Windsurf – July 2019

WINDSURF MAGAZINE 85

THEY SAY

Like all Ezzy sails, the Hydra is born

from David’s passion and attention

to detail. The first thing that David

noticed about foiling is that it opens

up a whole new challenge for sail de-

sign. The fundamentals of foiling are

simply different than normal wind-

surfing, which is why the Hydra looks

nothing like a normal windsurfing sail.

WE SAY

Proudly unique in appearance, the Hydra’s out-

line is instantly recognisable with its long foot

batten extending well beyond the clew eyelet.

Rigged on a Ho’okipa mast combination, the

sail comes with Ezzy’s usual attention to detail

and rigging guidance. The range available on

both downhaul and outhaul are noticeably more

than on normal Ezzys, with 5 cm of adjustment

on the downhaul and a whopping 13 cm sug-

gested for the outhaul. There’s a ruler printed

onto the end of the tack strap to help determine

the length of extension required, measuring the

EZZY SAILS HYDRA 6.0M

WEB WWW.EZZY.COM PRICE £660

VITAL STATS

Size: 6.0m Luff: 434-439 cm Boom: 166-179 cm

Battens: 3.75 Cams: 0 Ideal Mast: Ezzy RDM

400 cm bottom / 430 cm top Extension Required:

20-24 cm Available Sizes: 4.0,5.0,5.5,6.0,7.0,8.5

distance between the desired mark on the tack

gauge and the bottom of the roller pulley. It’s a

foolproof system and works well. Just remember

to feed the boom around the sail from the head

as you won’t be able to work it around the foot

batten!

Rigged for light, marginal winds, the Hy-

dra sets with minimal luff curve and next to no

looseness, even in the upper leech. The draft is

very deep and the foot batten is rotated signifi-

cantly around the mast, protruding beyond the

leading edge at rest. On the water the sail feels

light and balanced, the three-quarter length bat-

ten allowing the sail to contract and feel relative-

ly neutral in the hands. As a gust hits though the

Hydra springs to life. The profile deepens signif-

icantly as pressure builds, and a few pumps surge

power into the board, helped by the spring and

flex in the soft, unhindered mast. The long foot

batten also helps to provide useable feedback

through the back hand, reducing the chances of

over-sheeting and stalling if over exuberant in

the pumping cycle. Once going, the sail settles

easily, the low foot area helping to provide the

power when required, whilst the upper panels

tune intuitively to the head-on apparent wind

direction. The three-quarter batten plays its part

again, allowing the sail’s draft above the boom

to soften and contract for improved efficiency

and control. In transition, the Hydra powers in

positively, before becoming neutral and light as

it is eased out and released. Rotation onto the

new tack is smooth, yet slow and measured due

to the foot batten length, the power coming

back on progressively as it is sheeted in. As the

wind increases, the Hydra can be set incredi-

bly flat through use of downhaul and outhaul,

reducing the movement in the panels and re-

taining its manners. The outline of the Hydra

means that it’s not for freestyle trickery on the

foil ... and nor is it a high-end race oriented

specialist. Instead it is aimed

squarely at the freeride foiling

market, providing the power

and handling to enjoy the flight

and glide over an extraordinary

wind range.