Garage Works - 4/11/2022

I needed to pick up Noe from school yesterday afternoon.  I opted to just stay home afterwards.

I ended up getting the first coat of clear coat on Kalani's board.  I'm going to approach this one in multiple stages.

I also went ahead and added the top layer of carbon overlay on to the tips of Tim's chopped HS1550V1. 

This came out pretty well.

Wing Foiling Session - 4/10/2022

Noe had a concert at Kaka'ako today, so we all went to enjoy the Youth Symphony play some really cool music (Holst's "Jupiter").  During the concert, I could sense the wind picking up (thermal driven since there were some thick clouds over the mountains).

After we got home, I loaded up the truck and headed back to Hickam.  The wind was still up when I got there.  I ended up pumping up the Reedin SWX 5.2 and bolting on the Kujira 1210.

Speaking of the Reedin SWXs - here is the 5.2 post reinforcement by Brenda.

Looks cherry!!!  Even though the seams on both of my Reedin SWXs were fine, I went ahead and took the preventative measure to have her place the reinforcements on.  I'm glad I did.

I made a beeline out to Firsts and stayed out there for nearly the whole session.  The sets were spaced out a little bit more than the past few sessions so it was easier to get back out after a ride.  

I caught some really fun waves and got some jibes off the top of the incoming waves.  Harris seemed to be on the bigger breakers more than I was - but Firsts favors goofy footers (th ewhole south shore does).

I was able to stay up on foil pretty consistently.  I got knocked off a few times trying to make top turns.

Great session!!!

W:24/F:35/S:12

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

Garage Works - 4/9/2022

Spent a couple of hours in the garage this evening.

I got the sanding done on Kalani's Wing Foiling board.  I wetsanded it to 400 grit.  I need to label it and get the clear coat on, then apply the deck pads and this one (#22) will be done.

And despite Tim saying "take your time" in fixing his HS1550 v1, he's been asking if it is done.  I told him I did not even start working on it yet.  Well - I figured I needed to start and get it out of the garage sooner than later so I got it sanded and the fill layer put on.

I'll sand this tomorrow and get the carbon overlay placed on it.

The other thing I did was contemplate the wing board I recently shaped.  I think I want to chop the pointy nose off and go with a flat nose.  I also want to see if I can get it short enough to fit in the 140cm bag I recently got.  This board has more thickness in the back - I'm going to thin that out and give the back 18" a drop of 1/4" so the Kujiras don't need the shim.  And I think I'm going to make the bottom deck edge chine a little more pronounced.  After these changes, I think the only hard part will be figuring out where the foot strap inserts are going to go.  I've been trying to get the 4'7" wing board foot straps lined up, but there has been a significant difference in weighting the board between GoFoil and Takuma.

We'll see. 

Dawn Patrol - 4/9/2022

Dawn patrolled this morning.  Decided to take the Firewire Sunday out thinking the swell would have built up and knowing the tide was on the really low side.  Marlon brought out his Seaside.

It took me a few waves to regain the feel of a shorter board on a juicer wave.  I did have a few really fun rides (but all way shorter than on foil).

I totally forgot I had this board setup as a twin.  Early on I would lean in and try to maneuver hard to the top of the wave - no joy - twins don't turn like thrusters.

Fun day (but for what ever reason, I am way more tired after surfing on a board, than I normally am foiling).

W:23/F:35/S:11

Evening Session - 4/8/2022

I had made an appointment to get my two Reedin SWX wings worked on.  The seams along the leading edge on some of the wings out there were starting to pull.  Our local distributor was able to get some reinforcements from Reedin and we were told to make appointments with Brenda to get them sewn on.  I dropped them off Friday morning and I got the call mid afternoon that the wings were ready for pick up.  That unfortunately put me in the middle of some thick Friday afternoon traffic (there were two accidents).

After I got home, there was plenty of light and there was supposed to be SSW swell starting to fill in.  I ended up bolting on the Kujira 1210 on to the PC 75cm mast.  I figured with the swell, the action would be further outside and the foils wouldn't hit bottom despite the lower tide.  Well - the action was outside, but the waves were actually pitching lip - not good for taking off with a foil.

I ended up only catching one wave - but it was a long one and I rode it all the way back to the beach.  At least I didn't get skunked!

There was some wind blowing around also.  Eli was outside with a 7m Blue Planet Alien wing.  He would be off and riding some impressive waves, but then the wind would die and he'd be stuck inside.

