Wing Foiling Session - 6/20/2024

Grabbed some winging time again today.  The wind was stronger than yesterday.

I setup the same gear as yesterday - 

Save the wing - with the stronger wind I pumped up the Ezzy Flight 4.0

Kalani, Gary and Roland also headed out.

The wind was really good.  And with the wide open exposure to the ocean, the wind swell was rideable!

A notch stronger than yesterday.  For most of the session I was up and ripping.  But there were a few lulls where I had to wait for gusts to get back up.

Yes - I forgot my watch and my GoPro.  I used my phone to get the track and speed data.

Tomorrow should be similar to today.

W:73/FD:44/F:4/S:12

Wing Foil Session (Second) - 3/5/2024

Second session was at Hickam - partially so I could get Ken's board back to him and Kalani's fuselage and front foil back to him.  The other reason we came was to get some waves at Firsts. 

I forgot my watch and I didn't drive the truck (so no phone case) - so no data this session.

The wind was lighter than I thought it was going to be.  I'm glad I brought No.34 - but instead of it being for the extended mast tracks (to get the Eagle 690 on a test run), it was for its light wind starting capabilities.

It was Kalani, Nick and I.  Then eventually Prayot and Roland came out.

I did three runs out to Firsts - I got some fun ones, but I think Kalani and Prayot had impeccable timing and landed some really nice rides.

If I had brought my watch, I would have tried the 690... maybe next time -

W:26/FD:15/F:4/S:8

Wing Foil Session (First) - 3/5/2024

Nick and I did a winging dawn patrol at Kailua.  When we pulled up, there was nuking winds....

That turned out to be a really big squall.  Lots of rain clouds passed through at the same time.  We had set up the small wings - but after the wind dropped we pumped up the bigger wings - for me the SW2 4.7, while Nick pumped up his Cab Mantis 6.0 

I used the Eagle 890 but swapped out the rear stabilizer with the monobloc DW190 that I got from Jeff.  The mast was positioned pretty much where the SK8 950 was.

The winds were much better than yesterday and so were the waves.

Lots of wave riding - more straight south instead of angling up to stay pointed at the launch - but that was fine since there was plenty of wind.

You can see the squall at 8am, and the subsequent drop to nothing.  We were out for a little over an hour and a half - wanted to save some energy for the afternoon session.

I didn't really try to break a speed record - just wanted to be out and have fun without working too hard for it.  Its easy when the gear lines up with the conditions.

W:25/FD:15/F:4/S:8

Wing Foiling Session - 3/1/2024

Winging yesterday was EPIC!!!

As Kalanni and I drove up we both said "Holy Shit!!!" as we saw a pretty good set breaking outside.  There were steady whitecaps and not too many clouds (to suck out the wind).  The only downer was the low tide (but it would rise as the day went on).

Nick and his family were already there - I gave him a tutorial on how to get out before he went to take his daughters surfing. 

I pumped up the SW2 4.2 and used the same foil/board combo from the previous few sessions.

I forgot my watch, but did bring the GoPro

I think I was out for three hours - and I was up on foil for the majority of the session.  The winds ended up being up and down, and the waves were firing until the tide started to fill in.

It was Kalani and I for a bit.  Nick, Roland, Prayot and Duke eventually came out.  The waves had settled down by that time.

I went in ahead of the others (as I had already been out a while and got more than my fill - and the wind was dropping, not enough to reliably use the 4.2)

I have really taken to the SK8 950 - it just turns so well and even though it doesn't turn as hard as the Spitfires, it also doesn't have the pitch stability quirkiness (which in some cases isn't a negative). 

Epic!!!!

W:23/FD:13/F:4/S:8

Wing Foiling Session - 2/29/2024

I wasn't going to go winging today - I actually planned on placing epoxy on the board repairs I have in the garage (so I can get those back to their owners and open up room to shape Matt's board) - but the crew was buzzing on What'sApp and I figured oh well - gotta go.

The wind looked like it was up and down.  The waves looked small but decent, and the tide was rising.

Norm and Kalani were both out and Roland was getting setup when I got there.

There were some whitecaps so I setup the SW2 4.7.  I went with No.32 and the SK8/C200

I stayed to the section above Fenceline to stay in the stronger breeze.  The other guys would gravitate towards the better surf in front of the cabins and then get stuck in the dead zone.

I had some fun waves, even though they were smaller than the previous days.  There is supposed to be a new swell showing up, but it wasn't showing yet.

