The Power To Express

The eternal quest or Holy Grail in wave sail design is to find the perfect balance between useable power and control. And a good place to start, it seems, is to make the sail as physically as light as possible without compromising durability. We sourced eleven of the latest offerings and handed them over to the team to put them through their paces.

- Tris Best

FINDINGS

The physical weight of a sail is a very important parameter as any reduction in weight (particularly in certain areas of the sail) can make a marked difference to the sail’s handling and performance. In recent years this ambition and appetite to pursue the lightest handling possible has seen some clear development paths adopted by many of the major lofts - the birth of three-batten wave sails and the introduction of some highly specialist and expensive scrims, none more so than the membrane sail, which at least four brands have their own version of this season! Conventional details are also being considered - head cap protection, batten pocket material, clew and tack layups and reinforcements. Nothing is immune from being probed for weight reduction; no stone seemingly left unturned. Without the opportunity for us to test over an extended period, time will tell if there is any expense to all this weight saving in terms of durability.

In the race to achieve the lightest result on the scales, it is possible that the four batten sail may well steal the thunder of its three-battened sibling … for now at least anyway. Indeed, David Ezzy admits on his website that his new four batten “Wave” sail is lighter, like for like, than his three batten Taka. And when Neil Pryde have dispensed with the three-batten sail line in their range altogether, the question has to be asked as to whether it was a step too far for the consumer market? Did it sacrifice wind range and stability too far for most to swallow? And likewise, with the weight savings being made across the board, will the five batten wave sail experience a resurgence in popularity? If the two submitted for this test are anything to go by, they are undoubtedly still worthy of consideration.

SUMMARY