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Messages - PonoBill

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22921
SUP General / Re: Whale Stories
« on: March 03, 2010, 10:14:56 AM »
Odd run yesterday. I went way out and found the wind was actually lighter out there. As I made my way in an OC-1 passed in front of me, about a half mile or so ahead. I thought we might intersect. Next time I looked for him he was no where to be seen. I looked all around, could still see Chan ahead, and Jack in the distance, but no canoe. When I got to where I had last spotted him there was nearly no wind but there ware some really big swells that were cresting on the top. I thought the guy might have huli'ed or had his boat break, so I paddled towards shore for awhile, then back out, watching carefully. No boat. I figure he must have turned away from me and I just couldn't see him in all the swells.

A few minutes later I heard a whale behind me. I turned enough to see him--about fifty feet behind me, headed in the same direction. He wound up staying there all the way from Sorrentos to about the Four Seasons, even after I made some course changes to shake him. Unnerving. He heeled better than my dog does, but my dog doesn't weigh twenty tons.

Poked my head in at Polo because I thought folks were ending there. No one. Called Jack and found that everyone went to Makena. My jeep was there anyway, so I have no idea why I bothered with Polo except I had it in mind to check on the OC1. Paddled back out and headed for Makena and the wind turned into my kisser. The last mile was a real slog with the wind blasting. I had to drop to my knees for the last hundred yards.

Even on a hard day this stuff is just too much fin.

22922
I've never seen the interference waves tsunamis can form, I hear they can break, but the video is not of a tsunami.

22923
Downwind and Racing / Re: Looking for my first downwinder!
« on: March 03, 2010, 08:19:22 AM »
I agree about the length, I'm certain to be last guy to the beach on Gumby, but it's lots of fun in the swells. Big boards have more friction (generally) but a higher hull speed. If you have the motor for it, then they can go faster. Planing hulls are more stable and handle the swells ever so much better, but displacement hulls are faster everywhere else.

Skinny, long boards with little rocker are a lot less stable than slightly wider, long boards with lots of rocker. It's hard to be fast when you're laying in the water, or even doing constant balance checks.

I bet by now that Mission Surf has some downwind boards to try. Be careful though, this stuff is as addictive as crack. You're likely to have a bunch o' boards pretty quick.

22924
Downwind and Racing / Re: Looking for my first downwinder!
« on: March 02, 2010, 09:37:50 PM »
Not so. Of the five downwinder boards I have the easiest to use is the SIC F18 planing hull. second easiest is Gumby, my 12' Foote Maliko. third is a tossup between the Penetrator (19') and the SIC F18 Displacement hull.  The hardest and funnest is the Foote Maliko 14.

I honestly can't tell you why that is. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Everyone tells me the easiest fast board is the F16. Sure seems like it--everyone dusted me today on my F18 planer. Of course I stopped to pick some daisies and went in the wrong place and had to paddle back out, but I still was bog slow. It wasn't the board.

22925
Environment / Re: What can be done about global warming?
« on: March 02, 2010, 09:20:58 PM »
Actually it has a lot fewer moving parts. No gearbox, no generator rotor and/or brushes. The turbine wheel is suspended in bearings, but the rotor is magnets arrayed around the rim.

22926
Events / Re: Who’s ready for a Maliko race?
« on: March 02, 2010, 07:05:59 PM »
what if there's no wind like the last time...  ;D

It's not gonna happen.

22927
Events / Re: Who’s ready for a Maliko race?
« on: March 02, 2010, 12:21:47 PM »
I will definitely go. Even if the swell is big. Even if Randy wears those musty weird shorts with the keys and other stuff in the front. Even if the whales are doing divebomb flips. Even if the ocean looks like a victory at sea movie.

Unless it rains. I don't want to get my hair wet.

22928
Events / Mongoose Cup--bring your family and friends
« on: March 02, 2010, 09:43:17 AM »
There's a little article on the Mongoose Cup on Ke Nalu: http://www.kenalu.com/2010/03/02/mickey-mongoose-sounds-like-fun/. Looks like a great event to bring your family and friends to--anyone you'd like to get hooked on SUP. And then get to race as well. Mickey Munoz is the luminary, and you simply couldn't find a nicer surf legend to hang out with.

The race rules are a pretty good equalizer--4 person relay teams, and each team needs to have a female paddler, a senior paddler (over 50) and a Junior (16 and under). The competitive souls among you are probably putting your dream team together. Let's see--Slater Trout for the junior, Candace Appleby for the female, Jack Dyson for the geezer and Dave Kalama for the fourth. Yeah, I think that could work.

The rest of you are probably just thinking how much fun this will be. It's at Dana Point, March 15th.

22929
In a word, no, but that's mostly because I wouldn't want to be a pain in the butt to the harried emergency workers. In the water is a pretty safe place to be, if you're away from shore enough. You'd only see the Tsunami if you looked toward shore. The reason people call them Tidal waves is that they look like the tide. The wave period is two minutes and up so the only place they build a breaker or face is in a slowly shoaling place like a harbor.

