The story of the all new Point-7 AC-1 Race Sail, by Andrea Cucchi.
In 2010 I was finally able to get back into competitive racing. My team was taking care of business at the Point-7 HQ allowing me the time out to be on the PWA racing tour again. I love racing and it would have been difficult to stay away from the race course much longer. With my injury in 2009 I had been completely out from the circuit, so feeling the strap from my start watch on my arm when I walked on to the beach was an awesome feeling. Together with the Point-7 team I took the AC-1 2010 to its limits throughout the season and in the process began to understand the direction we would need to go and what important characteristics should be integrated on the next black racing AC-1 …
Starting the development for the AC-1 has been really interesting thanks to our new R&D facilities which have opened up a whole new world of possibilities. With the feedback from our racing team, I started brainstorming a new concept for the whole characteristic of the sail we wanted to make with our three new sail designers. We chose the best profile to fit the average top speeds we normally travel at in windsurfing and worked on ‘S’ shaping of the battens to keep the profile fixed and open a faster channel for the wind to exit the sail chord more efficiently. After examining every centimetre of the sail we were able to take out surplus reinforcements which were no longer needed with the new straighter luff curve. We were then able to change the batten materials, as the different materials used for making the sleeve could adjust the reflex of the mast and finally designed a complete new outline on the leech of the sail. A lot of thought went into the process; a process which has really paid off and I am proud to say that we have a very unique product that once again, is a clear testament to the efforts we have put into this project.
The first step was to design the whole project on the computer in all sail sizes and decide for a graphic which would fit the winning and aggressive characteristics of the sail. The second step was then to plot out all the sails on paper instead of monofilm. These paper sail models were scaled down 1:2 so they were manageable to handle and with these models we could then check that all the parts fitted perfectly together and also to control the actual profile of the sail. It was amazing to see how changes could be made on a paper made sail and to see the fitting of the mast sleeve in order to take out any possible wrinkles. The designers did a scientific job when adjusting the sail to fit the cams so that they would rotate perfectly with the correct pressure from production. Once all the changes were made on the paper sail, the modifications were transferred to the computer file and then only 15 minutes later all the pieces were cut out in real sail cloth so the actual sail could be completed for testing on water.
After only few hours, the first Point-7 ‘made in Italy’ proto type was born. It was an exciting process to see it all take place with so much love and passion. 15 experts were hands on, to make the entire process come together. The speed at which everything was completed was not comparable to anything I had previously seen. It really felt like being in some kind of Ferrari’s scuderia where they would build the next generation F1 car.
And the sail was an F1 race killer the next day when we took it on the water!!
EXTRA FEATURES:
Weight: The sail weight has been reduced to be an average 700g lighter than previous models by using a new monofilm and reinforcement structure. However the AC-1 will still remain one of the strongest built race sails on the market.
Light Wind Feeling: The sail generates great early planing ability and cruises through wind lulls without a loss in speed. The AC-1 is about sailing so once you’ve closed the gap you don’t need to think about anything else than the direction in which you’re sailing.
Medium/Strong Wind Feeling: The profile is locked to give comfort through the strongest gusts and toughest chop. No additional effort is needed to maintain a comfortable stance. The power in the sail can easily be adjusted by trimming the outhaul giving an autopilot feel to the sail. If you need to point upwind to get out of the wake of another person, or just give him dirty wind, the AC-1 will not lose speed. The leech twist opening system will allow you to go very deep downwind without feeling that you would need more wind to keep the speed.
Gybing: The reduced weight of the sail will let you jump straight on to the new tack using less strength. The continuous deep profile along the sail will allow a better carving of the board resulting in better control; approach your gybes at full speed and feel no deceleration. With the new leech outline, acceleration out of the gybe is immediate.
Cam Rotation: No need to kick! No need to adjust! No need to worry about them. The sails are delivered with perfectly tuned camber pressure and will rotate smoothly already on your first gybe.
