Friday 9 18 20 morning call

I had three foiling shots to chose from this morning, and I decided to post them all. This was posted by Mataio Tahiti.

This is Robby Naish in a photo by Fish Bowl Diaries.

This is Kyle Mackie who was part of the group of 5 I did a downwinder with yesterday (photo by Art). Those Cabrinha handles are really good, btw. Haven't found a wing with a similar stiffness handle on the leading edge yet. Alex Aguera told me he likes them soft when wave riding (and explained me why), but for luffing on a downwinder, I'd love to have something as stiff as a door handle on my wing for increased "steerability".

With the exception of one in which I had a foil setup that I didn't test yet (never going to do that mistake again), the rule that each downwinder is better than the previous one keeps staying true. 
Yesterday we had moments in which we were flying relatively close together and if you happened to be the last one trailing, you were rewarded by the surreal vision of four butterflies dancing harmoniously with the waves in front of you. Jason was filming, I hope he got some clips of that.

With the improved skills, the confidence rises and I also had my first really hard slam on a challenging steep drop that I felt I could handle. My face slammed the water pretty hard, just in between the board and the leading edge of the wing. At the same time, my hand (still on the leading edge handle) got compressed backwards pretty hard and I could have easily broken my wrist (and probably would have with the door handle I mentioned above!). Depending how much you push yourself, it can be dangerous out there.

4am significant buoy readings and discussion.
South shore
Barbers

2.8ft @ 8s from 166° (SSE)

1.8ft @ 13s from 177° (S)

0.4ft @ 22s from 186° (S)

Lanai
2.4ft @ 8s from 177° (S)
1.5ft @ 13s from 174° (S)
0.5ft @ 22s from 184° (S)

Mix of periods at the buoys, the 13s energy is declining, but that half foot 22s is a really good sign for tomorrow's swell and might bring the size up also later today. There's some gems already now, actually. Will talk about fetches tomorrow. Check the Lahaina webcam if interested, for size, conditions and consistency.

North shore
Pauwela

4.1ft @ 9s from 64° (ENE)

3ft @ 5s from 85° (E)

No sign of the NW energy the NOAA was expecting (not much of a surprise: the fetch was weak and far away). We do have 4ft 9s from the NE though, and below is the collage of the maps that show the fetch that stayed in place for a few days. Hookipa and the eastern exposures should have small waves.

Wind map at noon (the other ones can be found at link n.-2 of GP's meteo websites list in the right column).

Fetches map (circles legend: red: direct aim, blue: angular spreading, black: blocked, yellow: apparent direct aim, but out of the great circle ray map, so not 100% sure).
North Pacific (about 4 days travel time from the NW corner of the North Pacific):

South Pacific (about 7 days travel time from east/west of New Zealand):

Morning sky.