The Global and Legend are the two Maui Sails’ wave sails and there is an excellent page on their website explaining the reasoning behind the different designs. Basically the Legend is designed to be a little flatter with the fullness not quite so deep and a little further forward, with a softer feel and flatter entry to the leading edge. The Global is designed for more power, early planing and top speed. The Legend is billed as their “pure wave sail” for side to offshore winds with crisper reaction, while the Global is billed for onshore winds and a “wider variety of situations”. It all makes good sense although we generally found the Legend preferable for any type of wavesailing, be it sideshore or onshore.

Set: As Maui Sails couldn’t get us the correct masts in time for the test we used Gaastra 100% masts as they feature similar stiff top bend curves to those used in Maui Sails masts. We also tried using a more flex-top Simmer SC mast, but the sail seemed less happy, displaying a lot more head twist and rotation. Both sails appear to feature seam shaping along the batten pockets giving pre-set fullness well up the sail, much more pronounced in the Global. Both sails have moderate twist towards the head and a small amount of rotation in the 2nd bottom batten when set. The Legend certainly sets a little flatter with the fullness possibly a bit further forward, and is higher aspect than the Global. Both sails were relatively non-demanding for finding a decent set.

Summary: Probably the most powerful sail on test relative to its size. It has quite a solid and heavy weight of pull and with the long boom and quite central centre of effort it is more about easy power than quick manoeuvring. It is nicely comfortable with good stability and good absorption of chop and gusts.

Matthew: “My first notes on this sail say ‘no fuss, no bother, no drama and not much feel’. It is almost slalom-like in that it’s very stable and sits back in a raked and comfortable blasting position, giving plenty of grunt and drive. It does however feel pretty heavy – and this was noticeable when changing to it from other sails. The slalom-like feel leaves the rig a long way from upright and forwards requiring greater effort to move the rig into position for riding, tricks or manoeuvres. Build-wise the sail looks pretty good although the elaborate built in mast protector doesn’t seem that effective.”

Emile: “It feels bigger than it actually is – I would have believed it if the size label said 5.8. I found the sail quite freeridey and not very throwabout for a ‘wave sail’. It liked to stay where it was, rather than where you wanted to put it. On the positive side, I think it would make a good high-wind freeride sail, feeling stable with quite a nice bit of suspension over the chop.”

Ed: “Good for heavyweights and those who like to have lots of power locked down, but not easy to depower. I prefer the Legend in most conditions but it’s great when you need max power. Looks good.”

Ian: “We all felt pretty similarly about the Global but I would add that the pull is very constant and controlled and you could get away with using quite a small size if you wanted to. Nevertheless, I think it is best for heavyweight or burn-&-turn sailors who like to feel the power.”