Wing Foiling Session - Father's Day

I ran errands this morning to help La out, then I worked in the garage (on the board repair detailed on the last post) for a bit.  I even took a short nap and ate a big late lunch (several fathers came over for lunch) - THEN I GOT TO GO TO THE BEACH!!!

The wind had been blowing really well pretty much since 9am.  As Marlon (he came to send the drone out - Father's Day present!!!) and I pulled up to the super crowded parking lot, the wind was visible on the water as plentiful whitecaps.  You could tell from the short view of the waves as you enter the parking lot that the wind was pretty much onshore.

I ended up using the demo Reedin SW2 4.7 and the Kujira 1210 setup.

Derek, Fuzzy and Mark (From Big Island) were working the outside - you could see the wind was stronger on the outside.  You could also see the waves were bigger today and when they were coming in, they were stacked.  It took me 15 minutes to paddle out (where it would normally take me 5).  I finally got a gust and I was off.

The wind lined up well with the swell and I was easily able to luff the wing on the more energetic waves.

And I could also "one-hand" the wing dropping into the waves (but here I am chasing a wave down).

The wind started getting light again, so I headed in (I wouldn't want to get stuck out there with the bomber sets lurking).

On the track below, you could see the wind direction was from the SSE.

Right in the middle of the orange and yellow lines is a set of tight loops - I had ridden a wave in, jibed to go back out and saw a juicy wave pop up in front of me with some wind to back up the sharp turn on the wave (SO MUCH FUN!!!)

The meter at Kalaeloa is at the airfield - so a good distance inland and it doesn't get the same wind as the beach does - so I think this chart is reading a little low.  Still, the point here is the wind was on the lighter side (but the SW2 4.7 still handled the conditions superbly). 

Peak speed coming down the face of some of the larger waves!  The 1210 handled everything really well and handled the choppy starts and long patches of broken wave turbulence without blinking an eye - helpful attributes when the wind is on the lighter side.

Awesome Father's Day - glad to have been able to help at home and then get to ride some fun waves!

W:52/F:60/S:17

Progress on the JL Repair

I grinded the boxes open a couple of days ago.

Then I filled the voids that got opened yesterday.

I sanded down the fill this morning, and then added the top fill coat.  I should be able to sand the excess off tomorrow morning and then go through the final sanding.

Small Repairs on the 1440

I mixed up a tiny batch of epoxy and sealed the spider crack on the 1440.

I already wetsanded this so it is ready to ride.

Next Prone Foil Boards

I transferred two templates to the big EPS blank I had stashed in the garage.

This is a 4'5" smaller version of the 4'8" I've been riding for a while.

This one is a template from the board I repaired for Marvin (G.Pang Majek Bash 2).  This one is tiny at 4'2" (probably the smallest board I'll ever even try to ride).

I'll finish No.25 before going full bore on these - I just wanted to get the big blank broken down.

Wing Foiling Session - 6/18/2022

 Got in a noon session today.  Made a trip out to POP (since they had a sale on Big Green Egg stuff - I needed charcoal), and on the way back I picked up Kalani and hit Hickam Harbor.

The wind was blowing strong as we drove up, but then is quickly died back.  I should have pumped up the RS 6.1, but I toughed it out and used the SWX 5.2.  Everything else was the same as yesterday (because I didn't take it out of the truck) - ART999/420HA Rear Stabilizer/Ultra Short Fuselage/85cm Project Cedrus Mast bolted on to the Wide Wing Foiling Board.

Lots of wingers out today - Dennis, Arvin, Jim, Brantley, me, Kalani, Erik, Ken, and three other guys whose names I don't know.

I made my way out to Firsts early on - good waves on an infrequent basis, but the wind was full of holes.

I did manage to get some interesting pictures - this first one is mid-jibe, right when I'm getting ready to make the drop on the face of the wave and also switching the wing's tack (going to starboard here).  Probably the most intense moment in winging in the waves!

Fully stretched out (better for the posture) and riding a wave in - hard to tell because the wave isn't breaking.

And me trying to get to a better position to line up with the bowl section.

I headed back in for a bit to wait for the wind to stiffen up.  It did and I ended up heading back out but then it swung 90 degrees and ended up changing the dynamics completely.  You can see the abrupt change of direction in the lines I had to take.

