The smokin spring and summer Maliko report

[headmount]

Thanks for that vid.  It was freaking awesome, especially at the end in the big roll out in the open water.  Fo me there's nothing more thrilling.

[headmount]

Lanai in the background... off Molokai?

[LaPerouseBay]

LPB, do you ever paddle the OC anymore? I had my first experience in OC-6 last night and was blown away how awesome it was.

Glad you like the six man, I've heard they are fun.

I'm all ski these days. 

Here's the final video of last Monday's run.  Too bad I got mowed, conditions were super good.

maliko 5-28-12

[ericspin]

Paid, that's an awesome short video. HM is right about the rollout with everyone's _paddles up_. Very cool. We got a small taste of something like that the other night, however, on the west coast of FL our seas are more chop than swell and they are much closer together. So you get little short rides. Love the ohana in the 6. There are those times when you would like to take a stroke or two off but you know the other men are counting on you. Told my friends afterward that I was experiencing alternating feelings of elation and nausea. Love the full out effort.     

LP, looking forward to seeing video of you in the new V10 when she comes around. Meanwhile, I always look forward to all your video as it helps me keep the stoke during those landlocked days when I am working in TN (another year of this commitment). There is just no comparison to paddling in open water. And it doesn't really matter WHAT you're paddling, right?

[LaPerouseBay]

Fun run Sunday.  Wind felt lighter than the airport reported, but the swells were big and fast.  I was spooked for the entire second half of the run.  Last Monday's beating really freaked me out. 

maliko 6-3-12

This screen shot looks interesting.  A moment sooner may have resulted in a soaking but probably not a spill.  I didn't see anything, but I felt it back there.  My hull speed was pretty good - that lip could have stalled me - but it wasn't pitching violently.   

I forgot to edit out the 'screenshots' before publishing.   

[headmount]

LPG... Finally got to watch last vid which was fun.  Love those wipeouts.  In reference to your head wound....here's a post from you from last March... a thought is a powerful thing.
 
Re: First significant paddle boarding injury
« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2012, 11:13:53 PM »   
It was in my first summer of maliko runs.  Small whitewater at pier one knocked me off my old red F-16.  Came to the surface without covering up and the board  bashed me in the cheek.  Not enough to bleed, but enough for a small welt.  I was lucky.

Barely qualifies as a 'significant' injury, but get this, nothing has happened since.  Knock wood.  Go ahead, call me a coward.  Sticks and stones....

     

[1paddle2paddle]

LPB, nice video.  You can hear the scuppers sucking feverishly with the high speeds generated.

 I was over on Maui this weekend for a funeral service and Headmount was gracious enough to take me out on a Maliko Sunday, lend me a board, paddle and hydration equipment, and his wife picked us up at the end and drove us back.  Unfortunately it seems that all of my trips to Maui have been tied up with non-paddling issues, it was great to get in the water yesterday.

The wind was a bit light for Maui standards but I still had a great time.  Kudos to Headmount, I really appreciated it.  One of these days my family will get to Maui for a true "vacation" and focus on some nice downwind runs.

[LaPerouseBay]

Love those wipeouts.

Me too.  I find it extremely useful to review the lead in to the spill.  My memory (and that of others) is often very different than reality. 
The water color change, the swell shape changes and the missed glide are all very useful to me. 
I don't like crashing in a 20 foot boat.  Some are minor 'step offs' like a sup, but that crash was ugly.  The string is a sliding leash setup.  I wan't to get away from the ski if necessary.

LPB, nice video.  You can hear the scuppers sucking feverishly with the high speeds generated.

That sound is actually the wind on the camera.  The front cover got ripped off and the microphone is more exposed.  The rear display is dead.  If the camera ever dies I'll get a gopro2, remote and dashware.

[LaPerouseBay]

The V-10 arrived today.  It's light, skinny and looks great.

First time in the water and I almost rolled right out of the boat - just like day one in the V-10 sport. 

This boat is tippier. 

Paddled a bit with my legs out, then settled in and continued on without falling.  Fiddled a bit with the foot strap and pedals. 

Paddling behind the waist is forgivable in the sport, but this boat won't allow it.  Pull too far and it's hello fish.  Mike said my stroke would improve...   

Seat is extremely comfy.  Snug fit.    I like the slightly higher hump too. 

Paddling with Mike Owens tomorrow.  I'll try and stick the camera on the back.  Underwater shots are likely.   

Sport is sold.  I'll shine it up and move it tomorrow.  Time to figure out the new boat and get ready for downwinding.  I hope it doesn't take too long.

Extremely stoked.  This boat feels very, very fast. 

   

[ericspin]

The V10 looks hot, hot, hot. I see ( from the red tips ) that you ordered the Ultra layup. Must be super light. Looking forward to the first paddle report.

[LaPerouseBay]

Yes, the kevlar is light, only 26.5 pounds.  It's amazing how light and strong these boats are.  The steering feels like it's got ball bearings in it.  Super smooth.   

