The 1985 Neil Pryde RAF Wave is a legendary sail. But 1986 is when Neil Pryde took the concept and refined it to the basic shape we would see for the next 4-5 years. The biggest problem with the first generation RAF Wave was that it did not have a very wide effective wind range and was not fantastic in gusty conditions. In perfect stable conditions the 1985 RAF Wave was magnificent, but when the wind varied it could be a handful either depowering badly or overpowering. Thus in 1986, Neil Pryde evolved the design to include shorter masts, longer booms (but still short) and a shape that could handle gusts a little better (More like the 1985 Garda but with mylar/dacron composite construction). Compared to todays wave sails of the same size these 1986 models are very powerful due to the fact they have a tight leech. For me personally in 2025, these 1986-1990 Neil Prydes are still my go-to sails to use with my Mistral boards of the same era.