Lake Lopez questions

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

I had a sail just like the purple Windwing in the foreground. A 6.7 RAF that I bought new in 1986. It was the first aftermarket sail I added to my quiver. My big sail.

MalibuGuru · Joined: 11 Nov 1993 Posts: 9300

Lopez was gorgeous back then. I taught my son how to sail there. He's 13 now and rippin it up on Maui.

nw30 · Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:42 pm Post subject:

Thinking about it, I think that the Gaastra Slalom may have been the first mass produced, universally accepted sail, with a camber inducer.
But others were right on their heals, ie., Neil Pryde's Warp Speed, and the Aeroforce.
Somebody should write a book, but not me.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

My Aeroforce experience:
• It took two of us 1.5 hours to rig it the first time.
• It was unstoppable in lulls; once planing it felt like a perpetual motion machine.
• It turned like a 45-foot motor home with no power steering belt.
• You had to call in a Chinook helicopter to waterstart it.
• We never rigged it a second time.

I (and that ranger) wish I had known not to tell her the truth about how much gear I was hauling (I couldn't figure out why she cared how many boards and sails I owned; I assumed she was just being chatty until I saw the dollar signs in her eyes). A few boards X a few sails = >20 possible combinations at a few bucks a pop.

Mike \m/

fibersnap · Joined: 02 May 2010 Posts: 55

Like those old pictures, take me back... Post more if you got 'em. thanks!

nw30 · Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 6:08 pm Post subject:

fibersnap · Joined: 02 May 2010 Posts: 55

cool , thanks for the photos.

I remember sailing Lopez in the 80s on my north speed tcc (spider??)

I always wanted one of those aeroforce sails at the time, but was too poor... When the wide luff race sails came back in vogue, I knew I had to get one in white...

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

That's a great shot of Greenough in action. Before he started making his own sails, like the one depicted in the photo, he was sailing modified Aeroforce sails. Given the fact that his handmade carbon boom was a fixed size, he modified and shortened the clew of the sail conceptually much like what many sail manufacturers are doing today.

George was such an innovator. As you will note, he is also using a one piece 100% carbon RDM that he made. For those that might not know, George was the original designer/builder of the RDM concept, and he later gave the idea to the folks at NoLimitz.

mikecole · Joined: 21 Sep 2000 Posts: 164

Great photo of George! Thanks for sharing...

Steve, I ran into Charlie at Leds the other day, he's the only central cal sailor that I know of that still uses a Grenough hook. He glues some kind of ribbed material to the inside of his boom to create "hook-points". It works!

Mike

nw30 · Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:37 pm Post subject: