Dawn Patrol - 12/27/2020

Marlon and I pulled a dawn patrol to try and catch the last bit of the swell that has been hitting the past few days.  I switched the CF1200 out for the HS1550.

It was a bit too cold for Marlon - he said he didn't have the same level of blubber that I have, so he passed.

There were some chest high sets still.  

I caught a handful, then missed a takeoff and tweaked the middle of the right side of my back.  I caught the next one in and called it.  It's been a long run of really good surf - time to lick my wounds and take a few days to heal up.  Perhaps this was the universe prompting me to do so.  As far as back tweaks go, this isn't a bad one - but I certainly don't want it to hang around.

Mid Day Session - 12/26/2020

I pulled another mid day run today.  Marlon had to work, so I grabbed a haircut, and hit Hawaiian Watersports.  Then I got home and figured I'd get a foil session in.  It was blowing like stink - Kalani was out winging but was getting beat up (so he said - it looked like he was riding under control to me).  La wanted to run some errands so I figured a quick foil session (instead of breaking out the wing) was in order.

I kept the CF1200 on thinking I could get a few more runs on it before this swell backs off (I did bring the HS1550 and should have put it on - the waves were still there, but it had backed off a couple of notches).  I did get several rides in but it wasn't yesterday by a long shot.

There's the HS1550 in the truck bed.  When I got home I did swap it out and repositioned the mast.  

Mid Day Session - Christmas Day

Marlon and I surfed mid day yesterday - we stayed at home to open presents in the morning.  It was worth the wait - offshore winds, overhead waves, and a sparsely crowded break - we couldn't have asked for more!!!

The CF1200/300 combo was working perfectly again - so much fun taking big drops on this foil and carving back and forth on 500 foot long rides.... 

Marlon was picking off wave after wave and he said the same thing - "Wow - best Christmas present ever!!!!"

Words can't describe how much fun this session was!

Dawn Patrol - 12/24/2020

The SSW swell was bigger this morning, but the tide was high and that was causing it to get soft on the outside.  Still, when it broke it was really fun - head+ high takeoffs, leaned over bottom turns and super long, super smooth rides.

Marlon brought out his shortboard.  I brought the same setup as yesterday - with the extra energy in the ocean, everything was that much better.  I didn't bring my Garmin watch this morning so I don't have stats, but I'd venture to say I had some really fast and extremely long rides today.

Happy Birthday to Noe!!!

Evening Session - 12/23/2020

Marlon and I hit WPB again for an evening session. An out of season 2.4' 18 sec SSW swell was hitting.  The tide was really low at 0.2' - but the swell was breaking on the outside.  And there was no wind so the shape and form were really nice and glassy.

With the swell up (2.4' at 18 secs from the SSW), I switched out the front foils - from the HS1550 to the CF1200.  After the first couple of waves, I paddled in and reset the mast further forward.  After that, the CF1200 came alive!!!  This foil lifted me pretty easily and was super maneuverable.  It reminded me of the GL140 - but as with the rest of the Armstrong stuff, it was much smoother.  

I caught several really long waves - one was nearly 600' and I hit 18.1 mph.

Today was a super fun day!!!  With the foil, I love WPB/Campgrounds more with every session (especially if there is no crowd).

Dawn Patrol - 12/20/2020

Went on the dawn patrol with Lance.  He was out on his SUP, and I brought out the wide 4'10" with the HS1550/Uni300.

We met at Campgrounds, but the waves weren't really breaking, so we went to WPB.  The crowd was manageable and there were some waves even though the tide was rising.  It didn't seem that these waves were wrapping from the WNW swell currently hitting.  It was breaking belly to chest high.  I caught several really fun waves, getting lots of turns in and even pumping back out a few times.

We called it as the tide came up to the point where it wasn't really breaking anymore and the wind was starting to fill in.  If the wind keeps filling in....

Scratch Removal

Last night, after watching the first two races of the Prada Cup seeding rounds and checking out the foil designs, I figured I should at least clean up the reef kisses I got on my Armstrong HS1850 and Uni 300 foils.  I started with a magic eraser to pull out and residual coral/rock.

