Dawn Patrol - 8/20/2024

There is a swell hitting right now - and the wind is down - so that means surfing!

I thought the Hammah Fish would be the best call -

Considering the factors, it was awesome!  I only had time (and the crowd would allow) for me to catch three.  My last one was pretty epic!!!

If I brought the Seaside and Beyond, I'm figuring I would have doubled my wave count, but sometimes that is not what it is about.

To surf well, you need to surf often.  With all the winging I've been doing, my surfing has declined.  This is the fourth time I been out in a short window and it is only now that I feel I'm getting back into the groove.

Too bad the wind is coming back up!!! 

W:105/FD:58/F:4/S:17

Evening Session - 11/2/2022

The wind had been up and down all day - I didn't have my sights on winging today, I had been planning to jump on the rising surf on the Pigfish.

The waves were bigger today - but they were also pretty closing out.  Taking off on a bigger wave just for the drop is a blast.  Any distance and turns that result are gravy.  Not a foiling day for the dumpy waves and the really low tide.

The pigfish delivered!!!  I caught a handful of waves, then called it so I could go and pick up Marlon from school (or at least the bus stop).

Roland was out with a board he borrowed from his co-worker.  He took off on a few then the pin pulled from the leash plug.  He made one po-ta-gee leash by wrapping the leash tail around the GoPro mount at the front of the board. 

The swell is supposed to be bigger tomorrow...

W:105/F:93/S:35

Evening Session - 10/11/2022

Roland texted the waves were good and clean this afternoon.  I was going to stay home and rest, but that text was too tempting (especially knowing what the past few days have been like).  Marlon was in a nap - but I woke him up and told him the surf report was good.  We were at the parking lot by 5pm. 

I brought this board out - the Pigfish I made a while back.  This board goes really well with the right fins.  I've tried multiple sets of fins to get this board to hold/release/drive and run the way I thought it should - but for the longest time I wasn't feeling it.  Until today.

The Machado Quads on the heel side and the Noriega Keel on the toe side.

I was able to work this board and put it exactly where I wanted it while riding.  Tight cutbacks and sweeping carves - yup to both.  And it screams down the line!!!  

This session totally reinforced the brilliance of asymmetry and using science to get more out of surfing.  What a blast this board/fin combo is!!! 

W:96/F:85/S:31

Dawn Patrol - 9/24/2022

Dawn patrol this morning.  Marlon brought the Seaside, and I brought the Seaside and Beyond.  Swell was chest to just overhead on the sets.  There was minimal wind.  The tide was low and dropping - this was the reason for me bringing the surfboard; I didn't want to deal with scraping bottom with the foil.

I was super glad I did bring the S&B!

I surfed in front of the MWR Shack and I picked off several head high waves.  Marlon was in the same spot and we even rode a couple together (or maybe he dropped in on me and I was just a nice guy).

I had a few waves that rivaled distance rode while on a foil.  And the faces were nice a steep so I was able to stick to the face and huck some big turns.  I really like this board a lot - I never felt this connected to the Firewire Sunday (which sold already so I could get this), the Firewire Greedy Beaver (which I am close to selling), or the Toots Asymmetric (which I think I could still get used to, but would still rather sell so I can just focus with the Viking, the Everyday and the Seaside and Beyond).

I didn't see Tim out - but while packing up I did see him carrying his new Pyzel Ghost.  This was produced pretty quickly - I think he placed the order in just last month.  Nice shape, good volume - looks like a wave killer (if the waves have some energy in them).

The forecasts call for the current swell to stick around for a few days.  With little wind in the forecast, I think I'll be surfing the S&B some more!

W:94/F:80/S:24

Evening Session - 5/27/2022

Rising swell was hitting on Friday afternoon.  I went to WPB and used the Toots 7'4" asymmetric.  I got some good drops early, but the waves got wonky towards the end of the session.  Roland was out on his surfboard also.  There was one guy on a foil, but we didn't recognize him.

I left a hair early because I needed to run errands - but I did check out the surf at Campgrounds to see if it was worth it to go there on Saturday.  It looked like it was better at WPB. 

W:44/F:50/S:16

Dawn Patrol - 4/10/2022

Dawn patrolled today with the Fire wire Sunday.  Bigger surf settled in - solid overhead.  I wanted to get a different set of fins on the board - but with the bigger surf, the VF4 Hatchet set I had on was completely wrong.  I'm thinking a bigger single fin may be the way to go in bigger surf.

I did manage to get a few decent rides so this wasn't a skunk session.

Kalani was there this morning.  I loaned him my Axis Crazy Short black fuselage so he could try out the BSC 810 he recently got.  It's good to see him back in the water trying out new things again!

If the swell is still here tomorrow afternoon, I'll try the Sunday as a single fin.

W:23/F:35/S:12

2021 Session Count

I went through the blog and counted all the sessions from last year.

Final count: W-121; F-106; S-12

That translates to winging being 50% of the sessions, prone surf foiling taking 44% and surfing only taking 5%

Taking a Break

Marlon and I went on a dawn patrol yesterday (Sunday 3/31) and instead of bringing out the foil again, I decided on paddling the Greedy Beaver.  Marlon brought the "Squirrel" (his hybrid shortboard).  I wanted to mix it up just a bit just to keep the muscle memory, and for the fact that at the last outing (Saturday evening) the foil touched bottom twice.  I could have switched to the 18" mast, but decided it was better to just try the shortboard.

