I'm happy to announce that Disruptive Wind has a name at last for the new toy:
The Instigator (TM) Wave Maker !
Instigator (TM) being the trademarked brand , and wave maker being the descriptive term.
I was not planning to, but I ended up spending over a month out of the country, 4 weeks of that on a remote tropical island. A great place to windsurf, kiteboard, dive, snorkel, surf, kayak, paddleboard, etc.. I windsurfed to another island 2 1/2 miles away and set a new speed record on the broad reach return of over 30 MPH! I also rode a peeling wave that was over mast high on my seventh journey out into the sea! I think this will be a great place to hold a pro camp to train folks on the Instigator (TM) once we are at that point. Imagine some of the best talent on the planet getting together for a 2 week long party, paid for by their sponsors at a fantastic place I'm sure most have never been. The food is delicious, staff is awesome, and the Instigator (TM) so much fun! Because we are designing it to be.
I wish I could say more, but our competitors (at least some of them) are already scrambling to improve their products and sales pitches. This is a good thing if we can stand out from that but since we are not that far along yet, I do not want to give too much advantage away. We are still looking at various business plans/models and performing literally thousands of thought experiments so that our upcoming physical R & D costs will be minimized.
I have spent a lot of time the past couple of months "zooming out" on our business. 2015 saw a number of new inventions which are mostly being put on hold as we "zoom in" again to focus on the Instigator (TM). The MoaB (TM) repositioner is not forgotten, we will be continuing to revamp the prototype fleet, and expect to continue to showcase and develop. The plan is to always have something going, and back up plans should there be stall out (or buy out or bail out!) . After all, this is my one and only job now, and I am 100% committed to making this company a success !
Greetings
I thought I'd get a few thoughts out before I disappear for awhile.
First off. Yes, I am working on something big, really big. It's been the plan all along. The MoaB (TM) repositioner was supposed to be a slam dunk and finance the larger project.
However, it seems to be a 'binary" idea that was before it's time.
We all learned a lot in the process and I certainly do not regret having taken that route.
In fact, keys concepts were revealed that are proving crucial to moving forward.
Also, technology, materials, and wind/water sports have progressed, as well as my own education.
I came up with the big idea a number of years ago, which is actually a collection of concepts put together that satisfy some great "What if you could" questions. Interspersed among the MoaB field sessions has been some top secret testing of these concepts. I now know most of them do work in practice and theoretically they may work together. A LOT of time and energy is going into design work, engineering, and planning. Some serious science, especially physics/math. is involved.
I love to invent from scratch. It's easier to think outside the box that way. Conventional wisdom is both an enemy and an opportunity. Questioning and determining the validity of that wisdom is a lot of work and most do not ever do so. It is much easier to build upon the work of others. Once I have a good hypothesis going, THEN I look and see what others have done and what the conventional wisdom is. Often, this means a dead end or someone has beat me to it. But if I can find a flaw, or a truth not well known, then I may be onto something.
I look at "working the problem", a rock climbing expression. For me to have success, this usually means I have to be a little bit obsessed. I think about it all times of the day and night whenever I have any thought free to spare. Our brains are very interesting in how so much is done not by conscious thought, I think this explains why I am never bored, I always have an interesting problem to work on. It is critical to maintain my interest and motivation that I be passionate about whatever it is I am working on.
Back to the grand idea. This is really out there. Probably another binary idea and potentially way ahead of it's time. A fair amount of "but"s and "however"s seem likely. I believe the route to success on this one is an advanced prototype that reliably proves the concepts in a manner that is not open to question. I have a vision of how to do this: a video production that blows peoples minds. Basically a stunt to start off with that has never been done before, followed by footage that shows beyond a doubt the amazing things now possible that makes folks exclaim "I want to do that! Can I buy one of those?" And this is the video that will be shown only to those I want to partner with to make the answer "YES!" I'm talking drone footage, on-board cameras, on-water cameras, on-shore, and on the rider, hopefully using something like Google Glass to show operational parameters in real time from monitoring sensors and GPS. The script is written and a lot of folks will be involved. On a need to know basis only.
Execution: A lot of folks and companies will be involved before this ever gets to the public eye. This is a huge project. Maybe too ambitious. It may be that just one new concept is rolled out at first or that not all concepts will be included. In any event, do not expect this to available any time soon.
