Maui Sails introduce their 2011 wave and freestyle line-up…
MauiSails 2011 wave and freestyle sails continue to become better and better throughout the ranges, carrying the highly developed characteristics smoothly from size to size so changing sails does not change your style. Design evolution is a continuous process that carries through from year to year in order to produce this special full range performance. This year MauiSails celebrates the continuity of five years of working with Artur Szpunar, our CAD magician and creative designer. By openly sharing their experience, Phil McGain and Barry Spanier brought their practical knowledge together with Art’s considerable skills as artist and technician, and now he is adding his own testing and experience to move performance forward.
We had a great year in 2009 and were happy to help Josh Angulo win his penultimate World Championship in the PWA Wave discipline. His feedback and testing helped to evolve the Legend even further in the direction of light handling and smooth power so necessary at the difficult Punta Preta break in Cabo Verde. This power critical spot demands control perfection and we are sure to have that now in spades. We have also introduced some new sizes and materials to suit areas with very high winds
The 2011 Legend is the ultimate fine-tuned side-shore wave sail. There is an even better soft feel and flawless transition from driving power to smooth release while wave riding. The leech tension is very progressive from clew to head which creates responsive reactions while still maintaining excellent flex. This year we complemented the existing sizes with a new 2.9 and 3.5 designed to satisfy the desires of those who sail in the world’s windiest locations and the feedback from early users has been excellent.
The Legend and the new Ghost-XT are both represent the highest level of refinement for wave sail performance in demanding conditions. The expressive graphic look is integrated into the whole sail body using 100% X-Ply materials, including the visibility areas, for maximum durability and crash proofing. An third graphic color makes the designs vibrant and exciting, adding the hot look that compliments the outstanding performance.
The exciting Ghost-XT range has expanded to include sizes from 4.7 to 6.7. Evolved from Legend development, the Ghost-XT incorporates similar shaping adapted to the extensive use of ultra-light and strong Technora™ scrim. The Ghost-XT offers the best in high-tech, light weight performance that you can’t imagine until you sail one.
The Global returns in 2011 as our powerhouse wave sail for those who like a bit more juice and back hand input. Peter Volwater has described them as “perfect… don’t change a thing”, so refinements are size specific to bring them all into line with his review. The sail is tougher than ever with a 100% x-ply construction to suit the demands of tough on-shore conditions. Small details such as the new brass wheeled pulleys, tough anti-chafe materials, and additional Kevlar™ reinforcements make this a perfect sail for a wide variety of windsurfing locations.
The Locos got lots of love this year inspired by our work with the amazing Taty Frans, the Bonaire freestyle wizard and PWA leader. His desire for a new 4.0 and 4.4 design developed on a 370 mast has added two very useful high wind sizes to this already efficient lineup of sails that are ready for flying and flipping in total control. The other sizes also got plenty of attention. The slightly flatter upper profile and more progressive leech tension are in perfect synch for the modern freestyle maneuvers that are made possible by having this type of balance and control. Just ask Taty and he will tell you these new sails make him fly!
The popular Switch free-ride range is for sailors who love to go fast but also like the kind of handling and balance that can enhance more radical moves like looping, spocks, duck jibes, and jumps. These are the most under-appreciated designs in our collection and they deserve a try to find out just how good they are for all around fun. Tube/rod battens and stable film construction make the shorter boom/higher clew outline feel race ready, with speed to burn. This is the most versatile RAF sail available and is suitable for everything except waves. When you Switch, you will get the reward.
