The MW sail actually has an inflatable component and floats on the top of the water. You know how the sails sometimes sink. This baby can never sink even if you sit on the top of it and try to sink it. You don't need 2 sails like this. You need only one.
I have a friend who breaks stuff all the time. He is a heavy-weight and falls pretty heavy. So a year ago he broke a couple of battens on MW. MW made some improvements and during this trip he broke none.

I would very much doubt that one sail can produce as much power as my 9.4 and still handle 40kts.

Yep, I'm with you sailquik, one claim that can definitely be shot down. I'm 100kg, strong enough and I would use a down hauled 5.0 in 40knots. This wing, with its set shape and lift can not be usable above 30 knots for most people.

olskool said..
If you watch closely he doesnt hold the power, constantly he sheets out depowering. Doesnt look gusty on the water. Looks pretty even wind. Who knows. Great if it works. Send a few over n give the guys a go.

I don't think he was trying to say that was 40kts in the video. It was obviously not over 25kts in that vid. That said the claim is still kind of silly. outside of hardcore speed sailor who want to hold a 6.5 or even a 5.8 in 40kts! This sail needs to be about efficiency & power. Top-end is not a problem needing to be solved. Guys sailing modern race sails are already holding 5.5-6.0 in gusting to 40kts.

MWSails had a chance to show off how good their sail was at the biggest event on the US east coast and the Natl championships which were a couple of weeks apart recently. They beat all the established brands (just kidding). Did anyone even try to use one? Winds were a brisk 20-30 one day of a long distance race (like a mini Le Defi) so should have been a good benchmark. I deferred posting not wanting to revive this zombie thread but since someone else did-

Someone in Miami, USA bought one, is selling it for half price on Facebook. "Sail wing to be used from 15-40 kn. we wanted to see how well it works with windfoil, it doesn't,,, therefore I'm selling it." Miami has some good foilers who sail NP, North and Avanti so I'm thinking this is reasonable review.
Not saying the concept can't work but the designer has yet to put his design through a thorough R&D process to prove his less than humble claims.

Gestalt, i sailed the whole year about 140 days worth n only rigged my 8m cheetah.(only sail i had). Was a bit of a local joke. Others rigging 5.4 etc. Surprisingly i only got blown off the water twice.

Paducah said..
MWSails had a chance to show off how good their sail was at the biggest event on the US east coast and the Natl championships which were a couple of weeks apart recently. They beat all the established brands (just kidding). Did anyone even try to use one? Winds were a brisk 20-30 one day of a long distance race (like a mini Le Defi) so should have been a good benchmark. I deferred posting not wanting to revive this zombie thread but since someone else did-

Someone in Miami, USA bought one, is selling it for half price on Facebook. "Sail wing to be used from 15-40 kn. we wanted to see how well it works with windfoil, it doesn't,,, therefore I'm selling it." Miami has some good foilers who sail NP, North and Avanti so I'm thinking this is reasonable review.
Not saying the concept can't work but the designer has yet to put his design through a thorough R&D process to prove his less than humble claims.

That's the strange thing about all the various sort of commercial wingsails - they make lots of claims, do lots of slagging of conventional rigs, but never seem to do something as simple as just turning up to a local or major race (or speed event) and proving that their gear matches up to the hype.

It's the same with yacht, cat and dinghy commercial wingsail makers as well. One firm made a big deal when two boatbuilders started trialling their wingsail. Neither of them ended up adopting it. The owner of one of the companies told me that they spent quite a bit of time trialling the wingsail against conventional sails and then found it just didn't work as well.

Life's really simple in racing - just show up and win and you get respect. If people can't do something as simple as actually proving their product it probably shows it doesn't work as claimed.

Imax1 said..
I was on the beach once and it was a solid 30 kts , ( 27 to 33 ish ) and the sand was hurting my feet , i was getting blown all over the place just standing and im heavy. The white caps were flying off the water. There is no way i was going out in it. As said above a proper 40kts is for a selected few only. I would like to see anyone using any kind of 6.5 in that wind ! Im not saying it cant be done , but i would like to see it

I/we get left in that position fairly often every year (10 -12 days), we will eventually end up quitting, and we all share the same reason, something will break. It might be a minor, or major, part of the rig, or harness, or it might be a body part, but something's going to break.

Gestalt said..

Imax1 said..
I was on the beach once and it was a solid 30 kts , ( 27 to 33 ish ) and the sand was hurting my feet , i was getting blown all over the place just standing and im heavy. The white caps were flying off the water. There is no way i was going out in it. As said above a proper 40kts is for a selected few only. I would like to see anyone using any kind of 6.5 in that wind ! Im not saying it cant be done , but i would like to see it

this is a very disturbing post.

It wasn't meant to be.
Just what are u visualising Gestalt ?

Imax1 said..

Gestalt said..

Imax1 said..
I was on the beach once and it was a solid 30 kts , ( 27 to 33 ish ) and the sand was hurting my feet , i was getting blown all over the place just standing and im heavy. The white caps were flying off the water. There is no way i was going out in it. As said above a proper 40kts is for a selected few only. I would like to see anyone using any kind of 6.5 in that wind ! Im not saying it cant be done , but i would like to see it

this is a very disturbing post.

