Patent ID: 7726694

Claim:
A hand-held sail assembly for propelling a user in the direction of a wind, comprising: a) a sail of flexible material having front and back surfaces surrounded by a peripheral edge defining first and second pairs of corners, said sail including first and second pairs of pole attachment points located adjacent said first and second pairs of corners, respectively, each of said attachment points comprising a hole formed through said sail from said front to said back surfaces thereof; and b) first and second substantially flexible poles each having first and second ends, said first and second ends extending through a respective said hole in said sail, with said first and second poles extending in substantially parallel relationship, the portions of said peripheral edge of said sail between said first and second ends of each of said poles being unattached to a respective said pole such that said sail may billow in a direction opposite to the flex of said first and second poles and thereby propel a user of said sail assembly in the direction of the wind; and c) a sliding stop assembly mounted adjacent each of said first and second ends of each of said first and second poles, each of said sliding stop assemblies having first and second stop elements mounted in longitudinally spaced relation on a respective pole, said sail attached to said first and second poles with said sail pole attachment points positioned and captured between said first and second stop elements of a respective sliding sail stop assembly whereby said pole attachment points are freely slidable between each of said first and second stop elements.