Point 7 AC-K

Sail looks nice but 2.2 m smaller in that much wind, why wouldn't it be quicker?

Point-7 AC-K 2011 : Race 3 cambers :

The AC-K, King of Cams is a new addition to the Point-7 sail line-up, tested and developed in the Canary Islands in a variety of conditions, from the nuclear winds in Pozo to the choppy waters of Fuerteventura and at the development HQ in Tenerife. Final testing was carried out on Lake Garda in Italy to complete the bigger sizes and ensure overall performance in light winds.
Mast Choice Advise: The sail line have been tested with C100+ and C80+ standard masts. Only the 5.8m2 uses a RDM mast. The C60 grade mast is also compatible with the AC-K
Design objective: Racing characteristics, with special empathize on easy handling and comfort.
Development: Demanding performance to push your racing further. Having a simplified race sail is not a question of how many cambers it has, but a demand to have the fastest sail possible with optimized handling and comfort qualities. Being the friendlier version of the AC-1, Point-7's title winning race line, the AC-K has been cut to having a very compact outline that allows for more power in a smaller sail area. Developed to shock absorb gusts and choppy conditions softer than the AC-1 and with less complicated handling requirements. The AC-K produces amazing high speed racing also for those who are not professional windsurfers, but with a wish to dominate their home spot. The sail range offers a very compact outline, short boom and mast lengths, swift handling infused with low-end power and the stability of 3 cambers.

SizeIdealCompatibleLuffBoom +/-3 cmVario TopBattens Cams
5,8400rdm 434174no7/3
6,5430 449193no7/3
7,2430460 467205no7/3
7,8460 483214no7/3
8,5490 503223no7/3
9,4490 517238no7/3

Agree with ya Sam, but then..

The Slalom Reflex comes as a 9.6m largest, and runs a 533 luft vs a 483 luft on the 7.8m P7 - to me in the clip the reflex luft doesnt look 0.5m longer, but that could be perspective playing a role...

Also no idea who's on the P7, but POL10 - if thats Wojtek then I recall he's just come back from a hardcore snapped leg and busted up ankle this year, had a good 12-18months off and lucky to be sailing at all.....

Stance says a lot if you compare them too and notice the back hand come off the reflex sailor just as he gets passed at the end...

still cool vid....

Hmmm so looked a little closer and noticed first pass its a Slalom reflex vs a P7 ACX... guessing 7.8 or 8.6 - fair match up then - though can't see what sailors are doing (ie backing off etc)...

Then second match up is Formula reflex (which looks probably 11m on the second pass and seems overpowered) v P7 ACK, ... and then third pass on guessing 9.7 F-Reflex (smallest) which he backs off on... and again the point 7 looks bigger in the last frame (against the 9.7), so not sure what size the P7 actually is...(considering none of the Reflex sails are 10m (though average may be )

slalom race sail vs formula sail, my understanding when I raced years ago (though not sure if relevant now days) was that formula sails = consistent power because of range its designed to work in, as your limited to 3 standard design size sails, and so when overpowered will be less efficient ie lower top end speed for its size = second pass, whereas slalom sails gives more top end speed when overpowered/powered up agains similar sized formula sail = third pass...

So at then end of the day no suprises which sail is faster..... slalom sail right

I think what it proves is that detuned race sail offered by Point 7 is competitive with Severne's full race sail. Though a more interesting test would've been a 7.8m or near Severne against this sail... Still, the sail looks sick and fast.

Boys... here's the goss on the video because I was the one who shot it.

Wojtek is riding the 10m reflex. Andrea Cucchi (ITA-1) is riding the 7.8m AC-K.

The wind is around 15-18 knots but fairly gusty... the beach is Alacati in Turkey. Wojtek had some new proto Severne sails to test in the large slalom sizes so Andrea was asked to help make the tests. They both are using the iSonic 133 and the same size/make of fin.

In the video Wojtek is using his competition 10m that he used in the PWA race the days before.

In these winds, a 10m should be faster on that size board I believe. The AC-K was an entirely new development different to the AC-1 race sail and we discovered it was much faster in straight line speed than even the race sail. In fact, it's probably one of the fastest sails I've ever tested... The video is a bit subjective, as they sailed all day and were fairly neck and neck, however in the gusts, Andrea was noticeably quicker, so of course I've only included those clips to get a bit of a laugh from the Severne boys ;)

The thing is, you can arguably make 3 cam sails faster than race sails in straight line speed as they are usually lighter and have a flatter entry on the luff with the reduced cams. The problem is on the race course (which is why we still use 4-5 cam race sails) is they don't have as good wind range in the lulls... the race sail stays more powered up in gusty conditions and you they depower quite a lot in the gybes when you tuck ...

If you know what it's like on a race sail when you gybe in gnarly conditions, as soon as you sheet out, you don't slow down and it doesn't depower (it just makes it more out of control) - a 2/3 cam freeride sail depowers a little bit so you can slow down and control the gybe more (not the best if you are trying to beat Antoine).

So usually we recommend the 2/3 cam sails like the AC-K (and even our AC-X no cam) for guys who love slalom blasting and going SUPER fast but like to be able to stick the gybes with some kind of control... and if you are trying to beat someone as fast as Sam Parker on the race course, you probably need to get the full blown race sail ;)