Tiwal 3 review: Zoltan, from Washington DC

I’m Zoltan and I live in Washington DC.

Which Tiwal model do you have?

I have a Tiwal 3 small saiboat. I bought it in Europe and I store it there.

Where do you sail?

Mostly in Europe; so, I bought it for vacation in Europe. It’s a lake in Central Europe in Hungary.

What was your experience before Tiwal?

I’ve been sailing since I was a teenager. Mostly small boats; you know how they say, small boat makes the sailor.

Single-handed or doubled-handed?

I keep a close eye on the Windy app and if there is a two or three-hour window with a fresh breeze, then I just go out there and have fun myself.

But it happens that, you know, I take some people with me – but it’s mostly solo, yeah.

How is it going so far?

Oh, it’s fantastic, I love it, I love every minute of it.

What characteristics surprised you?

I think I would say the compactness of it, it’s easy to set up, easy to assemble and disassemble.

That was one thing and the other thing is the purity of sailing! Since we’re using cliches, I want to say another cliché, which I think nicely summarizes the sailing experience of Tiwal, and that is: if dinghy sailing is the distillation of big boat sailing, then I would say that Tiwal is pure alcohol – because the sailing experience is so pure and immediate – the physics of it – everything.

What is your best memory with your Tiwal?

Definitely my capsize! So, I was on the reach and the wind was coming from behind and there were like 3-foot waves. I was surfing and sailing at the same time, and all of a sudden on my right, there was a seagull coming into my view. So, I was watching the seagull and how nicely it was gliding in the wind and then in the next moment a gust came from the other side, the boat dipped and I got catapulted out of the boat! By the time I even understood that I capsized I was already laughing in the water, so definitely that was the best experience, I think.

Where would you dream to sail with your Tiwal?

Wherever the wind takes me pretty much. Obviously, it’s a little bit of a logistical nightmare if I want to sail because, you know, I would have to fly to Europe. I’m actually considering getting something similar here in the US. Again, the compactness of it, it’s probably the main attraction for me. In principle, I could take the boat anywhere I want.