty much every time was close to the runway.  On the other hand, I was only able to get up on foil a couple of times.  I think this was mainly due to the north wind and me not wanting to go downwind to build speed.

Today's conditions are definitely at the low end of the Echo.  I never had to drop the wing, but I got close.  During the gusts, the wing felt really good.  Tomorrow is supposed to be better - stronger winds and more from the East.  Great start to winging!!!

Evening Session - 7/7/2020

Marlon and I hit WPB this evening.  The wind was down, as was the surf - but the tide was pretty high.  Marlon was catching everything on his longboard.  I tried something different.

I brought out the Starboard Hypernut with the Go Foil Maliko 200 and a SUP paddle.  I basically was trying to see what potential this setup had for the early wing foiling sessions.  You can get to your knees pretty easily on this board with the foil in place.  I figure this will be a good beginner wing foiling board.  No I didn't catch any waves today.  And yes this setup was a pain in the butt to carry.  But when I do get a wing, this should work well at Hickam Harbor.  Then when I can do turns and launch on both tacks, I can drop down to the as of yet unmade wingfoil board I've got on the rack.

Catch Up Post - Windsurf Foiling - April 13

I needed to get these photos from La, but couldn't until just now - so the few posts will be catch ups.  Last Saturday I went to Hickam to foil since the winds were supposed to be up and more easterly.  Well - the wind was up alright - too up - the gusts were way too much for sailing without a harness.

I started off rigging the 5.0 and had the Slingshot Infinity foil setup with the longer switch fuse.  It was hard to tell if this setup was better or not when my arms were getting ripped off.  I did get the whole rig up on foil, but decided it would be beneficial if I went in and rigged for less lift.

I rigged up the Naish Lift 4.7 and reconfigured the Slingshot foil back to the setup I use for surfing.  The wind got stronger and I was equally challenged (this windsurf foiling stuff on larger wings is definitely for lighter wind days for sure).  The wind was so strong I was waterstarting with ease and felt I could have been in footstraps and regular windsurfing.  I'll have to remember that next time the trades go nuclear...

Even after having my arms stretched - this is still the coolest thing out there!

FInishing Off This Repair Project

So yesterday I sanded the repair area down - primarily taking off the primer that was not needed.

Today I masked the board (and the garage)

And applied a couple of coats of almost matching blue spray paint.

Here is the board post spray paint application - the unpainted section is where the nose bumper will be applied (so this whole incident won't be repeated with an accidental mast strike).  I'll also put on a coat of urethane to protect the paint from scuffs.

I should have this done tomorrow afternoon.  Thank goodness (and now to get it wet again).

Repair is Ready for Paint and Finish Work

I sanded the excess epoxy off yesterday afternoon.  I'll tape of the parts of the nose and then add a coat of spray paint, then stick on the nose guard and wait for the wind or swell to pick up.  Pre sanding pictures -

Post sanding

I test fitted the high density nose guard - it'll look good on this board.  Now to get some dark blue paint...

Mast Strike Ding Repair

I figured it was time to patch up the mast strike ding.  After two and a half weeks of drying out, the board felt as light as the day I got it.  I ended up putting a 4oz patch on the nose followed by 4 3.7oz carbon fiber patches, and then two larger sheets of 4oz cloth to cover the whole nose area.  I ended up using 4.2oz of epoxy (figuring some of it ends up on the roller so I'm probably closer to 2.5oz on the board) and another 1.4oz of epoxy mixed with some cabosil to fill in the lap gaps.

This repair should make the nose a lot stronger than the original setup.

Tomorrow I'll sand the transitions down and prep the repair for a coat of paint.  This being Monday, the epoxy should be fully cured and ready to go by the weekend.

Vacuuming

Trying to pull more water out.

I think I got most of it.  I'll start the repair today.

Repairs

So here are the spots I'm going to repair on the Hypernut.  I do not see the need for filler - the damage was really just cracks and a few scratches.

