Re: Which of these statements is true?


sailquik (Roger Jackson) wrote:
There are still some schools that use soft battenless trainer sails.
Mostly that's due to lack on $$ to upgrade equipment, or lack of
knowledge about the much faster learning curve, significantly higher
student success rate and better school to student retention rates
available with modern easy to use wide entry level boards and
lightweight, powerful, 4 full length batten entry level sails like the
Sailworks Retro Ripper 3.<< That's a lot of bunk. Learning takes TOW more than anything else. I learned with a soft sail. No one needs all that fancy horse manure to become a good sailor. You can also buy new half battened sails for a lower price.
Having steady power is fine for beginners. We teach them how "regulate"
the power to the level that they need. More verbose selling here. A beginner doesn't need added power at all.
Many "I'm going to do it myself" and "I'm going to teach my friends"
entry level situations also use soft, no batten sails, but once again,
it's usually money issues or lack of knowledge about the benefits of
really light weight, high performance (at the entry level), beginner
friendly gear.
As I've seen, it's a question of availability. Sure, if you live in
S.F. Bay area or the Gorge, you can find a good school. Otherwise,
good teachers are rare in WS, but easy to find in Kiting. Beginner
equipment which is affordable isn't available in shops. What idiot
would go out and throw a couple thousand dollars on goods that they
have no idea how to use?

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