The OneSails Multi Tradewind: A Calmer Way to Cross the Atlantic
Rachel Jones
Living with the OneSails Multi Tradewind sail should feel a little like riding a bike… at 3am, with the other crew off watch and a building breeze, that's exactly what it needs to be. Instinctive, with no complicated decisions to make. A good offshore sail should give fewer decisions to make and more time to make them, without needing to change gears or hit the brakes.
For short-handed crews and couples, confidence comes from knowing that either person onboard can manage the boat alone. That means fewer sail changes, less time on the foredeck and a sail plan that remains predictable as conditions change.
Over an Atlantic crossing, this affects rest, watchkeeping and how much everyone onboard enjoys the passage.
Designed for Simplicity Offshore
The aim was not simply to create another downwind sail, but to make a proven offshore concept easier to manage for short-handed crews, couples and families.
The OneSails Multi Tradewind sail combines two structured-luff IFS sails within a single furling solution. In deep downwind conditions, the two sections can fly wing-on-wing, creating a large, stable sail area without the mainsail. As the wind angle changes, the clews can be brought together on one side and the same sail used as a gennaker.
In practical terms, one sail covers a very wide range of conditions and angles: from TWA 65 to 180 and TWS 5 to 35 knots.
Every sail change offshore takes time, interrupts rest and often requires another person. A system that remains in use across changing wind angles reduces that workload. When conditions become uncomfortable, the response is simple: reduce the Multi Tradewind sail area or furl the sail away and leave it up and ready for conditions to improve.
There is less need to wake the off-watch crew member, because the person on deck does not need to feel confident managing a complicated change alone.
From Catamarans to Monohulls
The sail was originally developed for the Privilege 510 Kalmahe, where One Palma could study how the system behaved during real offshore use.
At One Palma, established in 2008 with a 2,000 m² facility, development does not stop when a sail leaves the design software. Research, testing and observation on the water are part of the process. Their designers are trained to look beyond theoretical performance and study what happens when a product is used by real crews in changing conditions.
The question is not only whether a sail is fast, but whether it is stable, easy to understand, manageable by one person and able to make life onboard simpler.
Multi Tradewind Put to the Test
Following the initial work on catamarans, One Palma wanted to understand whether the same principles could improve downwind sailing on monohulls.
One Palma chose the worst possible candidate for its testing, in order to quickly bring any design flaws to light: a light, narrow and unstable small sports boat. Sea trials aboard a Brenta 24 in Palma were conducted with two people onboard, no autopilot and winds of 8 to 20 knots.
The sail remained stable through changing pressure and required few steering corrections. As the wind increased, the upper section could twist open progressively, releasing excess load rather than transferring it abruptly to the helm.
For the person on watch, this means a boat that feels more predictable.
There is less need to react, correct and trim. A more stable sail can also mean less rolling, smoother steering and less work for the helmsman and autopilot. Over several days at sea, reducing these demands can make a noticeable difference to fatigue.
A DAME-Winning Design
The IFS Multi Tradewind Sail received a 2025 DAME Design Award, but its most useful achievement offshore may be simpler: it gives both people onboard a sail they can confidently use offshore.
Fewer decisions. More confidence at the helm.
Explore OneSails' full range of sails and services at https://www.onesails.com/
Article credit - One Sails Palma
Image credit: Ugo Fonolla, OneSails. The Superyacht Services Guide assumes no responsibility or liability for securing or verifying copyright licenses for submitted media.
In Pictures
