Garage Works - 2/17/2023

Yesterday evening I placed the epoxy and plugs into the 4'2".  I mixed 3.5 ounces of epoxy and used 3 spoonfuls of thiksil.

With the epoxy in, I put saran wrap down and placed weights on top to keep the plugs from migrating.

I had a little leftover epoxy so not much got wasted.  I'd say I used about an ounce per insert.

Now I just have to sand, drill out the insert holes, and place new deck pads.

Evening Session - 2/15/2023

Marlon and I hit WPB yesterday afternoon.  The waves were tiny. but we both needed to break the surf fast.

The wind was side onshore, so there was some texture to the tiny waves.

I brought the Viking.  I can catch anything with this board.  I caught five good ones and called it.  

Marlon had plenty on his trusty blue longboard.

I was a little out of paddling shape considering the amount of winging I've been doing for the last week.  There is some funky weather coming - so it's going to be a day to day call on what goes on.

W:16/F:7/S:12

Garage Works - Footstrap Inserts in No.26

Based on my last session with this board (Saturday afternoon), I decided I should place in a set of installed footstrap plugs.

I took the old ones off and spent a lot of time recalling where I was putting my foot while riding.

This is pretty much what I recall.

Yes - I do have a narrow stance.

I'm going to use an offset 'Y' - if I jump, it'll only be on my strong side (regular foot).

Here's the configuration I'm settling on.

And here's where the straps will go.

I'll use scrap innegra in the slots I drill in for impact resistance.

This should be a quick project.

Wing Foiling Session - 2/13/2023

The wind was forecasted to be wingable strength, with a favorable ENE direction for one more day.  Throughout the day, there were signs it was going to ramp up - but it only got up to the marginal range.

Unfortunately for me I only brought out my RS5.1 (not the 6.1 of the North LW 8.0).

Having has psycho nuking winds for the past several days spoiled me.

I bolted on the F One Eagle 1090 setup.  This foil does get up early and is responsive to pumping.

I didn't stay out long - and my motivation was not getting stuck outside.

This picture was from the only tack I got in today.  My objective today was to just work on tacks (so much for that).  Leaning in to heel-toe carving tacks is so much fun!!!

The rest of my transitions were jibes - just trying to stay up on foil...

And these pictures are pretty much in reverse order (you can follow my trail below - the tack was the last thing I did before going in).

Not having to swim in definitely caps a short but good day of turning.  The northerly shift seems to have arrived early.

Not a bad top end speed considering the conditions.

I guess it's time to break out the surfboards again for the evening sessions!

W:16/F:7/S:11

Wing Foiling Session - 2/12/2023

Instead of a dawn patrol again, I slept in and waited for the wind to come up mid-morning at WPB (like it did yesterday).

I used the same board/foil as yesterday, but dropped the wing down to the SW2 4.2 - perfect setup!!!

The wind was still really strong.  The waves did come down a notch, but every now and then a head high set would come through.

I forgot to mention this yesterday, but there was a booby bird flying around that was really interested in the wing - it was back again today.  Really neat to see that.

The wind direction was pretty much side shore - so I could ride a wave from one side of WPB all the way to the other side.

This was perfect 4.2 winds

Two hours and 21.7 miles later, I headed in (so I didn't get hurt from being too tired).

Strong trades will persist through tomorrow - but the direct swings more northerly as the week goes on (and goes variable later).  I'll probably have one more day of winging before this event ends.

W:15/F:7/S:11

Wing Foiling Session 2 - 2/11/2023

Marlon wanted to get a haircut today, so I figured he could drop me off at Hickam and I could experiment winging with No.26

I setup the Kujira 1210 on the Project Cedrus 75cm mast (79cm built up).  I used the template from the WWFB and the positioning was spot on.

I took the foot straps I had setup from last time off the board.  I didn't want to be distracted by those when trying to start on my weak side.

All ready for a beating!!!

There was still plenty of wind - texture on the water across the whole harbor.

Using the 1210 made a huge difference compared to last time (where I had placed the Eagle 1090 in the tracks).  Once I was lined up, the 1210 got me up on foil really quick.  The hard part was getting lined up.  The board would twitch under me... I'm going to place marine grip over the front and in between the deck pads - that should help me keep the board from shooting out.

Riding on the sinker was easier the longer I was doing it.  Nice tight pattern today - got in 6.7 miles in about 45 minutes.  My transit was faster, but the limiting factor was my time down and trying to get positioned to takeoff.

Definitely a notch down from the past few days - but still enough to get up on No.26.  I think the 4.2 was perfect for this session.

See - progressively longer times up on foil.

I am glad I got this session in - great confidence booster for starting this journey (winging and kiting a sinker board).

W:14/F:7/S:11

Wing Foiling Session 1 - 2/11/2023

Dawn patrolled WPB.  The forecast had the wind running nonstop through the night - but when I woke up this morning the wind was really light.  So light that I went ahead and brought my prone foiling gear in case the wind died out..

Getting to the beach, there was texture on the water.  If I had brought the RS6.1, that would be the easy button.  Instead, there was a lot of chit chatting with the foilers - basically stalling to let the sun warm up everything to kick start the wind.  I setup No.25 with the Kujira 1210/178 on the 85cm Cedrus mast.  I was being optimistic and pumped up the SW2 4.7.

By the time I had paddled out to the wind line, the wind was definitely starting the fill in.  For 80% of the session, the 4.7-1210/178 was perfect.  The other 20% saw psycho nuking gusts plowing through - I could have easily been on the 3.6

Marlon came with me this morning, and had his longboard - but the chop was pretty significant so he decided to take pictures instead.

