Maui Monthly Our Experience Your Reward
no. 02. May 2005
Stormy April.
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tormy, windy, and rainy weather struck the Pacific Island of Maui the past month as the team at MauiSails busily raced around to get everything in line for the summer months. Rain or not, The Team was on the water at every chance, testing and training, making sure sails were ready to go into production. The opportunity has come to deliver unique and classy sailing products to the world.
Maui, Hawaiian Islands
On the true test level, Kev had this comment. “I've been trying to hit the lip harder and harder and found that we needed to soften up the sails a bit in the top. Barry knew just what to do and I think we have come up with a winner! Anyone who has tried our proto's love them.”
The New Sails.
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ur hardcore wavesail, the Legend, was the first range to tackle after the TR-1. We've been working on them since December and nailed them down, ready for the competitions at the start of the year.
We managed to come up with some great new features, including a 'no check' head finish which makes it so your mast never slips off at the tip, and a sand seal to keep the grit out. We also worked on shortening the boom on some of the larger wave sails, aiming at producing a light feel without giving up our exceptional low end performance. We have been working towards a straighter leech profile to keep the outline most compact and to help develop efficiency that comes from being able to get the most even pressure at the edge. Barry is working on some simple flow solutions that will help to illustrate the advance.
TR-1 Delivers.
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ou should all start to see the new TR-1's on the water soon as they are being shipped as you read this newsletter. Some of the first shipments have arrived to importers and first impressions are always important. The reaction so far has been fantastic. Bulgaria - “You are doing your job perfectly and I fill my self like part of your team. I receive the sails, today I test them and my impression is that the sails are perfect. I feel this sail like a compilation of best characteristics of Nitro and RS”.
Tom Cherry on Maui - “I loved the 6.3, it had great power and total control. I pretty much smoked everyone at Kanaha, until I let them try it, then they smoked me”. If you have any questions about rigging or tuning of the TR-1, be sure to visit us at the MauiSails forum - http://www.mauisails.com/forum www.mauisails.com | 01
Maui Monthly Our Experience Your Reward
no. 02. May 2005
Maui, Hawaiian Islands
Waves worldwide.
Switch gears.
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econd on the list was to design the ULTIMATE freeride sail. Jumping, duck jibes, loops, freestyle maneuvers, you name it, we wanted to get it in this sail. We came up with the Switch and this sail will blow your mind. Light in feeling, stable at high end, and enough speed to take on any sail on the water, is what makes the Switch a natural choice for the fun that windsurfing is supposed to be all about. The Switch is Kevin's pick for winning the Super-X world title.
Taty Frans has also been involved in the testing and has really developed a liking for these sails. “The Switch is a pretty sweet sail. Barry and the crew are on it. I can't wait to give it a try at the next super X and freestyle event. I think i have a great chance to do well in Super X this year, since I have been a good racer for a long time and the tricks are even easier with this sail” said Taty.
2 Cam special.
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ow that the race sails are available and getting daily feedback, we shifted emphasis to the MS-2, an affordable casual freerace sail that puts serious speed on the dyno. “Two camber freerace sails have always been one of my favorites to design. Over the past twenty five years I have always enjoyed making two cam sails faster than expected, and the MS-2 really hits the revs. The two cam sails are in the design loop after we finished the TR-1, and that allows us to put everything that we have learned from the race sail into a lighter user friendly sail. The MS 2 will not disappoint you” said Barry Spanier.
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he Global is a purebred wave sail that should be the choice for most common sailing conditions. “We didn't want to come out with “just another onshore sail”. We wanted something that you could use in challenging conditions, and that would be good for use in Bonaire for the full-on freestyle rippers like Taty. Kevin and Phil have been testing it to guarantee it meets performance standards in the waves, and Taty has also been on Maui making sure that it suits his needs for freestyle. We are really happy with the way this sail is developing, we are able to set it apart from the Legend, yet still have a powerful and easy feeling sail” said Phil McGain.
Don't look back.
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ith the ultimate freeride sail in the Switch, we changed gears a and came up with an RAF model to complement the larger boards and slalom freeride needs in an affordable package. We have designated the Pursuit to be just beside the MS-2 in the Maui Sails range. With no cams and only six battens, it is very light, yet stable and balanced for blasting around and having fun. When asked about the Pursuit, Phil said,“The Pursuit is a sail for streaking around and enjoying any day on the water. Having fun with your friends and family is what this sail is about. I enjoy testing and tuning this sail up, because we stabilize it with tube battens and give it plenty of grunt.” www.mauisails.com | 02
Maui Monthly Our Experience Your Reward
no. 02. May 2005
Every day fun.
