Flat Earth-sails in Scotland, going upwind

Flat Earth paddlesailing in Scotland. De first leg is reaching quite high upwind. About 35 degrees I would say. Give or take..

What is paddlesailing or kayak sailing?

The Oosterschelde estuary, the Netherlands, november 2019. Windforce 4 on a beam. This is my old Flat Earth sail on my Capella seakayak made by British P&H. 
Photo Mike Griffin 

Kayak sailing is a great way to paddle and sail simultaniously, hence the correct name 'paddle sailing'. With the right sail the two activities merge into a whole new fusion. It usually feels like a strong guy sitting on your back deck who is paddling very hard. Kayak sailing is therefore a lot of extra fun and it will not wear you down easily. Another comparison is the feeling of being on a perpetual surf. That one wave is constantly staying with you and pushing you ahead. You may paddle less like on a surf, but you still have to steer with your paddleblade or rudder to stay on course and sometimes enjoy fully fledged paddling because that movement is in the genes of every kayaker. Especially on an upwind course when you need give the sail a little push. Kayak sailing does not mean sitting back and reading a book. Sometimes it is possible, but usually not.

Despite the great speeds you can reach paddlesailing and all conceivable courses up to 30 degrees upwind, just like a sailing boat can, a kayak with a modern sail is not yet a sailing boat. It will alway remain a (sea) kayak!

An experienced sailor who is not good at kayaking does not move around easily in a kayak and certainly not with a kayak under sail. But a good kayaker who knows nothing about sailing will understand how it works in a few minutes and be off happily. In short, the kayak and classic paddle technique remain essential. That is why we also speak of 'paddle sailing'.

First group

Let me be crystal clear about what shows up on the water as a 'canoe' or kayak type of boat with a 'sail'. The world of skinny hull boats with a sail can be divided into two groups. The (sea) kayak with a small sail is one group. That's what this blog is about. With a seakayak with a small, modern sail you should be able to do everything you are used to with a regular seakayak. Rolling, rescues, waves of two meters high, wind force five / six on the ocean. No problem if you can do that too without a sail.

 

In my humble opinion there are only two serious, safe sails for sale, the one from Flat Earth for the heavy work because that sail is forgiving and the one from Falcon for the slightly less heavy work (up to windforce 5 I would say) because this sail may be faster but as a trade off also less forgiving. The Falcon is an Arabian thoroughbred, a Maserati. The Flat Earth sail is a thoroughly reliable but slightly slower Sherman tank. The Flat Earth sail is a workhorse, an all-rounder, originally developed by experienced, rather intrepid seakayakers around the Tasman Sea near Australia. Anyone who knows the Tasman Sea knows what that means. Since the nineties these kayakers have worked with heart and soul to perfect their sail with the philosophy that any good kayaker can handle it without the slightest fear of capsizing. 

All other sails (Pacific Action Sail, Windpaddle, etc.) are not suitable for the rough stuff, even worse, cannot face the wind at an angle. These sails are fun for sheltered waters and with a modest tailwind on a summers day.

Second group

The second group consists of Canadian canoes or other wide open less skinny boats with outriggers, leeboards, enlarged attached rudders and God-knows-what-more. With these vessels it is possible to rig much larger sails. This is already starting to look more like sailing boats. The paddling has faded into the background (except in a Canadian canoe with outriggers far aft or forward, I think). Those unfamiliar with sailing are advised to first take a sailing course, yet another indication that it is more about sailing than kayaking. That is not necessary with a modern (sea)kayak fitted with a small modern sail specially designed for paddlesailing. Those who cannot sail but can kayak well, will understand how it works within two minutes.

Furthermore, the rig on a wide Canadian canoe is three times as heavy and bulky and three times as expensive (around 1300 euros) and it takes at least ten minutes to assemble the sail with accessories or to store it with all kinds of loose parts for which matching sheaths and special carts are needed. This building up and dismantling has to be done on land, once on the unexpectedly rough water you can no longer do anything. A capsize seems dramatic to me because rolling back up with outriggers and a large sail is impossible. Admittedly, it is easy with outriggers to get back into the boat once it is upright again. But with a Canadian under sail of about eight square meters, the disaster is incalculable. A sea trip is therefore out of the question unless you have the rock-hard guarantee from our maker personally that it will remain under force four wind all day long. With such wide kayaks or Canadian canoes a suddenly increasing wind on large open water is therefore life-threatening because at that moment the sail can no longer be stowed away or not even reefed quickly in a safe way.

