Pieter Bijl on the FREESPEED in a Race at DEFI

The DEFI Wind is one of the most unforgiving mass-start races in windsurfing. Over 1400 riders, a chaotic start-line, and miles of open water that leave nowhere to hide. Most riders at the front of that fleet are on dedicated race sails with cambered profiles, tuned to the limit. Pieter Bijl, head of R&D lined up on a FREESPEED and rounded the first mark in 29th place. He knows exactly what the sail is built to do, and what it is not. So when he talks about where it gave him an edge and where a cambered sail would have had him, he is worth listening to. We asked him the questions you would want to ask yourself.

29th out of 1400 at the first mark is an incredible result, what was your secret? What made the difference on that day?At the DEFI the start has a large impact on your end result. I was super comfortable on the start line with such a easy and light sail. I was able place myself in the right spot and with ease start right after the boat passed, I didnʻt need to worry about the sail, and focus purely on the start. From there it was "pedal to the metal” on the first run. When I started to realize I was in the lead pack at about half way through the first run it gave me such a boost. My motivation to fight for an incredible first mark rounding and run with the top guys who where all on RACE gear soared and I was flying still overtaking guys. That was fun!! 

Upwind performance is usually where cambered sails have the advantage. How did the FREESPEED sail handle the upwind leg? Did you get the height you needed?The DEFI is a long race with lots of different wind throughout a single race. Going upwind was not such a problem as long as I had power in the sail. The issue was mostly when the wind would drop and then going upwind, there a Race sail with the right technique would be a little more efficient. At the same time, I also didnʻt need to use a lot of energy so that helped me to maximise when the wind turned back on to have amazing performance. 

The FREESPEED is significantly lighter sail than a traditional race sail. Did you notice a difference in terms of energy saved during the race? Did that play a role in your performance?I felt it was a big benefit on the start-line, the lack of weight and having such an easy sail really let me focus on the start. This is the most difficult thing at the DEFI, then during the run, specially in the lighter wind section I could just cruise, not using a lot of energy for sure helped me finish fresh. 

How did the sail perform in terms of top speed? Were there any moments where you felt you miss a camber?On the last race I was overtaking top guys that where on full RACE gear, showing the top performance of the FREESPEED. Where I was missing the CAMʻs was when the wind dropped on the tight reaches. Then the more fixed profile of the cam gives you a little more efficiency. However, to use this efficiently you will exert more energy too. 
This result shows that the FREESPEED sail is clearly competitive at a high level, but who else would you recommend it to? What type of sailor would benefit most from it?I would recommend it to a lot of people. At the DEFI you see a lot of riders who are really good sailors that are struggling with the heavier more physical rigs at the start or at the gybes or who run our of energy to extract max performance from their high end race gear. For a lot of those guys I believe the FREESPEED would be an amazing choice. Having a super easy sail on the start-line will allow you to focus on the start, while the performance will allow you to fight some amazing battles during the race. Then with the energy you conserve you can focus on finishing all the races at full intensity and maybe still have some energy left for a party at night!! In the spirit of the DEFI.