Severne Turbo 2015 - 6.5 and 7.5. Some General Feedback.

Hi
I have had the opportunity to try both of Joos's new Turbos.  Here are my impressions:

I rode the 6.5m Turbo first.  The wind was quite fresh and I attached it to the slalom board I was using.  It is difficult to put into words how good this sail is.  It is light to carry and extremely light in the hands once you get it onto the water.  It has good power and pops the board onto  the plane effortlessly.  Once you are fully powered up, it handles the gusts with ease.  Gybing is easy because the rotation just happens (easier than some camless sails I have sailed).

I rode the 7.5m Turbo today in extremely difficult conditions.  The wind was very gusty, one second really strong, the next - nothing.  Despite these extremes, the sail behaved beautifully and I was able to complete the runs easily despite being overpowered in the gusts.  You can actually de-power this machine by sheeting out very slightly.  Compare this to a pure race sail which will have you tail walking in a second if you dare to sheet out under full power.  An awesome sail then which I need to ride in better conditions to allow for some tuning and easy runs.

My feeling about the Turbos is that they are the perfect sail for the non-racing, performance biased sailor.  You may not beat the serious racers on this machine but you will surprise a few.  You will also probably sail faster than you would on a pure race design,.  You will also be able to sail longer, in greater comfort and with less fatigue.  For sizes 7.0m and up I recommend this sail with no reservations!

A guy on the beach has been sailing a Severne Convert.  I think that it is a 6m sail and he uses it on a Fanatic Freewave (smallish).  This sail has great performance for what is billed an entry level sail. He screams up and down, throwing the rig about and having the most fun out of everyone out there. Astonishing.  The Convert is such a light sail and because of the speeds this guy is getting, I was wondering why one would buy a Gator for more money.  Studying the action shots of these two sails I can see a difference however.  The Convert tends to distort under full power whereas the Gator holds its shape perfectly in the gusts.  Assuming two sailors were out - one on a Convert, the other on a Gator and the wind picked up.  I could see the Convert guy changing down and continuing to have fun while the Gator guy could increase the downhaul a bit and just go a lot faster.        
  

Convert Loaded Up

Gator - Smooth

Hennie is back from Luderitz and says that he learned a lot.  He sails one of Anders's speed boards with Gasoil speed fins.  He recons that the Mistral is one fantastic design for any speed between 45 and 49 knots.  Easy to ride and really comfortable.  When the speeds get closer to 50knots however, the Patrik speed board is the machine to be on.  It just keeps planted on the water.

Speaking of Patrik boards, quite a few of the serious racing guys here have changed to Patrik slalom boards.  They recon that the comfort provided by these boards makes for faster sailing over rough water.  The main brand up to now has been Starboard.  No-one denies that these are potentially the fastest shapes but they can be hard on the feet, back, neck etc.  The Patriks, because of the softer bottom structure, are just so much more comfortable and easier at full flight.

OK, that is all for now.
Good winds