A modern sail of Flat Earth or Falcon is precisely designed to do just that. Within one seconds it lies flat and five seconds later folded neatly together, secured under the bungee. Rolling with such a nifty sail is also possible for those who can already roll with a kayak without a sail.

But fair is fair, such a super tanker under sail with leeboards and outrigger is a lot of fun on the lakes with fair weather. Moreover, in a Canadian canoe you can take a lot more gear and baggage with you which is great during camping. More information can be found on the excellent website kanozeilen.nl I'm sorry, it's in Dutch but you can use google translate if you don't mind the bewildering vocabulairy and grammar.

So in short, if you really want to keep a feel for kajaking and want to make long crossings across open seas it is better to opt for a Flat Earth (or its clones Sea Dog Sails from Australia and Nortik Sails from Germany) or a Falcon sail from Ohio, US which is more powerful but in return requires more leaning and solid paddle braces in winds above force 4.

Paddle sailing with a modern sail is defenitely a real fusion of kayaking and sailing. The other vessels and their rigs are more a transformation towards a summer sailing boat. Just so you know before you make a choice. 

Kayak sailing is fantastic!

Since about four years I have a sail on my kayak. Now let me start a blog to share my experiences with you. Kayak sailing is a fantastic experience, provided you can already kayak nicely of course. It takes you much further on a day of sailing, with speeds that can reach up to 15 kilometers per hour and sometimes even faster. Then I don't count the surf and the tide yet.

Holwerd-Ameland, 2018 on the Waddenzee, Holland. I use a Capelle high volume seakayak with a Flat Earth sail.

Kayak sailing is a hybrid activity with a kayak and a sail. But then really hybrid, so a fusion between two sports that interlocks in such a way that a new way of sailing actually arises. They are not two things that coexist, like a regular bicycle with a battery to also ride electrically. That remains an ordinary bike with less effort to paddle along. Kayak sailing is therefore not sailing with a kayak, nor kayaking with a sailboat. Kayak sailing is... kayak sailing!

More dynamic
Kayak sailing on the waves - rather paddle sailing - feels very different from just paddling on the waves, but also totally different from just sailing. It's much more dynamic, less monotonous than hours of stiff paddling in a neat, repetitive stroke.  Your movements are always different.

Oosterschelde, Holland. November 2019. Force 4 Beaufort on a beam course. My most exciting trip so far. Photo Mike Griffin

Sometimes you just paddle along easily, if it remains quiet you can eat your sandwich at 8 km / h, then occasionaly you put a backwards paddle rudder at the stern or you have to let the paddle gently drag over the water where the wind comes from, just for support in case. With a nice breeze from the back you have a good chance that you will catch up with the waves to surf from instead of looking back every time the next wave is coming. And who knows, if the wind is on beam or from behind, you can paddlesail against the tide with a nice pace. Here is a good example of an average trip with a Falcon sail, with the designer Forrester himself at the paddle loom. The wind is mainly from the stern, but paddle sailors can also sail diagonally against the wind, up to about 35 degrees to the wind.  Here it comes:

Downwind run

Waiting
Such a nice speed provides the positive disadvantage that others in the group quickly disappear behind the horizon, which is not safe on big open water.

Again Oosterschelde November 2019, thanks to dayplanner Jan Vlak. Mainly on a north-south route, with a beam wind. I'm ahead of everybody, but actually too far. My paddle is regularly out of the water with windorce 4. Only for balance or to steer I sometimes paddle along a bit because that just gives a good feeling. In this case, I quickly decided to step on the brakes. 

Photo Mike Griffin

So I often have to wait or turn circles around the group. That's why I hope more people will set a sail. I have already received a few strong criticisms from the group for sailing too far ahead. My sad record is at 12 kilometers per hour nonstop wind from Middelharnis to Hellevoetsluis (a route of 8.5 kilometers) with only few real paddle strokes (summer 2018). I only used the paddle to steer and support a little. I was there after 45 minutes. I had the most fantastic experience so far. At first I was a bit tense but when I noticed that it was going fine I could really enjoy the wind and the waves for the first time. The rest of the group arrived half an hour later. The comments were pretty negative. Rightly so, of course. It was very stupid of me. I'll never do it again!

