Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 6/7/2025

The big south swell was definitely pushing through today.

I mixed it up by using the F One SK8 750/Carve 161 rear stabilizer on the Cedrus aluminum mast.

The swell sets would come through and after taking the drop you'd be riding double overhead walls.

The rear stabilizer was not confidence inspiring - and I lost it multiple times.  I also had to adjust the foil position a few times to get rid of the "super lift pause".  I'm happy with where it ended up (but Jeff also texted me that the AFS Silk 650 came in... and that may have me putting the SK8 750 up on the market)

I could have stayed out for over 2 hours - but the remote battery drained before the drive battery did (I came in at 50%)

16 rides and several false takeoffs.

Prayot and Zach were out on conventional SUPs.  Noel was out on his SUP foil.  Definite bombs being nabbed today!

Tomorrow should have similar size.

W:42/FD:82/PW:8/S:4

Wing Foiling Session - 5/15/2025

Nice steady, strong winds today!

Decent tide and declining swell.

When I got to the beach, Eli was out winging and Zach was windsurfing.

I think I could have gone with the Nova Pro 4.2 - but I opted for the Mode Pro 4.8

And - seeing as how I haven't used any foils except the AFS in many months, I figured I should give the F One foils a test run and see if it reignites my interest in them.

Here is the SK8 750/Carve 161 on the Evolution Cedrus Wind mast.

Spoiler alert - I'm still going to do a run with all the F One foils - but I think I will be putting these on the market - the AFS foils designed by Laurent Borgna are just that good.

Actually the SK8 is a really good foil - just look at all these turns (it's just that the Silks carve better and the Enduros glide so nice)

On one run I came down and had to wait to get back up on foil.  While waiting, a set rolled through and the board got out from underneath me and the stabilizer "touched" the leading edge of the wing.  I guess I'm still paying taxes...  Glad it was the Mode Pro and not the Nova Pro - the N-Weave is some really durable stuff.

I thought I was going faster than this...

And here is the stabilizer hit - could have been a lot worse, but this should still be repaired/reinforced (time to call Brenda).

W:41FD:67/PW:4/S:4

Wing Foiling Session - 3/8/2025

Testing day - getting more foil positions lined up on No.40

Wind was super gusty.  Tide is pretty inconsequential at Hickam.

I used the North Mode Pro 5.5 for everything today.  Small foils need lots of power.  And this wing likes action at the upper end of it's range (meaning it is hard to overpower).

I setup the F One SK8 750 first.  Second session was with the F One Eagle 690.  And rounding out the day was the AFS Pure Race 560

The wind spread was all over the place - near glass to plowing past 30. 

The only time I headed out to Firsts was with the SK8 750.

Arvin was out when I winged up.

I was able to get a few hook tacks - feels so good!!!!

And the top speed was pretty impressive.

Next up was the Eagle 690.  I haven't used this foil much as the wind doesn't get to the speeds where I could use it with an appropriately sized wing - this outing was one of the first times I went bigger than I should have to power up the smaller foils 

This foil handles well above 22mph

And getting up to 25.2 mph wasn't uncomfortable.  It transitioned without drama and I think I could have had the Mode Pro 4.8 up and still got similar results.

And before I got too tired, I switched out to the smallest foil I have - the AFS Pure Race 560

Super long monocoque single piece fuselage.

This foil is not as hard as you would think to get up.  You still need a strong gust, but nothing crazy.

I got stuck in a long lull, so the average speed is whacked.  When the wind was up, it was screaming (and so was the foil - loud one this is).

And I matched the top speed of the Eagle 690

Fun day of dialing in the small foils.

Tomorrow I will try to get the Cabrinha H800 and the Axis ART Pro 1001 figured out on No.40

W:17/FD:39/PW:1/S:3

Wing Foiling Session - 11/17/2024

Today was forecasted to be the strongest day of this ongoing wind event.  I figured I'd avoid the low tide challenges at White Plains and hit the other winging community I haven't seen in a bit - Kailua.

