Cover: Kauli Seadi
Robby Swift
Baptiste Gossein
Ricardo Campello
X-OVER “Crossover is all about versatility. You’ve got the option of going fast, pulling tricks on flatwater or, if you get the opportunity and the conditions permit, extending yourself into smaller waves. And, because this type of sailing can be practiced just about anywhere there is wind and water, the options in terms of what you can do are as endless as the locations you can choose to go and sail.” Anxton Otaegui / E169
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Ricardo Campello
Antxon Otaegui
Ricardo Campello
The new Firefly feels great – I’m really happy. I can use it for freestyle – it’s stable, light, great on manoeuvrability and it has heaps of acceleration. This makes the Firefly great for wave sailing as well.” Ricardo Campello / V111
Ricardo Campello
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LIGHTWEIGHT WAVESAILING. FREESTYLE PERFORMANCE. As the distinction between wave and freestyle sailing becomes blurred, and we see an increasing number of freestyle tricks being performed in wave conditions, it has became clear that there is a need for a dedicated “Wave– Freestyle” sail that would perform at 100% in the waves – while retaining the Expression’s excellent flat-water freestyle performance.
FIREFLY is an all new sail designed to reflect this need, and not only enable three times freestyle world champion, Ricardo Campello, to ‘bring modern freestyle manoeuvres into the wave arena, but continue to deliver the same level of ‘pure’ freestyle performance expected from the Expression.
C5
C6
DESIGN OBJECTIVES: • FIREFLY must have very good wave performance and maintain suitability for freestyle. • Create a sail that facilitates freestyle manoeuvring in a ‘classic’ wave environment. • The new sail needs to have suitable power for freestyle. • The sail needs to be light (for manoeuvrability) but strong (to deal with wave use & abuse). • Reflecting the need for manoeuvrability, FIREFLY must have a low ‘sailing’ weight.
ACHIEVED BY: • The FIREFLY features a compact clew. This allows the designer to use a lower aspect ratio than in previous Expression designs without increasing boom length. As a result, the FIREFLY is a much more compact sail than the Expression; on average, it is about 8cm shorter in the luff. • Because of the compact clew, the boom length has not increased, and the result is a more compact, manoeuvrable sail, which is ideally suited to freestyle. • A reduction in luff curve in the mid to upper section of the sail (relative to the Expression) makes the head of the FIREFLY ‘release’ easily – as required for wave sailing conditions. • Less luff curve reduces the body tension of the sail. This helps ensure a balance between stability and a soft feel – both needed for wave sailing and freestyle. • Load specific reinforcement ensures strength in the most critical load areas while keeping the weight at the minimum.
SIZE
LUFF +/- 1cm
4.1
384
4.5
BOOM +/- 1cm
Antxon Otaegui
BASE
BATTENS
CAMS
IDEAL MAST
CODE
153
14
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 370
BNP9FF41
399
158
30/0
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 370/400
BNP9FF45
4.9
412
164
12
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 400
BNP9FF49
5.3
423
171
24
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 400
BNP9FF53
5.7
441
177
12
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 430
BNP9FF57
6.1
453
184
24
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 430
BNP9FF61
6.5
464
193
4/34
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 460/430
BNP9FF65
6.9
476
198
16
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 460
BNP9FF69
www.neilpryde.com 28
Sarah-Quita Offringa
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Baptiste Gossein
Levi Siver & Baptiste Gossein
Baptiste Gossein
“I always make sure to have an Excess in my quiver during my trips, it’s always good to cruise in the lagoon, or do a small session of bump and jump when the waves are not too big. It’s light, strong and super easy to sail. I love it!” Baptiste Gossein / F61
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FAST. MANOEUVRABLE. DURABLE. It’s unusual for windsurfing locations to deliver the same, consistent conditions every time – your local sailing spot is as likely to be different from one day to the next, as is the riders’ desire to attempt different windsurfing disciplines each time they go sailing.
So, whether it’s flatwater blasting, jumps, basic freestyle or even riding small surf, the EXCESS - being the most versatile crossover sail in the collection - is perfectly suited to meet your needs, and match the conditions.
C3
C4
DESIGN OBJECTIVES:
ACHIEVED BY:
• Develop a powerful, fast, easy handling and manoeuvrable free-ride sail. • The sail must be suited to flatwater blasting, jumping and basic freestyle moves. • The EXCESS should have a wide wind range, good low-end characteristics, speed and acceleration. • Given the EXCESS’s versatility, it must be suitable for use in small surf, and be built strong enough to handle regular jumping – and crashes. • To optimise time on the water, the sail must be easy to rig and de-rig.
