Sunday 9 23 18 morning call

A 5 hours work shift and a windfoiling lesson were the perfect way to fight an 11 hours time difference jet lag yesterday. Here's my student Jean-Michel who did exceptionally well. What helped him a lot is the fact that I now own a Maliko 280 foil, kindly donated by a generous blog reader that wasn't using it.


Just as big boards help first time windsurfing beginners, big foils help first time windfoilers. It is so intuitive that it wouldn't really need any explanations, but I'll give you a couple anyway:

1) a wider wing span is more difficult to tip sideways and so the roll of the board is minimized. Too much roll while flying is one of the main problems when learning foiling, as your windsurfing (and even more surfing) muscles will make you want to put unnecessary pressure on the rails.

2) a big foil foils at slow speed and that makes everything obviously easier because it requires slower reaction speed from the sailor to correct the flying attitude.
That overall also translates into a less scary experience and less (and less dangerous) wipeouts.

Here's a short clip of JM towards the end of the lesson. If he were on a "proper" faster windsurfing foil, he would have not been able to do that well. Not even close. I have friends who own those and they're still struggling (the ones that didn't give up because they got scared/injured) after several attempts.


4am significant buoy readings
South shore
SW
2.1ft @ 12s from 196° (SSW)

1.2ft @ 11s from 177° (S)

 

SE
1.7ft @ 11s from 166° (SSE)

1.5ft @ 12s from 189° (S)

1ft @ 17s from 147° (SE)

 

Barbers

2.4ft @ 11s from 194° (SSW)

1.4ft @ 13s from 204° (SSW)

1.2ft @ 16s from 198° (SSW)

 

Lanai

1.9ft @ 9s from 169° (SSE)

1.3ft @ 13s from 198° (SSW)

 

Small numbers at the buoys, flat to knee high is my guess.

North shore
Pauwela

3.9ft @ 9s from 69° (ENE)

3.2ft @ 6s from 70° (ENE)

0.9ft @ 14s from 313° (NW)

 

Small numbers at Pauwela too, at least the wind should be extremely favorable, specially in the early morning. Hookipa might have some small breakers, grab a longboard is my suggestion.

Wind map at noon.

North Pacific has a tiny W fetch associated with a typhoon south of Japan, a very weak NE fetch and a fairly weak windswell one. This week the waves are going to be even smaller than they are now. But don't fret, towards the end of week there will be plenty.

 

South Pacific has a decent fetch in the Tasman Sea (Fiji is gonna be pumping soon), a partially blocked SE one and a very remote S one next to which I put a question mark because, due to the distortion introduced by representing a curved surface on a flat map, I'm not really sure where it is aimed. 

 

Morning sky.