The wind had generated swell that was being pulled in to this part of the coast.  I caught several overhead breakers and had more than enough wave energy to luff the wing.

Nice wind!  Not as crazy as it has been the past few days - but still enough to body slam you if you were not conscientious.

I did not hit 36mph sustained - that was likely a wipeout.  I plowed through the data and my max speed for this session was likely 18.5mph

Totally epic session!!!

W:13/F:7/S:11

Noe Sailing - 2/10/2023

And while I was winging at Hickam Harbor, Noe was sailing over at Kaneohe Bay.

Tearing it up!!!

No - she is not puking her guts out here - she is jibing the boat in heavy winds.  But it does look like she is heeled over and puking her guts out.  Just saying...

Go Noe!!!

Wing Foiling Session - 2/10/2023

The wind is still blowing with a vengeance - I picked Kalani up at the NEX parking lot and we were able to catch the wind at it's peak (I know I've said that every day now, but the forecasts keep shifting and the wind just keeps getting stronger).

I did do more refined sanding on the HPS700 and the HA380 - so I brought that foil set out for a third day.  I did bring the mast back another notch to see what the response would be.

And to gain some control back from the chaotic conditions, I pumped up the Cabrinha Mantis 2.5 that I had gotten for Noe.  This wing looks like a toy -

The wind did not disappoint - overall the steady state seemed a little stronger today compared to yesterday - and five huge gust events ripped through - the entire harbor would turn white with the newly born wind driven waves getting their heads ripped off by the 40 to 50 mph gusts.  Pure nuking futz!!!!

With the small wing I was able to stay in control better than yesterday.  Between the HPS700 (not having the carry/glide of the Eagle 1090/ARTs/Kujira 1095) and small wing, I wasn't tacking dry consistently.  Jibes yes, tacks almost.

We were out an hour - which was plenty considering the circumstances.

I didn't hit the outside - it was hard enough to run the inside course.  Going outside seemed like a bad idea...

Pretty much a NE wind.

Definitely caught the peak!

Not a bad top speed.

I'm pretty much convinced that the HPS700 and the Triton T1 foils I have are best suited for kite foiling (hmmmmm.....).

W:12/F:7/S:11

Wing Foiling Session - 2/9/2023

I had to pick up Noe from her school today, so I grabbed a short session at lunch.  This lunch session was aligned very closely with the peak of this current wind event.  Harris was also there sneaking in a session before he had to turn over his vehicle to his better half.

The wind was probably the strongest I've seen in a long time - definitely a notch above yesterday.

I setup the same equipment that I used yesterday - while setting up, I used the sanding blocks and placed a Donaldson trailing edge on the stabilizer.  It did stop the really loud high pitched vibrations, but the combo was still making some noise.

Riding was totally out of control today - I couldn't get in the harness line when the gusts were coming through and if I tried to turn, I would get swatted down.  The wind was kicking up waves really close to the taxiway - there was no clear water anywhere.

Totally EPIC!!!

This tells me there were gusts in the upper 40s (and possibly into the 50s).

You can see where I got smashed!  It was all I could do to stay upright - so hitting 21.1 mph (in these conditions) can be considered a major accomplishment.

Tomorrow will still have winds that are above 30 mph, but not quite reaching into the 50s.  My gear is staying in the truck... but I will try and clean up the trailing edges a little more - these foils should be quiet while ripping through the water.

W:11/F:7/S:11

Wing Foiling Session - 2/8/2023

Today was the first day of a multiple day wind event - and the first of a forecasted three straight days of ultra nuking strength!!!

Up to bat - the HPS700 and the 380 High Speed rear stabilizer on the Ultra Short fuselage.  I was debating on whether to use the SW2 4.2 or the SW1 3.6 - particularly because I have not used this front foil yet and I did not know what the lift would be like.

I pumped up the 3.6 anticipating the wind out at Firsts would be "knock your socks off" nuking.  I was not wrong - 

With as much wind as there was, getting up on foil was not an issue.  I'm going to sand the rear stabilizer - it was singing like a canary, but in general everything was balanced, controllable and fun.

I tried a few tacks - but mainly stuck with jibes because the HPS doesn't have the carry/glide of the ARTs.  I actually needed more wind during the lulls (20mph wind instead of 35) and that was another reason I stuck with the jibes.

There were some waves, but Harris had much better timing than I today - every time I looked back he was on a breaking wave.  I had some that were standing up, but I only caught one breaker.  I don't get much loitering time with the HPS700 (it wants to keep moving) - I can float/stall most of the other front foils I use at Firsts - ART999, Kujiras, Go Foils - I wanted to try it out and I did.

This is where I had the mast - actually the same spot as the Eagle 1090... hmmm.  Maybe for tomorrow's session I'll bolt on the HPS700 again (I'm sanding the 380 stabilizer first to test if I got rid of the singing) and adjust it a hair back... 

The front foil size is not the only factor in determining the mast position - fuselage geometry and targeting the board/rider center of gravity are perhaps equally weighted factors.  If you look at my feet, they are really close together and far forward.  That means I was having to exert more force further forward to balance out the front foil - I think I could push the foil back a hair and get better balanced (which would see my feet further apart and a bit more aft).  Every foil is different, but I want to try some different positions before I lock anything in.

Just epic conditions today - no other way to describe it.

Massive gusts!!!

I'll play around with the foil position tomorrow - and I'll head closer to the taxiway (to get to flatter water) - I know I can go faster than 21.5 mph.

And after the run with the HPS, I'll try and get a back to back with the ART999 to see if I can get the reduced camber foil to go faster!!!

CRAZY NUTZ!!!!

W:10/F:7/S:11