Secrecy: Some have heard I am up to something big and are worried. I apologize for this. I can say that there is no plan to disrupt current industry, despite our name! I see this as a huge boost to almost all concerned. Spying or hacking is not necessary but will be fruitless even if attempted. There are no prototypes kept at any of our known locations or in vehicles. We have secure locations that are secret. No files on computers that ever connect to the internet. No notebooks,No documents. Computers are with me personally as I travel or are secured at previously mentioned locations. Past experience has shown me to be way too paranoid about this, but I would rather be safe than sorry nonetheless.
So there you have it. I talked at length but you have no clue still. Even if you do, you really probably don't. I am a master of misdirection, me thinks. I have tried not to tease, but to give reassurance that I have a grand plan but that much patience will be required before seeing the results.
By the way, I quit my day job to give my full brainpower to this. I'm nothing but serious about making this happen!
Been quiet lately because we are working on a top secret project and it just seems cruel to tease folks. However, I do want you to know that we are very excited and moving forward, just not in a public way right now.
Greetings!
Here is a little fun video.
My windsurfer took a trip without me!
Working on more videos but the opportunities to showcase in stronger wind and larger swells keep happening , thus generating even more awesome video than what we already have, so I am now farther behind than ever!
This was what it was doing at Marker 40 at The Wall yesterday (August 14, 2015).
I was out on the water at the windiest time of the day and I was completely BY MYSELF
at Marker 40 and Peach Beach. I could see some folks out at Maryhill and when I returned from my journey back to the launch at Marker 41, there was the largest crowd I have ever seen, including the likes of Wyatt Miller, Anna Rohden, John Akagi, and Tyson Poor. It was quite a bit mellower there with a lot less wind and much smaller swell, but all looked to be having a great time.
The day I had was BEYOND EPIC as I was more than "generously" powered on a 5.0 Loft sail and my 90 liter Fish with Moab (TM) repositioner. The largest river swells I have ever windsurfed on, at times I just let the sail vane out and held on with one hand. I sure hope the cameras caught some of this incredible action. One thing is certain. I have pushed the limits well beyond what I thought was possible. Each session tops the last one in terms of new moves, longer "ski rides", faster jibes, confidence to "mix it up" with the pros, and to showcase in front of the crowds and cameras. My next video is tentatively titled
"Buzzing the Hatch", using footage from August 4, where we launched from Swell City on a "Big Day" and took fun swell rides and downwind blasts past the Hatchery.
I would have done better yesterday at The Wall, except that I had the longest session of my Disruptive Wind career the day before (August 13, 2015) with what I am calling "The Tour".
Launched at Waterfront Park in Hood River on the FoaB with 5.7 Loft. Kept blasting by this guy in a Zodiac as he headed downriver, past the kiter crowd off the new spit, Wells Island, The Hatchery, and finally to Swell City. I think I can claim ANOTHER FIRST as I believe I was potentially photographed AT EVERY LOCATION he was at on our journey together. I did not realize he was a photographer at first as he was having a challenging time getting through the sizable swells.
There may be photos at the Hatch and Event Site/waterfront park as well but I did not see any after a brief search, he was mostly traveling as I circled him over a dozen times.
Spending too much time wave riding, etc., I was unhooked so much that my left arm swelled with blood and I could barely grip with my left hand. So I wisely decided to blast back to the launch and may have set new speed records as this board is extremely fast and stable hard off the wind. Both cameras had shut down to to lack of memory and/or battery power, so there may not be documentation of this thrilling ending to an amazing day.
In other news, I am busy working on engineering, design refinement, and plans for construction of prototypes for 2 new inventions that will complement the MoaB (TM) repositioner, but actually are completely stand alone ideas. Pretty ambitious, and testing is going to be a bit of a challenge, as it continues to be SOP for me to be "mobbed" at any public launches. However, I have a number of "secret" launches, and private launches (such as Club Shred) at our disposal.
I want to thank all those helping me behind the scenes, you will be part of history, and in the videos and future blog posts (with your consent). Again, my email is disruptivewind@gmail.com.
Shorter, more frequent updates on Facebook
( Disruptive Wind ).
( I hope to edit this post and add pictures later as I finally get to review footage, however, all our hard drives are full right now (8-18-15 update, now dealing with 5 hard drives and over 7 (seven!) TERABYTES of data) so it may be awhile...)
We all know windsurfing is a dangerous, high - adrenaline sport, especially in strong gusty wind, rough water, waves, etc..
Upon first sight of a MoaB (TM) repositioner prototype ,
a common question I am asked is "Is it safe?",
often followed by "That looks scary!"
