Wing Foiling Session - 5/29/2024

Harris and I are contemplating trading Spitfires - my 840 for his 900.  He wants a smaller/faster foil and I'm looking for a smaller Foil Drive foil that doesn't eat a lot of battery on takeoff.

We've been trying to meet up, but today was the first time it worked out.

Since I was there... yup, I winged.  North Mode Pro 4.8, No.36, Eagle 890/DW190, Evolution Cedrus Wind - PERFECT gear for today's conditions.

I moved the foil while out on the water a couple of times - here's where it ended up.

Oh - and my new Mystic Wing Foil bag came in - sweet package to protect the new board! 

The wind was a little up and down, but the gear handled it all well.

And actually I spent today's session focusing on tacks - mainly my inside toe-side tacks.  The video I watched saying "roll that wing over" made all the difference.  Normally I get maybe 25% of this tack - after taking these small actions, I am now making 90% - and they are as much fun as the hee-side tacks!

I have never done as many tacks in a session as I did today - super breakthrough day!!! 

Jim was out when I pulled up to the parking lot - but was beaching when I was finishing setup.  He's getting eye surgery in a week, so he's trying to get in as much water time as he can.  Looks like he had the better wind.

After working on my tacks, I headed out to Firsts to sampo some of da' waves.  Small kine today - but good fo exercising my juicing skilz.  I had a few good ones, then headed back so I wouldn't get too far behind the power curve (on getting through the afternoon traffic).

On the inside, I wanted to do some speed runs - I got some speed!

Fun quick session - that will go down in history (mine own) as the session that cemented the elusive toe-side tack!

W:63/FD:40/F:4/S:12

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 - 2/23/2023

La wasn't feeling well, so I stayed home until she was feeling better.  Around noon I was able to go to Hickam and grab a quick winging session.  Ryan and Jim were out - the wind was up and down still - but trending towards good.

I brought No.25, the Eagle 1090/DW210, and the RS 5.1.

I also used the Gath Helmet I recently got on Ebay for the first time.  This one has the retractable visor (for when it is ridiculously sunny - or rainy like yesterday was).

Usually on the first day back winging (after a dry spell) I like to take it easy, get a bunch of transitions in, and get my muscle memory established again.

I got in 12.31 miles in just under an hour.  My first transition was a heel to toe tack - these feel so good when they are executed correctly.  When the wind was right for it, I did pull a toe to heel tack on the inside.  The Eagle 1090 makes a huge difference in being able to pull this tack (for me).

I went out to Firsts and caught some really fun waves - especially one where I was in the pocket as it broke - 

The anemometer at the airport was messed up - but the wind was about perfect for the RS 5.1

That's a long time on foil (front half of the session).  And not a bad top speed for not trying too hard.

Wind is on tap for days according to the forecasts!  Small wings and small foils!

W:17/F:12/S:12

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 - 2/6/2023

It's Monday and I usually pick Noe up from school after work.  I had just enough time to sneak in a winging session before I had to leave to get to LCC.

The conditions were almost like yesterday - but the waves were a tad smaller.

I used the same equipment as yesterday - but no experimenting today - just trying to blast out there.  I love the wing - the Reedin SW2 4.7 - absolute perfection if you ask me.

And this foil/stabilizer combo - I've never been able to nail so many tacks back-to-back.  I'm going to keep using this combo (while the wind is in this range - the upcoming Wed through Fri sessions are a way different story...) to get my muscle memory developed for toe to heel tacks.

I did bring the 15" KD Marlin rear stabilizer and the shims to go with it - but I didn't want to lose any time today messing with gear.

I did my warm up before headed downwind and out the channel to Firsts.  I knocked out an outbound tack immediately followed by an inbound (toe to heel) tack, and then both jibes.  I did a few more runs in the flats - pulling more back-to-back tacks, duck jibes and high speed jibes - turning is so much fun!!!!

Then I headed out to Firsts.  The waves were small and pretty much not breaking - but they did stand up and you could ride those.  Harris came out and we were swapping waves.

Here's a more detailed look - 

Perfect wind for the 4.7!

I'm hoping the next generation Project Cedrus masts are built for speed - I feel like I am getting speed limited by the drag generated by the presented frontal area - so a narrower cross-section.

I'm not going tomorrow to make sure La gets to her appointments - but Wednesday I plan on taking out the 4'2" board with a larger foil on the 75cm mast.  This is another challenge I want to tackle this year - using a tiny board to wing.

W:9/F:7/S:11

Wing Foiling Session - 2/5/2023

The crew planned to go winging today at Hickam.  Got a late start (Kalani's SUV battery died while he was getting manapua - I took him to get a new battery; and then Roland decided to go with the rest of us to Hickam) - but that only helped as the wind got stronger as the day went on.

Today was a testing and training day.  I can't recall having used the F One Eagle 1090 on this board before - so that was test and evaluation No.1.  After the third session (and having placed where I thought it should go, coming in and pushing it forward, and then finally nudging it back - but still forward of the initial point), I had the position dialed to have equal pressure on both feet and marked it.

I also tried to install a foot hook/half strap onto the spot where the rear footstrap went.  I wanted to see if this is a suitable substitute for a rear strap.  I think the answer would be yes - if I had a point to which I could screw it in - the existing inserts are too far inboard.  This is something I'll include on the next board.

And lastly, I swapped the DW210 rear stabilizer for the KD Maui 15" Marlin.  This stabilizer moves through the water with minimal drag.  I left the shims for this stabilizer at home so I did not get it dialed in, but I did take it out for a spin and it definitely has tremendous potential.

As far as training, I practiced both tacks - heel-toe and toe-heel.  The heel-toe was the first turn I learned to perform proficiently.  My success rate with it has varied, but I have learned to more glide a front foil has (and the more power I go into the transition with) the easier it is to make the tack.  The toe-heel tack has been my worst transition - but today while using the Eagle 1090 and the 15" Marlin - I was making pretty much every tack!!!

These pictures are one of the heel to toe tacks.

And this is one of the toe to heel tacks -

So here are the runs - this first session was 6.72 miles.  1090/210 - well powered on the 4.7 SW2.

This next run I swapped out the 210 for the 15" rear stabilizer and got in another 7.02 miles.  This is the run where I was getting tons of tacks in.

Funny thing - I didn't go as fast on this run as I did on the other two runs.

This was my last run - got in 7.36 miles.  I took off the foot hook and put the DW210 back on so I could go out to Firsts with equipment I was fully comfortable with.  Here you can easily see the difference between a tack (sharp point) and a jibe (crossed over loop).

And I zoomed in to the Firsts area so you can see the tracks I laid.

And the blue line about corresponds to the down slot below.

Great wind today!!!

Full house today - two guys I didn't know plus Arvin, Bill, Jim, Matt, Jesse, Ryan, Ken, Tim, Kalani, Roland and Harris.

I got four sets of gear into the truck today - 

W:8/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)!