In fact I may have to add some fiberglass just to balance out the weight.  I went ahead and sanded out the effected areas so I can get an idea of what coverage I'll need for the repairs.

I'll paint the leading edge and place a nose guard on to minimize the chance of this type of damage happening again.

I'll let the board dry out for a week, then get started on the repairs next weekend (hopefully).

All Stop (Sixth Time Windsurf Wave Foiling)

Another Friday evening, after work windsurf wave foiling session.  I used the Iwa front blade with the 29.5" - the wind was blowing hard (gusting past the mid 20's), mostly (when it wasn't, there were some big holes to slog through).  Still rigged the 5.0 Simmer Style as the steady breeze was 13 to 15 mph.

Beyond the conditions, the Iwa foil seemed to be a champ in the higher wind conditions.  I didn't feel the cavitation (???) or 'burping' that I did using the Maliko 200 at similar speeds.

I was able to get a bunch of long rides - pretty much runs from one end of the race track to the other.  There were several runs where I didn't even feel the sail pressure (sail was fully sheeted out).

All was not honky-dory... a few runs had porpoising, and one of those runs had the mast striking the board nose.  I got a crack on the top deck of the nose and a small blow out on the front rail.  Not a bad ding, but it'll be a pain to fix.  I'm going to modify the nose to prevent this from happening again...  But looks like I won't be windsurfing this setup for a couple of weeks.  La and the kids were at the beach and La got some great pictures of me flying the foil.  It is great learning something new!

5th Time Windsurf Wave Foiling the Hypernut

I went foiling this afternoon.  This morning the weather looking like it might not clear up - with lingering clouds and even some residual rain, I wasn't sure the wind would pick up but it did.  It turned out to be really nice!

It doesn't look like it, but the wind was blowing a steady 15 mph with gusts into the low 20s.  I setup the foil in the rearmost position today to see what the differences would be.  The obvious difference was that foil would lift later, but the surprise was I would end up in porpoising situations more often than previous sessions - porpoised probably 5 times, twice I got thrown forward of the board.  The wind did almost die twice, but even those times are fun (slogging training).  

Tonight I'm researching "how not to porpoise your foil".  Can't wait for tomorrow!!!

Shhhhhh - 5th time out on the Hypernut (Fourth Time Windsurf Foiling it)

I had to pull a longer shift on Sunday at work - and I had a family Holiday Party to get to afterwards.  But with the wind blowing, I didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to continue developing my foil skills.  The wind was forecasted to hang right around 15 mph, but by the time I got to the launch, there were zero whitecaps - still some texture to the water surface, but it was probably closer to 10-12.  I decided to keep everything the same so I could see what difference the wind speed would make.  My findings were the 5.0 I rigged was marginal - most likely would have done better rigging a 5.7 (and will do that next time).  Despite the under powered situation, I did still manage to get up on the foil more than a few times and for longer consistent runs.  Several dry jibes (not on foil, but just lots of balancing to keep dry) and I was able to make it back to the launch.  I haven't had this much fun going straight in a long time!!!

And I made it to the party - but not without getting caught (La used Life360 to see where I was at)!!!

Fourth Time Out on the Hypernut

I brought the windsurf foiling setup to work today - I was hoping the wind would hold up and that I would get to sail/foil after work.  I was not disappointed!  It was blowing steady when I pulled up to the parking lot.  The anemometer was showing 15 to 17 mph average.  I rigged up the 5.0 and set the M200 forward in the box (as to only change one variable from the previous session).

I lifted a lot this session - and for longer durations.  I was trying to learn how to control the lift and not get thrown - it all started feeling more comfortable by the end of the session.  In total I was probably up and flying at least 12 runs.

The wind seemed to be more easterly today - the runs lined up better with the launch.  Honestly, with the foil in the board and with me getting more comfortable uphauling the 7'4" Hypernut, I'm not even worried about making it back to the launch point.  By the end of the session the wind had dropped into the single digits and I didn't have a problem sailing back in.

