Which sails is it that are making people talk?
Is it the race sails that the pro riders are using in PWA? Is it the 3 batten wave sail which Adam Lewis used to finish top 10 at the PWA in Sylt and Tenerife, or is it the sail that you use?
A lot of effort is put into the development of wave sail and race sails by the pro team. The team riders want to win and this factor gives them the drive to put a lot of energy into the sails they will use all year round in competitions.
But what happens to development of the other sail models?
The sail models that the pro riders are not using for competition… Do pro riders put their interest in those sails also? This has always been a question mark in the industry. Why should a rider spend his energy on something he will not be using in his daily sailing? One quick ride on the sail, one smile to approve the product, to make the brand and designers happy, and the product enters production at first shot. Is that how it works?
Well not at Point-7.
These main recreational flat water sails are the sails which most windsurfers buy, use and talk about. The sails are tested by the magazines early in the season, giving all clients a good idea about the new developments. We at Point-7 development spend a lot of time developing our wave sails and slalom sails, but we put the same attention to our other sail lines. Every year the sails are improved both with new materials, performance and with a new design.
During the first years of Point-7 before the final AC-1 was introduced, some of our riders had been using the AC-0 (old version of AC-X) and won the Italian Slalom Championships one time. This winter we though took the AC-K to Tenerife to use and test the sails in Black Team racing training program. The sail got pushed to the max to locate the differences between the racing sail and our 3-cam sail. Not being under the same exact pressure as in a real competition, there was finally time to understand and feel the sail working under pressure.
Andrea Cucchi, chief tester ‘ I always knew that the AC-K was a fast sail. Every time I take it on the water, I always wonder why a full on racing sail need to exist. A 3-cam is fast, comfortable and easy. It gives the full racing feel but with more of the fun factor in focus. I had the chance to use the sail in many of the heats we had in Tenerife during our slalom simulations and I found the sail very interesting. I do believe that for those who don’t have the technical experience which comes from racing, the AC-K 3g sail could be actually perform better for them. I raced it against world PWA riders in Turkey and with a good start you can win. Entering the jibe is much easier, and the sail allows for you to focus more on the tactics around the mark. You can use a size smaller compared to the AC-1 and still have very good performances in light wind, which makes it easy to cruise around before the start without getting tired. The sail forgives a bad jibe at the moment you are turning the sail to the new tack. The sail has one fixed downhaul position and you adjust the power by using outhaul tension, which makes the tuning very easy as well. It’s easy to point up wind to get away from the rake of other riders.
The AC-K 3g is so light that even for water starting in case of falling in the jibe, it’s a breeze. I would think that this sail on top of being the fastest sail available in its class, it would actually be a great alternative for many to use as a alternative to a race sail. A racing sail can take a top rider exceed his limits, but to feel all those small characteristics of a race sail, we need to understand if we would actually be able to use those extras. For example one main thing I felt was how easy it was to enter a jibe with the AC-K. I could really focus on where I wanted to be and this allowed for me plan tactically how to jibe better and be safe. Out of the jibe a full race sail would give you a quicker acceleration back to top speed, but this will only happen if your jibing is perfectly timed. It was great fun to develop the sail this year. It started from being myself alone the first days on Lake Garda to get the main tuning on it, finishing with the whole Black Team testing on a race field in Tenerife, implementing all their good feedback’.
Check out the product page to find out more details about the AC-K 3G.