It wasn't meant to be.
Just what are u visualising Gestalt ?

i was meaning i find some of the stuff written in this post. (meaning not just you) to be a little bizarre.

the idea that it's not possible to use a 6.5m sail in 40 knots. there was a time when pwa sailors didn't carry anything smaller than a 7m sail and they raced in winds that strong.

i get it that inexperienced people would struggle in higher winds but i can't imagine not going out because the wind was over 27 knots. at 40 knots i'm ringing in sick at work to go sailing. i wouldn't miss it for anything.

in 50 knots i use my smallest sail. my 4.7m. in 15 knots i use my biggest sail. my 6.4m
and i'm not that good a sailor. imagine what a pro could do.

Gestalt said..

Imax1 said..

Gestalt said..

Imax1 said..
I was on the beach once and it was a solid 30 kts , ( 27 to 33 ish ) and the sand was hurting my feet , i was getting blown all over the place just standing and im heavy. The white caps were flying off the water. There is no way i was going out in it. As said above a proper 40kts is for a selected few only. I would like to see anyone using any kind of 6.5 in that wind ! Im not saying it cant be done , but i would like to see it

this is a very disturbing post.

It wasn't meant to be.
Just what are u visualising Gestalt ?

i was meaning i find some of the stuff written in this post. (meaning not just you) to be a little bizarre.

the idea that it's not possible to use a 6.5m sail in 40 knots. there was a time when pwa sailors didn't carry anything smaller than a 7m sail and they raced in winds that strong.

i get it that inexperienced people would struggle in higher winds but i can't imagine not going out because the wind was over 27 knots. at 40 knots i'm ringing in sick at work to go sailing. i wouldn't miss it for anything.

in 50 knots i use my smallest sail. my 4.7m. in 15 knots i use my biggest sail. my 6.4m
and i'm not that good a sailor. imagine what a pro could do.

You sir need to buy an anenometer.
When you drive home after sailing in 50 knots are there power lines and poles laying in the street next to house roofs?

Sparky said..

Gestalt said..

Imax1 said..

Gestalt said..

Imax1 said..
I was on the beach once and it was a solid 30 kts , ( 27 to 33 ish ) and the sand was hurting my feet , i was getting blown all over the place just standing and im heavy. The white caps were flying off the water. There is no way i was going out in it. As said above a proper 40kts is for a selected few only. I would like to see anyone using any kind of 6.5 in that wind ! Im not saying it cant be done , but i would like to see it

this is a very disturbing post.

It wasn't meant to be.
Just what are u visualising Gestalt ?

i was meaning i find some of the stuff written in this post. (meaning not just you) to be a little bizarre.

the idea that it's not possible to use a 6.5m sail in 40 knots. there was a time when pwa sailors didn't carry anything smaller than a 7m sail and they raced in winds that strong.

i get it that inexperienced people would struggle in higher winds but i can't imagine not going out because the wind was over 27 knots. at 40 knots i'm ringing in sick at work to go sailing. i wouldn't miss it for anything.

in 50 knots i use my smallest sail. my 4.7m. in 15 knots i use my biggest sail. my 6.4m
and i'm not that good a sailor. imagine what a pro could do.

You sir need to buy an anenometer.
When you drive home after sailing in 50 knots are there power lines and poles laying in the street next to house roofs?

powerlines and trees yes, floods yes. But if there's rooves then someone didn't do their job. Unlike wa our houses are designed to withstand about 65knots as a starting point. A little less in the cbd.

we get one to two storms a year sometimes more that bring 40-50 knot winds and I don't live in a cyclone area. I've sailed about 3 cat 1 cyclones. A few years back we had a big storm that blew over 50knots. The Qld speed record got smashed at wello that day.

there were at least 20 of us out. It was epic. Gybing does become an issue.


the good guys were doing 10foot chop hops.

I've had plenty of wind gauges over the years and I can say for certain the higher the number the bigger the grin.

sailquik said..
Gestalt. Mate, I like you, but you are Deamin'

yeah of course, it never blows over 30knots in Qld and if I does then all those other people on the water are not real either..

lol, next well have that discussion about how the airs not as dense.

Sparky said..
Yep, I'm with you sailquik, one claim that can definitely be shot down. I'm 100kg, strong enough and I would use a down hauled 5.0 in 40knots. This wing, with its set shape and lift can not be usable above 30 knots for most people.

Call it 25 ... it is shameless how this product is advertised ... after months of waiting they show a video in 15, maybe 20, knots of wind, and still claim the ridiculous, and try to fool buyers ... talk abot false claims in advertisement!

sailquik said..

gorgesailor said..Guys sailing modern race sails are already holding 5.5-6.0 in gusting to 40kts.

Well, maybe if the gusts are very brief. No way in a solid 40 knots actually measured with any accurate anemometer at the spot!
And maybe in the Luderitz speed channel, but that is a very unique situation, very broad and specialised. And they are large guys wearing heaps of extra lead weight!
There is a hell of a difference between the force of the wind at 30 knots compared with 35 knots. And there is a huge amount more difference in the force between 35 knots and 40 knots!!! It is not a linier scale of force to wind speed!! Most people just dont get that as they never actually have any way to measure the wind speed while they sail so it is very easy to way overestimate the wind strength

Agreed, but gusting to 40 is allot different to averaging 40... I have seen Pro-races where it was gusting to 35 & they chose to sail 5.5-5.8. So, would they chose to sail a 5.8 in gusting to 40? ... NO. Could they? Well I think the sail could handle it stability wise, but again why? Also you are right about overestimating wind. Here we actually to get a fair amount of days over 35 - enough to know what it looks like. White caps start ot blend together & become spindrift - or streaks of blowing spray... that's when you know you have sustained gusts of 35 or more...