Hi
Just a quick note on some new stuff.
Everything of the best for the new year to all of you
I mentioned in the last post that I would be discussing foiling and Guiseppe Scullino's findings regarding light wind options. I am not going to do this right now but will include these topics in an upcoming post.
Gators
Ellie and I recently acquired two 2017 Severne Gators (6.5
and 7.0) and our first few rides on them have revealed how astonishingly good
these sails are. They are fast light and
versatile.
I knew that they were going
to be good but they have surpassed all expectations.
I do not have Severne masts yet so I rigged the 7.0 on an
old Fiberspar 460 mast. This was totally
wrong for the sail so I had to modify the mast using an old left over 490 Powerex
top, cut down for improved stiffness.
If
any of you are interested to find out more about this Frankenstein mast, the
process and logic behind it - please e-mail me.
I’ll explain the whole thing. The
altered mast allows the sail to set beautifully and work properly on the water.
Severne Mach2
Severne have refined elements from their Mach 1 race sail to
produce the Mach 2, and what a sail:
- At last they have cut the batten count to 7 across all sizes.
- The sail now appears to be the lightest race offering out there
- Sizes 5.0, 5.5, 6.2 all rig on rdm masts
- The thing looks so right
Well done Severne - you
may very well have created the best race winning sail on the planet. I can’t wait to watch the 2019 race vids to
compare its behaviour and performance on the water with the awesome blades of
Pryde and Duotone.
A new contender is
here!
 |
| What a thing! |
RRD Race
Speaking of new contenders, RRD have developed a pure race
sail which looks really interesting
(correct number of carbon tube battens, wide sleeve
etc).
Cyril has left Severne and will be racing this
new sail (X-Wing Mk 1) on the RRD slalom boards in the new racing season.
Avanti M-7
Avanti have also unveiled their new race sail which exhibits
the usual Avanti strengths (beautifully executed load path architecture, faultless
integrity of design and bomb proof construction).
 |
| Very,very cool |
Gun Bow
Gun Sails are offering a Bow sail/bowflex mast. This is one of Pieter Bijl’s projects and
resurrects a concept introduced by Gaastra in the mid 90’s. Here is how it works:
The sail sets on a special mast which has an extremely
bendable, whippy top portion
This ensures that the sail is not a loose leech design – it
bends off on the mast tip and bends off a lot more than a conventional design
is able to, even when properly down-hauled.
This means that the release area (that band which adds area
to the sail in low wind and disappears as the sail twists in gusts) is so much
bigger on the Bow sail.
The result is a sail which constantly adjusts to wind
strength, adding power in lulls and reducing it in gusts. As you spool up under power, the release area
is minimised. When your speed is equal
to the wind, the sail closes, bringing ever more power and speed - an organic
thing constantly adjusting to conditions to optimise speed over distance.
This is an interesting concept which unfortunately comes
with marketing challenges. The
proprietary mast can only be used with this sail. Say you buy a Bow sail and bowflex mast but
the sail does not succeed in the market.
You are potentially stuck if Gun discontinues the model. When your sail wears out you are left with an
unusable mast. Not good.
I really hope that
this concept works and becomes main-stream for certain applications. It is reportedly perfect for foiling in
addition to being a really fast, free-race design.
That’s a whole lot of
ugly on the water but if ugly works it can be kinda cool.
I’m not sure what Pieter is shouting at but
I’ll bet it’s a kiter jumping in front of him, oblivious of other water users. I recognise the attitude and body language
from similar scenes on our local beach.
2020 Fanatic Falcon 100
Craig and Jordy from Fanatic were here recently, testing a
proto 100 litre Falcon for the 2020 line-up.
They had it on a 2019 Warp 7.0 and from what I could tell, a Z fin of
36cm. I don’t think I’ve seen such easy
speed from a fast slalom board. The
thing is like a turbo charged hover craft.
All I can say is that if you are in the market for a new small slalom
board in 2020, please include this Falcon on your short list. Fingers crossed your list will also include a
slalom offering from Severne (?).
Zulu Foil
Zulu have developed their new foil and like all Zulu
products it is a properly resolved and fastidiously developed piece of equipment.
The main comment I hear from everyone who has
tried it is how easy it is to sail. This
is a really nice product at a very good price.
Give Robbie a shout if you are interested.
OK, that’s all for now.
All the best and good winds
Phil
