SEVERNE MACH 5 7.8 2022 TEST REVIEW
THE VERDICT
Combining light handling and steadfast stability with incredible mouth-watering acceleration, the Mach 5 brings race performance within easy reach of most. It’s not cheap and demands to be partnered with a top-quality mast, boom, board and fin to really appreciate its potential … but experience the acceleration for yourself and you’ll be addicted.
OVERVIEW
The Mach is Severne’s Pro Slalom race sail programme, reaching its fifth generation this season, albeit only just released and available on our shores in time for this test. It represents the pinnacle for the brand, with all the latest concepts and technologies presented and trialled through this channel on the world stage. Stated developments for the new season include a higher aspect ratio, yet a shorter chord, said to “limit any draft movement and increase efficiency”. There’s a lighter x-ply used in the luff sleeve material for a softer feel, whilst the central panel is a more transparent x-ply for greater visibility downwind whilst racing. This lighter x-ply has specially oriented Kevlar strands incorporated (as used in the Blade’s luff panel), which mitigate any vertical stretch, yet provide some horizontal elasticity to soften the power delivery. The foot geometry on this 7.8m (as with the 8.6m) is reportedly refined and there is a wealth of tubed battens used throughout the Mach 5’s framework to enhance stability. Tested on an Apex Pro mast, it’s straightforward to rig, applying two thirds of the downhaul tension before reaching inside the luff sleeve to push the XL cams on. There’s certainly a knack to it, but once you’ve practiced a little, the Mach 5 is easy to rig. Once full tension is applied, the sail displays a good deal of luff curve, with a moderate amount of depth to its profile, placed higher and further back in the draft than most others on test. The leech falls away significantly along its length, with more twist said to be added to the mid-leech to reduce drag, whilst the use of the brand’s Spiderfibre material along its perimeter is said to resist vertical stretch and improve the sail’s structural longevity. And with its clean blemish-free set, it certainly looks the part.
BRAND CLAIM
“With a bias towards traditional, full-power slalom racing, significant updates to the Mach 5 construction and geometry also improve performance when used on a foil.”
PERFORMANCE
Fully camber-induced race sails, by their very nature, tend to be without compromise. They are designed to win races and at any cost … which normally equates to outright performance at the cost of ease of use and handling. Enter the Mach 5. This sail has redefined what is possible in our minds! It’s been a long time since we’ve tried Severne’s title race sail in a test capacity, and it’s clear that considerable work has gone into the Mach programme so that it conforms to the brand’s mantra of light handling. In light marginal winds, the sail is balanced and easy in the hands at rest, the bottom end power swelling and growing smoothly as a gust hits, being effortless to direct the energy into the board to get going. The overwhelming sensation from the Mach 5 however, is one of stability and acceleration. Acceleration tangibly occurs in the hands with every gust, whilst the sail’s balance and stability is so assured that there’s literally no input required from the rider. As you dance over the water’s surface, you see a gust coming and prepare for a response from the sail, anticipating more pressure through the back hand … but it doesn’t happen. Nothing moves. It’s as if the gust just blows through the sail, the Mach 5 accelerating positively in the hands, translating the extra power efficiently into useable energy. This slippery efficiency is of course nothing new for a race sail, but the light handling and ease in which the Mach 5 does it means that this sensation and experience is now more accessible than ever before. As the wind increases, the advantages of the Severne’s fully cambered nature becomes even more apparent, its stability and rider-focussed balance providing the confidence to keep pushing. And in transition, the Mach 5’s high aspect nature makes it easy to control and reposition through the turn, the cams rotating smoothly as pressure builds on the new tack. And for the slalom racers in the test team, the transparent window in the luff sleeve is undoubtedly going to be an advantage during the pressure environment of close proximity racing.
SEVERNE MACH 5 7.8 2022 TEST REVIEW
SPECS
Price: £1109.00
Size: 7.8m
Luff: 489 cm
Boom: 210 cm
Battens: 7
Cams: 4
Ideal Mast: Severne 460 cm SDM
Available Sizes: 5.5, 6.2, 7.0, 7.8, 8.6, 9.4.
OTHER SAILS IN THIS TEST