It was kinda choppy also.

These pictures were from Marlon and his drone.

W:23/F:35/S:10

Wing Foiling Session - 4/7/2022

The wind was forecasted to come up today (and today only).  In case it didn't, I did bring the SWX 5.2 and the Kujira 1210 - but what I should have brought was the SW 3.6 and the 980.  I ended up splitting the difference with the SWX 4.2 and the Kujira 1095.

The wind was really good!

I headed straight out to Firsts and spent nearly an hour out there picking up bumps and avoiding the breakers.

The gusts were pretty strong - but the odd thing was there were still some dead wind zones (look for the blue lines behind all the yellow).

Super fun session today!!!

Tomorrow I'm taking my wings in for some preventative maintenance - reinforcing the seams that some people have seen split.  Both the 5.2 and the 4.2 are fine - but why wait for something bad to happen when you can get ahead of it.  Only problem is I'll be wingless for a bit... the wind is supposed to drop (but are the forecasts ever correct??? - the answer is NO).

W:23/F:34/S:10

Evening Session - 4/5/2022

Yesterday evening, I got in a prone session.  Marlon came and it looked like he was catching some nice rides from the small waves coming in.  Me on the other hand - I caught a bunch of frustration.  In fact, if it wasn't for the last wave I caught, I wouldn't have counted this as a real session (in the count below).  Said last wave was fun, long and took me back to the inside (so I didn't have to paddle in) - definitely a session saver.

Also complicating the situation was my choice of gear.  I changed out the rear stabilizer to the Takuma Kujira 218.  And I bolted on the 1095.  I think everything would have been better if I used the 1210 instead.

There is wind projected for Thursday (winging), then the wind falls off into the weekend with a swell coming in (prone).  We will see...

  W:22/F:34/S:10

Wing Foiling Session - 4/3/2022

Today the winds were even stronger than yesterday.  I brought the 4'8" Wing Foiling Board and had all three straps on - wanted to try jumping today.  Because of that I also brought the one piece GoFoil 32.5" mast.  With the wind ripping through, I was glad I brought the 3.6 (which still felt big at times).

Ryan, Arvin and Bill were out before me.

Marvin said he was going out - I left a 4.5 in the truck for him to use.

I set out with the NL160 on the board.

It has been a long time since the wind was this strong!

I had to come back in early to move the footstraps up.  Then I came in to move the mast back.  I actually never got to the point where I felt balanced on this board with the NL160 - same issue I had when I prone foiled this foil last (a "teetering" at the start when getting up on foil, then it flattened out when coming up to speed).

Despite the balancing issue, I did get some flying in.  I even got a couple of jumps in where I could feel I had cleared the water.  But it felt bunny-hoppish and not like a boost.

I went in and switched out the NL160 for the GL140.  I'm not sure I actually ever used this foil for winging... might be a first.

The balance on this foil felt better, but still felt like I had to put way too much front foot pressure on the board.  I think both foils needed to come back more - I think I'll try that prone foiling next (faster way to do it???).  I was able to get tons of powered jibes in.  Even duck jibes at speed - turning is so much fun!

Marvin went out.  He got up on foil two times, and then held his line while on his knees on the way back in - until the really strong gusts hit.  He had to paddle against the wind to get back.

Once we were both in and back at the parking lot to derig, Harris showed up.  I told him I didn't go outside today because the wind was ripping the tops off the waves.  By this time (2pm) the wind was starting to return to normal trade strength - but I was done.

Pretty much out of control - but the best day in a long time!

W:22/F:33/S:10

Wing Foiling Session - 4/2/2022

I dropped Marlon off at UH for an event (gas is pretty expensive right now) and I headed to Hickam.  I got there around 9:15 and Bill and Brantly were out.  Wind was strong and there was texture on the water pretty much everywhere.  Finally - the wind we have been waiting for!!!!

I took my time rigging up.  I pumped up the 4.2 Reedin SWX.  I could have actually used the 3.6 Reedin SW - it was that strong.  I brought two boards today - the Wide Wing Foiling Board and the skinny 4'10" prone surf foil board.

Started out with the Takuma Kujira 1095.

I really like the glide on this foil - but when the winds get above 25mph, this foil get form speed limited and to me is the most sensitive of the Kujira's in frothy water (I took it out to Firsts to test the waters - after a couple of waves, I decided to switch out the front foil).

Once up on foil - this thing just keeps on going!!!  Notice the top speed on this run.

