Topics

1

Random / My action cam evolution

« on: January 07, 2021, 03:36:10 AM »

I had fun reading the Davinci Resolve video edit thread (well, maybe more the videos than than the reading) and it made me think about my own history with action cam self filming and editing and just how much things have progressed. I’m purely low tech simpleton but I still enjoy mucking around with it as new technology evolves.

This was an early vid made around 2004 using a little waterproof Nikon Coolpix 100 mounted on a tripod in shallow water (Lakes Bay in NJ). The very first Gopros were just showing up. About as low tech and low res as you could imagine. I vaguely remember trying to line up jumps in line and close enough to the camera without smacking it. On the plus side the joints were still working good.

https://youtu.be/-QBCDulxD4k

This is a latest video I made from various clips this last year with all my new gadgets including a shiny new SKYdio2 drone, Staaker drone, GoPro Max, and GoPro 7. Edited with LumaFusion on an IPad Pro. I probably don’t use 1/10th of what’s available in Luma.  Retired on the OBX. My, how technology has improved! If only the same thing could be said for the body joints,.......hence the action is not quite as actiony  )

2

Classifieds / Tracer Skymount action cam wing mount

« on: December 30, 2020, 06:00:17 AM »

$55 includes shipping to mainland US.  Brand new, never used.   

Action cam mount for leading edge of a wing-a-ding or kite. I bought this in the spring and never even opened to box. Plenty of YouTube videos showing this mount in action. 

3

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / I’ll call it the Dwight 360

« on: November 15, 2020, 07:38:05 PM »

So I wanted to try something sorta new and remember Dwight posting a vid of his version of a 360. I’d guess you’d call it a jibe going right into a tack giving the 360 effect. I figured it would be fun (and not quite as challenging as the backwinded 360). Anyway had fun trying some today. They are a lot easier than a backwinded 360, especially when you’re seriously powered up. I guess if you delay the tack portion by a few seconds it would just be called a jibe followed by a tack .

Speaking of tacks and 360’s, pretty much all my upwind transitions follow a corkscrew pattern’; wide carve turn to start, followed by flatter pivot turn to finish. An early regrab on the wing helps pull the board around the last bit of the turn, but for backwinded 360’s and toe-to-heelside tacks I really need to finish the board flat turn with legs driving it. It’s hard on the knees!

https://youtu.be/nQHfu63IzpU

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / How long are your sessions?

« on: November 03, 2020, 03:53:17 AM »

Finally got a Garmin Instinct GPS watch to wear while riding. I’m curious how everyone else’s riding sessions compare. I seem to be good for about 1 1/2 hours max of straight riding time before fatigue really starts to set in, but even an hour seems plenty. What’s strange for me is that my legs get wobbly and fatigued before my arms/shoulders do, which I wouldn’t expect since I never use a harness.  I think I could maybe go two hours or slightly more on a downwinder if I wasn’t turning so frequently and falling while working on challenging moves.  My GPS top speed said 16.9 knots but I’m too chicken sh#t to push any harder! Once I finally come in I’m generally ready to pack up for the day rather than rest and go for another session, especially as the weather gets cooler and required neoprene increases. Maybe that’s an over 60 thing

I recall Beasho posting a GPS log of a 17 mile session


Yesterday I tried some more extended backwinded riding where I actually rode about 25 ft and finished the 360 successfully (off foil but I’ll take it) on a couple of try’s. Plenty of energy draining spills in between.  I’ve watched a couple of recent Patrice clips riding backwinded and I really want to orient the wing to spill wind off the clew like he does.  It’s what I do with a windsurfer but I’m just not getting it yet with a wing.

5

Classifieds / Moses W1100 front wing & Moses 450 stabilizer

« on: October 28, 2020, 12:12:35 PM »

Moses W1100 foil.  $350. Purchased new last spring and used about 5 times. Small section of one wing tip (topside only) and a 1” section of leading edge did receive some damage during shipping. Immediately repaired with West System G/flex 650 epoxy. No detrimental effect on wing performance at all.

Moses 450 stabilizer.  $200. Also used about 5 times since purchased last spring. No damage other than typical scuff marks.

Plenty of great wing foiling reviews on this wing. I decided to stick with the Gong Veloce XXL as my large foil for wing foiling. Need to thin the heard.....

6

Classifieds / Gong Pro XL hydrofoil full setup

« on: October 28, 2020, 11:45:04 AM »

$440.00     PayPal.     Shipping not included.