So far I know of two other Dutch people who also paddlesail. In other countries it is much more popular. I'm not sure why. Or maybe I do, having an innate tendency to laziness. I do like to kayak but it shouldn't be too fanatical. You won't find me in a K1 or surfski any time soon. Nature attracts me more. I like to drift out from time to time and listen to the silence, to peer down the water in the hope of seeing 'something'. The waves also attract me, but not so much from a sporting point of view. More because of the mysterious connection of the waves with the refined kayak. I only go into the surf to practice, not for the kick. Paddlesailing in shallow waters also mean mast breakage sooner or later.

Elderly people
So it makes sense that I fell for kayak sailing. One can be lazy, look around and enjoy the dynamics of a kayak on the waves even more without falling behind the group. Perhaps the interest in kayak sailing in the Netherlands is disappointing because the average age of kayakers in the Netherlands is quite high. Elderly people shy away from the ‘crazy stuff’. They’d rather work on their shape. A sail would distract from that. It's like hooking up an electric motor onto your kayak. Which, of course, is not the case.

Another cause may be the bulky appearances of old canoes fitted with large sails, daggerboards, outriggers and Lord knows what. In the last fifteen years, a huge revolution has taken place in the field of kayak sailing. It started in Australia where sailors on the Tasman Sea in the eighties needed something simple, extremely seaworthy and manageable from the cockpit. Without any other contraptions that would be in the way during rescues, rolling or sculling. The first modern sails were born there. Nowadays, a good sail is mandatory on many large water trips in Australia, as is a PDF and other safety equipment. That gives us some thought.  

'Buy a sailboat'

The most common statement in the Netherlands is unfortunately still: 'If I want to sail, I buy a sailboat.' But then people forget that kayak sailing is not just sailing. You always paddle along. Even if you go fast enough on the sail, everyone tends to use their paddle anyway. Supports, bow strokes, giving backward paddle rudder and rolling, it is all necessary to be able to kayak sail. And on track dead against the wind, you are a real kayaker again. 

How to choose between a Flat Earth sail or a Falcon sail

In this blog I will elaborate on the differences between the Flat Earth sail and the Falcon sail. Roughly speaking, Flat Earth is very forgiving and therefore a little slow, but suitable for every paddlesailor in strong wind, up to force 6, if necessary, on large water with waves of roughly one and a half meters. Falcon is faster in all winds, so great for recreational paddlesailors who want a relaxed day out sailing. But in force 5 to 6, the Falcon is a lightning-fast Arabian thoroughbred. Exciting for experienced paddle sailors who need a kick, less recommended for beginners due to the greater heeling forces on a beam course. So it is wise to look honestly into the mirror and ask yourself what kind of paddler you are before making a choice.

To get an idea here's a YouTube video of Patrick Forrester, the owner of Falcon Sails. Looks like a downwind force 4 or 5.. The wind seems to blow not as hard, but his own forward speed gives the optical illusion of calm waters. Now and then he shoots sideways to half wind to keep an eye on his fellow sailors. Wow… Is that something for you or rather not? 

https://youtu.be/ysVTtX4H8B0

Here's the Flat Earth sail in even a stiffer wind and a little more tricky course on close reaching since the heeling force increases even more. Nevertheless the kayak stays upright, thanks to the sail and the seasoned kayaker. Now that's typical for a Flat Earth sail: relatively smooth paddlesailing in harsh conditions but also not quite as giddy and fast as a Falcon sail. 

And here's an example of my own Falcon sail in a super light breeze of force 2 or three. Despite the lack of wind, I make a decent speed already. This would not be the case with a Flat Earth sail. I would've had to make a couple of extra paddlestrokes.

Let's take a look at the differences in the design of the two sails to understand and appreciate the different performances.

