Last season February was stingy in the wind department with only 6 sailable days all month.  Oh, but what a difference a year makes.  We had 6 sailable days in the first 7 days of the month this season; and with only one no-wind day as of this writing February is shaping up as an outstanding month on the water...unless you came to fish.  The official numbers through the 16th: sailable days - 12, kites & big sails - 3, no wind - 1.  It's classic La Ventana with 4.7 to 5.2 sails and even two days of 4.2...once again the Santa Ana's have been blowing in southern California which seem to supercharge the winds on the Sea of Cortez.  The camp is beginning to thin out as people are starting to leave for northern latitudes.  Usually by March the population is down by 75% from the peak in January, but those who remain are often rewarded with warming temps and few people on the water...and some years the wind can hold up well into April.

Ted & Joan

     So, how good are the new 2004 Wave Special Edition sails from Ezzy?  Read on.  I found some special new Ezzy riders that have been sailing the new '04 Special Editions this winter here in Baja.  The reason that they are special is that they are professional windsurfers a very grassroots way.  The windsurfing magazines have their yearly gear tests done by selected riders who ride all the brands for a session or two and then give their professional opinions.  But this group of "professionals" sail for a living too; sailing Baja in the winter, the Gorge and other venues in the summer...racking up from 100 to 200 days a year on the water.  They have paid their dues in the world of work and careers, and now their "job" is chasing the wind.  They may not have world cup titles and endorsements from the manufactures, but like most of us, are hardcore sailors who enjoy pushing themselves and their equipment to our limit. 

     Our first test rider is Jim from the Gorge.  He has been riding the swells of Baja for the past 7 winters and the Gorge for nearly 20 years.  He has owned numerous sails during his years on the water, but the '04's are his first Ezzys.  His impressions center not only on the consistent outstanding performance on the water, but also the ease of rigging and attention to detail in construction.    "The sails are so easy and fast to rig, you never have to guess or try to remember what worked yesterday...I never have to ask myself: Did I rig it right today?"  He continued, "The range is so great that they almost never need adjusting...just rig it and sail all day.  They only thing I might have to do is change boards; if the wind picks up, I just switch to my smaller board and keep the same sail."  And what did he mean by attention to details?  "The attention to detail that Ezzy puts into their sails is way beyond what I have seen in any other sail.  Like the different length head straps included with each sail, the numbers on the luff sleeve for setting the boom height, and the tab on the clew to set the correct boom length.  The sail is always right, I love them!"  A personal observation I have made this winter:  Jim has a reputation as one of the faster sailors here in Baja, and even though the Special Editions are Wave sails, his reputation has not changed...he is still fast!

Jim

     The second test sailors are Ted and Joan from British Columbia Canada.  They spend the winters here in Baja and split their summers between the Gorge and some special places on Vancouver Island.  They too made the switch to Ezzy this season and have some valuable observations about the new Special Editions.  It was time for a new quiver this past fall before heading south to Baja.  They had gathered information about sails, including features, performance, and durability.  Ted found that " whenever I talked to someone who had Ezzys, they seemed to be totally happy with the performance, but what I consistently found was how durable they seemed to be.  I kept finding sailors with Ezzys that were 5,6, or even 7 years old in great shape and still on the water.  And since we sail a ton of days every year, durability was one of the primary features I was looking for."  But performance and handling are what impresses Joan,  "they have such a light feel and never jerk or pull you when a gust hits you.  They have unbelievable control in gusty conditions, I just love them."  Ted is a healthy 210 lbs and is totally stoked about the low end power of his 6.3 SE.  "I'm impressed with the power and how quickly I can get up on a plane.  I didn't know that a sail could have great low end and still have the upper range these sails have...how'd they do that?"  We welcome these new sailors to the Ezzy family and can say with confidence that they will enjoy their SE's for many seasons to come, thanks for your feedback.  

Happy sailing, Gary

Ted & Joan

Gary and Nancy run the Windance Rental & Demo Center in the summer, 
and spend the winter in Baja on the beach in La Ventana