Then I went through 320-500-1000-1500 grits.

Honestly I should have done this way earlier.  I think the surface is pretty much new (again) and I totally feel like a huge weight came off my shoulders (as in obsessive-compulsive-disorder tension). 

Better than new!!!

Wing Foiling Session - 12/18/2020

The forecast called for nuking winds today - and for once it was not wrong.  Gusts to 35 and steady winds up past 20.  I got to use the Ensis 5.2 on the water for the first time.  There was a lot of buffeting in the wind - but other than that and a few times the gusts got really strong, this wing felt controllable the whole session.  I launched around 11:30 and came back in around 2:30.  Same everything as last time (Armstrong HS1850/Uni 300/60cm/85cm) - just moved the mast forward to counter the slightly heavier than required back foot pressure (I think I can still get it slightly more forward - but it is comfortable where it is).

I mainly practiced jibes today.  And I was able to nail nearly all of them on the outside, even riding toe side for long stretches (and a few times even jibing back to the outbound runs).  When I did switch on the outside, I would ride back in towards the launch and jibe inside.  I made 50% of these, but today really felt good on these transitions.  A few more sessions and these will feel like second nature and I'll start driving straight for the waves.

I did hit bottom way passed the left most shallows buoy.  I didn't notice I had sailed that far up.  Minimal damage - but I'll still try to clean it up.  This was a spectacular day on the water, and I felt I really opened up a lot more skills today!

Wing Foiling Session - 12/12/2020

Went wing foiling today.  Trades were back!!!  I got to Hickam around 11am - wind would gust to 25 and settle back in around 15 (I think).

I brought all the wings just in case (Duotone Echo 6.0, Ensis 6.0, Ensis 5.2), but with the holes in the wind, I pumped up the Ensis 6.0.  I also bolted on the Armstrong for the first time.  HS1850/300 tail/60 cm fuselage/85 cm mast.  

This setup is sick!!!  The foil was super quiet (as expected) and I was able to get heel to toe side jibes in while still on foil (third time I did it - but it was actually easy with the the Armstrong).  I was getting outbound tacks also - but was touching down and quickly coming back up.  All of that was when the gusts were up - there were times of lulls and then I had a couple of runs where the swell was bucking me off the board - so there were periods of down time also.  I was mostly out at Firsts and way outside of the runway tip so I could get into the wind lines.  It's always kinda spooky out there so I am motivated to either make my tacks, or get back up on the board as quick as I can.  

And having finished fixing this board now from the road rash, this is how I transported it back and forth from the house to the launch.  This isn't going anywhere now.

Next Time I Go Winging...

I'll be taking the Armstrong HS1850 out for a spin.  I can turn this foil nice and hard when prone foiling - now I'm excited to see what it can deliver powered by a wing!

85cm mast, 60cm fuselage, HS1850 front foil, and Uni300 rear stabilizer - great expectations!

Dawn Patrol - 12/6/2020

I pulled a solo dawn patrol today - Marlon wasn't feeling a 100% so he opted to sit this one out.  The wind was super light, the tide was really high (+2.0'), and the swell was just a hair smaller than yesterday - call it thigh high, belly on the sets.

I changed the setup this morning - put the HS1550 and the Uni300 tail back on.  It has been a while since I had this front wing on - and I forgot how much fun it was to surf it.  I was able to pump back out several times, but only managed to get two double dips.  The other thing I found super fun was turning with the 1550 - more carving compared to the HS1850 and HS1250.  I'm going to keep this setup on the wide 4'10" for a while

I stayed out for over two hours - then it got so crowded I couldn't take it anymore.  Weekend surf....

Evening Session - 8/7/2020

The City and County of Honolulu is closing down the beaches again (among other public gathering places) - you can still surf, but no one is allowed to hang out on the beach.  So Noe came out with Marlon and I to get some pictures - these will be the last from the beach for a while. 

The tide was high but only at 1.9'.  The swell came down a lot - there were still some fun ones, but there were lulls between the sets.  The wind was the surprise though - every where but the beach it was down.  It wasn't too bad though.

