Saved by the grandad

and his Naish foil. Insisted I take the whole set up for a test drive, after I'd given up trying to ride the 15 and the TT. I don't think it's quite right yet still, and the wind was shit.

But the foil was fun. Definitely slower but more stable than mine, and the length and mass distribution of the board makes it "heavier" to swing around. Riding strapless wasn't as much of a challenge as I thought it would be so that's nice.

Got a brief play with the Reo 12 which didn't really improve my opinion of them (gutless and slow), but as the wind dropped off I guess it wasn't fair. Relaunch was easy though.

So, thanks Grandad, you saved my day!

RIP Foil Fish

Due to the turmoil at home, I decided I'd brave the forecast and escape to Tsu again. Supposed to be big wind but was pretty much a repeat of the last time I was there.

Which wasn't a bad thing. I really got the gybes dialed in and started going harder and faster, with more power and load on the foil.

That was all good and well until I got too close to shore and slammed into the shallows so hard I gave myself whiplash. Sore neck at the time, stiff the following day. That I could live with . . .

. . . unfortunately, the fuselage is bent again and the mast rounded. That I could almost live with . . .

. . . but the big deal is the crack in the board. Guess I really nailed it hard :(

Surprisingly good . . .

. . . session today, despite the summer wind and my pig-headed determination to use the 10m kite. The weather station said 10 knots when I got off the water and that was when I was feeling ok powered.

Basically, I was totally shocked that I could ride at all, as the kite just stayed in the sky and I had a rough time relaunching--had to swim some to get the kite to the edge of the window and carefully jiggle the line to get it up :o

But had a nice time riding around. Really notice the difference already, between the LF and the SS foil . . . am thinking, if I can tame the SS it might be epic. I noticed the lack of pitch stability today.

Funny thing . . . I was on the 10m tube, and the other guy on the LF foil was on an 11m Sonic and we were well matched :D

Sucky wind may be to blame

Just a little wind, but maybe enough to try out the Hover Glide.

Urgh, everything they said is true. Monster lift, really leaps out of the water and is a battle to get enough weight over the front. Especially when your strap isn't forward enough. Very stable and a solid platform, as the waves have little effect. Glides along nicely, gybe attempts were nice until I fucked it up and fell over, then I had to dodge the foil :o

Wind sucked ass, could barely get out of the water, but if I managed that, I could ride easily. Meant I got stuck in the Marina beach after dropping the kite and fighting for a while to relaunch . . . boy that really sucks now they've screwed around with it. A tough body drag to get out, and I got a little more riding in, then I dropped the kite again and just gave up on it.

Fucking anti seize gel doesn't keep bolts tight :o and I now need an Alien Air. Cos I'm not loving the HG.

3 boards, much joy

So-so forecast, so-so wind reports . . . great session!

Started out playing silly buggers on the TT, which was nice.

Had been out a while when I spotted Hironobu wading out with Grandad's ugly old surfboard that he bolted on the shop Naish foil. I had promised to test it for them but hadn't wanted to spend the good wind fooling around . . . so I swapped boards with him and dragged out to deeper water.

My first time strapless on a foil, on Grandad's dodgy board. Hmm. After a mis-start and a crash into the bottom, we were under way! Foil felt much the same as mine, just a bit slower and more stable. Or more resistant to being wiggled around. Board was horrid, really noticed how long it was.

Too much wind, to close to being horribly over-powered, so after some gybes and water starts, I rode back to shore. I suggested Grandad move the mast forward about 200mm, cut the tail where he planned and cut the front about 100mm ahead of his line. We'll see :D

Went across and had a drink of water, then swapped for the Duke and had a nice time for a change. Rode it out till dark. . . .

Robbed again

Crappy summer wind. So-so session; failure to ride the Duke, underpowered on the Limited and just riding on the Flydoor. Now I remember why I gave up on that board . . . maybe the old one would be better.

And I need to repair that depower line . . .

Some guy got himself a Sroka foil. God, that looks cheap, bulky and draggy! Short mast too, and seemed flexy. Should have asked for a ride.

Showing off for the uninitiated

Off to the ocean. Good forecast didn't arrive, but I got some just-powered foiling. 10 knots in summer is only just enough.

Had a swim with mother, then tried the TT as the wind had picked up . . . under-powered. Oh well.

Nailed it! Railed it!

Rate this an epic session, not because of huge phat airs and wicked tricks, but because I had such a great time on the foil. Really hooked up some fabulous, razor-sharp carving gybes and generally felt very impressed with myself . . .

S3 15 is still out of whack though, I'm going to have to go full retard on the fiddling . . . at least I know where to start.

2 boards, more joy

Really wanted to ride the Duke, but it's just not a low-powered board :( didn't work well with the faulty 15 and I basically could jump straight on the TT and ride upwind better :( :( So I did that and had a nice time getting back in the swing of swinging around at the end of the rope.

The bar is in dire need of reglueing though . . .

3 boards, not a lot of joy

Testing out the repaired 15 . . . hmm, something very wrong. But I got out on all three boards trying to get my groove on. Just not feeling it today, but stuck around trying to ferret it out for 3 hours . . .