Click this link to visit Special Features

Click this link to visit our Mini Features

Click this link to visit the Lifestyle section

Click this link to visit boardseeker Babes

Boardseeker Board and Sail Graphics Poll 2008

When we ran the Boards Graphic Poll for 2007 designs we had lots of feedback from you, the readers, as well as the industry, keen to see whether their Graphic Design teams had got it right with the paying windsurfer! So this year we put sail graphics to the vote as well.

The Rules:

We asked each brand to submit one sail and one board to represent that brand for 2008, and also to tell us a little about the graphics, such as who designed them and what inspired them (or in some cases, what the hell they were thinking). Most got back to us but a few didn’t and we’ve selected what we think is their best looking 2008 product in those cases. In a few other cases such as Exocet and Thommen, no 2008 images were available at this time. It isn’t, after all, quite 2008 yet!

Firstly you can choose from FOUR options to give your opinion on each sail and see what everyone else thinks. Then vote only ONCE for your favourite sail at the bottom of the feature. Please vote only based on the looks, not because you know it’s a good board or you’ve got one or you’re the brand manager. Remember to check back regularly to see who’s winning. Good luck to all the brands and please get voting now…

Sails below. For Board Graphics Poll click here.

Brand: Ezzy Sails
Make: Wave SE

They Say: The main sail panels are made of ultra durable Spectra X-film, and the foot is constructed of an even stronger Ezzy-designed Spectra X-film. The clear vinyl window will neither tear nor scratch, giving a lifetime of great visibility and strength. Adding even more durability, the 2008 Ezzy Wave SE has a weft-stop sleeve cloth that will impressively resist tears caused by extreme forces like breaking masts.

We Say:
Yeah, but what about it's looks? Ezzy sails have looked very similar for a long time now and there seems to be a clear preference for tough construction over fancy panel layouts and graphics. The only big changes each year (in the looks) are the colours, and 2008 is the year of the sunset with this yellow and a bright orange and a red being the main choices. There’s also an iPod inspired white.

Brand: Goya Sails
Make:Wave 07

They Say: Francisco has designed the Goya sails for 100% performance, offering the customer a near custom sail. Unlike others sail brands no panel layouts have been dictated by design and there are no unnessary seems due to graphic layout distorting the sails performance.

We Say:
One of the most ‘plain looking’ sails on the market, but you may love it for it’s simplicity as it now stands out from all the other ‘bling’ designs. We are pretty sure the 08 design will follow a similar trend.

Brand: Maui Sails
Make: Legend

They Say: MauiSails Legend wave sail is a 'state of the art' sail in wave the sailing segment. A year of development by The Team and proven quality by Kevin Pritchard who won 2006 PWA Wave Champion title sailing Legend. Increased colored X-Ply adds to the power of graphic recognition of this design, and improves general durability. The middle monofilm panels giving softer feeling of the sail and clear view whilst riding in a waves. The sail truly embodies our brand slogan - Our Experience Your Reward.

We Say:
We like the design of this one and appreciate the smooth curves of the coloured panel. Quite unique and quite eye catching.

Brand: Gaastra
Make: Poison

They Say: The 2008 Poison graphics came about from our “White Tip” concept within the entire range. We wanted our sails to stand out on the water and the “White Tip” has very much achieved this goal. Our panel layout and graphic design gives both a visual and structural appeal. Every seam is specifically put in place to stand up to heavy abuse. Our Colored X ply is transparent and depending on the light, the sail changes color further enhancing the look. We believe our 2008 Poison is very unique both on and off the water.

We Say:
Gaastra had a big change of image a few seasons back and have kept the same general look to their sails ever since, only refining and tweaking the colours each year. This continues for 2008 and they now look a highly distinctive and classy sail on the water. If you’re not comfortable enough with your sexuality to vote for pink, they are also available in a very masculine blue.

Brand: Gun Sails
Make: Mega SX

They Say: Designed by Graphics Designer Niels Patrick Geisselbrecht who is also a photographer and sailor. The sails are a modern translation of "design follows function" in a unique, recognizable, modern, style of today’s great contemporary and eclectic design lines.

We Say:
Gun have gone for gunmetal/stealth colours this year, along with lots of reflective monofilm to give the impression of a machine out there on the water. However, the effect is slightly distorted here by the fact that they weren’t able to provide us with a graphic image, only this photograph, which has someone’s garden in the background!

Brand: Hot Sails Maui
Make: Superfreak

They Say: Hot Sails Maui are far too busy dreaming up ever more ‘out there’ graphics to tell anybody anything, but the sails speaks for themselves. This Jimi Hendrix edition suggests the supply of hallucinogenic drugs to Maui is as healthy as it ever was!

