YES!

By Martin Trees

If your idea of a creative and talented Italian has been influenced recently by the image of Roberto Benigni, winner of an Academy Award for his film Life Is Beautiful, then think again. Peter Munzlinger, designer of YES sails, could not be more different from his wild and zany countryman.

Peter is very serious about why he is here in Maui. As we talk, facing one another across a picnic table, I see that giving him the side with the view of the water might be a mistake. He cannot resist looking over my shoulder as yet another YES sail comes into view. But Peter is clearly anxious to tell me about his designs.

"I started with race sails which I understood. And when we started winning, the results gave us proof that our sails were good." From the start Peter wanted YES sails to be different. "I would make an 8.4 sail when all the other brands were making only 7.0 or 6.5. I would use only 3 cambers when others would use 6 or more and we would win in European competitions where the level of sailing is very high.

Peter, who worked with David Ezzy during their North Sails days, started designing DaKine sails in 1995 with the hope of creating a brand-name sail using an already well-established industry logo. It didn’t happen. "People had trouble accepting them as a sail brand even though they are popular with other equipment," Peter tells me. "I then immediately started YES Sails."

YES team rider Francesco Ventura, also from Italy, throws a forward loop just a few feet from the beach. This attracts much attention, but Peter appears unaffected, as if he sees this everyday. The more I watch Francesco sail I can believe it may be a frequent occurrence.

"At YES we are two people, Helgo Lass does the commercial part and I do the designing and marketing." Things have become easier for Peter and many other sail lofts in recent years with the introduction of powerful computer-aided design programs. "I no longer need to cut out patterns," he adds. "Today I use computer design for the panel layout and I have more freedom to create. I simply email the file to the factory and can get a prototype sail in a few days." The quick turn-around of prototypes is in itself amazing considering YES sails are made in China, in one of four factories specifically used by the windsurfing sail industry.

I ask Peter if the old bugaboo about sail quality concerns him. "We have a very good relationship with this factory, because they are very serious and the quality is very high." In the interests of quality and perfecting their product, YES Sails even design their own masts. "The masts on the market are not always correct with the MCS numbers written on them," Peter explains. "We build our own masts to make sure they are right."

Peter seems happy to ease YES Sails into the world market at a pace he can control and he considers their growth carefully. "We are very small at the moment, but we’re very popular in Italy and now have a distributor in Germany. We do not want to become like Neil Pryde."

Francisco throws yet another radical move in the shallow waters. Outwardly, Peter still appears unmoved, but this time I catch a gleam in his eye, and for just a moment I think of the zany Benigni. He is clearly torn between his desire to go sailing and his wish to convey his passion for his sails. "When I make sails I always try to make them easy to use with a big range." He smiles with satisfaction, adding, "The customers confirm this. We have many customers coming from other, more famous brands."

And yes, YES sails will be available in the US soon.