HEATING UP FOR THE NATIONS TROPHY

North Sails Supports ClubSwan 50 Training Weekend In Palma

Preparation for The Nations Trophy began in Palma when eight ClubSwan 50s came together for a pre-regatta clinic. Team One Group spearheaded the organization of bringing the fleet together for this training weekend. North experts were amongst the fleet onboard with clients, helping improve techniques, tuning, boat speed, accelerations, and timing. The main goals of the weekend were to collectively raise the bar of competition in advance of The Nations Trophy, which begins on October 8th.

Local conditions delivered, making drills efficient and effective. A mixture of practice starts and races, with emphasis placed on sail trim and starting line strategies, skills that will be important when this one design class lines up in the 20-boat fleet during The Nations Trophy. All in all the racing was extremely close, and there was no ‘slow’ team in participation.

Over the course of the training, it became clear just how important it is to get into the groove as fast as possible. “All boats have very similar speeds, given they are all sporting the same one design class inventories,” said North class expert Arnd Howar. “From what we saw during this training session, starting, boat handling, sail trim, and boat positioning will make all the difference in overall speed and performance for individual teams when it comes time to race.” Boats that stood out during the training weekend were Skorpio, EarlyBird, and Stella Mares, consistently arriving at the corners of the racetrack in the front of the pack.

Thank you to our clients for helping make this training session a success. And a special thank you to North expert Marc Patino who ran the coach boat and daily debrief sessions. At North, we dedicate our services to improve the quality of racing for our clients with leading sail designs and support. After catching the group in action throughout this training, it looks to be an exciting regatta for our clients.

North Sails is a proud partner of the 2019 edition of the Nations Trophy. Here is a selection of our favorite photos from our ClubSwan 50 training weekend.