Charting Adventures with Falcon Sails

The first time Patrick Forrester saw a kayak with a sail attached, he laughed.

“That’s one of the dumbest things I’ve seen. It’s just so stupid, you can’t sail a kayak. It’s not possible,” Forrester, a lifelong sailor, remembers thinking. “And then, on a whim, I bought one after two years of watching them, and then I was like, this is so much fun!”

While he grew to love kayak sailing, he found the sail’s design to be clunky and flawed. So, he set out to make a better one for himself. His passion turned into a hobby, then morphed into a full-fledged business when he opened Falcon Sails in 2010 in Perrysburg, Ohio. It’s one of only a handful of businesses in the world that crafts custom sails for kayaks.

Today Forrester’s kayak sails ship across the world — including Australia, Japan, Ireland and Canada — and locally. Each custom-made sail is crafted from sail cloth, using colors of the customer’s choosing. The cloth is laser cut, then sewn together.

You can buy just the sail ($160-$190, depending on the size) or a kit containing a sail and a rigging kit with everything you need to transform a kayak into a sailing kayak, including sail, rig and hardware ($645-$675). Once installed, you can lower the sail and secure it to your deck in seconds.

Most kayaks can be outfitted with kayak sails, according to Forrester. “Nine out of 10 of our customers just have an inexpensive Walmart-type kayak, and they decide they want to pick up sailing.”

Kayak sailors vary in intensity; some appreciate small, calm ponds while others seek a full-on thrill complete with white caps. Forrester is in the latter group, taking on adventures like the Everglades Challenge, a 300-mile endurance race from Tampa to Key Largo.

“I’ve done the whole coastline of Florida, all the way to Key West,” Forrester says. “I’ve done Lake Superior, then Lake Huron, Lake Michigan.”

While kayak sailing has taken Forrester around the world (he even taught kayak sailing in Ireland), most of his adventures are in his own backyard, including the Maumee River and Lake Erie. The Lake Erie islands are his favorite place to explore, providing the perfect backdrop for a day on the water followed by camping at one of the island state parks. 

Forrester is always willing to share his kayak sailing knowledge. It’s not uncommon for him to provide impromptu lessons to curious paddlers he meets on the lake.

That’s how kayak sailing spreads, Forrester says, “just word of mouth or social media.” And the thing is, he adds, “if you can paddle and have a bit of common sense, you can kayak sail.”