Riding a wave now meant pulling upwind by riding out the Pearl Harbor channel markers (big swell hitting there - but I didn't partake because I didn't want to get caught out there with this fluky wind).  I'd jibe then ride parallel to the runway back over to Firsts, pick up a juicy wave and ride it downwind until I hit the Hickam Harbor channel markers.  The wind would get light inside, so after a couple of these waves, I decided to head back in.  I'm glad I did because the wind dropped off again.

Based on my experiences and this chart, I'd say the bottom end of the SWX 5.2 for me is 15mph.  It was great when it was closer to 20 (and even in the gusts to 25), but this wing is definitely a race horse and not a fart around prancing pony.

I didn't break any speed records today - I was just happy to be out winging!  I did get in 12.67 miles.  The wind forecasts are all over the place, so we'll see what tomorrow holds.

W:52/F:60/S:17

Wing Foiling Session - 6/17/2022

Yesterday evening the thermals kicked in nicely at WPB - 5.2 Reedin SWX, ART999/Ultrashort Fuselage/420HA stabilizer on the 85cm Project Cedrus mast.  Good old Wide Wing Foiling Board.

Wind was perfect for the 5.2!  Nice high tide to avoid grounding.  There was even a small swell running so I was able to crank some hard jibes on the crests of peaking swell (literally the best thing you can do on a board!!!) 

I left my watch at the house again, so no run data, but you can see the wind was really good!

Roland, Kalani and two others (one ahead of us on a BRM wing, and one behind us on a F One) all partook of the great conditions today!

W:51/F:60/S:17

Garage Works - 6/16/2022

After foiling, I worked in the garage to get the boxes cut out in the boards I have on the racks.

I also got the carbon overlay for the Jimmy Lewis repair cut out also

Evening Session - 6/16/2022

Yesterday afternoon I was driving home and paying particular attention to signs of wind.  Things were up and down a lot - to the point where I figured I should just prone foil.  What I didn't account for was the lack of surf.  With a full moon high tide, I went anyways.

Kalani and Roland had more faith and they launched their wings.  They were up in the gusts, down and resting during the lulls - pretty impressive actually.  Roland got in a few jumps and both were able to hold their lines and land where they launched.

I used the Kujira 1440 and the 218 rear stabilizer.  These were mounted on the Stringy fuselage.  Really nice ride, and only needed the two small circular shims.  I got three rides and figured I got my share.

Kalani was on his new Reedin SW2 6.0 - pretty powerful wing.  This day was definitely a technical winging day.

And here is one of Roland's many jumps.

W:50/F:60/S:17

Wing Foiling Session - 6/14/2022

Hit Hickam again after work.  Brantley and Jim were at their vehicles - they said the wind had come down a notch from yesterday (opposite of what the iwindsurf forecast was calling for).  But as I looked out from the rigging area, it looked pretty nuclear - with a lot of North (so the whitecaps wouldn't show).

I rigged the exact same as yesterday (even though I brought the ART899 and the 380HA, just easier - I did not want to experiment with gear today).

I ended up with 13.83 miles in an hour.  There were several really blasting gusts that came through - which to me felt stronger than yesterday.  The setup I used was so much fun!!!  Before this last run of using the ART999 back to back on several sessions, I read the prior blog posts to check if I had to shim the mast or not.  My comments had really focused on how great the glide on this foil was, how awesome it turned, and how easy it was to get up on foil.  All that remains true - and I'll add the pump is really easy on this foil also - pumping through the lulls was common and without any drama.  I think the only area where the Takuma Kujira series excels above the ART is in handling turbulence (which can be a big deal when the waves get bigger).

I only had an hour - needed to get errands done.  I was out from 3:30 to 4:30. I really love the Reedin SW2 4.7 - handled 15 to 30 without blinking an eye

Got a higher top speed today compared to the last time I had the watch out (yesterday???).  Now I'm going to have to go through my previous posts to dig out my top speeds on each of the front foils I regularly use.

FUN - FUN - FUN!!!

W:50/F:59/S:17

Wing Foiling Session - 6/13/2022

Wind was nuking today!!!!  I didn't empty the truck from yesterday, so I used the exact same setup (Reedin SW2 4.7m/Axis ART999/420HA Rear Stab)

I was a little more methodical with the gopro today - had to change the angle mid-session.  Found it didn't move if butted up against the next smaller segment.  

