SFBayLaser
Member
Among the things I have learned during the too long process of looking at a new Standard sail:
My point here is that it doesn't matter what sail we use but it is important that we all use the same sail.
- Two sails with identical cuts but not the same material are different. I can say that testing between two sailors who both finished the year in the top ten of the ISAF World Cup demonstrated there is sometimes a large difference. Not only in objective side by side speed testing, but also in the more subjective off the water discussions where both said they could see/feel the differences in the sails. (note they were not using "replica" sails, but testing of prototypes).
- The average Laser sailor is not as sensitive to the differences in material that the pros are, we tend to make too many other mistakes for it to matter.
- An Olympic medalist told some sailors in a clinic he was running (which I attended) that if they were to use replica sails in the clinic he would not be able to help them with sail trim because he could see that the sails were different and he didn't want to waste his and their time trying to figure them out.
My point here is that it doesn't matter what sail we use but it is important that we all use the same sail.