Wing Foiling Session - 7/22/2024

Today was demo day at Kailua with guys from AFS letting people try stuff out.

I came for this - the AFS Ultra 750

When I pulled up, it was actually whitecapping and I pumped up the North Mode Pro 5.5.  Then after talking with the AFS guys and Milton (SUP Foiler wanting to get into winging), the wind tanked for what seemed like over an hour.  I had gone out with No.36 and the Mode Pro 6.8 - but I couldn't get the Ultra to move.

It's worth noting that this AR is 14 - this looks like a weapon.

This is the wind chart from Waimanalo (not Kailua) - the wind was considerably lower at Kailua. 

After floating around for way too long, I went back in to switch gear.  I bolted the Eagle 1090 on to the Evolution Cedrus mast and No.34.

I was able to get up on foil pretty easily.

By this time the wind had picked up a bit.  I saw Prayot going in and changing gear out.  He really got to try a bunch of the AFS gear.

This combo is definitely a session saver.

I was up on foil for all but two botches.  First was hitting the swim area buoy (wing was hiding it).  Second was a botched tack.

The last trip out Prayot had bolted on the Ultra 750.  And he was up and riding without much drama.  We switched boards as he was about the go in.

I was not immediately able to get up on foil and I started drifting downwind.  I told myself I am not walking back - and I got up.

Short run, but you can feel this foil wants to go faster.  And it has amazing glide for the is smaller surface area. 

Prayot's board is setup differently than how I have mine - the footstraps were not helping me.

But I did get back to the launch point.

The wind did fill in nicely as we were packing up.  I did like the Ultra - would be a fun foil doing the Hawaii Kai run.  I need to compare it with the Eagle 690 and the Eagle X 700.

W:90/FD:52/F:4/S:13

Garage Works - 7/21/2024

Marlon got a fill coat on the longboard he is building.

It's coming together - it'll probably be done this weekend.

Wing Foiling Session - 7/21/2024

The forecasts were shaky, but I opted to hit Hickam just after noon.  Prayot was there and switching from trying out the KT Dragonfly on SUP over to winging gear.  Zach and Naomi were out also - and Naomi was finally able to go wing (shoulder is better).

Initially I pumped up the Mode Pro 6.8 and was going to set up the Eagle 1090 on No.34 - light wind setup.  But by the time I was ready to launch, the wind picked up heavy from the SE.  I bolted on the Eagle 890 and pumped up the Mode Pro 5.5 - Perfect setup for today's conditions!!!

And with the rising tide, we got a bunch of benefits.  I went out straight over the inner reef.  Also the waves were amplified - most of my rides had overhead peaks chasing me across the inner reef at Seconds

Prayot and Zach were catching some good ones also

This was not in the forecast at all - I had thought today was just going to be trying to stay up on foil, but instead it was a totally lit wave riding session!!!

The SW wind direct sticks out like a sore thumb in this track.

And just like yesterday I spent most of my time at Seconds (which rarely happens).  

On a few waves, I'd just keep going across the channel over to inside Firsts and pick up the reform - these conditions are rare - which is too bad because it was super fun the way the wind and the swell lined up!!!

The iwindsurf graph for the airport was nothing like the actual wind was - 

And I only came down off foil once.

This was a pretty special session!!!

W:89/FD:52/F:4/S:13

Dawn Patrol - 7/20/2024

I hit the dawn patrol at Hickam - needed to meet Matt to pick up a board repair.

Jesse and Arvin were out at Seconds when I pulled up.

Same gear - because it's good stuff!

I tried to stay up on plane heading out - I wanted to see what that did to the battery voltage.  It dropped it - it dropped it a lot (I was at 83% when I hit the first channel marker).  I'm not doing that again.

Initially I headed to Firsts.  I caught a couple of belly high waves - then decided I should catch the ones breaking more consistently at Seconds.

I caught 14 waves in 48 minutes - that's a wave every 3.4 minutes!!!

Fun session - especially since it was glassy!

W:88/FD:52/F:4/S:13

Evening Session - 7/19/2024

Almost caught up -

This was yesterday's evening session.  I went on the same gear that I've been using lately (No.37/Spitfire 960/Skinny 365/PC Aluminum 80cm).