Twist

An important characteristic of a good sail is the degree of twist, or spiral shape. A sail is not a flat piece of cloth, but is slightly twisted. The lowest part of the sail along the boom is not as far out as the top of the sail. This creates a certain spiral shape in the sail. This happens in part by itself because only the bottom with the boom is attached to the sheet, while the top of the sail hangs loose and can therefore turn a little away from the wind. For another part, sailmakers cut the lines of the sewn together sailpanels in such a way that extra twist is added. But why is that spiral shape necessary?

Unfortunately, sailors do not have to deal with just one wind direction. At first glance they do. For example, if you are sailing at a beam course with the wind coming in perpendiculair, the wind will be perpendicular to the boat. That is simple. But yes, the boat itself also moves forward. This has a significant effect on the angle of the wind hitting your boat. Suppose you have a wind vane at the top. It will flutter exactly 90 degrees outward when the kayak is stationary. But as the boat picks up speed, the vane will also move a little backward. From the sailors point of view the wind suddenly seems to be coming a little from the front when he looks at the vane or feels the wind on his face. We call this false image the 'apparent wind'. The actual wind, of course, still comes from the far left or right.

The problem with this is that the beam wind usually blows harder at the top of the sail than at the bottom, where the waves often disturb the wind a bit. The effect of your own forward speed is therefore less at the top, because the hard, unhindered beam wind still predominates there. Down below the effect of the forward speed is somewhat greater because the wind cannot blow freely there. So in your cockpit the wind seems to shift forward as you move along. More than at the top. So .... the sail at the bottom should also be sheeted in a bit more - as if you were paddlesailing a bit upwind. The top stays loose because the true, unblocked wind is still perpendiculair to the kayak And voilá, there is the need for a sail with the right twist to adjust the sail to the two different windangles

An almost 150 years old Dutch tjalk with a raised stern. The boom is sheeted in tight while the gaff top swirls out quite a bit, resulting in a clearly visible twist. Photo: Molenaar Sailmakers

Twist is also important for kayak sails, although the difference in wind direction above and below is much smaller. But there's another important reason for twist in a kayaksail.  Due to the spiral in the sail some of the wind will turn upwards and disappear over the top. This is called windspill which is very pleasant in strong winds. Thanks to the twist, the heeling force can be limited.

Flat Earth has based its entire corporate philosophy on this idea. A Flat Earth sail, originally developed on the rough Tasman Sea off Australia, is ideally suited for strong winds. Most of the wind flies up by itself and is then gone. The first models had a lot of twist, later on it was reduced to normal proportions. I believe that the Falcon sail has a little less spiraling-off effect. The sail is a standard triangle with the top fairly close to the mast as opposed to a Flat Earth with battens that keep the sail at the top much further back and therefor easier to turn away from the wind. 

 

An old model Flat Earth sail with a mindblowing twist of 21 degrees difference between the top and the boom. The wind is released quckly.  

A newer model Flat Earth with only 12 degrees twist. It holds on to the wind a bit more.

Another notable difference between Flat Earth and Falcon is that the Flat Earth sail has an even curvature when viewed from above. It seems as if the makers have come up with a circle and have taken a piece from it.

Falcon is much more like an airplane wing (see 'Sailing for dummies'). The deepest point or camber is mainly directly behind the mast and then flares out slightly to the rear. This creates a suction behind the sail that greatly aids in the forward drive. Almost all sails in the world have that aircraft profile.

Now you may understand the basic philosophy of Falcon Sails. This sail is choosen for power (and quality). Flat Earth has choosen for simplicity and ease of use for beginners. The even curvature in the Flat Earth sail is almost automatically created by the sewn-in flexible sprit that holds out the top of the sail. This keeps the sail low with less heeling force, while still providing a reasonable square surface. The result of a sewn-in batten however, is that the aircraft wing shape is difficult to accomplish. A Flat Earth sail has probably considerably less suction at the back side, I suspect. This also helps in limiting the heeling force. Very nice in strong winds, but less advantageous in lighter winds.

Rig and price

The rig of the two sails differ quite a bit but the quality is comparible so I don't want to go into this. You should neither. The key question is wether you want speed and/or stability in rough winds. 

The two sails do not differ much in price. A complete set of Falcon (1 square meter sail plus all accessories) costs $ 545 A slightly larger 1.4 square meter sail with larger rig: $ 575 A separate sail costs $ 145 The larger sail $ 175 - There also seems to be a smaller Falcon sail of 0.7 square meters.

