Re: Re: Today at San Luis

From: Will Estes (westes@usc.com-DeleteThis)
Date: Tue Jul 05 1994 - 15:02:05 PDT


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From: Will Estes <westes@usc.com-DeleteThis>
Message-Id: <9407052202.AA01463@usc.com-DeleteThis>
Subject: Re: Re: Today at San Luis
To: kirk@hpmsd3.sj.hp.com-DeleteThis (Kirk Lindstrom)
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 1994 15:02:05 -0700 (PDT)
Cc: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis (Windsurfing Mailing List)
In-Reply-To: <9407052120.AA17801@hpmsd3.sj.hp.com-DeleteThis> from "Kirk Lindstrom" at Jul 5, 94 02:20:49 pm
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'Kirk Lindstrom says:'
> > Independent of the speed of the Hip Hop relative to other boards, the point
> > I am trying to make is that the sail I was on yesterday was a slow sail.
>
> Now I understand. Sorry.
> I thought you were saying you were slower than KenP due to the sail
> ONLY.

Nope, but I do think that if I had a 4.2 Northwave PRX something a bit
racier with two cams, carbon battens, etc., that it would have at least
been a race.

Ken was kind of crippled by a small weed fin, so I'm sure that there was
plenty of less-than-optimal equipment on both sides.

> > not comparing me to you or anyone else. I'm comparing me to me...same
> > board, different sails. The difference I felt wasn't subtle; it was
> > striking.
> >
> OK. I guess the Gorge guys like em cuz they last a long time or are
> easier to sail. Any ideas why the TriLites are so popular or why did
> you buy them over Sailworks, Prydes, Ezzys, etc. ?

I think the Gorge guys like the TLX design because it can handle just tons
of wind. They are indestructable, and the rolled up foot makes them great
for surfing down swell. If that's your style of sailing, and you sail some
place that is really gusty with monster gusts (aka The Gorge), then a sail
like that is really going to have a lot of appeal.

I, on the other hand, still can't jibe, let own surf down swell, reliably.
For me, today, speed rules. I bought a 5.2 and 5.7 Northwave race, and a
4.7 PRX. The PRX is a pseudo-race sail. It's more durable, and it has
fewer cambers, but it has a race shape. It's not going to beat a top-end
race sail either, but hopefully it will give a race sail a run for its
money. I also got one 4.2 TLX, mainly because I figured that any time it's
that windy speed is not my priority; survival is. But after using the sail
for the first time yesterday I've decided that going fast is more important
than staying alive. :) It might be a good sail to keep around for a 4.0
day in the channel at 3rd. With really big breaking swell coming down all
around I might decide it's time to survive again.

I went to Northwave because I wanted a sail that:

1) had a low end. Note, I'm not talking about having a great low end, like
a Waddell, that ends up sacrificing speed on the high end. I'm talking
about having any low end at all. I remember talking to Barry Spanier at
Neil Pryde and arguing with the guy for 20 minutes that they should give
the World Cups some low end. His answers were very revealing: basically,
his response was "Why would Bjorne need that?" :) In other words, Barry's
full-time job was to design sails for superman, and he didn't really care
even one bit about the needs of real sailors in real-world sailing
conditions. The Prydes were designed to be rigged 6.2 in 4.5 conditions
and sailed completely wound up. Never mind that if you rigged 5.2 in 4.7
conditions that the sail would keep you off a plane in a lull on anything
other than an epoxy board. That's not the market they design those sails
for. My Northwaves are fantastic at the high end, and take tons of wind.
But I can sail a 5.2 in 20-to-30 mph wind, and at 20 mph I don't come off
my plane on a relatively heavy, unspectacular board. This makes it easier
for me to just enjoy sailing under typical conditions.

- was very competitive on the high-end. For a while, the North American
production speed sailing record was held by Northwave's Bob Camp, who is
one very fast dude. Without getting into knicks or knacks about whose race
sails are the fastest, the point is that Northwave is a good race sail, and
it is competitive. For me, that's enough.

- was well made and wouldn't break easily (my Prydes ripped open any time I
took them out into sub-4.5 conditions). Plus, Northwave, being a custom
loft, tends to take good care of its customers when something does break.

-- 
Thanks,
Will Estes              Internet: westes@usc.com-DeleteThis
U.S. Computer           Saratoga, CA  95070



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