Plenty doable with the equipment combo I took out today!

I saw a 19.8 mph top speed buried in the data (there was another errant data point that screwed up the whole chart again).

Fun session!!!

W:22/FD:13/F:4/S:8

Wing Foiling Session - 7/8/2023

Saturday morning winging!!!  Strong trades are back - but you have to wait for the sun to warm things up before the flow opens up.

Low tide (rising), small waves and the typical Saturday morning crowd...

Although the board swap meet helped keep some of the crowd on land.

It was also an Access Surf Saturday so that crowd was in the water.

While waiting for the wind to come up, lots of foilers launched and finished their sessions (as the wind ramped up) - Tim, Ryan, Andrew, Matt, Noel and a few others I couldn't place.

Same gear.  Honestly I could have sized down for the first half of the session.  I wasn't overpowered, but the wind was strong.  With the increase in Tiger Shark sightings, I just feel better with the bigger gear - I can get up out of the water that much faster with it.

The second half of the session did see a drop in the wind speed - and then I was really glad I had the bigger equipment.

I was pulling tacks on to incoming waves - probably my favorite transition.  

And there is that dip in the wind.  You can only rig one way (gusts or lulls).

The summary said I hit 21 knots - that is 24.15 mph.  I think it is time for a new GPS watch....

It's nice to have proper trades back!

W:65/F:63/S:28

Wing Foiling Session - 7/7/2023

After work - the conditions were great for winging!  Except maybe the low tide (which was rising) and the small waves (which sets did roll through every now and then) - but take what you got and have fun!

This is pretty much my standard winging package right now.

I was flying a solo mission today - and I tried not to think about the big shark that was sighted patrolling around WPB yesterday.  I did my best to stay up on foil but there were times it was really challenging to do so.  Big wing and big front foil do help.  I tried so hard to stay up on foil that I really didn't even try tacking.

ENE trades are back!

The graph is from the airport - and it didn't seem this strong while I was out - it was enough to keep on foil.  There would be good gusts coming through - but the stronger wind comes later this weekend.

Top speed was likely from a nuking gust.

Not bad stats for an afternoon run.

W:64/F:63/S:28

Wing Foiling Session - 4/10/2023

Hit WPB after work.  The wind was definitely blowing - when I pulled up, there were white caps all the way to the inside.

I have been wanting to do a comparison between the Eagle 1090 and the Kujira 1095, but it has been difficult with the winds all over the place.  The winds should be up through Wednesday, and the afternoon tide should be high enough to not worry about grounding.

Today I setup the Kujira 1095/178.

The rides were fun.  I was able to get up on foil quickly.  I turned as hard as I could given the conditions.  There was glide to get through the lulls.  

I did try to tack onto waves - and I've done it before, but I wasn't able to today.

I foiled 18.35 miles in 1.5 hours.  When I was down, I was checking on the bolt tightness on the foil and another time retying the knot for the harness line.

On the inside, you can see my tracks bending more East-West.  These are the runs I had surfing the inside.  I would line up and carve up and down the swell as it stood up - way too much fun.  I had to dodge a few surfers, but it was all good.

The wind was pretty consistent - that's been a rarity lately.  I really love wing with the Reedin SuperWing V2s - they luff super stable and I even use them one handed to keep just enough power on

There was a lot of chop in the water.  Enough to make it challenging to get up on the board.  I think cutting through all that was speed limiting... or maybe it is the front foil...

Tomorrow will be the Eagle 1090's turn

W:33/F:21/S:23

Noe's Latest Sailing Escapades - 2/29/2020

Noe attended a clinic on a new (to her) boat yesterday.  Yes - the same yesterday that I was noting the exceptional wind.  The Quest was certainly a stoke generator yesterday!

There was also a regatta held - but they had to call it after some gusts blew past 40mph.  Noe's team got 4th out of 8 - not bad for a first run in a new boat.

Noe is rabid crazy on a sailboat!!!

I like sailing, but only when I get to go fast - that was an understatement for the conditions Noe was in yesterday - POWERFUL SAILOR THAT ONE IS - and skipper too

Sunday Regatta

Cruising pretty close to the break zone at Diamond Head - I bet the crew was having a blast! Over the course of the couple of hours we were out, I saw 25+ boats going back and forth between Waikiki and Hawaii Kai. Makes me want to get a boat... oh wait - I already wanted to get a boat!