In my experience it is possible to make your own rig, but not cheaper. And designing and sewing a sail yourself is just as expensive as ordering one, but it is fun to do if you don't dread a lot of work. See my blog 'Make your own sail' for this. As a beginner, I wouldn't venture into it and just buy a sail with the rigging. See also www.falconsails.com

A Flat Earth type Trade Wind of 0.8 square meters complete with accessories costs 500 euros, via importer for the Netherlands Axel Schoevers (www.zeekajak.nl). The sails come from England, so hurry up with ordering because the price could go up after Brexit settles down.

Both suppliers may be susceptible to a quatum discount if, for example, ten people of a kayakclub order a sail in one deal. 

Across the raging Tasman Sea, the precursors to Flat Earth

The first generation of modern paddle sailors were rather intrepid types with the urge to take advantage of the wind on big waves and long crossings on the Tasman Sea. Here's an ancient YouTube video from the late 1990s. These Aussies still have a stepped mast (through the deck) just in front of the cockpit and regular tent or tarp cloth as a sail. A sewn-in batten is already there, just like with the current Flat Earth sails. This batten keeps the sail at the top leach pointing up, creating sufficient surface while the sail remains low, which is good to prevent too much heeling. 

The disadvantage of these first generation sails is that they were probably less able to sail upwind. It was Mick McRob who perfected his mates' sails into today's Flat Earth models: slightly smaller (0.8 square metres), better cut to get close upwind and the mast far forward on a pivoting baseplate, out of the way of all paddle movements and yet controled from the cockpit with an uphaul line in case of an emergency. It can be lowered within a second an stowed under a bungee. Nowadays a good kayak sail in Australia is often mandatory during large crossings, as are all other safety equipment. 

d

I apologize for the over-the-top music of Mendelssohn in the background.

Sudden gybe on a downwind run

The guys from Paddling Fool in Finland are on a downwind run with their Sail Dog sail, a clone of the 1 square meter Flat Earth sail. All goes well, until the sail gybes from left to right uncontrolably. What is going on? Very simple: the sail is still in the position for a beam wind so it is about half way sheeted in. A down wind can fairly easy creep up around and behind the sail causing it to swing in the other direction.

Normally a sudden gibe isn't such a problem. After all, the sail is far forward so a boom swinging over cannot hit anything. The sudden pull is quite gentile with a normal Flat Earth sail of 0.8 square meters, provided it is sheeted out far enough so the force is directed forward. Yet this 1 square meter sail is a bit different. The paddler is very bothered by it. A sail sheeted in quite a way on a down wind run causes a lot of tippyness since some of the force not only moves forward but also sideways. 

The solution is of course simple. The paddler lets the sheet out a little more till the boom and sail is almost perpendicular to the kayak. Now the pushing force in the sail is straight forward, not sideways any more and the inbalance disappears, The chance of gybing is a lot less and the speed also increases. See this movieclip, from 3.05 min. 

Ongewenst gijpen

An unbalanced kayak will turn upwind really fast

Here is an example of what happens if a kayak is not properly loaded. This kayak sailor in Finland thought he could get away with eight kilos more weight in the bow than in the stern. Bad luck for him. His kayak is on a downwind or quarterly wind run but keeps turning upwind because the high stern takes considerably more wind. More important, the stern is lifted out of the water a little but enough to lose it's grip and become susceptible to a side ways drift. 

He dropped his rudder all the way down as compensation, but it didn't help much. He just loses speed because of the drag around the rudder.  With just a skeg down it would have been even worse.

In short, kayaking with a poorly balanced boat is a disaster. A few kilos difference between front and rear is still manageable, but eight kilos difference is apparently too much.

Here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqFOIY9qE5w

Falcon paddlesailors go up- and downwind

Two kayakers with a Falcon sail on eastern Lake Erie, USA, approach the tip of one of the Bass Islands. First they paddle straight against the wind to make enough 'height' for a close haul course to the island tip. The last part is on a downwind run, flying towards the harbor and sandy shore.

It's nice to see how they quickly throw the sail up in nice waves after a few tiring kilometers only paddling straight into the wind.