Jennie from Canmore Alberta.
The summer Gorge winds have returned! A group of loyal sailors call CeliloPark east of The Dalles home when the wind is blowing. On a day when the Hatchery was parked out by 8 am, it was easy to find a parking spot at this sailing site. The wind was averaging 20 by 11:30 in the morning, and the forecast was calling for it to build all afternoon. A few sailors were out on 4.7 to 5.5’s planing full time. I saw several older Ezzy sails dating back to 2001…I really enjoy getting feedback from sailors that have been riding Ezzys for several years. Who better to judge how the performance of our sails has improved than a loyal Ezzy sailor.
The first sailor to take out an SE was Jennie from Canmore Alberta in the Canadian Rockies. She and her family are Gorge veterans coming each summer to sail the mighty Columbia. She took out the 4.5 and was comparing it to her non-Ezzy 4.5. Here is what she said after a test session. “This sail has such a light and effortless feel, the power comes on so easy; there’s no pull on your front or back hand. When a gust hits, I just went faster!” She accurately described the feeling of the locked in draft forward design of the SE, “the pull and center of effort doesn’t move when a gust hits you”. Sounds like what a sail maker would say. Jennie is a solid sailor, we appreciate her comments.
The second Canadian sailor was Al from Penticton in eastern British Columbia. He and his wife Wendy are serious sailors who have sailed Ezzy sails for several years. I first met them in Baja last winter at my rigging clinic in La Ventana, Baja (see my first post in April). Al loves power and definitely rips. He wanted to try the 4.7 when most sailors were rigging 4.2’s and down…hey the customers is always right. It was apparent as I watched him make his first run across the river that he was immediately comfortable with the sail. When he returned, his first words were, “that sail is solid“. On the swells, “I could cut down the face and never feel over-powered“. The one comparison he made with his early SE was the solid feel in the gusts, “I felt like I could have taken my hands off the boom in the gusts”. Something I wouldn’t recommend and don’t plan on trying myself, but it leaves no doubt how he felt about the solid feeling.
A little blurry…Al, slow down.
I now have the new 2009 Freewave in the demo fleet. If you’ve been waiting to try this new sail from Ezzy, watch our site for the time and location of our next Gorge demo. See you on the beach, Gary & Nancy
It really was a great day and Gary had a number of Ezzy SE sails rigged to demo. From a 4.0 through 5.8. I got there @ noon and tried out the 5.8 and as the wind increased throughout the day ended up on a 4.5. I have older Ezzys and while they have been great, the new SEs are really solid and forgiving. I am definitely going for a new 5.2 to replace one of my older Ezzys. If you see a posting for Ezzys being demoed at one of the Gorge sites, go for it, you’ll love the sails and have a lot of fun. Gary does a great job and has lots of tips.