We've been working on local No Wind'ers in Half Moon Bay, California.
Northwest swells hit Pillar Point (Mavericks) California wrap and then hit Black Hand reef and fragment. No wind can be very good and it can be ridden when the outside swell is 15++++ feet. A little wind can mess it up, more wind isn't necessarily better because there is no fetch with NW wind off the jetty wall creating just chop to slow down the takeoff.
Kyle Pemberton just made this video this morning from yesterday's run. At 1 minute you'll see his takeoff. He skips the first wave, tests the second and gets the third. He included all the aerial perspectives to show the wave lines and surface texture.
He was on a homemade 8' x 18" x 115 liters @ 12 lbs (5.5 kg) 80 cm Ultra Pro mast and the Axis 1121 with 50 skinny tail. This shows the entire 1 mile run. He weighs 185 lbs / 84 kg and is very skilled.
The combination of downwind experience, modern high aspect foils and efficient, light downwind boards have transformed our local Bay into a year-round training ground.
The following shows how the swell wraps from the Northwest and wraps 90 degrees heading Northeast. The Green lines are the reefs that fragment the swell. We paddle out along the jetty wall, either inside the harbor, or tucking the edge depending on the conditions. An ACE run is ~ 1 mile.
That's awesome. SUP foiling evolved a lot with the downwind board and more efficient. Just catching a bit of swell and milking it all the way out.
