Testimonials

"Sailing the MW Storm is a wonderful experience. It has a unique feel, unlike any other sail I've used so far. It's built for speed and I've found it to perform best above 17-18 mph. I first used it in gusty winds around 25 mph, while other sailors were on sails in the 5 meter range. Despite its 5.8 meter size, it was very stable, without the "twitch" and erratic movement which I expected from a sail under those conditions.

Due to its structure, the Storm weighs more that a typical single panel sail. However, it quickly comes to life in the wind. While typical sails develop a pocket at their base, and feel like they are capturing and being pushed by the wind in that pocket, the Storm feels like it's floating on the wind; like the airplane wing that it's based on. It immediately powers up while beach and waterstarting, and immediately jumps up on a plane.

Because of its two panels and inflatable camber inducers, the wing sail is more complicated to rig than a typical sail, and the first few tries will require some attention to detail. However, after a couple of riggings, the mystery is gone, and it's not much more time consuming than a standard sail. Stan makes almost all of the sail components in his workshop, and the sail is very well crafted, having gone through years of R&D. Stan stands behind his sails and is happy to answer questions and provide technical input."

Bill De Stefano

Hopewell, NJ

"I windsurf for a long time, but it is very difficult to choose right sail for me due height/weight ratio (I’m former wrestler). If I rig large enough sail to take me on the plane, it quickly gets overpowered with gust, smaller sail - doesn’t get me on plane on lulls. I tried Stan’s wing early spring. What a difference it made for me. I bought early version of 5.8 wing this summer. For it’s size, it is very powerful. It takes me on plane right away and it never overpowers! I sail with wing in such strong winds with confidence I’ve never had before.

Currently I have 8 sails sized from 4.0 to 8.7 sqm. I am seriously considering to get rid of my 5 sails sized from 4.0 to 6.7 sqm, because MW 5.8 Sail covers them all now. And as for the rest of them, I will replace them when Stan issue the other Sail, 6.8 sqm size. So, instead of 8 sails I will have only 2.

Stan’s wing definitely took me to the next level of windsurfing. I’m looking forward to larger wing using with foil board."

Aleksandr Novikov

Brooklyn, NY

"I have a few friends who bought this sail on the spot riding it for a few times and it speaks for itself. I do tricks and jumps and go into waves so for me this sail may not be perfect but for a great number of people who are into freeride, and speed this sail may be godsend.

I saw a few mentioned that the sail takes in water since it has a lot of volume and sinks. If these people actually used the sail, they would know that the sail stays on the surface no matter what. It's actually impossible to sink it. It all comes to a simple fact whether one used it or not and just guessing. I just gave you an example of one wrong conclusion based on guesswork.

I've probably windsurfed to 12 years and pretty advanced. I love windsurfing and when I think in terms of board design progress and sail design progress, latter hasn't progressed much.

All I want to say is that this sail can be something truly amazing, which potentially can change the design of freeride, race, and slalom sails. Imagine a possibility of owning only one sail for 18-40knots conditions. I think that involving top race sailors giving them some samples or askin to test may be a potential move.
I also think that recording a nice/pro sailing video(s) from a drone can be another nice idea and may convert skeptics into fans."

"leto"

iWindsurf.com

Posted: 20 Nov 2017 18:26

"I have been windsurfing at the Jersey shore, Barnegat Bay, for about 8 years. Primarily, I sail freeride boards 62L-109 L and mostly use only two sail sizes 4.7 & 5.8 m range (162 Lbs, my weight). I generally switch boards , not sails, when the wind changes.

In November 2017 I tested the 5.8 MW Wingsail on a strong WNW wind , 20 mph gusting 35 , in the Flats Area of Seaside Park, bayside. The board was a 109L HiFly Free -Carbon. What I noticed on the very first run is that the sail did not pull me towards a "near catapult state" in the high gusts , instead there was steady power coming from the sail. Also, despite there being a significant amount of chop , 1-3 feet, the board stayed down to the water and did not bounce around under speed , which often slows you down and creates unsafe conditions. Overall, it felt like the sail itself completely changed the characteristics of how the board behaved under speed.

I fell in a few times since I was end of day tired at the time of the test. The sail was easy to waterstart and I didn't have to rush in the gusts to waterstart since it floated well. I would conclude more timing is required to waterstart with a regular sail in gusty conditions..

The only on-water negatives I noticed is that the sail felt heavier when beach starting, but only until I started planing. Don't really see this as a drawback since this is not a beginner sailor's sail. "

Luke Rasiej

Jersey Shore Windsurfing LLC

(201) 527-8892

"So far I have sailed MW STORM only once, in 7-12 m/s wind and impression is VERY good. Sail feels very neutral and remains the same steady with course angle changes and wind shifts. It feels powerful and requires more vertical stance than slalom sails, but harness lines actually worked best in the original place (for 6.3 slalom sail, but boom is much shorter). 35 knots came without any effort. Weight of the sail is higher (well there are two of them :) ) but it compensates nicely by the lift it generates. Also jibing and tacking is extra easy as there is no need to flip anything, just get the sail around and keep going. Very satisfied so far, thanks!"