I would love to hear / see the latest news on the Severne release party at the ZU shop.
especially interested in the S1 sails, any news???

On an unrelated note, Yellow Jersey for three days for Aussie Team Green Edge in TDFrance, good on ya mates
Chuck

274 reads and not a peep of response??
Whats a girl got to do to get chatted up here?
Did everyone sign a nra at the door?
Chuck

You should have come! It was a good night. The new s1s look really nice. Im sure if you dig around you will be able to find a picture. Otherwise Im sure the website will be updated pretty soon.

From what I can remember...
Its still 4 battens but this year they tried to focus on more wind range.
They reckon now instead of using 3 sails you will only need 2. There is a few new reinforcements and I think there was a little bit of a new material to try make it lighter and stronger. They also look a prettier, a very important feature.

The sails are also different sizes this year so 5.7 5.2 4.8 ....

This is all from memory so potentially not 100% correct.
But if you or anyone else is interested go into the zu they have brochures and sails in the shop.

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zacd said..
They reckon now instead of using 3 sails you will only need 2.

The sails are also different sizes this year so 5.7 5.2 4.8 ....

Care to expand on the "only 2 sails needed" comment? Sounds interesting in concept. What would they suggest as combos? eg 5.7 + 4.8 ; 5.2 + 4.2? Especially if they cut the weight even further this could make for a great travelling kit.

I think it was more related to WA conditions. Where they would often take a 5.3, 5.0 and 4.7 now they only need a 5.2 and 4.8.
I personally never had any problems with a 5.3 4.7 in the past. But extra wind range can hopefully only be a good thing.

Hi Zacd...any feedback on the new Blades?

PS with increasing wind range the 2014 S1 Vs Blade decision is going to get harder!

I don't think there is a huge amount of changes to the blades just minor stuff that I cant remember. They look really similar this year too. The blades and s1s are different in feel so should still depend on preference. Both are really nice to use though!
Pretty sure Paul has some in the zu for anyone to have a look


I should of taken a brochure so I could have just retyped up the marketing that they have!

Ive seen the 2014' Blades at Day st the other week - and they were red - wasnt expecting that.

Have they made any statements about weight for those S1 sails?

I recently bought a Severne boom and I am pretty stocked with how stiff that boom is while being super light.

Hey guys, I attended the Zu Severne Promo party! It was good with free beers and food

Ben spoke for over an hour about all the different sails in the range, it was really good to hear how each of the sails is supposed to work for different riders.

Blades v S1.
From what i remember Ben saying, the Blades were designed to push the board down so the rail can be driven into the turns, similar to the classic wave riding styles of Scott McKercher, they are rockin' a new-ish colour scheme, with a bit more blue in the sails these days. Ben was saying that they have done a few tweaks to the Blade's this year to make them lighter and give them a bigger wind range. The big change was done to the S1's.

The S1 are designed for that new school freestyle aspect of wave riding, which involves big aerials, taka's etc. The S1, is designed to 'lift' the board, which is a really interesting concept. With the use of new materials they have reduced the weight slightly, but there was more effort put into increasing the wind range of the S1's. Its not as dramatic as 5.2 - 4.4, but its just eliminating that middle sail of a 5.2, 5.0, 4.8.

I was more interested in the FREEK. They have changed the ratio of the Freek to make it Taller but Shorter on the boom, which will help with those ducking moves and increased lift because of the taller luff. Ben also explained to us that with the use of new materials, especially the 'spider fiber' that runs from the clew he is able to give the sail more control when overpowered.

We even were fortunate enough to hear from Tom White and Ian Fox about the new wave boards in the Starboard Line Up!

I'm really excited to try the new sails & boards!

Hope that helps.

Cheers Steve

Hi Steve,

thanks for info...

...anyone know when the 2014 Severne and Starboard kit will be released officially ie new website etc?

I think NSA know for sure...

2014 severne gear has been released to teamriders so guessing around august to october for major shipments in Aus.