Marlon actually thought about sitting this session out - but he surfed anyways and ended up catching several.

I brought out the wide 4'10" with the Armstrong HS1850/Uni.  With the tide high, I wasn't worried about grounding, but on one paddle out I did - got some scuffs on the Uni tail.  I caught several waves and a few of them were really long.

Fun session - however the waves are forecasted to drop off even more into the weekend - might be time to shape that Wing Board.

Evening Session - 8/6/2020

The swell that arrived yesterday was forecasted to hold through this afternoon so Marlon and I hit PTs (I didn't want to deal with the crowds at WPB anymore - too many BOBs). 

For the most part, the swell was chest high on the sets and they were timed nicely so after riding a wave all the way in, I didn't have to fight through broken waves to get back out. The tide was rising to 2.0' so a wave would break outside, back down for a bit then stand back up again headed in to the beach. And for today, the wind was on light side so the waves were smoother than I've seen them in some time.

I decided to mix things up again and brought the Armstrong HS1850 (Uni Rear) on the wide 4'10".  I love this foil more and more each time I bring it out.  I didn't feel any of the turbulence I felt yesterday and everything was just butter smooth.  I rode nearly every wave from the outside all the way in.  On several of the waves as the inner wall stood up, I would try and use the entire face to make top down turns - totally epic feeling!!!  I also got a few speed runs going right (minimal wind today so no slowing down with a head wind).  It's days like today that keep me hooked doing just this and not wanting much of anything else... 

Marlon - as usual - was catching everything.

On the way home, there was yet another sobriety checkpoint (here nearly all the time now) - the Mayor announced they will be closing State and County parks, beaches, and the like again starting tomorrow - going to need to bribe La to drive us to the beach again...   

Evening Session - 8/2/2020

Hit WPB again as the tide was dropping from a big high (2.4' - was probably around 1.9' and dropping while we were out) and the swell was supposed to be dropping (it did - definitely waist high and under).  There was some wind, but it wasn't messing up the surf.

Same setup as yesterday - it is definitely balanced now. 

I caught a bunch of long rides.  I tried making harder turns on the inside - I was batting 50-50 on the turns (HS1850 has got a wider span - and most of the turns were back to back, front side to toe side).  Unfortunately I also got my first bottom rub on the HS1850 - straight center on the nose (at least it's over now and I can relax).

I came in before Marlon - he was out catching a ton of waves - probably out catching me 5 to 1 (but my rides were each probably 10X longer).  The sunset was pretty awesome.  Another great day in the surf.

Evening Session - 8/1/2020

Big time errand day yesterday - final got clear and packed up the foil.  Told Marlon I would check PTs and if not optimum would go to WPB - he said ok.  PTs was small - I could have caught some, but Marlon was iffy so we intended to go over to WPB - but I thought I could go back out the way I came, tried making a hard right turn in sand and got bogged down.  There were some people hanging on the beach and getting stoned (and not social distancing) - but they offered to push the truck - nice but in the process the really stoned guys pushed the tailgate cap piece off.  Of note, there was a cool ship dropping off a bitter end - don't see that every day.

WPB was too bad crowd wise - I still had to go all the way to the right to get long, Bob-free rides.  I had the wide 4'10", the HS1850 with the Uni tail and I moved the mast up maybe an 1/8".  It was a good setting as I got to ride with way less back foot pressure and the takeoffs were straight to flying instead of pitching up and down until converging to a steady state (with a bias to the rear foot).  So note to self - move the foil to balance (I already knew that, but I can be pretty stubborn).  You can see the pencil marks where I originally had the mast.

First two waves I rode way in and pumped back out.  Next few waves I paddled outside and picked up them early and had some really long waves.  There were guys on smaller front wings picking up the inside waves so I thought I'd spread out and get the HS1850 to do what it can - so much fun!

I'll foil this setup a few more times just get get my muscle memory down - then I'll stick on the 232 tail and see what the change does to the balance point.  It is so rewarding to get any setup dialed in (not to mention the way better rides!).