• The outline and shaping reflect the design objective of versatility; a stable, forward oriented profile provides power with control while a relatively open head spills excessive power. • A slight increase in the foot area (relative to wave and pure freestyle sails) enhances low-end power and helps stability. This makes the EXCESS the fastest of the 5 battened crossover sails – without compromising manoeuvrability. • A full X-Ply body gives the EXCESS superb durability in addition to a soft, forgiving on the water sailing ‘feel’ that is unique to 100% X-ply sails.
For 2009:
For 2009:
• Reduce boom length for improved manoeuvrability. • Enhance manoeuvrability while maintaining the early planing ability of the sail. • Reduce sailing weight, especially during manoeuvres.
SIZE
LUFF +/- 1cm
5.4
429
5.9
BOOM +/- 1cm
• The 2009 EXCESS features a compact clew. This allowed the designer to shorten the boom length without increasing the aspect ratio. This resulted in a more manoeuvrable sail where, especially in transitions the shorter boom helps. • A reduction in luff curve and downhaul reduces body tension, which in turn reduces the sailing weight and results in a softer ‘feel’ in the sail. • Load specific reinforcement ensures strength in the most critical load areas while keeping the weight at minimum.
BASE
BATTENS
CAMS
IDEAL MAST
CODE
178
0/30
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 430/400
BNP9EC54
447
185
18
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 430
BNP9EC59
6.4
465
193
6
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 460
BNP9EC64
6.9
478
201
18
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 460
BNP9EC69
7.4
492
209
32/2
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 460/490
BNP9EC74
www.neilpryde.com 32
Baptiste Gossein
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Klaas Voget
Klaas Voget & Robby Swift
“I love the idea of the Zen. I really don’t like traveling with loads of gear on the airlines nowadays, and to be able to take just one mast and boom with me on holiday would be a real blessing. It was no surprise to me that the middle sizes of the sail were good as they should fit on a 430 naturally but I was surprised that the 4.9 and 7.2 work so well on the 430 too and both feel soft, responsive and a joy to sail.” Robby Swift / K89
Robby Swift
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ONE MAST. ONE BOOM. FIVE SAILS. SIMPLE. one size of mast and boom, versatility. So irrespective of whether you are looking to learn new skills, basic tricks and manoeuvres, or if you just getting onto the plane and into the footstraps, ZEN offers all the performance and onward progression you need.
As comfortable in the hands of someone looking to extend their windsurfing skills as it is a beginner, the ZEN, introduced in 2007, is a sail and rig package whose design reflects a focus on ease of use, performance, manoeuvrability and, because all sizes of ZEN are designed to perform on
C3
C4
DESIGN OBJECTIVES:
ACHIEVED BY:
• ZEN is to be a soft, easy handling sail appropriate for recreational use, intermediates learning the fundamentals of windsurfing as well as basic manoeuvres. • ZEN is to be designed as a manoeuvre oriented free-ride sail. • All sizes of ZEN are to fit on one size of mast and boom and the sail must be easy to rig and de-rig to optimise time on the water. • Design emphasis is on low end power, simplicity and durability. • Each ZEN size should be suited to the conditions that it is most likely to be used in.
• ZEN has a crossover outline featuring a relatively full, forward oriented profile and shaping to promote early, effortless planing. • The ZEN has been designed using a NeilPryde 430cm mast and 160cm boom making it the most user friendly sail and rig combination in the range. • Progressive use of monofilm thickness is used to combine a lightweight upper section with a durable foot area. • Using only one mast and boom places limits on the sail’s dimensions but this is overcome through the use of a “Condition Specific Aspect Ratio”. As the ZEN gets smaller, it becomes more high aspect; as the sails get larger the boom becomes longer and the sail more low aspect. A high aspect sail is more suited to windier conditions and small waves while a low aspect sail is typically suited to lighter airs and low end power giving the ZEN the best characteristics in each wind condition.
For 2009:
For 2009:
• Bring the center of effort closer to rider. • Reduce sailing weight – the sail needs to feel ‘light’ in the hands. • Improve range of use, particularly in the low end.
SIZE
LUFF +/- 1cm
4.9
428
5.5
BOOM +/- 1cm
• The 2009 ZEN features a compact clew. This allows the designer to reduce the sail’s head size without increasing the boom length – this is especially relevant to the ZEN because of the need to use the sail on a 160cm boom and 430cm mast. The result is a more compact, manoeuverable sail. • A reduction in luff curve and downhaul reduces sail body tension, which together with reduced head area reduces the sailing weight. This gives the sail a ‘light’ feel. • Introduction of a softer #4 batten (larger sizes only) encourages bottom end power.
BASE
BATTENS
CAMS
IDEAL MAST
CODE
171
0
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 430
BNP9ZE49
437
183
8
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 430
BNP9ZE55
6.1
446
196
16
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 430
BNP9ZE61
6.7
464
205
34
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 430
BNP9ZE67
7.2
472
213
42
5
none
NeilPryde Matrix 430
BNP9ZE72
www.neilpryde.com 36
Klaas Voget & Robby Swift
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