It was dusk by the time I got back in - I was having so much fun I didn't want to stop!  I'm totally stoked that I get to do this!!!

Third Time Out on the Hypernut

I had the afternoon to myself (La and the kids went to a end of the season party for their sailing club) - so I went on a foiling jaunt.  The truck was made to do this ;)

The wind was supposed to be up, tradewinds - 15 to 25 mph from the NE.  I brought the 5.0 and 4.5 sails, and the Maliko 200.  All the foils are setup for plate mounting now.

The wind was blowing 15 mph with gusts past 20.  Then it would have a few lulls below 10.  I decided to rig the 5.0 with a looser outhaul (for more power when needed).  Foiling with larger wings that are spaced closer together is different than foiling with high speed foils (smaller wings spaced a lot further apart).  So instead of using large sails, I'm using smaller ones - but I'm trying to gage the sail size from my regular windsurfing experience - and knowingly dropping a couple of sail sizes.  The launch at Hickam Harbor is perfect.  You walk out to chest deep water, flip the board so the foil is down, hop up and uphaul.  At 106 liters, this Hypernut isn't exactly a high and dry floater, but I am getting used to balancing it while getting underway.  I made several runs and initially was worried about making it back to the the launch/landing site (there is nothing but rocks everywhere else) - but after a few  runs, I was pretty confident I could make it back  without issue - the foil mast and wings act like a huge fin providing lateral resistance to drift.  I still have to sail upwind and keep conscious of the line I'm sailing, but I think I can limp back to the starting point in low wind.  

Now for the good stuff - I got the foil to lift several times.  The first time I thought "whoa - I'm way up - this is really high off the water" and I proceeded to breach the foil to windward.  There are a lot of things going on all at once - pressure from my feet, the sail rig, where my weight is relative to the foil, position of the foil mounted on the board, and others I probably haven't thought of.  On subsequent runs I kept more front foot pressure and more pressure to the windward side of centerline, sheeting out more to reduce power and I was getting longer runs.  Of note, I also had the boom a hair too high up on the mast.

The thought I have running through my mind is what would happen if I have better control of the foil (exerting pressure to control the lift of the foil and not have to have it lift at random when I'm moving fast), can I further drop the sail size?  Especially since I've seen videos of people sailing in less wind with smaller sails (I just don't know how much those people weigh).  I'll keep a log of the sessions - equipment and weather conditions - and see if I can figure this out.

 The rigging spot has really nice grass.  There is a hose with good water pressure and drainage so I can rinse the gear (while it is also on grass - at a spot midway between the rigging spot and the launch).  And the walk is pretty short from the launch to the rigging spot.  I think I'll be sailing here a lot more than Kailua (closer to work and the house, way less crowded, less chance of the truck getting broken into, less work to setup-walk-launch-rinse-walk back).

Second Time Out on the Hypernut

I took the Hypernut out to Kailua today.  Lots of kites piled up on the beach when we arrived (lull in the wind).

I wanted to test the stability of the board with the foil inserted.  It was pretty stable - I didn't have an issue paddling it around.  I felt that I could have paddled into a wave - which is good news (this board isn't too small for me at 189# - it isn't a no-brainer, but it is on the doable range of paddling.

So after paddling around a bit, I came in and put the sail on.  I used the Naish Boxer 5.8 and I had plenty of power - so much so that I was even water starting.  Uphauling this rig on this board was challenging, but it was doable.

I even got up on the foil a couple of times - this being the first time on the board with the foil, and the first time with the board and the foil and a sail, my foot placement wasn't quite right and the foil would get away from me.

The wind got weak on me and I figured it would be best if I headed in - I ended up downwind of where I started so I took a short walk of shame.  But that said, I am hopeful that I can get more practice under my belt and with the additional experience, this will all start to click.

Not bad for a first outing!!!  And it felt good to windsurf Kailua again after all these years.

All the photos were taken by La with her new DSLR camera ;)