NORTH SAILS BLOG

HYLAS YACHTS PARTNERS WITH NORTH SAILS AS A PREFERRED SUPPLIER Luxury Cruising Yacht Builder Picks Industry-Leading Sails to Come as Standard Hylas Yachts has been building award-winning luxury cruising yachts since 1985. And in a unique new partnership, North Sails will now be the first choice sail supplier for the innovative company. From today, all new Hylas yachts will be marketed with state-of-the-art North sails as part of their base pricing, giving owners the chance to experience best-in-market products for their cruising needs. The world’s leading sailmaker has long been associated with the best builders, regattas and yachts in the world, and after more than 60 years of pushing boundaries, the company has refined the art of producing market-leading cruising sails. The Hylas 57 and Hylas 60 will be launched in December 2019 and will offer North Sails product line, NPL TOUR as standard. NPL TOUR is an easy-to-handle radial cruising sail, delivering low stretch and a smooth, long-lasting shape that has set the standard as the premium paneled sail for performance-minded coastal & bluewater cruisers. And any client may also choose the option of an additional performance upgrade to a 3Di product. The family-owned company Hylas Yachts prides itself on ensuring reliable equipment and expert engineering, blended with comfort and style to suit every type of cruising. In a natural step, the partnership with North Sails will help Hylas enhance their customer experience, as no other sailmaker can offer the same range and quality of sail, combined with an unparalleled loft network around the world. Andy Huang, C.E.O. of Hylas Yachts said: “As our clients have become increasingly knowledgeable and sophisticated we try to align Hylas with those vendors that are best able to meet our demanding business needs as well as the very personal needs of our yacht owners. North Sails have won our trust based on values we hold dear – extraordinary quality, innovation, design and a global reach. What has impressed us most is that North is probably the world’s largest, and arguably best, sail manufacturer yet their dedication to the personalized service our clients receive truly enhances the Hylas ownership experience. We are looking forward to partnering with North Sails as we launch the new Hylas H57 and H60 yachts in 2020.” Peter Grimm, North Sails Hylas Project Manager, commented: “I have worked with Hylas Yachts for 20 years, and formalizing this partnership with North Sails makes perfect sense. With our familiarity with the Hylas Yachts and owners, expert team of designers and material engineers, combined with our technology and production capabilities, I am confident that North Sails offers the best possible products for every type of cruising needs.” “The North Sails attention to detail, from design through finishing, gives us the confidence to say our product cannot be matched. And because of the way our sails constructed, each sail we build is meticulous, allowing us to offer ongoing product development over time, as well as make repairs in a way no other sailmaker can. And you don’t have to go back home to do it – any one of our team throughout the North Sails worldwide loft network can make any repairs needed due to the breadth and depth of our global understanding of sails.   Learn More about NPL TOUR     READ MORE

