"Kayak Sailing"

I always wanted to sail. I was only ever on three sail boats that were actually under sail, The Bluenose ll a schooner from Nova Scotia, an old friends uncle's yacht (beautiful boat), and the Scademia here in NL all of which were being sailed with no help from me. Good thing too for what would I know. I still do have a desire to learn but that will have to wait for now. I decided however to try sailing in a kayak. The first kayak I sold years ago was a Klepper with all the rigging for sailing. It is a beautiful boat. I had never put one of these together before and the first time I tried it took me about an hour and a half. German engineering is the greatest. I actually hoisted it above my booth at a trade show with sail set full and got runner up as best display. Only because the town saw fit to loan me a lift to hang it from the arena ceiling.
The sail above I bought from Deluge and have used it on a few occaissons. It is a down wind sail and attaches to a harness on the foredeck just in front of the cockpit. There are two lines (leashes), one attached on either side of the top of the sail and the other ends secure to the paddle with velcro just above the drip rings at either end. You use the rudder on your kayak to steer and manipulate the paddle connected to the sail by leashes to catch the wind. It does work nicely and the sail is very light made of nylon. The poles are foldable and made of graphite and very light as well. The whole contraption can be taken apart and folded under the bungees of the kayak deck in less than five minutes and put up in about the same amount of time. The tricky part however is once the sail is up and if it lands in the water, getting it out. The suction created from trying to pull the sail out of the water could tip you over if not careful and with all the lines and such could make for a difficult roll. But once you get the knack of lifting the sail out of the water, if it should go there, the reward is thrilling and exciting.
For more on kayak sailing...http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/Articles/SurfSail/VeeSailing.htm