Interview: Three sails, three riding styles – John Skye on Patrik’s new wave range

Patrik has revamped his Wave range and is now focusing on three sails designed for different types of riders. John Skye, who brings his experience as a World Cup rider and long-standing sail designer to the project, is largely responsible for the development. In this interview, he talks about his collaboration with Patrik Diethelm, the T4A project and the differences between the Flow, Flash and Fuel.

​John, you’ve been in charge of sail development at Patrik for some time now. How much leeway do you have in this role? Patrik Diethelm is, after all, known as a designer who likes to pull all the strings.

I think it was hard for him to hand over responsibility (laughs). But the product range has grown so large that he can no longer manage everything on his own. Besides, it makes more sense to be able to concentrate on individual projects within the range without distractions. Patrik Diethelm is and remains the head of the development department. However, with Thomas Goyard for Wing, Downwind and Foil, Nico Saillard in the 3D department and myself as an experienced sail designer, he has now assembled a strong team of specialists around him. We all work very well together.

You launched your Wave project, T4A, a while ago. What’s it all about?

It’s a project centred on building a team and designing new products. Whilst testing the sails, we realised that every rider has their own style and specific requirements when it comes to a sail. If you have a sail that suits your style, you’ll want to use it in all conditions. The common distinction between sideshore and onshore sails therefore makes no sense to us. The result was three sail models – Flow, Flash and Fuel.

​The common distinction between sideshore and onshore sails makes no sense to us. (John Skye)

​Could you briefly explain the differences?

​The Flow is a soft four-batten sail. It stays flat when riding waves, so it offers plenty of neutrality for a surf-style ride. At the other end of the spectrum is the Flash – also a four-batten sail, but with noticeably more drive on the sail hand to support a powerful riding style. In the middle is the five-batten Fuel: slightly more drive than the Flow, but a bit softer than the Flash. Thanks to its five battens, it has the widest wind range and is also suitable for bump & jump. We achieve these characteristics through the sail design, but also through the materials: the Flow, for example, has soft Dacron in the luff, which gives the sail a soft and neutral feel. To compensate, the batten spacing is slightly narrower. The Flash features a deeper profile and we use X-Ply in the luff, which results in a crisper feel. Here, the batten spacing can be slightly wider. So we use different tuning options to fine-tune the sails as desired.

​In recent years, the weights of sails have gone down across many brands. How about you? Is lighter better?

It is not our aim to build the lightest sails on the market. A sail must be sturdy. Our guiding principle is therefore ‘as light as possible, but as sturdy as necessary’. In the shop, an extremely light sail makes quite an impression at first glance. But it also needs to hold up. What’s more, a low weight on the scales doesn’t necessarily mean that the sail feels light in your hands. A sail that feels balanced in the hand and twists cleanly also feels light, even if its nominal weight is slightly higher. Conversely, an extremely light sail made from thinner material can warp and billow – and thus feel heavy.

You’ve also expanded your Wave team – with Adam Warchol, Leon Jamaer, Alessio Stillrich, Alexia and Carlos Kiefer, the team now includes some well-known riders.

We wanted a team made up of different types: Adam Warchol is our big-wave charger. Alessio helps me a lot with testing in the Canary Islands, which is also where I’m based. Alexia and Carlos Kiefer are the contest machines of the future. Simon Thule is a test rider, very analytical and, of course, a top rider. And so, in the end, we’ve got a team where everyone has something important to contribute.

What’s next for you lot?

We’re going to expand the T4A project to include freestyle – and we’re going to drop a real bombshell. You’ve got plenty to look forward to!

John, thank you for the interview!

• ​Wave Development: A new addition to PATRIK – Five questions for John Skye