Merry Xmas

Hotsails maui Bolt 2010

Introducing the new Hot Sails Maui Bolt

For 2009/2010 Hotsails Maui introduces a new sail, the Bolt. The Bolt will replace the Crossfire. Hotsails had the Crossfire for two years and will now be replaced the Bolt. The Bolt is more a freestyle/wave sail, while the Crossfire is more focussed on flatwater bump and jump and freestyle, more a flatwater sail. The Bolt is also made for newschool wave sailing. Light handling, super strength and lightness are the main features of the sail.

While looking at the Bolt you'll notice that the sail has a few different caracteristics. It only has 4 battens and the foot batten ends above the clew. The sail has a pretty big middle section and a small top. From the clew to the mast base the sail is cut straight. So there is not a lot of sail underneath the boom. The sail has a no monofilm construction. It's completely made of X-ply. As we now from Hotsails everything is built for the long term / no compromises, made to survive every whipe out.

Rigging the sail is different from the Crossfire. In compare to the Crossfire the sail has a bigger range of rigging. As I'm a freestyler I like to rig my sail almost without any loose leech and a full profile. The Crossfire always needed a lot of downhaul, resulting in much loose leech. A lot of leech makes it more difficult to duck the sail. The sail will respond faster, causing that you'll trow the sail in the water faster. That's why we (freestylers) don't rig with a lot of loose leech. For example I take the 4.1 Bolt. When you rig it like the specs say you'll need a 370m mast. When rigged up with this mast the sail will feel a lot softer. The whole sail responds much more on chops and gusts. The sail flexes over the whole length. The feeling of the sail is a little nervous. What I do is using a 4.00 bottom and 3.70 top of the mast. The mast is than stiffer making the sail a little more powerful and more steady in chops and in the gusts. The middle will stay more stable while the top flexes more.

The same with the other sizes. If you need to extend the mast over 15cm you can almost always use a size bigger bottom part of the mast.

When you go wavesailing I will advice to rig the sail like the specs say. Give the sail more loose leech. Outhaul the sail untill the sail will not touch the boom when the profile is filled. The sail, with this trim will feel more lively and has super fast handling. It will plane slower and has less power than rigged up the freestye way, but it will feel lighter. This is definately positive when wave riding.

Settings 5.3:

Wave setting 4.00 mast

173 boom (fully tensioned)

30 cm extension

These are the recommended and best settings for the Bolt when you go wave sailing.

Freestyle setting with this mast means you'll extend with 27.5cm and the boom 169cm.

With the 4.00 mast the sail will feel soft and flexes a lot in the gusts and chops. The window were you look true will have some big wrinkles.

Freestyle setting 4.00 mast top

4.30 mast bottom

171 boom

15 cm extension

These are the best settings for the Bolt when freestyle sailing. NOTE the sail can even have a little less downhaul (1-2 cm) You'll notice the battens get a lot closer to the mast than with the wave rig.

Conclusion. In compare to the Crossfire the Bolt is much better for wavesailing. It will survive every whipe out and the handling is super fast. For freestyle the sail is also better. The straight clew-foot angel makes it super easy to duck the sail. Also the tune options, the ones I mentioned above, makes the sail better for freestyle. Because of the 4 battens and full x-ply construction the sail is softer than the Crossfire. The Crossfire felt more direct and more stable.

Jeri end part/info

Unfortunately 5 weeks Jericaocaora are over. I sailed almost every day, using my 4.1 Bolt. I used my 4.7 3 times. I think

that's enough said about the wind. You don't have to worry about the wind. It was good every day.

Some info. Jeri is pretty cheap. Some things in the supermarket are more expensive others are cheaper. Fruit is really cheap.

We cooked twice a week. Pancakes and spagetti. We made pancakes for over 6 people for less than 2,- euro. The other days

we wet to restaurants. The average price is 15,- for food and 2,- for drinks (prices are in Brazilian Reaal). 1,-euro = 2.5 reaal.

One of the best things and also the cheapest is Filet de Frango. That is chicken with rice, beans and salad. This meal costs just

6.- reaal.

Staying in Jeri can also be cheap. There are a few expenxive resorts and expensive Pousadas. We had a small hous with 3 bedrooms and 1 extra bed. We also had to bathrooms and a kitchen. We paid 1200,- reaal total for 6 persons. That is 80,- euro a person for 5 weeks, 2.3 euro a night. I think that's pretty cheap. We arranged it before we went to Jeri but a lot of people do it in Jeri when they arrive. Be warned it gets more crowded during december.

If you have brought your own equipment you can leave it at Robot at Pousada Isabel. We paid 6,- a day. There are also others but this was the cheapest. You can leave one sail fuly rigged and one without a boom. The boss also does boardrepair. He makes a broken board a day. Not a nose damage but in two. So he has a lot of experience and is really good in repairing boards.

The spot Jeri. Jeri has 3 spots and sometime 4. You have the main spot in front of Club Ventos. This is were the most people are. Between the waves the water is flat ad the waves get medium high. The wind is side to side off. Than you have the wavespot. That is a little more upwind. The wind is a bit more side on making it easier to do jumps. Here the waves are the highest, good to do some wavesailing. Than you have the spot at the dunes. That is downwind. The wind is the strongest here. The warm sand of the dune causes that the wind is stronger than at the other two spots. The wind is more off shore, a little side. If the tide is low it's super flat between the waves. If the tide is high and the swell is good you can do some jumping. This spot is the best spot for flat water freestyle. It is also pretty quiet. There are no people sailing in front of you. The last spot is a little lagoon at the dunes. But this only works when the tide is on it's highest. Else it is dry. The lagoon is good for flat water freestyle.

Spots around Jeri. We've been to 3 other spots. Camocim, Lagoa Azul and the lagoon at the way to Jijoca. Camocim is a two hour drive from Jeri. The spot is in a river that ends in the ocean. When the tide is low the water is super flat. It is not only flat the flat part is over 200 meters long. The wind was a little bit stronger than in jeri. During the day when the tide is high is gets a little bit more choppy. Azul is more like a lake. The water is sweet end clear blue. It's a little bit choppy and the wind is a bit lighter than in Jeri. It's a really nice spot for pictures. The one I like the most was the small lagoon near Jeri. Because of the heavy rain season there are several pools betwee the dunes. All of them are really flat water freestyle spots. You can't sail for a long time. The biggest lagoon is maybe 200 meters max wide. The wind at these lagoons is stronger than in Jeri. I was on 4.1 but some took a smaller size.

If you need some info, feel free to contact me.

Greets Paul