WHICH MAINSAIL IS BEST FOR YOUR J/70 TEAM? A Complete Guide Considering Rig Tendencies and Batten Choices Team Rimette at the North Americans powered by North F-1 mainsail. 📸 Chris Howell/J70 Class Association Trying to stay up to date with all the latest testing and sail development in a highly competitive class like the J/70 can be quite daunting. How do I pick the right sails? Does crew weight matter? Does the venue matter? What about my mast? How do I know how much pre-bend I have? What do I do with all these battens?! There is a lot to think about for sure, but in this article I will try to simplify some of these elements to help you make the right choice for you and your boat. Choosing the right mainsail for your team is imperative. One of the major factors in designing a mainsail is the bend characteristics of the mast. With over 1,500 J/70s built, there is bound to be a bit of variance in bend characteristics – especially now that there are two different brands of spar out there – the Southern and the Selden. Not only are there inherent differences in stiffness, but where you carry your rake (more rake = more bend) and how swept your spreaders are will also greatly impact the bend tendencies. North Sails offers two brilliantly designed maisails, both of which are garnering tremendous results around the globe. By getting to know your mast, and learning how to use your battens and rig tune, you will be able to have success with either sail. But you may find that one sail will fit your rig better than the other. Let’s keep it simple to start out – there are two choices – the XCS-2 and F-1. The XCS-2 is fuller than the F-1 and was therefore designed to fit perfectly with masts that tend to carry more bend. A bendier mast requires a fuller sail shape so that it won’t invert too quickly when the breeze comes up and the mast starts bending. The F-1 is a flatter overall sail designed to accommodate stiffer masts. If the mast doesn’t bend very much, you need a flatter sail to avoid extra drag – especially in light air when there is not enough pressure to bend the rig and it’s too light to use backstay. How Can You Tell Which Sail is Best For Your Mast? The first thing you’d want to check is your pre-bend at “base”. You will need the mast up with the upper shrouds set to a tension of 16 on the PT2 Loos gauge. For the lower shrouds, set them so they have a tension of 10 on the gauge with the mast looking straight, and then take another 2 turns off each lower shroud so they are loose. You’ll want to find a pre-bend checker which is essentially a ruler that can be hoisted up the mast track (see photo below). Hoist the bend checker up the sail track on the spinnaker halyard (don’t forget to tie a line to the bottom of the checker so you can pull it back down!). You want to get it just above the spreaders where the max bend is. Now you will pull the main halyard up against the gooseneck (pinch it right into the bottom of the sail track). As you look up the mast, you’ll see the main halyard coming in contact with the bend checker. Read the bend checker to determine how much pre-bend you have at “base.” We’ve found that the range can be anywhere from 1.25” to just over 2”. Quite a range!! If your mast shows less than 1.75” of pre-bend, it’s likely that the F1 will fit your rig better and if you’re over 1.75”, then it’s more likely a good fit for the XCS-2. What if your mast is right at 1.75”?? Perfect! Try both! (Kidding but probably not a bad idea!). Another test you can do to learn about your mast stiffness is to wind the rig all the way up to the our tightest recommended rig tune setting which would have both your upper shrouds and lower shrouds reading 29 on the gauge. The number of turns it takes for you to get to this setting will tell you a lot about your mast. Again, we have found quite a bit of variance here from rig to rig. If it only takes you about 7 turns on the uppers and 5 turns on the lowers to achieve these tensions, that is a sign that your mast is quite stiff and probably better suited for the F-1. If it takes you closer to 11 turns on the uppers and 8 on the lowers, that is a sign that your mast is bendy and probably better suited for the XCS-2. Nine turns on the uppers and 7 on the lowers would be somewhere in the middle. One more telltale sign you can use to determine your mast stiffness is by observing the overbend wrinkles on the main while sailing upwind. There needs to be enough wind so that you’re using 70-100% of your backstay. So your rig tune should be tight. While sailing, play through your range of backstay and observe where your main is showing the biggest overbend wrinkles. They should be all below the window in the luff of the main (to see the jib leech) until you’re at the point of full inversion. If you see a very large “hinge” in the main that goes from the forward end of the bottom batten, up to a point above that luff window – that is a sign that your mast is on the bendy side and probably better suited for the XCS-2. If you never get to the point of the full “hinge” and all of the overbend wrinkles stay below the luff window, that is a sign that your mast is on the stiff side and probably a better fit with the F-1. No matter which mainsail, you end up choosing, you have a lot of range depending on which battens you put in. Using stiffer battens will give you a flatter sail shape while softer battens let the sail become fuller. This is extremely useful when trying to make your sail shape fit the mast in a given condition. If you decide to use the F-1 main but are sailing in a venue where you know you will want a little bit of extra power (say it’s overly lumpy compared to wind strength), you can error on using the softer battens in the Main to help give the sail extra depth for more power. Conversely, if you have the XCS-2 main but want the option to keep it flatter (say it’s blowing 14 knots but dead flat water) you can go to heavier battens to get rid of some depth in the main. The key takeaway here is that is very important to learn your rig tendencies so you can make the best decision possible for your team whether you’re looking for your all purpose sail, or for a venue specific sail choice. Combining this knowledge with the correct batten choice will give you peace of mind in knowing that you can achieve the perfect sail shape for any condition. As always, consult your favorite North Sails J/70 expert for more information or any questions about your sail choice! READ MORE

