Dawn Patrol - 4/19/2026

I decided to surf again on the dawn patrol.  The tide was lower than I prefer for foiling.

And there was still enough energy to do well on a surfboard.

And I wanted to test these fins out - the NVS S Wing Twins.

I caught more than a couple of handful of waves - but really four good ones where after a fun takeoff I was able to get some turns in.

These fins feel like the raked out fins they are - best for longer more drawn out turns that you would want from a longer walled up front side wave.  Probably not the best call for a punchy beach break.

I think on a bigger day, these would be fun on the Seaside and Beyond.

But for now my preference for the Sweet Potato is still the BMTs and a small trailer.

PF:5/W:2/PW:31/FD:30/S:14

Dawn Patrol - 11/1/2025

Hit the dawn patrol today.  The waves were smaller than yesterday - and made me question my judgement to bring out shortboards.  But realistically, this testing day was to help me decide what to do about my equipment debate.

The tide was on the low side - so in that regard I was glad to have the surfboards out.

I started out with the Firewire Cymatic (5'9" 34 liters).  I placed the Futures Alpha Vector 3/2 large trifin set in place.

I actually had fun on this setup.  I could feel the speed potential, but the waves I caught were a tad bit too small to get any great turns out if them.

I caught a handful of meh rides and paddled in.

Then I set up the CI Neck Beard 2 with the same fins.

With the little extra length and more volume, I was able to get into the small waves a little easier, but there still wasn't enough energy in the waves to push maneuvers.

What this experience showed me was I don't want to have to use boards with too little volume on smaller days.  And this pretty much was the deciding factor on my wanting to get the Firewire Neutrino 5'8" at 33 liters volume.  I'd be much better off with a 36 liter version, but I don't feel like the 5'10" version would be as fun for me.  I even went to Clips Surf Shop this evening to put the 5'8" under arm.  Unless I can get this board used or on sale, I'm going to pass.

I also talked to the saleman about my experiences with the Cymatic, the Revo Max, the Sweet Potato, and other boards - and then I found the one... the Album Twinsman Twinzer 6'0" at 37 liters.

I'm going to research this a bit more but this feels right - and all because I wanted to see what I could do this morning with a smaller board.

W:58/FD:127/PW:61/S:11

Evening SURF Session - 10/28/2025

Yesterday when I got home I crashed on the couch for a couple of hours.  I was groggy when I got up, but I knew the wind was down and I wanted to paddle around for some exercise.

Despite what is in the picture, these waves were rideable - especially with the lower tide.

Roland was setting up his Foil Drive when I got there.  I wanted to use this session to get back to surfing for a bit.

And here is what I have been wanting to test out - the True Ames Tappy Twins plus a Tappy Trailer fin.

The Firewire Sweet Potato has been such an awesome board for me - as long as the waves are waist high, I can get some really satisfying turns in.

I picked up a handful of waves in the 40 minutes I was in the water.  A couple of them I was able to get in some great turns.  Another just kept on going and even though the turns were not as hard as the other two referenced, they were more than satisfying!

These fins really feel great in this board.  Like the Tappy Quads I had out last time, these felt more subtle - they were there doing their job, but doing it so well I didn't notice them.  No tracky, sticky feelings - release coming off the top turns, and drive going into a bottom turn - these let me do what the section in front of me expected me to do, and I was able to do it well.

These do have more "presence" than the quad set did - but I'll do some back-to-back testing to really get the differences down.

Super fun session!

W:57/FD:127/PW:60/S:9