CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: AFTERBURN

Soto 40, A True Downwind Flyer

It's hard to miss her walking down the dock. A Soto 40 out of Port Credit Yacht Club, Afterburn, is looking to turn heads this season. Owners Craig Pirie and Darren Gornall worked with local North Sails Expert Hugh Beaton to improve their sail inventory for 2018. The end result? A new 3Di RAW Square Top Mainsail and A2 Spinnaker. The new sails arrived days before the Susan Hood Trophy Race, an overnight distance race around Lake Ontario, with just enough time to be installed. The North Sails Toronto team delivered the sails with Hugh to the boat, and Hugh spent the day before the race installing both sails to ensure a perfect fit. Afterburn had a gorgeous start to the Susan Hood on the Friday evening with a fantastic breeze and a beautiful sunset backdrop. She finished at 5:42am with a corrected time of 12:00:01. Following the race, Hugh had the following remarks on how she performed with her new sails:

"Sailing the Soto 40 Afterburn in the Susan Hood was a real pleasure. She lived up to her billing as a downwind flyer, hitting 15-16 knots pretty easily during the first half of the leg to Niagara. We started with the Masthead Code 0, and then peeled to the A2 about 90 minutes into the race as the breeze went aft. True wind speed 17-18 and a true wind angle of 145 degrees is a great combination for this boat." – Hugh Beaton, North Sails