Allow me to respond to this question in a short to the point way :

-1- What do windsurfer do when the wind changes in strength ?

-2- How many suit of sails do windsurfers have to be able to sail whenever they want ?

-3- How well does a windsurfer transition from pure upwind work to downwind with high vmg ?


Correct me if I'm wrong but the windsurfer rig may be lightyears ahead of catamaran sails, but only at a very narrow windstrength band and with only a narrow band of courses.

Maybe somebody should educated me on Formula surf boards, I hear they do better ?

But it is often forgotten that a sailboat rig is required to operated well at a very wide windspeed range and on any course between pinching upwind and runnin square downwind.

Sailboat rigs can sometimes have amazing flexibility in flying shapes produced by adjusting a few control lines while racing on the water. I haven't seen surf board rigs do anything like that.

Am I wrong ?

Wouter