Sport Today

  Does anyone have experience with Hurricane Sails such that they could
  determine if the cost is justified by the performance. I am looking
  to buy a new quiver of sails and these seem to fit the bill.
  PWR gave them a great review so I got a catalog. Everything looked great
  but the price. Prices started at $419 for an RAF sail. Are they that much
  better than Windwing, Hot, Sailworks ....

  I would appreciate your comments.

  Thanks
  David

Whether you can justify the extra cost when so many sails seem to
work so well these days -- well that's up to you.

AS for the importance of resale value, ask me again in a few weeks. I'm
trading in my '91 Hurricanes, which people mistake for almost new after
four long summers of full-time use in the Gorge, in a week or two. I'll
know real soon what I'll get for them (whatever a customer pays less 5%),
and maybe I'm dreaming, but I hope to average something close to $250 per
sail for the 5-sail quiver.

That will go a long ways towards paying for my new quiver of Hurricane
Strealths, because I ordered them last Fall when quivers were discounted
about 25%.

But I would have been very happy, too, with Northwaves (single-cam or Wave
SX), Ezzy Transformers, Gaastra MW5s, and maybe a couple of others. Maybe.
But probably not. I think I would not look far beyond that list, because
right there are four great sails. For more on that, hold your water a few
more weeks until PWR's B&J issue comes out. You'll see why I picked those
sails.

Or try a quiver of Hurricanes. The shop/loft in Hood River
(1-800-747-2457) keeps track of used quivers for sale, such as mine (heh,
heh, heh).

I picked Hurricanes after talking to dozens of people on the beach in the
Gorge carrying them around, and haven't switched yet despite testing
hundreds of sails the past four years. For pure wave sailing or straight
slalom sailing, there are plenty of better designs out there. But for my
sailing style -- fully powered to overpowered (I hate lulls, and refuse to
slog), no straight lines unless I'm resting from 20 linked high-speed
turns and maneuvers), and jibes as tight and fast as my Gorge Animal
Bonzer will jam them) -- Hurricanes and these other few sails are as far
as I need to look. I'm sure there are a few others in the ballpark (check
out the Point Sails Jump Lite) , but I just don't have the time or
inclination to try to pick the very best, because there is no absolute
best sail. Or board. Or spouse. Or even pizza. You'll love any of the ones
mentioned for B&J sailing, and won't care if it isn't the "best". It's so
damned close it won't matter.

Go talk to people carrying the sails that interest you. That'll help, or
will overload you.
Good luck.
Mike Fick