The paddle today was good.  We did an hour in light rolling chop.  The V-10 is feeling much better.  The pedals went back another notch.  I'm really pleased with the snug bucket.  It's a full two inches narrower than the old version of the V-10 sport.  The biggest adjustment so far has been the extra length.  It feels about 30 feet long.  The tippyness is beginning to fade, but still lots of bracing if I step on the gas.  And I get tired quicker with all the extra balancing.  Everything old is new again...   

Super happy with the boat.  I'm hoping to be ready for light downwinding soon.         

[JonathanC]

Hmm that new boat looks really nice L, I rented a Carbonology Vault for a week a couple of weeks ago. It coincided with a week of strong wind so it was straight into downwinding with the tipper boat.
First run I didn't even have time to pad it out so the combo of smaller narrower boat, and floating around in the seat meant lots of swims. Pretty quickly got used to it but found it hard work in bigger conditions, our water is getting pretty cold now as well so that doesn't help.
Keen to try a Fenn Swordfish next.

Be really interested to hear how you go with the V10, I'm starting to think that narrower boats may not be the way to go for downwind with my skill level, also going to demo a Stellar SR, seems like a backward step from the V10S but I think I need stability to learn technique and improve (actually start!) leg drive. Stellars are supposed to be really good for leg drive.

Just got my new carbon Ace 14 x 25 so I'm back in love with SUP at the moment, did a 35 knot, 3m swell downwinder in freezing conditions and pouring rain last week with the new Ace, now that was a wild ride, first time in the drink I knew fleecy pants and top and goretex shell was the wrong attire....

We are so lucky to have all the options and choosing the right board or ski as a 'problem'......

[LaPerouseBay]

Today Mike and I got a sample of some serious water.  We were looking for a safe place in south Makena to launch, but a south swell forced us to the lagoon at LaPerouse Bay.  We launched at 7 am, which is about 90 minutes too late for calm water.  The trades were filling in quickly from the Alenuihaha as we made our way south.  We planned on 60 minutes, to get some base miles in.  

So we set out and the wind started.  It's all cliffs and rocks, so the rebound makes it lumpy and unpredictable.  We motored around the lighthouse and got a taste of some big swells.  Great fun.  Mike really enjoyed it out there.  He's strong in a ski.  He uses a seat pad to improve his leverage, which makes a boat far tippier.  He tells me he does it to empathise with my struggle in an elite boat.    

It was tough to catch anything in the longer, narrow boat, but it's getting better.  I fell about 5 times, Mike doesn't fall in ski.  It was a blast.  Far bigger than either of us expected.

I think you are wise to stay in a stable ski JC.  The veterans are not kidding when they say stability is #1.  I'm much slower in this V-10 than the V-10 sport.  

The V-10 is like starting over again.  I would have stayed in the V-10 sport if I was a 3 day a week paddler.  But I only miss a few days a month, so I've got time on the water going for me.  And that's the key.  

The V-10 ultra is a slick boat.   I got a 10% discount on mine because it was used (once).  Epic rents new ones for the Molokai - Oahu then sells them.  $3400 (delivered) is a great price.  I hear Aussies pay over 6k.  I wish we had all those other great boats to try. 

[JonathanC]

Went out this afternoon, first time in the V10S for over a week but it feels so stable now after the Vault, certainly something exciting about getting into a finer tippier boat. While I had the Vault I did a river run with a buddy and strangely the Vault actually felt much tippier on dead flat river water than it did in choppy ocean swell, the initial stability doesn't give any sense of confidence but the secondary is very strong.
If you are paddling most days Im sure you will be fine in the V10 in no time, it will be really interesting to see how long it takes to improve on the V10S times for downwind runs, I know i was slower on the Vault downwind than the V10S but every so often I would get an insight into just how fast it could be, that superfine nose just pierced and the thing rocketed on.
Not sure why we get hit with such high prices for the Chinese skis, the containers come straight from China to Australia, bit like cars here, we pay more for the GM cars we manufacture here than you guys do after we export them from Australia to the US
Looking forward to some V10 videos!

[1paddle2paddle]

I'm much slower in this V-10 than the V-10 sport.  

The V-10 is like starting over again.  I would have stayed in the V-10 sport if I was a 3 day a week paddler.  But I only miss a few days a month, so I've got time on the water going for me.  And that's the key.  

I think that will be a short temporary situation, in all but the most challenging of conditions.

I never was able to paddle everyday; I was that 3 day a week paddler and after one season in the XT the V10 was faster (well faster) in 95% of the conditions I faced

I finally took mine out yesterday after two months of collecting dust.  Do I start out easy?  Hell no, I take it up the wall around Portlock and up to Hanauma Bay, some of the most challenging water on Oahu.  What a paddle, increasingly disorganized water culminating in a crescendo of insanity as you approach (and then enter) Hanauma Bay from the West.  And then there is no place to rest while sitting in the middle of the Hanauma Bay - brutal conditions to be not moving in the V10, even with legs over the side it is not in the slightest bit "relaxing."

My shoulder was a little achy yesterday, feeling OK today though.  Time for some video of that water.