We Say:
The Superfreak is the only production sail we know where you can design your own colour scheme so if this one doesn’t do it for you, no problem. You want a bright pink luff sleeve, a leopard skin pattern window and a mixture of gunmetal grey and camouflage print for the rest of sail? You got it (although you’ve also got really dubious taste and we’d hate to see your flat).

Brand: Tushingham
Make: The Wedge

They Say: Bearing in mind that the freestyle discipline has moved on to new levels where the sail is spun and rotated in the blink of an eye, designer Ken Black focused on ensuring the artwork really stands out to ensure spectators and judges don't miss a single move. The sail's complexion also reflects the more aggressive and expressive nature of the modern freestyle discipline incorporating sharp, eye-catching angles, contrasting colours and bold outlines to the prominent artwork for maximum visual effect.

We Say:
New colours for Tushingham for 2008. Does this mean they’ve finally run out of the enormous rolls of lime green and pink mylar they bought cheap in the 1980’s?! Or is this new look a result of Andy ‘Bubble’ Chambers (UK Freestyle Champion) joining the team? We don’t know but the new sail is definitely striking and looks even better in real life.

Brand: Severne Sails
Make: S-1

They Say: The S-1 was the first sail we ever made when we started the brand (hence the name). As it's evolved from year to year we’ve tried to maintain some of the key visual elements like the hooked clew spike and the diagonal colour split across the sail. As the S -1 is such a technical sail, the rest of its looks are really a result of 'form follows function'. The upper section utilises our new e4 material to massively reduce weight, the large monofilm window is extended higher at the back for max visibility and the foot panel is seamless for increased durability. For 08 there are three colour schemes - a dark red, lime green and a bright turquoise.

We Say:
Severne Sails have always looked the part and kept a consistency to their look from year to year. You could argue they even led the way in turning sails ‘bling’ with their silver x-ply of a few years back. 2008 looks to be a more subtle year though with a renewed emphasis on technicality. A coming of age perhaps of a company now firmly established on the world scene.

Brand: Simmer Sails
Make: Icon

They Say: The stunning Icon looks fantastic in all the four colour ways available but we think the Green & Yellow has a particularly contemporary look. Designed by Tomas Persson, the Icon gain their great feel, power and wind range by employing the unique Stretch Control System. The functionality of the design sets the parameters of the great look, coupled with the most up to date fabrics sets the sail alive.

We Say:
It looks a bit like someone’s taken a camouflage green sail and done a wet end-over-end forward loop while sailing on thick custard. Innovative and perhaps one of those sails that looks better in real life than in pictures. Also available in red and white which actually looks pretty sic.

Brand: Naish Force
Make: Force

They Say: The graphic part of sail design at Naish goes hand-in-hand with the technical design of the sail. Seams are where they are supposed to be and the seam layout directs the graphic look. We use colour where it is not in the way and clear x-ply where it is necessary to see through. We keep coloured screen prints to a minimum as we want the sails to still look great after lots of use and too much printing generally wears in small areas and makes the sail look older than it is. We would call it graphic design directed by function.

We Say:
Recent Naish sails have been accused of looking a bit over the top and even like Christmas wrapping paper, but those days are gone. The new look is distinctively Naish, but also more refined and simple. Could do well in this poll!

Brand: Neil Pryde
Make: Combat

They Say: Nothing unfortunately as we couldn’t get a comment from them, except the usual blurb: “The Combat is equally at home in all types of wave sailing conditions, from huge onshore white water to perfect side–offshore winds and peeling waves. This, in combination with the COMBAT’s “bomb proof” reinforced X-ply construction results in a sail that, no matter how much trouble you get yourself into, will see you on the other side.” Blah, Blah, Blah!!

We Say:
We don’t care how it sails – we just want to know what it looks like! Actually Prydes have looked fantastic for several seasons now, and they look even better on the water than they do in photos. We expect this to be the sail to beat in the graphics poll.

Brand: North Sails
Make: ICE

They Say: No comment from North officially but the original white styling of the North Sails has given them a real distinctive look on the water and a theme they have stuck to for three years now.

We Say:
North aren’t afraid to do their own thing in the world of windsurfing fashion. They showed that with the Superstar and the Disco in 2005. Then the whole brand went ‘iPod’ with a totally fresh, white look that continues to this day. It’s seriously clever marketing, copy a multi billion dollar brand famous for it’s market leading product and graphical design and so piggy back on millions of dollars of advertising budget. Tell me you don’t think North Sails when you see a commercial for Apple?
This year sees a touch more colour creeping back into the sails, but otherwise the theme continues.