It was crowded on the outside - lots of the regulars on their longboards - so I stayed inside and caught several fun ones (albeit not the crown jewels of the day, but my waves also didn't come with multiple riders).  Mostly waist high, but with larger waves on the outside.  Tide was still shallow - but that is to be expected with the nearly new moon.

Always a fun time in the water!

More Surfing over the Weekend

I took Marlon Dawn Patrolling on Friday and Saturday.  We skipped Sunday because I'm getting old (sore muscles) and it was way too humid and hot.

The waves got smaller by the day, but they were still fun sized.

On Saturday, one of the locals was using a folding lawn chair while SUP surfing.  

Marlon countered with his sitdown approach.  

Hurricane Lane is headed our way - hopefully it'll push some surf our way, but stay far enough so the period isn't too close and the winds don't get strong.  Stay tuned...

This Guy -

Jason Glover was the first person that showed me how to mix polyester resin, fill a surfboard ding, and how to fair it in with a Random Orbital Sander.  Almost 20 years later, getting together is just like we hadn't seen each other since yesterday!

Time can and will go by, but for some friends that doesn't really matter!  Looking forward to the next time Jase!!!

Saturday Afternoon Surf Session - Memorial Day Weekend 2018

Marlon and I went surfing on Saturday afternoon.  It was a dying swell, but we had an hour and a half of really fun energy.

This was just as we were leaving (the swell was pretty run down by this point and it didn't help that the tide was maxing out).  Some surf is better than no surf - take what you can get!!!!

Weekend Surfing

Our time demands were a lot less than normal this past weekend.  Enough so that I got to go out and surf twice this weekend.  Coincidentally, there was also a south swell that hit and made things interesting (but the tradewinds also picked up and it wasn't quite an epic swell).  With the larger than normal size, I decided to breakout the Firewire Greedy Beaver - a little overkill since it does fit in the bed, but here is the board tied up to the roof racks.

I was actually a little spooked about keeping it in the bed because of the forward tiedown hooks - they could put a ding in a board if there is a little movement in the bed.

Plenty of room up top.  The surf was pretty wind whipped on my Saturday evening session.  I did manage to grab a few waves where I got a good bottom turn followed by a long-ish glide.  Good fun (and probably better that fighting the wind on the TJ Everyday or a SUP).  I ended up putting the board in the bed on the way back home from surfing.  The board did not shift - I'll probably still put a piece of foam over the tiedown hooks, but it is pretty handing having a truck bed - might as well use it.

And on the Sunday morning dawn patrol - the wind was low at the onset.  And it stayed low just until I got out (about 8am).  Marlon used the 6'5" shortboard quad that I built (look to the beginning of this blog several years back) - he said it was real easy to duck dive through the breakers.  I got several good takeoffs - still short rides, but it feels good surfing a shortboard again!

Veteran's Day Dawn Patrol

Marlon and I hit White Plains (which I learned was actually named Kualaka'i before the area became an Air Base for the Marines) on Saturday morning - fun surf!!!

It has been a while since I brought out a GoPro - I need to aim the camera higher....  I'm also going to buy another suction cup mount and put the second camera on Marlon's board.

FUN!!!

Got a Ration of S4!t for My Remo Necklace

Nevermind the fact that I'm trying to dial in a setup so everyone else can benefit - the GoPro 5 remote worn around the neck seems to be very carefree and reliable (less water interaction???).  But apparently the Remo around my neck is disconcerting to my family (mostly La and Noe, but it even threw Marlon for a bit).

I'll stick on some leash plugs onto our boards and I'll start putting this on Marlon's board too.  

After Work Surfing

I'm trying to get more active, eat better and lose some weight. The easiest part of that is to just go surfing more. Acting on that, I decided I should be surfing at least three times a week - once or twice on the weekends and Wednesday or Friday after work seems to be the best times to get a few waves.

 

 I went out yesterday evening after work - lots of fun (with the benefits of an hour of paddling). I don't know why I don't do this more often (yes I do - check my other blog out - plants).

June King Tide Surf Session

I paddled out this morning to get some exercise in and the low tide was pretty low.

 

Marlon was sick and Noe was cooking so I went solo.

 

 I need to go surf more -

Marlon's First North Shore Waves and Surfing with the Bizy's

I've been on a streak the last several days. I've been waking up early to get a dawn patrol in at White Plains (part of my resolution to lose a bunch of belly fat, and to get out and enjoy what is immediately around us more) - but the small swell that was pushing through has dissipated. So along comes Saturday and our friends the Bisgard's call and want to go surfing (Charlie is back on vacation from an overseas tour). No swell down here, too big and unruly on their side of the island... time to checkout Puena Point. That was a good call and a great first session for Marlon to see the difference in the way the waves break up North (without having to get pounded or drug over reef shelves). Here is his first wave!!! Another wave with me behind (must be convenient to have a person with a GoPro constantly following you around everywhere). I caught a bunch - but they were mostly waist to shoulder high. Amy paddled out and here's Charlie up and riding. Fun, mellow surf day!!!