To which I usually respond with a speech about how the foot-decks will rotate to let your feet out to avoid the dreaded forward "trapped foot" fall (see picture above) , but even if odds are against you and the foot-deck does not rotate, it will pull out of the track with a force similar to a ski binding release. I know this through my own experience. And a pulled out foot-deck is a whole lot easier and cheaper to rectify than a pulled out foot strap screw or insert.
(yes, I should do a video on this topic).
Trying something new is scary and the potential for getting hurt is always there during any learning curve. Having habits in place does offer safety. Knowing what not to do helps as well.
However, the unforeseen is what can get you,
no matter how good you are.
This leads into my final point here. I have have been in a lot of discussions lately about jibing, gybing, learning to foil, gybing while foiling, etc. I am talking to world authorities and industry insiders who live and breathe this stuff. And one of them just said to me
" One of the most dangerous things you can do while windsurfing is to take one foot out of a fixed strap while the other one is still in. If the unforeseen hits you at that instant..."
What hit me at the instant he said that is "We used to do that every time we gybe!"
He made my day!
I'm going on walkabout to renew, refresh, and get ready to move forward, so I'll be gone for the rest of this week. Take care, and be safe out there! - Peter
Lots of great stuff happening but this one stood out. What if I told you I could switch stance while windsurfing in challenging conditions and be TOE SIDE TO THE WIND with the sail downwind of my body and then slam a gybe! No way! Well, here is video to prove it and my friend Rich Mitchell cruising by upwind as a reference to show wind direction. MoaB (TM) repositioner: it's just beginning...
I never even would have thought this was possible but I was asked if I could ride "toe side" to the wave on the MoaB (TM ) repositioner. I misunderstood what was being asked and this breakthrough move is the result. It just goes to show that this thing is capable of more than I have even begun to imagine! Critical observers please note: this was my FIRST EVER attempt at this, in very challenging conditions (equipment and bodies were being broken this day) as the wind was 10 to 40 MPH plus, very gusty, with the rough water to go along with it. As I was moving along in the backwards stance, the wind dropped completely and the gybe was done upon realizing this, by coasting only, with a very unimpressive exit.
Along with the new "Spider" gybe (spin/slide with fins disengaged/in the air) there is lots more to practice and have fun with!
The proud-funding campaign at http://igg.me/at/disruptivewind/x/11426751
has only hours left!
If you missed out and still want to make a deal
(of any sort) please contact me at disruptivewind@gmail.com. It may still be possible to do a rush filing of foreign patents.
It has been a great learning experience and we now understand our challenges much better moving forward. Thank you!
"Slashing prices again. Dropped the Europe down payment option to $10,000 USD ! Questions have been raised about why we do not have video of screaming carving gybes on flat water. Or loops! The honest answer to that is two-fold: Flat water with strong steady wind is non-existent locally, but even more importantly, it just never occurred to me that THE MUCH EASIER thing to do would be something that would impress anyone knowledgeable. Same story with loops. We are a very small company. If we could hire hot young windsurfing babes to be doing all this and filming from a helicopter, or water cameras costing many thousands, and spending many thousands more getting "big names" to tout our product and paying magazines and PR firms big bucks as well, plus, eye-catching prototypes with hologram graphics, then it would have been a whole different story, wouldn't it? From a technical standpoint, I could not be happier. All of the latest generation of prototypes have performed great! Every time out on the water we learn something new, and realize that exploring the possibilities has only just begun!"
The Reluctant Entrepreneur
I have been looking at video taken recently with an eye towards editing and creating new videos to publish. This is a very time consuming process which takes many times longer than capturing the video to begin with (also, there are at least 2 cameras). And there is a lot of great stuff. The problem is that I have to pick from all this great stuff : analysis paralysis. And since I am the one who did the stuff (currently, that will change again as we get beta tester video), I can relate the video to being there, and realize just how amazing it was to achieve what is seen, and the technical significance. The problem is that other viewers of the video know none of this, and only expert windsurfers, who have done the same thing, have any hope of picking up on the subtle nuances.
And then another field session happens, and even more great stuff is captured, and now I am even further behind! And the constant phone calls, e-mails, letters, Facebook PM's, job at the lab, mouths to feed, engines to replace, life! : This is the joyful (?) hell of the reluctant entrepreneur! Toss in a last minute proud-funding campaign because the patent filing deadlines are fast approaching and... well, I apologize that I can not make everyone happy, but I promise you, I may have to scale back and refocus, but I will continue on, to the best of my ability. Thank you!
