The Smokin' but Sometimes Fickle South Side Report

[Southbay]

Speaking of which, the first race of the season is January 11. Who's doing it? I'm in.

Are you doing it on the SUP?  flatwater fun?!?  It's hard to string those two words together....

[PonoBill]

On a SUP, probably my Bullet but I might do it on the Ku Nalu 12' just for fun.

I turned MotionX on today, here's the track over the reef.



La Perouse:  I tried to remember if I've ever taken a different line in to Makena, I don't think so. I blame Randy and Chan--mostly Chan. That's the line we used--always. I think back before you had a boat and were doing only SUP that you did too, though when it was just you and Kiwi and I regularly doing southside runs we usually stopped at that house Kiwi was caretaking. What was that? Fifty years ago. Seems like it.

[covesurfer]

Speaking of which, the first race of the season is January 11. Who's doing it? I'm in.

Are you doing it on the SUP?  flatwater fun?!?  It's hard to string those two words together....

I'm in, of course. But, I may try it in my boat, which means I'll really get my a$$ handed to me. But, as SB says, flatwater fun=an oxymoron of the highest order.

By the way, we had a decent downwinder today - medium wind which lightened at times and then came roaring back. That was my first downwinder on my board in a couple of weeks.

The wind made for a fun run all the way from the boardwalk to Makena. Big surf from Friday's crazy storm scoured the sand at the boardwalk. It was a bit weird walking into the water there - big blocks of sandstone and rock exposed. Not bad but strange.

SB, you'll be checking my Garmin. 7.1 mph average which I was pretty pleased with in the lighter wind. But current must've been on our side and the glides were very catchable for nearly the whole run. Are you gonna paddle the race and will it be boat or board? Pono said he's gonna kick your youthful rear end. And he's gonna do it on his surfboard.

[PonoBill]

Current was NOT on our side from Sorrentos to Polo, felt like I was stuck in concrete. Even when I caught a glide I had to keep paddling. Like the whole section was uphill.

Of course the biggest problem is that we were comparing it to the day before. When it rocked. And you were unpacking boxes, or maybe making cucumber sandwiches or sumpthin'

[LaPerouseBay]

I think back before you had a boat and were doing only SUP that you did too, though when it was just you and Kiwi and I regularly doing southside runs we usually stopped at that house Kiwi was caretaking. What was that? Fifty years ago. Seems like it.

Those were some good times.  Kiwi Mark at the Weisel house.  I did a bunch of work in there last year.  We will be back this month for more.  28,000 square feet, 50 million dollar world class art collection.  Amazing place. 

Ok, time for the wayback machine.  I think this is 08, or maybe 09.  That's probably you behind Stuey's Penetrator.  That board was way ahead of it's time IMO.  That thing would really fly.  It was faster than S.I.C.'s F-18 and that really bugged Raaphorst.  He used to get all salty about it.



Here's Mark's (pun intended) F-18, my red F-16 and Stuey's (your) Penetrator 572.  My how time flies.  It seems like another era.  Eons ago.

[Southbay]

Never saw that board (the penetrator), but I sure remember reading about it here.  Way before I met any of you...that is strange huh? 

Going to do the race in my boat.  Unless I pass on the race.  If you all are in, I'm probably in too.

[PonoBill]

Actually, the Penetrator is sitting under the Canoe rack at the Hale in Kahalui, I noticed it a few days ago. I gave it to Travis Baptiste to practice on, or maybe it was Noah Yap. Anyway, there it sits. It got very heavy after it was repaired. Randy Royce was riding it on a Maliko run, got tagged by a big wave and the board got folded. I imagine it's even heavier now. They probably got tired ot tripping over it. Great board though.

[LaPerouseBay]

^ Sad to see it abandoned like that.  It's a shame carbon boards are so expensive to fix (without adding weight).  That board was super light.   

Until the "Unpleasantness at Spartans"

I am intrigued by that shape.  It is a big fat displacement hull.  Stuey is a sailboat racer guy.  Skis, outriggers, sailboats etc. don't plane.  They glide.   

It was a rocket on the south shore in light wind.  I had it out a few times before the "Unpleasa   Oh, I can't even write it. 

6 years later I can still see the calf high smooth rollers in front of me.  The board was easy to control, locked in the trough, gliding with no strokes.  Add a few strokes and it would glide through the bump in front and settle into the next trough - just like a ski.

Mark Jackson fell back on that F-18.  We switched and he flew ahead. 

That board was a perfect candidate for remote steering.  Stuey's steering system was hard to get used to.  They all are.  Steering is vital on displacement hulls.           

