Author Topic: Golden God of WingFoiling  (Read 3057 times)

PonoBill

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Golden God of WingFoiling
« on: December 28, 2019, 10:23:48 PM »
I am a GOLDEN GOD of wing foiling. Sort of. I went to the south side this morning fairly early, like the crack of 10:00 AM maybe. The plan was to do some out and back, wait until Bill Boyum showed up and then we could do a downwinger.

After a few little warmup runs I got up on the foil going on my bad side (goofy foot/starboard tack) and was smoking along. I decided to keep going until I crashed or dropped off the foil. I got all the way to the lineup for the tourist whalewatch boats to get into Maalea harbor without a touchdown. More than few "almost lost that you idiot" and "oh shit I'm going way too fast" moments but I got there on the foil, blazing. Then I turned around to the happy feet side and ripped back without a wobble. SO MUCH FRICKEN' FUN. Whenever I'd see a nice swell I'd chase it down, catch it, let the wing go slack and stay in it as long as I could. Awesome downwind practice. My line took me well upwind from the Canoe Hale, almost to thorn beach. As I neared the shore I looked down and saw nothing but reef. OH SHIT! I've been all over this island for 40 years and never saw that reef before. Some of it was super shallow and all of it looked gnarly. I got way up on the foil and looked for something sandy. Finally found a spot to turn in where flubbing the turn and losing height would have no serious consequences. Good thing--I totally blew the jibe.

A few more out and backs, then the wind got flukey and I came in for a break and some grinds from the ABC store. WTF was I thinking. A can of coconut water, two of the worst Spam Musabes on the planet--the rice was so gooey I couldn't pry it apart. I went to the Heroin store (the bakery) and got a beef pot pie. Diane and I are binging on the British baking show (yeah, I know, I'll make somebody a great wife, fuck you and the horse you rode in on) but I critiqued the pie. Soggy bottom, not enough liquid, huge space between the filling and the top crust. Minimal flavor. The big guy would have told the little older brit lady "I don't recommend that you taste that", but I did. Hunger makes up for a lot of flaws, all of which are suddenly apparent.

Diane showed up, Bill Boyum showed up, yak, yak etc and I haded for Kanaha since the wind was dying fast.

Kanaha was fun but messy, gusty, inconsistent, with set waves that nailed me while I was wobbling around with no wind, but it was fun and worth the pain. The wind died and left me out on the reef. Long slow spinnaker ride to the beach and an associated walk-of-shame, but really, a great day. I started at ten and I got home as the sun faded. Maui 10.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2019, 08:57:11 AM by Admin »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

deepmud

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Re: Golden God of WingFoiling
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2019, 11:30:05 PM »
I love the British Baking show :D And I really want to learn wing foiling when I move somewhere with wind and consistently unsolid water.

Thought about getting an  Ali Express wing for a couple hundred and having a sort of downwind/sail option that would get me exposed to the concept a bit. Can't be worse than the big-circle-thingy my friend has for catching wind.

surfcowboy

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Re: Golden God of WingFoiling
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2019, 09:54:51 AM »
This is a great report man. Glad to hear the longer rides are coming together. I’ll also bet a lot of unexplored reefs will be found at new spots now that y’all are covering so much ground out there.

What would you estimate is your distance?

PonoBill

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Re: Golden God of WingFoiling
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2019, 10:20:57 AM »
I just hope I won't find the reefs at high velocity. I can only estimate, but I did six long passes both ways and a lot of shorter ones. I'd say ten or so miles total and perhaps a mile per pass. Hmmm, I just looked at Google Earth, and it was probably a lot longer than that. It's two miles to the Kealia boardwalk, which was probably where I turned around, so maybe as much as twenty miles in two hours. Not falling much and going really fast makes a huge difference in distance traveled.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

surfcowboy

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Re: Golden God of WingFoiling
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2019, 09:51:28 PM »
That’s pretty amazing. Doing 20 miles opens up kind of a cool mode of transport.

PonoBill

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Re: Golden God of WingFoiling
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2019, 05:01:04 PM »
I think the word Ka'a means either humiliation, or it's the expletive you yell when you jump off your board onto a reef like an idiot. Either way, I have a nice gouge in my foot from Winging there in nutty conditions today. I think the Golden God is probably more like a lead kook.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

TallDude

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Re: Golden God of WingFoiling
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2019, 06:21:52 PM »
Nice to here you're charging hard an keeping the fear at the 16 year old level. How's Boyum? Still paddling his ski?
It's not overhead to me!
8'8" L-41 ST and a whole pile of boards I rarely use.

PonoBill

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Re: Golden God of WingFoiling
« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2020, 09:42:44 AM »
No, he's working on foiling, but he's not as committed to it.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

808sup

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Re: Golden God of WingFoiling
« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2020, 11:23:56 PM »
I think I spotted the Golden God today in Kihei. I was meeting Kathy for a downwind foil run today. I was early to the start and was checking the wind when I saw a wing dinger flying across Maalaea Bay. I figured it was you Bill as you mentioned you had been flying there as of late. Looked like you were doing really well. I thought maybe you would head downwind if you saw I us paddling but realized you might have finished for the day. Wind was good till we were about a mile away from the mana Kai where It died. Limped in and called for a early pickup from my wife who was waiting for us at andaz. As soon as she showed up the wind cranked up again and made us want to do another run. Tomorrow is another day...

PonoBill

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Re: Golden God of WingFoiling
« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2020, 09:15:43 AM »
Yup that was me. I didn't see anyone else out. I did three reaches and called it quits. Sounds wimpy but they were from the Kihei Canoe Hale to the lighthouse at McGregor Point. I don't know how many miles that is but I had to ice my elbows and put a hot pad on my neck last night. Going upwind that far is a little hard on the body. I need to get my harness working better, it's a little spooky in high wind so I didn't use it.

I thought about a downwind run but Boyum had to work. If the wind pooped out I"m glad I didn't go. It looked like it was getting better when I started putting my stuff on the truck.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

 


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