Pro XL (1900 sq cm) original construction purchased new in Sept 2019. 45cm surf stabilizer. 80 cm and 65 cm aluminum masts. Amazing first foil for wing foiling progression (I’ve ridden several Moses and Axis foils for winging, and the Pro XL is just a great all around learning foil, from my first jibes to 360’s and behind-the-back-tacks).  Very good condition. No damage other than expected scuff marks.

Selling because I traded up to the new Veloce foil wing.

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Second try at selfie filming with the drone

« on: October 05, 2020, 07:31:58 PM »

Ok, so this was pretty much the opposite of Ponobill adventures in 3m conditions in the Gorge, ......just a very wimpy 10-15 at the Canadian Hole in Hatteras.  Actually nice and tame for a second round of selfie filming with my Staaker drone. Worked pretty well even though it was challenging to stay on foil all the time in this light wind.  I wasn’t quite as intimidated by the drone as the first time. I ran it right to the auto return home limit and managed not to fall .  It doesn’t follow perfectly but it does a decent job . I’ll have to try some different orientations on the next droney session.

I didn’t edit out clips, just did one continuous clip with some fast forwarding in the boring straights. It’ll be interesting to compare this to the Skydio 2 when it finally shows up

(After this selfie run I switched from the Veloce XL to the Veloce XXL for the first time. The XXL was amazing. I could pretty much do everything on it right away without coming off the foil at all. I thought it would be a total dog in the turns but it would carve almost as well as the XL)

https://youtu.be/hz-J9XcR-yE

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / So where are you going with this winging thing?

« on: October 01, 2020, 03:36:53 AM »

I hate to ask the question like some lame job interview, but what are your goals with winging?  It’s been a year since I joined the forum and started winging, and the last 2 months have been the first time period in that year I’ve gone nowhere on progression and wondered what I’m supposed to do next. One month out from the finger injury and one month of crud winds and 10 other things getting in the way. I’m one of those ridiculous type A’s that goes nuts if I just do the same thing every day, and don’t try something new, even if I fail miserably at it. There has to be a challenge to get to the next goal. Doesn’t have to be a sailing skill at all, just something that requires learning. Anyway here are mine for winging:

• More selfie drone filming and better 360 cam footage. Just did one day with my Staaker drone. Want to do more. Have a Skydio 2 on order as well. My 360 cam footage is still really crude compared to what is possible
• Way more travel to new riding spots. Turning 62 and officially retiring this month. Gettin a little travel trailer (like a gazillion other people) to just pack the gear and wander. If international travel ever restarts Austrialia is top on the list since both our daughters live there
• Some new skills like sustained backwinded riding and this wing flip thing where you go from backwinded to toe-side in the same direction by just rolling the wing over your head. Pretty cool. I’ll have to come up with some others...
• Ocean riding. I give lip service about doing it, but always chicken out. In my defense we generally have crappy overwhelming shore break conditions. Absolutely nothing like Hawaii or even FL/CA for that matter
• Downwinders. Really haven’t even tried for a decent one yet. It’s time

I know 90% of the topics here are about gear, gear, and more gear. I’m as guilty as anyone, but I get weary from it!

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Bizarre injury has me out for awhile

« on: August 12, 2020, 01:17:10 AM »

The doc calls it a finger avulsion (also called jersey finger or rugby finger). Happened on the day I was practicing those behind the back wing pass tacks. Basically missed a front hand regrab and didn’t let go quite fast enough with the other hand before doing the damage. At the time I didn’t think much of it at all. Heck, I smash, jamb, twist my hands/fingers all the time doing water play and constructiony stuff. Even kept riding for another hour, even though it was a bit sore.

A week later and the finger doesn’t seem to be improving much so the wife “strongly suggests” I get it checked (where would we be without our far more prudent better halves!). Doc looks at it for 5 seconds and says, “oh yeah that sucker’s deviated”,..... and so began my discovery of finger avulsion. Hopefully not a full ligament rupture requiring surgery (seeing a specialist next week), but there’s a small chunk of bone where it shouldn’t be (hurts like bitch if you push it the wrong way) and I’m out for at least month if not more.