Hey Guys,

Unfortunately we are not supposed to post any pictures yet. Official release is soon !

There are a few low res shots of the party on the Vic forum: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Victoria/Celebrate-The-return-of-the-Wind

Cheers,

The ZU

Having had an early test of the 2014 Flare and Freek, I'd have to say this is a really fun setup a lot of bay sailors
might want to consider (especially for seabreezes and northerlies) as an alternative to a pure freeride setup.

It planes super super early (to the point you see a pathetic gust of wind and don't expect to plane but all of a sudden you're planing), is really fast (comes from a slalom board design) and very manouevrable in jumps and carves. It'd pair nicely with a kode for higher winds.

Zu will have a demo Flare available.

Cheers,
Andy

Its still 4 battens but this year they tried to focus on more wind range.

Thanks zacd for your feedback,
Another question regarding wind range
I have only the 2011 5 batten sail so far, and i find the low end works great but when the sail is used in overpowered can be a handful, and sometimes will flutter,
Did they specify improvement to wind range on high end , or lowend??
Thanks,
Chuck

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chuckmaui said..

Its still 4 battens but this year they tried to focus on more wind range.

Thanks zacd for your feedback,
Another question regarding wind range
I have only the 2011 5 batten sail so far, and i find the low end works great but when the sail is used in overpowered can be a handful, and sometimes will flutter,
Did they specify improvement to wind range on high end , or lowend??
Thanks,
Chuck

Hey pal,

Not too sure about the low/high end range? I've ordered a 4.4 S1, so when we get some CRANKING Northerly's up here in Melbourne i'll be able to answer your question.

Stay Tuned...
Steve

Surely the freek is too fragile for the average dude. Theres so much mono and tube battens as well.

Select to expand quote

Acker said..

Having had an early test of the 2014 Flare and Freek, I'd have to say this is a really fun setup a lot of bay sailors
might want to consider (especially for seabreezes and northerlies) as an alternative to a pure freeride setup.

It planes super super early (to the point you see a pathetic gust of wind and don't expect to plane but all of a sudden you're planing), is really fast (comes from a slalom board design) and very manouevrable in jumps and carves. It'd pair nicely with a kode for higher winds.

Zu will have a demo Flare available.

Cheers,
Andy

Average dudes are softer in their gear than freestylers! Freeks have regular rod battens.

New 2014 range is up on the website, along with a few other brands.

Hi guys, has anyone tested new swat yet? I got 2013 S1 for pure freestyle because Freek didn't look very durable in my opinion. I think s1 is the best sail I've ever sailed but only in its range of wind especially for those ducking manouvres that needs flat profile, and S1 is flat enough only in its right wind. So I'm wondering if I can solve the problem with the swats just because they look flatter and with a bigger range, or maybe have to put my faith in 2014 s1 as factory says it has better range.

Thank you,
Leonardo

Freeks are no less durable than any of the other sails, they are various panels of monofilm or cross-ply type stuff stitched together. A tear in the monofilm will travel much easier than a non-monofilm panel, but on the Freek this would be stopped by the 'spiderfibre' or batten pockets. If you put the same hole in a cross-ply panel, the hole would be smaller/ would not spread, but you most likely still have to get that panel replaced regardless. Apart from that (good) sails nowadays don't generally just explode/ fall apart. So apart from the monofilm wearing out earlier than cross-ply I see no reason why the sails are less durable.

The Freek is using a lot of monofilm for maximum stiffness, but this this completely surrounded by panels of E3 or dyneema cross-ply type material.

Just in case your wondering I use both Freeks and S1s, which means its quite easy to compare.

Al

My concern was only about UV sunrays. The 5.2/5.3 is the sail I use the most for freestyle and I really don't want to see the central panel of my sail get opaque in one season. Anyway, are new S1s really flatter and with a wider range ?



The profile does not look very flat in this photo, isnt it? But sometime feeling in the water is more expressive than a look at a rigged sail on the beach.


Leonardo