I switched out the 1095 to the 980.  I had to also move the mast slightly forward.  By this point Harris, Ken and Arvin had shown up. 

The 980 was perfect for these winds!!!  I followed Harris out to Firsts and caught a few more waves.  The sets were stacked up on each other (Harris seems to think the tide was too low and everything was breaking, where we normally would ride on higher tides and smaller swell - all I know is the waves didn't stop so you had to be careful on the way out).  It didn't help that the gusts pulling through were hitting 35+ - definitely challenging (but not gear eating scary) conditions.  

Came in from the crazy house that was Firsts and did speed runs and transitions on the inside playground.  I was able to get in some fun duck jibes on the outside as well as some flying tacks - helps when the wind is nuking.

Top speed on the 980 today was a flat 22mph.  Stayed up on foil for a majority of the session!

The wind seemed to be getting even stronger, so I went in a changed the foil over to the skinny 4'10".  You can see all the blue spots - that where I was going through the learning curve of getting up on a small board.  It was physically demanding, but I got up.  As long as the wind is nuking, I think you can get up on any board - it all boils down to wing handling while balancing on the tippy board (using the wing for stability at the onset, then again after you've quickly transitioned to both hands on the handles).

I also think a total sinker with straps would be easier than a board that can almost support your weight - but you'd need water deep enough to allow that.  It's good to know I can do this, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort (unless I am specifically jumping).

I stayed away from tacking, but I was also happy that I got in a bunch of jibes at speed.  If the winds would be more consistent I'd probably take this on - maybe summer time.

Without the extra real estate to move my feet around (and the rear deck pad not being lined up for winging - needs to come forward), I think I wasn't able to heel the foil over to pull upwind as hard.  And I was also tired from the earlier runs and from starting on this board - all those factors saw me being more conservative (because I didn't want to have to start again) and I had a lower top speed. 

Here's where the foil was set.  I think this confirms that the foil spacing is the same regardless of the discipline - but for sure it is more sensitive while proning versus winging.

And another reason for me holding back while on the prone board - I crashed once and fell on the foil.  The starboard "shark's tooth" winglet bit me good.  Good thing it was just a scratch... 

Totally fun day on the water!!!  I wish we had winds like this more often - but it truly makes you treasure them when they are here!

If you look closely at the center of this picture, you'll see a unicorn... I learned to windsurf at this spot decades ago (probably 26 years ago???) and it was frustrating because the winds were never strong enough - it was definitely strong enough today and this unknown ripper brought his gear out of mothballs!

Awesome!!!  Tomorrow should have more of the same (I'm bringing the 3.6 and the 4'8" Wing Foiling Board).

W:21/F:33/S:10

Wing Foiling Session - 4/1/2022

I picked up Tim at the NEX parking lot and we got to beach by 3.  Takuma Kujira 1210, 85cm Project Cedrus Mast, WWFB and the Reedin SWX 5.2.  I had more aggressive gear in the truck (Kujira 980 and the SWX 4.2) but today was another day where the weather defied the forecast.  The wind had just died off (like yesterday) - and thick clouds had set up camp.  

This is the point where Harris left yesterday - and I probably would have done the same today if I didn't have Tim with me (he brought his new board out - hard to tuck tail and run under those circumstances).  I figured I'd just get wet since I hadn't been out all week.

After sitting outside for a few minutes, you could see blue skies through the clouds and the wind began to fill back in.

I was pleasantly surprised when after an hour of puffs and lulls, I could say I had a decent session - mostly mowing the lawn, but it was really good transition practice.

From the chart above, you can see the wind direction shift that is shown below.

And today was another example of the correlation between the wind speed above and the speed graph below.

Other notes - I mailed the OR A 5.0 to Prayot, so there won't be any posts from me about that wing anymore.  It is a great wing - don't misinterpret this move - but I want to be postured for the gen 2 versions on the OR wing.  Especially since the intel is saying an aluula frame and an aluula based canopy.  Also, it was getting hard to pick between the Reedin SWX 5.2 for the same wind - which would have actually be even more of a factor once the Takuma RS 6.1 comes in.  That is actually a testament to how good the OR really is - handles like a 4.0, has the power of a 6.0 and is sized right in the middle.

I also fixed a small chip in the tail of the 4'7" Wing Foil Board.  I'll likely take that out tomorrow since the wind is supposed to be howling!!!  That is if the forecast isn't wrong again

W:20/F:33/S:10