I don’t think this was a boom specific injury. Figure it could’ve happened with handles just as easily. Maybe the lesson is “when in doubt let go” but my releases and regrabs happen pretty fast either way working on this move. I figure I held on for about a 1-2 seconds too long. Plenty of time to do the damage.    I was really having fun practicing the move and even found an ok attempt buried in the footage on the same day I did the damage. Oh well, crap happens........

https://youtu.be/9Qm8k7S9gwU

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / First attempts at behind-the-back wing pass tack

« on: August 03, 2020, 03:24:00 AM »

Or whatever it’s called. Of course the first of anything I complete standing up ain’t so pretty, but as always, it’s a start. Talk about a lot of releasing and regrabbing required in short order😮. It makes regular tacks feel like a cake walk in comparison (....and the pro’s make it look so easy). Anyway here’s a short clip in some gusty 4m conditions. Kinda proud of myself for staying on the new Veloce and not just going back to my trusty pro XL for trying new tricks. Pretty much no clue on proper technique or wing leash-to-waist-belt-setup.  I was trying to do the final regrab so quickly that on one attempt I seriously jammed/twisted my right middle two fingers on the boom,....and like a typical idiot, kept riding for another hour. A bit swollen this morning so I don’t  think I’ll be riding for the next few days, but I could use a break (and a bit stormy for the next day or so anyway). Too lazy to find it in all the footage but I‘m slowly getting the hang of the pump cadence of this mega glide wing and getting some longer luff-and -pump rides

https://youtu.be/z22qMYWGrKM

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Gong Veloce XL review

« on: August 01, 2020, 06:51:55 AM »

Way too long winded review so Cliff notes summary: I like it. I’m keepin it.

In typical Gong fashion my Veloce XL and Veloce 47cm stabilizer finally arrived after 3 weeks in transit from France for the bargain shipping price of 200€ (someone needs to convince Patrice to switch from LaPosta to DHL for overseas shipping but that’s another beat-to-death story.....).

Here are the specs on the VeloceXL:
Wingspan: 94 cm
Chord: 20 cm
Wingspan/chord ratio: 4.7
Thickness: 1.7 cm
Volume: 1.35L
Projected area: 1520 cm2
Extraordinary surface area: 1598 cm2
Perceived surface area: 1600 cm2
Weight of the wing in 94 cm: 1.2 kg

It’s not super high aspect but what I would call modest ha. It’s not extremely flat but it doesn’t have much arc either (projected 1520 versus 1600 actual). What makes it unique is thickness (volume). At 1.7cm it’s about half the thickness of a GL210. It’s volume is just 1.35 liters versus a smaller area Axis 1010 (1430 sq cm projected) at 1.73 liters. So it’s really thin! Probably among the thinnest production foils for its area.

My foil riding universe has been the Gong pro XL, Mose 1100 and 790, and some quick rides on the Axis 1020 and 1150. I’ll be blunt in my opinion,.....but it DOES NOT mean one wing is good and another bad, it just means what works best for me, kinda like boom versus handles.

First off Axis and Moses; fit and finish for both brands is absolutely top notch but I could not wrap my head around either the 1020 or the 1150. The 1020 seemed like the foil equivalent of big ole 140L board you want for the first 30 minutes of winging and then you want move on quickly.  The 1150 had amazing low end, pump and glide, but carvy turning was not it’s forte, it’s more of that flat slidey pivot turn you need to make happen with some extra leg work. The Moses 1100 has just a little more carvyness to it than the 1150 (banking in a turn) but it’s also in that “don’t over lean into the turn or I’ll get pissed off” feel. Of course the 1100 and 1150 are wiiiiide wings, so expecting them to be lean-in carvy is asking a bit too much. That being said Balz and Gunnar can rip on the 1100 (and I have generally gotten used to using it),  and I have no doubt there are people killing it on the 1150 and big GL wings........ Guess you just adapt to those flat turns. Oh and while the Moses 790 was very carvy with its much smaller wing span, it had a noticeably higher stall speed and was much less glidey,  so that much more likely to come off the foil during upwind transitions that aren’t perfect. I judge based on upwind stuff, not downwind stuff.

So that brings me to the Veloce XL. Based on my experience with the 1100 and 1150 I had ultra low expectations. I even chickened out my first chance to ride it, since there were a lot of spectators around. Finally rode it yesterday morning with no one in sight  in sorta light flukey 5m conditions, and yesterday afternoon in honking 4m conditions. All I can say is that Patrice must have some magical ability to design foil wings that fit my limited ability. It’s fast, ultra glidey, and very turny/carvy with a suprisingly low stall speed. It’s a wee bit more sensitive to pitch and roll control than my pro XL, but not by much at all. It responds great to both flat turning and lean-in carvy turns. This wing just loves to do this awesome glide on tacks (both heel and toeside). Definitely a different pump cadence to get used to. It hauls arse upwind with my Echo’s...... So, I didn’t finish my 360’s on the foil but, considering it was my first 60 min of riding a very new foil in flukey light winds it was still great.