Lots of energy in the wave though, they do very unpredictable things. You'd need to be way out, like several miles. Even then you'd be a lot better off up high.

22930
SUP General / Re: Whale Stories
« on: March 02, 2010, 07:46:11 AM »
Wow, I didn't know you actually tried to carry the thing. I thought I saw it free-floating with my binocs--saw something white way outside. The OC1 couldn't make Makena, he wound up landing way down at the last jetty at the Maui Prince hotel. He got the board in OK, I saw it in a truck back up at the top.

22931
SUP General / Re: Whale Stories
« on: March 01, 2010, 05:48:05 PM »
Sure was a lot of carnage yesterday. I'm not forgetting my big leash next time, I was sure my wimpy one was gonna pop. Sorry I couldn't stick around today and wait for you guys. We had a time issue. The run to KamII was wild and wooly, I bet it was big fun in the swells past Sorrentos. When we made the turn down to Wailea there was NO wind. At Wailea beach it was blowing towards the North and the windline was at least four miles out. I'm amazed it filled in so quick. Hope none of you wound up at Kaho'olawe.

22932
SUP General / Re: Whale Stories
« on: March 01, 2010, 07:59:48 AM »
Pretty odd having whales as a navigation hazard on a SUP board. I thought there was a pretty good chance of winding up as fin jam yesterday (like elephant toe jam). On the second run with Larry I had to take evasive action for a turtle and fell off. Missed him by inches. I swear it was laughing at me.

22933
Technique / Re: balancing on SUP
« on: February 28, 2010, 11:14:49 AM »
Get the suffering over early. Mmm, no thanks. When I'm in Oregon I rarely fall. I've gone all day surfing and probably only fallen two or three times. In the Columbia, doing downwinders, I might fall once on a 35KT day. Most runs, not at all.

Here in Maui, I fall all the time. Except in the morning before the sun is on  the break. Then I'm dry through probably ten or more waves--sometimes much longer.

No question, a lot of falling is in your head, and making the effort to stay on the board yields a much greater dividend in Oregon than Maui.

22934
Downwind and Racing / Re: Average speeds for 14' & 18'
« on: February 28, 2010, 11:07:50 AM »
Gee. What he said   /\

That was entirely too clear Rand. Having one of those lucid moments?

I think where you are headed, Pure, is power to weight ratio and what can your drastically slimmed musculature optimize. Mr. Riggs might be the ideal person to comment on this, since he's skinny and fast. He tried the Penetrator in a more or less flat water. While he was very fast on it, I don't think he kept it at it's hull speed. Too much friction I suspect. I don't recall him being in a big hurry to try it again.  His Foote 14 is scary slim--I think 24" wide and he's extremely fast in most conditions. I'm pretty certain he can keep it right at hull speed in flatwater conditions.

I doubt my "fat boy" experience can help you much.

22935
Technique / Re: Who Teaches Stand Up Paddling?
« on: February 27, 2010, 10:43:15 PM »
Good question. I pissed off a bunch of people quite a while ago by saying people who were expert would have a tough time telling you how to do stuff because they had forgotten the intervening steps that a novice has to go through. I think I was wrong, and right. When people get really good at things a lot of the basics have translated into muscle memory. I'm no expert, but i know I couldn't really tell someone how to balance on a board in chop--I do it automatically, and I don't' really understand why someone is having a problem, even though I had the same problem not long ago. All I can tell is you is that it takes time on the water, because I have never taken the time to be analytical about the steps.

There ARE guys who could do that. So far the only one I can say for sure is Dave Kalama. He has taken all the bits apart and studied them. Probably has gone back to basic principles many times to figure out how to do something better. That's my guess anyway, I don't know why he's so good at it otherwise, but he is. If I were trying to build a SUP training course I'd try to get him to be part of it. Or most of it, or all of it.

Another guy would be Alan Cadiz, not because I know anything about how he would teach SUP, but because I know how he teaches windsurfing. When you're putting too much weight on the inside rail he knows what you're doing and has ten ways to fix it. He's an ACE downwind SUP dude, I imagine he could teach anyone how to do it. It's simply that he's analytical about every bit. If you've ever had a windsuring lesson from Alan you know what I mean. there he is, balancing effortlessly on a board and whipping his sail around in ways that I will never fathom, all so he can look at where my feet are and what I'm doing. He's on autopilot but he's watching where my hands are on the booms and seeing what makes me bobble. And telling me exactly what to do in words that make sense to me. I'd say it's a gift, but it's a gift he's been honing a long time. I took my last windsurfing lesson from Alan probably 20 years ago. I still remember everything he taught me. Surf the board, sail the sail. Lean forward, glose the gap, flatten out and plane, commit to the turn, don't be afraid of speed. OK Alan, I got it.

I don't have any experience with anyone else, but I think that's the key--a true expert who pays enough attention to know all the intervening steps, from first wobbling attempt at standing to your first forward loop, or your first drop into a double overhead macker.

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