Wingsail for windsurfing – A game changer?

A brand new Sail brand has just entered the market. The US based designer Stanislav Mostoviy, with background in aerodynamics, has designed a full profile wing sail. The idea of a wingsail for windsurfing was born in 2012 and the agenda was to develop a full profile sail and make it crash resistant and floatable. After years of R&D and hard work the patented design is ready for the market.

Stanislav about the wingsail concept

Now we are really happy with all aspects of its performance. We have spent over 5 years of really intense R&D, developing a much better and reliable sail machine in all aspects. It is crash resistant, easy to water-start, very forgiving and fast. A wing sail has much more stability in all directions and doesn’t really have an upper wind limit.The wing sail have minimum twist and it rotates much smoother compared to a traditional windsurfing sail. After rotation the wing sail powers up in a very soft and controled manner.

Wingsails are completely free from leading edge stall

A problem with curved plate profile of a traditional sail is that it develops leading edge stall. Wingsails are completely free from leading edge stall, which means that the wing sail will continuously deliver lift and remain stable with a locked in position and remain on that position in all wind speeds.
There is no back hand pressure or back foot pressure and there is no different adjustments for different wind speeds – just one setup does it all. Our wingsail is a wind hungry machine that never overpowers.

“I remember in my old days sailing with regular sail 28 knots it’s like holding for your life ,sailing with wing on the choppy water 28 knots it’s nothing. Actually faster is better because on the high-speed when all forces equalizes drag and lift, everything become really quiet.”

How about sail sizes and mast curves?

Storm is not sensetive to mast curve. I rig different masts on my demo sails, result is the same. According sail size: The rule for wingsails is simple – bigger = faster. But to go fast requires sailor strength. The 5.8 generate an enormous amount of lift, you must have body strength or weight to balance and control the power. Can a 60 kg sailor use 5.8? Yes of course if you like super speed and hardcore sailing. The 4.5 rig will give the smaller sailor a more relaxed, stable and controled ride.

The name of the sail is Storm, is that indicating that there will be bigger sizes in the future? “Yes there will be bigger size possibly coming this spring”.

Is the wingsail concept a game changer?

With minimum twist and an exceptional stability the wing sail should be a perfect match for ice sailing and the ever growing market of windsurfing foils. Other sail brands have adjusted their sail lines with a sail designed for foil-sailing. First out was Loftsails that just recently has released their all new “Skyscape”, specially designed for foiling with less twist and with a lower cut than we are used to see on a modern windsurfing sail. If the wing sail concept is a game changer remains to be seen. Stanislav is convinced of the pro´s of the wing sail concept compared to a traditional windsurfing sail and the more we learn about the concept the more we are convinced that the wingsail concept also would be a perfect match for foiling and ice surfing.