So despite the Gong ordering hassles,  the crude fuselage, the way too spongy Al mast (and required mod to accept a stiff heavy 19mm Axis mast), the lack of inbewteen carbon mast sizes, I guess the crazy bearded Frenchman stills gets my nod of approval. My current go to foils are the pro XL and the Veloce XL.  I’ll keep the Moses 1100 for now.  Gonna try and have Jim Stringfellow fab a lightweight fuselage to adapt my Moses carbon  surf masts to the Gong wings. Then all will be right with the world…..except for wanting that 4’10” 70L FSM board.

The wife said something about some PITA Storm potentially headed up the sound on Monday.  Gonna mess up those SW thermals for a few days.

https://youtu.be/jlVdi6amRIQ

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Session from the boat practicing 360’s

« on: July 12, 2020, 03:59:37 AM »

I was gonna just add this to the “carving 360” thread but I thought it came out decent so what the heck. I did a previous GoPro Max fixed tripod mount of some riding and it worked OK, so I’d thought I’d try it again for practicing 360’s. The boom cam mount just doesn’t seem to do it justice. You need to max out the video size to see it best

This time I mounted the GoPro on the boat so that it would be higher off the water. I also thought yesterday would be a “360 friendly” light 6m wing day, but it quickly turned into a gusty 4m day adding to the challenge  since everything seems to happen way faster in higher winds. Also rigged down to my Gong XL pro (~ 1780 sq cm projected area) from the W1100.  After some sloppy fails (as always) and just getting reaclimated to a small wing ding and the Gong foil again, I did pull off some not-horrible 360’s.  Actually it’s the first time I’ve ever seen video of myself doing one  from an onlooker perspective and I thought, “I guess that happens sorta fast!”

Have some shots at the end of my former kitefoiling homies, who are now my winging homies, Ross (styleito on the forum) and Andy (AGK on the forum). Andy has his cool new BRM wing quiver, and in just a few sessions both guys are already ripping it up. The addiction has spread



https://youtu.be/NYYhICgCyc0

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SUP General / Getting cuts to heal quickly

« on: June 25, 2020, 12:42:36 AM »

Every few years I have the unfortunate luck of stepping on a piece of glass (or sharp object) playing in the water and then worrying about infection if I get back in the water too soon. I do the full clean out, H-peroxide and anti bacterial ointment routine, but getting the cut to seal up quickly on the sole of your feet always seems to go a bit slow. Curious if there are any recommendations on products (or tricks) to help things along? I’ve seen a few things on Amazon like 3M Vetbond and others that seem to get ok reviews. Any advice?  Thanks!

14

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Gopro Max 360 and upwind 360’s

« on: June 03, 2020, 03:18:21 AM »

I know the fisheye look of POV action cams can be somewhat irritating but they sure are easy to use. In wide mode my GoPro 7 still misses a lot of perspective when boom mounted. Even more so when helmet or body mounted. So I made a very first (meaning I’m still clueless) try with a Gopro Max 360 cam mounted on a quick-and dirty extension pole mounted to my boom. Should easily work with handles too. I know the typical thing is to mount a 360 cam on a selfie pole attached to a waist harness, and wing tip mounts are getting popular as well (next on my try list). Anyway my boom extension is way crude with no invisible selfie stick and a safety lanyard flapping away in the shot, but it was still fun as a first try. Seems like “reframing” is the real power of 360 cams

My last two transitions in the clip are sorta like an upwind 360 attempt. Ok, not really since I hand switch like a regular heel-to-toe tack 180 and then just continue right into a jibe to make it a 360. The very last one came out pretty smooth  .  Klaas Vogel (team rider for Duotone/Fanatic, and my favorite rider) does a proper upwind 360 where he never does a hand switch with the wing during the transition. Instead he  just pushes the clew of the wing right through the eye of the wind. It’s the coolest thing. That’s my 2020 season goal, along with better looking 360 cam video,....and some ocean riding! And I need to figure out how to extract GPS data from my GoPro to see how fast I’m going…..

https://youtu.be/Gv8v0uJsK7E

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Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / It’s a wing kite, or maybe a kite wing😮

« on: May 25, 2020, 05:12:07 AM »

Never would have expected to see this. Let the dissing begin

https://www.facebook.com/360117614771955/posts/690734235043623/