The waves had some chop on it again - pretty much the same as the day prior (I did not go on Thursday - watched Noe's concert instead).

Marvin, Robby and Kalani were out also.

Deep water/high tide launch again (nice) - waves were breaking closer inside.  Only spent 4% getting to the lineup.

Definitely choppy again.  Onshore sea breezes.  Swell was coming down in size.

But I still got some nice rides!!!

Tougher statistics today - 14 waves in the hour and a half session.  Directly related to the chop.

Kalani was demo-ing the Code 1130R.  When he was on a wave, he pretty much didn't even have to pump.  This foil has glide for days -

W:88/FD:50/F:4/S:13

Garage Works - 7/18/2024

In keeping with the "been busy" theme, I have been working in the garage but not documenting it.

Marvin asked me to put one more window on his new board - right in the middle of the tracks.

Here's the finished product - but I wanted to get a comparative review next to No.37 -

And also up to No.33

Definitely more volume and back half area on my boards.

And Marlon and I (mostly Marlon) got to work laminating the longboard he is building.

Fin box installation -

I think I had some other projects going on - but honestly I can't remember them right now.

Evening Session - 7/17/2024

This is a catch up post - and there are more after this one (I've been busy doing stuff at work and supporting the family).

This was from Wednesday afternoon.  Norm got a Foil Drive Max and I've been trying to line up a session with him.  He's been trying to get his board squared away - and the saga continues (no connectivity).

The waves were really choppy - there was enough wind to chop up the surface, but not really enough to have fun on the wing.

Still some left over energy from the recent south swell.  With the high tide it was an easy launch and recovery.

The waves were better on the inside.  Even recycled a few waves. 

17 waves in an hour - THANK YOU FOIL DRIVE!!!

Marlon was out on his longboard for a bit, then he switched over to flying the drone.  Thanks Marlon for the footage!!!

W:88/FD:49/F:4/S:13

Wing Foiling Session - 7/16/2024

Today is likely the last day of this wind event.  It was strong, but then weak.  It also would swing a lot.

There were plenty of waves - and there were no shortages of bomber sets.

And best of all, the tide was high and I didn't have to worry about grounding the foil. 

I decided to mix it up - Spitfire 840/325P on the Project Cedrus 85cm carbon mast.

Reedin SW2 4.7 - just about the best wing to put up today in the challenging conditions.

I got out late and only stayed an hour (because I could sense the wind slacking and I didn't want to be out in these waves without power).

You can see how much north was in the wind -

The front half of the session was getting used to the wind direction (since it wasn't sitting still).

And after I got my bearings, I started turning earlier to make sure I wasn't having to play catch up with the waves.

My last two waves were way overhead bombs.

I figured I caught some good ones and I should get to the beach before the wind dropped below 4.7 range.

Lots of correlation between the wind graph and my speed graph - ups and downs, wide swings.

Zach was windsurfing.  Prayot was out on his 5.2 and Duke came along maybe 20 minutes after I headed out.

And Roland came out - with his surfboard (good call).

Despite the challenging and confusing conditions, this was a super fun session.

W:88/FD:48/F:4/S:13

Wing Foiling Session - 7/14/2024

Challenging conditions today -

The winds were either super strong or dead.  And the direction was not consistent - it was all over the place.

And the waves were pretty darn big.

With the ups and downs, I pumped up the North Mode Pro 5.5

Lots of wingers out today - Harris, Matt, Arvin, Kalani, Prayot, Zach, Kimo(?), Tim, Jesse and myself.

And I set up this foil - the Cabrinha H800 - wanting to see if this foil can sustain higher speeds.  I put the larger of the two Foilparts rear stabilizers on.

And after adjusting once, here is where the foil felt decent.

The lulls were really bad - and there were a few of them.

But there were a couple of times I was able to just shoot straight for the break at Firsts.

The wind outside was blowing hard offshore (at least that's what I perceived) so I only caught two then decided I should limit my risks (the waves were breaking over the Reef Runway breakwater). 

There were more holes than what is shown below.

After a while, I started doing speed runs in the inside harbor.  I think the rear stabilizer was holding me back and making the foil feel slow.  I'm going to have to experiment with this a little bit more.

A little frustrating today, but still a lot of fun!

W:87/FD:48/F:4/S:13