RR may have folded that board.  He felt bad about it.

 

From now on I shall refer to this incident as "unpleasantness at Spartans"

Any chance you are going to be doing an interpretive dance rendition of "unpleasantness at Spartans".

[XLR8]

This stuff is pretty fun to read and follow guys, THANKS!

[PonoBill]

One of the most challenging things about the Penetrator, other than the near constant roll/catch of the hull was that it wouldn't stop--dragging a blade often wasn't enough in even a tiny bump. Coming in to the beach was sometimes spooky. You had to jump off and catch it before it "penetrated" the shore.

You're right about the RC rudder. I cobbled an A.S.S. Raaphorst rudder onto the thing, but it never worked well. With only 22" of wetted width there wasn't a lot of good things that happened if you moved your feet around to steer. Maybe I need to recover that hull and use it for the next round of experiments.

[Southbay]

After a very long dry spell, read: terrific surf, we had a damn fine downwinder yesterday on the southside.  Pretty big group, missing Headmount, but all in all the normal group totaling about 9 paddlers.  6 SUPs, 2 skis and 1 OC-1.  The wind was really strong and the surf picked up big time after about a mile.  The boats were right in front from the get go.  Ralf, Cove and I battled it out along side them for most of the run.  I pushed really hard to try and keep up with Ralf, but he beat me by a few hundred yards, 10.4 miles later.  Ralf never fell once, and I fell 3 times.  Turns out it was my best run ever, 7.9 MPH average, with 3 out of 10 miles I averaged 8.9 MPH (6min 35sec miles).  I got way too far outside at the end, and had to make a 90 degree turn, and actually paddle upwind for a bit, but the waves were just too tempting, and I kept thinking I could gain on Ralf!  haha....

The ending was insane, with two huge whales breaching right in front of our group.  Larry and Ralf didn't even see them!  That's concentration  .

After the run, Cove and I were talking about the OC-1's and how much they have helped improve our SUP times.  It really is amazing.  The boat shows you what is possible, and then you go and do it on the SUP.  I think it is that simple.  Anyway, awesome day on the water and a damn fine group of people.

[Southbay]

Ok, so I got a GoPro, and I have no idea how to work it!  Cove showed me how to turn it on right before I got on the water Saturday.  By the time was able to attach the camera, lock my car and grab my water, the normal group was mere specks in the distance.  I was determined to catch them, because I wanted to get footage of the gang!  It took me 20 minutes to catch them, and then I took turns going up to everyone and "filming" them...well, turns out the camera was dead and so I wasn't doing a damn thing!  haha!  Long story short, I made a movie with the first 20 minutes before the thing died.  Not the best part of the run, and a little boring cause its just me, but here are a few glides on a nice Maui day.  Hope you all enjoy.



Southbay

[covesurfer]

Nice little vid SB! Can't wait to see what you do when you get some good stuff! LPB had his camera on also and he got some cool footage near the end of the run of Stephen and Kathy in the OC2 and me, riding close behind him (while he was taking it easy).

We missed you out there today on Maliko! First one in forever. I took my boat, as did Kathy. The Bills both went too, HM on an OC1 (!) and Pono on his Bullet. I had a great run, Kathy and I stayed together the whole way and it was a 1:09 from the turn outside the gulch to the harbor entrance. Averaged over 8 mph for about 4 of the 9 or so miles of downwind.

I'm definitely reading the water better but watching your video, it's clear that you're paddling much more efficiently than I am. You are steering well and just paddling to get into stuff, then cruising. Fun to watch. I got plenty of bumps today, it was surprisingly good and it felt great to be out there. The usual confused surface bothered me less than usual but maybe that's just from time in the boat. HM came down with a bout of food poisoning mid-run and went in at Sugar Cove. Other than some logistical issues at the finish, it all turned out ok and I think he's on the mend.

Tomorrow's forecast is deep purple to red on Maui 2KM and almost straight east. Afternoon looks like it's gonna rock. I think it's a SUP day with plenty of drops in the picture. Hope you can make it.

[Southbay]

I am so bummed, I missed the first Maliko!  Spoke to HM, that is really crazy.  Good thing there was no surf today!  I may take the boat even with the forecast.  Still thinking I want to do Molokai in April, so I need some time with boat in big water.  1:09 is awesome, and Kathy has been killing in in the ski.  Nice work!  See you guys soon.

[covesurfer]

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/704752133 Guess I only got over 8 for 3 miles, not 4.

The boat was an absolute blast out there today. I'm tempted to take it again but I also want to stand up and ride some waves as well. If it's smokin, I'll take the board. If it's just ok, I'll go boat.