Waves were smaller than yesterday - and the tide was higher.  Rode the outside with Brantley and Jim.

I've not seen a picture of my whole front foil ventilating - pretty cool looking!!!

Really good winds that complimented the chosen equipment well.

I was pretty much out from 3 to 4:30. During the big gusts, I was definitely overpowered.  But there were lulls where I was just underpowered - hard to settle on a wing size on days like this.  The 4.7 was probably as close as I was going to get to perfect today. 

Ken and Harris came out later in my session.  By that point I was inside trying to get as fast as I could on the ART999 - 21.4 mph isn't bad.  I might try the ART899 tomorrow (the wind is forecasted to get stronger!!! - the forecast is all over the place though).

W:49/F:59/S:17

Wing Foiling Session - 6/12/2022

Another wing session at Hickam today - Kalani, Tim and I drove on around 11:30 - Arvin, Ryan and another Tim were already out, Erik and Jim came out later.  The wind was a couple of notches stronger today so I pumped up the Reedin SW2 4.7m that Jeff let me demo.  I also bolted on the Axis ART999 with the Ultrashort black fuselage and the 420HA rear stabilizer - no shims on the mast track or the stabilizer.

Incredible wing - it does everything well (for a wing designed for forward drive).  I especially like being able to swing transitions with only one hand on the wing (I can do this on the Takuma RS and the Reedin SWX - but the SW2 just feels super natural).

I made a run out to Firsts - the waves were barely breaking - fun rides without any threat of being mowed down.

I actually pulled a second session - I let Harris take out the SW2 (he had just put his front foil through the leading edge of his 5.0 Slingwing V3), and I pumped up the SWX 5.2 so I could do a back to back.  The SWX (being ever so slightly larger) is more powerful, but during some really strong extended gusts, the SWX would flap, where the SW2 would not flap.  Made a second run out to Firsts - and Harris and Erik followed.  With the higher tide the waves had backed down even more.

I really do forget how good a front foil the ART999 is - fast, incredible glider, early riser, turns like a dream on a running wave - what more do you need?  Of course you need power in the wing (so this is not a front foil to be used in underpowered conditions).  I dare say even better than the Kujiras - but the Kujiras are better in turbulent water - they won't go as fast as easily as the ART, but they are not far behind.

I forgot my watch so I don't have top speed from today, but I'm pretty sure I was up past 20 mph on a consistent basis.  We are supposed to have wind all week - I'll probably pick the strongest days and wing then - I've got to get some work done on the garage projects.

Super fun session!!!

W:48/F:59/S:17

Wing Foiling Session - 6/11/2022

The trades started to come back today.  A large group assembled to go winging at Hickam - me, Kalani, Roland, Tim, Marvin, Erik, Jim, Arvin, Dennis, Harris and one other guy (that recently started coming out).  Kalani got a new set of wings - Reedin SW2 in 6.0 and 5.2.  Roland busted out the Cloud IX 4.2 (looked smaller than that).  Really cool to see all these wingers out!

There was definite texture on the water, but it wasn't whitecapping.  It also looked like it was coming more north than the usual tradewinds.  I pumped up the Reedin SWX 5.2.  I also bolted on the GoFoil PNL185 onto the Stringy fuse and used the 85cm Project Cedrus mast.  Really good setup for today's conditions!

I did bring the demo Reedin SW2 4.7 that Jeff let me borrow - but there were holes in the wind and I already had a bunch of ups and downs with the 5.2 (maybe tomorrow the wind will have steadied out more).

I tried out the Insta360 harness mount today also.  Interesting perspective, but I think I need to aim it lower.

From my track below, you can see the amount of north in the wind.  Since it has been a while since I've winged in decent steady winds, I wanted to warm up - I focused mainly on turns today.  The PNL185 actually gets up on foil easily, and I can turn it, but it does seem to want a wider turning arc.  I think tomorrow I'll break out the Takuma Kujiras again (Marvin was using his Kujira 1440 today and he said he was having a much easier time compared to the Armstrong HS1850).

The wind was definitely better than any we've had recently (which really has been thermals) - but while I was out it was pretty weird (but super fun).

I'll have to look through the previous posts where I used the PNL185 to see what the top speed was.  Tomorrow I think I'll use the Axis ART...

W:47/F:59/S:17