The satisfaction of our customers and their continued happiness with their WINGAKER across a wide range of uses on the world's seas is of utmost importance to us.
Hopefully you will find the various opinions and experiences of our customers useful in your decision making process.
Please send us your experiences and photos to the following email address:
Finally we got to launch our new Wingaker on our Lagoon 410 S2 and what a place to launch. Spectacular day here in the Hook Passage in the Whitsunday Islands here on the Coats of Queensland on the east coast of Australia. It was our first trial so we were very tentative but we managed 4.6 knots of boat speed in 8 knots of breeze. Very very happy and my wife Sue volunteered to douse the sail and did so with no effort. I think we are going to love this sail.
Greg Harding, Lagoon 410 S2, SV Sunshine
I purchased a 169m2 Wingaker to use on my lagoon 450 in New Zealand. Lothar was very helpful and the sail arrived promptly and arrived set up ready to use. I have also had very good after sale support.
I love the Wingaker as it is very easy to raise and lower and is very stable. I have used the sail in winds from 4kts to 30kts and from 180 deg down to below 130deg (true) with a full main in lighter winds.
Dave, Magique NZ
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo2_XBaZi6Q
"... I was introduced to a Wingaker sail for the first time. It was love at first sight."
Nic and Catherine Hodgson, Saba 50 catamaran
http://www.ladyroslyn.com/single-post/2016/09/12/Wishing-for-a-Wingaker
"...the Wingaker in all her glory. Easy to forget that she is there and it delivers around 1 kn faster than the gennaker downwind....."
"...what a pleasure this sail is. Close to set-and-forget in building trade wind conditions. 130nm in the first 24 hours with force 3/4 winds. Not bad...."
"...Beautiful sailing....as dark fell we are moving with around 8 knots of boat speed and the sail sitting steady with no need to attend to it. By mid-night it is quite a ride, winds up to force 6 and we are trying to dodge the squalls coming through. Boat speed now steady over 9 knots and hitting 10..."
Day 14 ARC: "..an Oyster 535 cuts across our course and when abreast we end up 600 metres apart with us both flying different versions of a parasail. Needless to say we were faster....."
Mr. Phil Wright, SY Enchantee, Catamaran Catana 47, Atlantic crossing
http://www.svenchantee.blogspot.it/2013/12/atlantic-crossing-cape-verdes-islands.html
"...after the third night ... we started at sunrise with the setting of our ingenious Wingaker. With light wind we were able to use every breath of wind and could therefore do without any disturbing engine noise. The Atlantic all around, and us in the middle with our sail bringing us speedily forward...."
ARC Day 3, 2013-11-27
H.P.Maresch, SY Selivra, Ovni 445
"...Danger - sailing with a Wingaker can cause immediate addiction! ..."
"..Really so easy to set, even for small crew like us, which today is only two. But first comes a leisurely breakfast under the Wingaker ..."
Markus Silbergasser, SY Nambawan, Beneteau Oceanis 400
"...In the early morning, we set our WINGAKER ..... With it we reached up to 9 knots,..."
ARC, 17. December 2012
"...So we deployed our WINGAKER again, and were rewarded with wind! A little hesitant at first, but then we ran into the night with four knots - all very leisurely and comfortable. That was our FIRST night trip with the light-wind sail ... and it runs niiiiice! The wind is still freshening (contrary to the "prediction") and we are runing at 6-7 knots, in other words: WE ARE FLYING!"
Maupiti - Rarotonga, 27.August 2013
Peter Wiedekamm, SY Stormvogel, Koopman 48
"An innovative light wind sail"Wingaker on the SY Nambawan
We are really fascinated by this light wind sail. Our Wingaker is really quite easy to hoist with two people, very calm when in use even in windy conditions, and thanks to the the covering sock it is easy to retrieve. Until now everyone who has sailed with us on Nambawan has been impressed with the relaxed cruising under sail with the Wingaker. You can read about our Wingaker adventures on our sailing blog!
By the way, in our opinion Lothar is a very competent seaman and good Wingaker instructor whose heart is really behind what he does.
Markus Silbergasser, SY Nambawan, Beneteau Oceanis 400
"The Wingaker was often used on the Cape Verde crossing to Croatia and I can say that it has convinced me.
After receiving thorough instruction from Lothar in Croatia on our catamaran, we have used the Wingaker in winds ranging from 8 to 25 knots (downwind).
I am really pleased with the sail. Above all, it is built robustly enough for the long-haul. It performs well in a 25 knot relative wind and travelling at 12 - 15 knots, also the retrieval worked great."
Josef NIedl, Eigner and Skipper of the "Phönix", Lagoon 380
"The Wingaker is my absolute favorite sail - my crew has dubbed it the 'magic sail'.
I often sail Moana, my Kerr 51 catamaran, with a crew of rookies and it is incredibly important that I can prepare and set the sail single-handedly. The hardest part of this is hauling the sail bag with the 155qm sail up on foredeck. Then follows 5 short minutes of concentration to correctly connect the halyard and the four sheets and - whoosh - the Wingaker is up.....
The Wingaker is totally stable in about 7 kn relative wind, under that I don't hoist it. I use it in winds up to about 22 kn, beyond that I will take it down, especially if I am out alone.
Retrieval is even easier than setting it.....
I have had the Wingaker up for hours on end, and when running it pulls the boat like it was on a string, nearly without any rudder pressure.
The beam reach properties are surprising. I have sailed it up to 75 degrees relative to the wind without any problems, so when sailing in light winds with the Wingaker it's almost like I have a big 'Code Zero'."
Dr. Frank Weller, "Moana" Katamaran Kerr 51
"For years I had rejected the idea of buying a" spinnaker with parachute " on the grounds of price, since we have have a rollable lightwind Code 0 on the bowsprit of our CATARINA and also a Spinnaker in the deck box. After Frank of MOANA told me about his good experiences with the Wingaker, my curiousity got the better of me and I and got in touch with Lothar Weber from Wingaker. Then everything progressed quite quickly. The price was right, and we ended up taking 120 sqm on board for our Atlantic crossing.
My experiences are absolutely positive. From low wind (8 knots) up to to Beaufort scale 6 winds, the sail is incredibly quiet and stable. We prefer to use the Wingaker alone when running and forego a mainsail, which was also Lothar's recommendation. The worksmanship of the sail is great, the covering sock works even in a lot of wind (make sure to always run the retrieval line over a block!), even the covering sock itself has many nice features. This shows that a great deal of sailing experience has gone into the development of the product. A good buy!"
Rainer van Beckum, SY Catarina, Catana 431
For the past 8 years we have been using the Wingaker light-wind sail in the AMS-Bavaria-Cup and are absolutely convinced about its performance. This is why we have also decided to buy a 190m² Wingaker for the Dienten Sailing Club. There are three important reasons for this:
1. The robustness - we have already sailed the Wingaker in 30 kn of wind where it is commonly feared to use conventional spinnakers. One is still comfortable with the Wingaker. Also hoisting at 20 kn or so goes very well.
2. The safety - in gusty wind conditions the resulting energy is converted into propulsion and not into the "position" of the ship. This means gusty winds - which are often problematic when flying a spinnaker - can be put to far better use.
3. The sail features - The Wingaker runs - on a beam reach - undoubtedly better and higher than other light wind sails. It's a great feeling, at 90 degrees to the wind - with some heeling - to really make good speed.
Josef Burgschwaiger, Skipper SY Blue Max, Bavaria 51 Cruiser