The wind did not disappoint - it was nuking!!!

I decided to follow the pattern from yesterday and pumped up the Reedin SW2 4.2 and setup the SK8 750/C161W on No.34

I also gave Kalani the Reedin SW2 5.2 and 4.7 so he can get back on the water (as I'm not using those wings anymore since I have the Norths).

This session was EPIC!!!

Well overhead waves at Jump City - super strong winds (knocking me off the board at times) - long rides  - can't really ask for more!

Looks like the winds were straight from the east.

Lots of people out - Mark, Donnel, Rex, Sonja, Erik - it was fun to ride with other people you know.

There's that squall that blew through and knocked me off the board!

The more I use the SK8 750, the more I really appreciate it.  I'm going to have to sand the C161W rear stabilizer - it is making some vortex based noise.

And then it got crowded - way crowded.  This is why I only dawn patrol here.

There will still be some wind for the next couple of days, but I am eager to get work done on the projects in the garage and to get rested for the upcoming Foil Drive-ing sessions.

W:145/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:20

Wing Foiling Session - 11/16/2024

I was a little tired of the low tide management techniques - so I ventured to Hickam today.

It was definitely low tide - but over here it doesn't really matter - super easy launch.

The wind didn't look excessively strong - but at points it was knock you down strong.

I wanted to use today to test the Ezzy Flight 4.0 (which gave me some trouble on Thursday) and the Reedin SW2 4.2 (which has always been a more grunty wing).  I also wanted to dial in the SK8 750/C161W on No.34

Here's the wind over both the runs I made

First up was the SW2 4.2

Easy takeoff with the SW2 - better have been - the wind was really strong.

After getting my turns down with this foil and board, I journeyed out to Firsts.

The wind was super nuking out there.  I rode one and headed back in.  But then I saw Jim heading out so I followed.  I caught several more since I was out there - the pit was working flawlessly!!!  Waves would stand up and peel to the right.  The only issue was the super nuking wind - which made the runs a little rocky.

I spent the second half of this first run trying to see how fast I could go

I went in and swapped wings.

I didn't entirely trust the Ezzy, but I did develop an understanding of it (again - it's been a while since the wind was strong enough to use this wing).  I think if I treat this wing more like a 3.5m wing, my expectations will meet the performance.

I did not venture out to Firsts on this run - I didn't want to deal with any issues out there, and the waves seemed to die back (so not worth the effort).

Of notice is the higher top speed using this wing.  I don't think the wind was stronger - it's just that this wing performs better at it's top end.

Fun session and confidence inspiring for the SK8 750.  Basically if I'm going to use this foil, I'll just have to use an appropriately sized wing - bigger than what I would use for my main stay foils (but this is not new information).

W:144/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:20

Wing Foiling Session - 11/14/2024

The wind was nuking today!  There were also some good waves - but the tide was on the low side.

With the strong wind, I wanted to try a different approach.  I took the footstraps off No.36 and bolted on the SK8 750/C161W - so I could figure out where I'd have to move the straps to accommodate this smaller foil (and the other small foils I have).

The Ezzy Flight 4.0 was on deck.  For most of the session I was well to over powered.

I had a tremendous session riding some good sized waves.

Using the board without footstraps was not hard, but it did take some adjusting - primarily on takeoff.  It was like there was too much lift, but also at the same time that there wasn't enough power.

When everything did line up -

Marlon came after work to maybe get some foiling in - but he recalled the lower afternoon tides.  He flew the drone instead.

I should have gone in while the getting was good, but I headed back out to get a better angle for landing.  That's when the wind slackened a lot.

I was stuck way on the outside.  I just put my head down and started to paddle (blue lines on the left).  I did manage to get up on a gust - and took away half the paddling I was going to have to do.

So when using a smaller front foil and the Ezzy Flight 4.0, beat feet to get in when the wind speeds drop below 20mph.

It was a ton of fun when on foil.  I'll definitely sleep well tonight from all the paddling. 

W:142/PW:2/FD:80/F:5/S:20