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Club Paradise: Friday, October 7
Camless Crusade Meets Murky Water
by Sam Moses, Senior Editor
It was a dark and stormy day.
Well, not quite. But Wednesday was overcast and gusty, with light squalls passing through now and then, to keep things off balance. The change in weather was all the better for some sailors, though. In the same way that you can sometimes be in the mood to take pleasure in a rainy day, it's a treat to be sailing on the warm water when there's no sunshine and no
traffic, with the light sting from a mild squall in your face as you brave the gusts. And because the waves were rolling in farther, shortening the inside reaches, sailors were motivated to break through them and head out into open ocean, where the world gets very large indeed.
Or maybe it's just that you feel so very small out there.
Ted Halkusis, whom you might remember as the 190-pound guy from Toronto whose wife thinks that he looks like either a terrorist or a drug dealer, got the most out of the day. He headed out early in the lighter wind on a 136-liter board, the bright red RRD 296 (we've got four in that freeride family, a 266, 276, 286 and 296-all of them red), and used a 5.9 Loft sail as he mostly worked on the speed of his tacks. He spends winters in the Florida Keys, so he's used to that kind of sailing.
It got eventful after lunch. He went back out on the intriguing 108-liter RRD 265 freestyle board, called the TwinTip because its shape is perfectly symmetrical in addition to being wide and flat. He was underpowered on the Hot Sauls Maui camless 6.0 Stealth until the first squall hit, and then he was overpowered. But he still must have been happy; he came back in only long enough to give the sail our highest rating in speed, power, stability and waterstarting. Then he went back out to face the elements on a Neil Pryde 5.4 Soul, and stayed on the water through all the changes in weather, again liking his sail a lot. As for the board, he said it made everything easy. Short on excitement, maybe, but long on ease.
In the previous Postcard from the Water's Edge, we heard from Bruce Peterson of Sailworks on the subject of camless recreational sails, a particular passion for him. The plot thickened when I later spoke with Jeff Henderson, owner and head designer of Hot Sails Maui since 1985. As might be expected from a Maui resident, Jeff appears to be more laid-back than Bruce, which might be more a result of the type of experience he's had than any
differences in their chemistry. As a result of that experience, his views on where and how the industry needs to lead the sport were basically the same, however.
"I spent 10 years on Maui just building cutting-edge stuff-I mean, down to the month," he said. "That's how I built the company, on extreme innovation. But I realized that I was basically contributing to what hurt the industry, and then I got fed up with the industry when it wouldn't change. So our philosophy the last five years has shifted. Now we're spending more time on brand image and marketing.
"At the same time, in that same five-year period, technology has boomed," he continued. "Sails have so much more range and stability today, and rig so easily. My goal now is to satisfy what the windsurfer needs in the real world. Today we're more grounded in wanting to supply better sales at better value to sailors.''
As for the issue of cams versus camless, our test should be interesting over the next four weeks, as well as later, when it all comes out in the wash in the magazine. The sailmakers' views certainly are. Hot Sails Maui makes big sails with and without cams-for practical reasons, since sailors aren't sold on camless. Hot Sails is merely giving them the choice. Henderson revealed that his Stealth and Daytona models are identical, save for the cams. As for Peterson's passion for camless, Henderson had his own opinion.
"Bruce is on a no-cam crusade," he said. "That's his thing. And maybe as a sailor Bruce can get a no-cam sail to work as well as one with cams, but that doesn't mean Joe Blow can.''
It's a good point, well worth considering. But would Bruce Peterson be crazy enough to risk his reputation, risk his business, by committing to making a sail that intermediates would eventually discover delivered inferior performance? Could a smart guy like him make the same error that got the industry in such a slump: losing touch with the ability and needs of average sailors?
"That's where your guest testers come in,'' added Jeff. "It's the hottest issue going, right now, and a subject people are hungry for information on."
On our sail rack right now, we've got a 6.0 Stealth and 6.5 Daytona from Hot Sails Maui, and 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0 Sailworks Retros. To make things really spicy, we've also got a full range of big Windwing Catalyst Air and Synthesis sails, convertibles which can be sailed with or without cams. We're planning something special in the way of evaluating them. Stay tuned.
Also stay tuned for the next interview on the subject of sailmaking in general and cambers in particular (as they relate to life), with Windwing's Bill Hansen.
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