The Neilpryde

Windsurfing Collection

The one and only goal of the Neil Pryde Racing Program is todevelop sails that are winners. No compromises are taken indeveloping sails that offer the ultimate in performance.

Sail Designer Robert Stroj and Chief Tester Jimmy Diaz head the NeilPryde Racing Program. It incorporates feedback from some of thefastest sailors in the world: Bjorn Dunkerbeck, Antoine Albeau, SteveAllen and Pieter Bijl.

Recent by-products of the Neil Pryde Racing Program include theinnovative SpeedSeeker, a ground-breaking sail that successfully usedthe Double Surface Leading Edge concept to significantly enhanceperformance. Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Antoine Albeau used this sail intheir attempt to break the 50-knot barrier and the World speed-sailingrecord.

The RS4 Racing and RS4 SpeedSeeker sails continued this luff pocketconcept making it more suitable for the Formula and Slalom racingcircuits. At the 2004 European FW Championships, Neil Pryde riderWotjek Brzozowski won the event and 8 out of the top 10 riders wereusing an RS4 Racing sail.

And upping the ante yet again, the Neil Pryde Racing Program hasrecently developed an Asymmetrical SpeedSeeker. Though as of yetthis sail is untested on the Speed Course, early testing has shownthat this sail has the potential to produce yet another significant stepforward in the aerodynamic efficiency.

For those who demand the ultimate in performance, want productswith no compromises, then look out for the next Racing sail due outin early 2005. The RS:5 (most likely!).

the neil pryderacing program

Jimmy Diaz

The SpeedSeeker and RS4 sails were the highest performing sails ever developed by Neil Pryde.They included the following performance characteristics:

Extreme acceleration with unknown top end speed.A very stable profile for ultimate control at high speed.High efficiency for very good power, even through lulls.

speedseeker rs

Overlap of Regular Sail Panels by the LuffPocketIn order to gain the benefits of the thickerleading-edge profile, but still keep the basicshaping in the sail, it was necessary to overlapthe regular sail panels with the luff pocket. Theregular sail panels are required to support theentire basic structure of the sail: battens, cams,horizontal and vertical shaping. A Double-Surface Leading Edge constructed usingstandard techniques (no overlap) would resultin a sail that lacks precise shaping and stability.

Variable Width SleeveWindsurfing sails require a high degree of twist. Inorder to allow the SpeedSeeker to twist in the mostefficient manner possible, the Double SurfaceLeading Edge is variable in width along the lengthof the sail.

The lower section of the sail that produces themost power (and twists the least) includes thewidest Double Surface Leading edge.The top section of the sail that needs to twist themost includes the narrowest Double Surfacesection.

Material: Kevlar Reinforced X-PlyThe new material used for the construction ofthe Double Surface Leading Edge is a “KevlarReinforced X-Ply”. The key property of thismaterial is that it is very stretch resistant in onedirection, while being more elastic in the other.The material is built into the sail so that itstretches vertically allowing the sail to twistfreely. The horizontal resistance means that thesail more precisely maintains it’s shape andprofile when under load.

A couple of key Design and Construction features have been used in order to ensure thefunction of this high performance leading edge:

What are the key features of the Speedseeker / RS4 and how did they work?

Double-Surface Leading Edge for increased lift andreduced dragThe key feature of the SpeedSeeker and RS4 is its’ DoubleSurface Leading Edge. Essentially this is a construction processwhere an over-sized luff pocket overlaps the regular sail panelsby approx. 25-30% (10-15% in the RS4). This results in a sailwith a much “thicker” leading-edge profile, which greatlyimproves the lift while consequently reducing the drag. Thatis, a sail that is much more aerodynamically efficient.

One of the things we strive to do at NPDC is gain as much knowledge and experience as possible in order to constantly improve on oursails. One means of gaining this valuable knowledge and experience is through projects and experiments that help us explore the very edgeof development, even though they may not necessarily lead into a commercial product. The Asymmetrical SpeedSeeker Project is one suchendeavor that is taking the Double Surface concept one step further by creating an almost full double surface sail that can only be sailedin one direction. The motivation behind this project is to break the sailing speed record and we have taken a no compromise approach.The sail in its’ early stages has shown tremendous potential clearly beating our previous speed sail designs. We look forward to witnessingtheir full potential on the speed course.

the asymmetrical speed seeker

project*

*This sail is a development project only and will not be available to the public.