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he Aloha and the Rebel were the last two on the list to put us back in the game. The Aloha is perfect for the pure recreational rider. It's light enough to easily uphaul, and perfect for learning to get into your harness, to master footstraps, and carve your way into jibing. The Rebel is our hard core ripper kid's rig. It's designed to be used as fully scaled for real performance with kids from 20 kg's up to 40 kg's who are using harness and footstraps and want to tear it up like Kev. This is not just a small sail, it is intended to be able to take all bashing seriously, and balanced and tuned to help your children rapidly succeed in mastering the sport.
Maui, Hawaiian Islands
Rigs all working together.
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ne of the benefits of honest teamwork is that the whole unit works better than a bunch of individuals without purpose. The same can be said of sails and masts. Our goal is to provide the developed combination of mast and sail to guarantee the experience is exactly as conceived by the creators. This is why we have chosen the materials and construction we have for our line of carbon spars.
Our new range of MauiSails Synergy Rig System (SRS) carbon masts have been in development to perfectly match the character of these new designs, and they will be available in line with the summer delivery schedule. Construction is of pre-impregnated carbon or glass fiber with controlled temperature autoclave curing.
Our folks - THE TEAM.
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aty Frans made it to Maui for his annual trip. He was ripping up the Hawaiian waters with his classic Bonaire style. Between photo shooting for Starboard and helping out with the testing and evolution of the new ranges, the boy was on fire out on the water. Air Chachos and double forwards were just some of the insane moves that he was pulling off regularly.
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orota was in her finest form this past month and looking good both on and off the water. She was on the water as much as anyone, pushing us to help her get faster and to improve her wave sailing (which we all know is still very high on the fun list). Her desire to rip up the waves was shining through as she started to consistently ride some solid waves. She ended her stay on Maui and headed back to her home to meet up with her Polish Olympic team and start on her quest for Olympic Gold as well as the Formula Europeans in May. www.mauisails.com | 03
Maui Monthly Our Experience Your Reward
no. 02. May 2005
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evin has been hard at work getting in the groove for the competition season. The 2005 Jeep Hawaii Pro was first, and had some great conditions. It wasn't the classic Hookipa conditions, but the wind blew every day making for some fun action. Kevin finished in seventh position but went out fighting after an all out battle with the young ripper, Levi Siver. Next was the Starboard photo shoot, which is almost like an event in itself. Ten days of brutal schedules, and sailing every board in the Starboard range, made for extra long days. Kev was definitely the MVP of the starboard shoot, showing everyone that he's got all day staying power to get that last shot.
Maui, Hawaiian Islands
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arry has been on a tear this last month. Not only has he finalized over 50 sail designs, build proto's and keep production details on schedule, he had to sell his home of fifteen years and pack all the goods and move himself into new digs. It was a massive task that required lots of painting and carpentry and cleaning. But it was done and gone on the 20th of April. He finished moving into a new spot and finally took a deep breath over the weekend. And the rest? He's getting that done too. And really looking forward to hearing the reaction to these new wave sails, which are a fair step from the last effort. And the Hula Girl (new 42' catamaran) has both engines working now so the rest of the refit can go forward. When she is ready, we will be going to lots of places around Hawaii that no one can get to from the land. Barry says he remembers lots of cool spots where he anchored but got blown around hard. A curse back then, but not any more.
Directly following that, Kevin was off to Leucate, France, for the first Super X event of the season. It was a weather shortened event with only one day of racing, and Kev managed to put his Starboard/MauiSails gear into fifth position. Not a bad start to the year for someone who is Spockularly challenged. But don't worry, he's getting Spockier all the time.
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hil has been up to his ears in sail development and still working the internal business side of things. Working on new ideas, new sails, masts, harnesses, booms, you name it and Phil has been on it. Working closely with “The Captain� Barry Spanier, the duo have been making heads turn with the innovative ideas. Phil is also getting ready to head to Corpus Christi, Texas for the annual US Open Racing event and also getting his slalom gear tuned for the Summer Series here on Maui.
She's a Polycon37 stretched to 42 feet. There is no interior, just one big space for gear and coolers. A nice swim ladder makes getting aboard a tourist cruise. We can't wait to send out stories of those trips! Thanks for taking the time and hope to see you on the water. The Team. www.mauisails.com | 04