PURSUING PERFORMANCE: PART TWO Palm Beach SORC Seminar Recap Aimed at boat owners considering one of the SORC races for the first time, or after years away, this last seminar walked us through each race and described the key factors needed to know to get there efficiently. At our final seminar, over two dozen local sailors attended to learn more about the challenges of ocean racing in and around South Florida. Held at the Palm Beach Sailing Club on October 23, this event examined each of the component SORC races and discussed strategies for planning and racing for each. "It was great to see so many new sailors," reported Bob Meagher of North Sails, who along with Peter Grimm led the presentation and discussion after a round of light snacks. "People are looking for the next step beyond simple coastal races. The SORC races offer it all, and even more ambitious race opportunities for racers and cruisers alike.""The seminar represents a greater outreach by SORC and North Sails to assist cruiser-racers enjoy shorter offshore races more. Racing to Palm Beach isn't much more complicated than what local sailors do now," said Grimm. "Racing to Key West is even more fun – just keep the land on the other side!" "People are looking for the next step beyond simple coastal races. The SORC races offer it all, and even more ambitious race opportunities for racers and cruisers alike." The first race of the SORC 2019-20 season kicks off with the Nassau Cup Ocean Race, followed by races to Wirth Monroe Palm Beach in December, Ft. Lauderdale to Key West in January, and for the first time, and The Eleuthera Race in March. North Sails partnered with the SORC to help sailors of all types improve their confidence and performance in these storied races. We look forward to assisting old and new clients with free sail inspections and the finest certified sail service we can guarantee so you can enjoy the important part, offshore racing. Have questions? Contact us today. We are looking forward to helping you achieve your offshore racing goals. The SORC mission is to lead the expansion of offshore competitive sailing in South Florida by providing the highest level of race organization, management and promotions for those that enjoy the sport of ocean sailing. The SORC is a Florida non-profit organization driven by a select group of volunteers that bring professional event management, sailing, racing and other skills to the organization. Learn more on each event and sign up today at www.sorcsailing.org. READ MORE

PHOTO JOURNAL: DOCKSIDE IN LE HAVRE Setting the Scene for the Start of the 2019 Transat Jacque Vabre Sailing content creator James Tomlinson is onsite for North Sails to capture what it’s like to be in Le Havre for the start of the Transat Jacque Vabre. In the final day before the fleet leaves for Brazil, teams are making final preparations and double-checking their offshore packing lists. Follow @north_sails stories on Instagram for more behind-the-scene content before the boats set off on a 4,350 trip across the Atlantic. READ MORE

TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE: HOW TO WATCH Tune In With North Sails Sunday October 27th 📸 James Tomlinson Tomorrow, Sunday October 27th, 27 Class40s, three Multi50s and 30 IMOCAs will set off on a 4,350-mile ride from Le Havre, France across the Atlantic to Salvador de Bahia in Brazil. Initiated in 1993, the Transat Jacques Vabre is held every two years and has become a major landmark event for double-handed sailors. This regatta has finished in a variety of destinations since its initiation, which includes Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, and Itajai, Brazil. The 2019 edition has returned to Salvador and in just one day clients will set off from La Havre to battle for a new race record and first place trophy. Le Havre is located on the Atlantic ocean and is the largest town in Normandy. It has a deep-water marina that can be accessed 24-hours a day, no matter the tide, and the sailing area itself serves up excellent conditions with thermals that can challenge sailors to the best of their abilities. Teams are patiently waiting dockside, and are chomping at the bit to get on the water for the ultimate battle of the fall season. Follow us on Facebook for front row seats to all the action. All of us at North Sails are looking forward to seeing this race unfold over the next two weeks. Get your front row tickets with us this Sunday, as North Sails has teamed up with sailing photographer James Tomlinson to give you a unique point of view on the ground in Le Havre. Watch our Instagram Stories @north_sails for the start of this much-anticipated Atlantic double-handed race. See you there! Want to know more about the race? Other ways to catch the action on official race channels: facebook.com/TransatJacquesVabre @transatjacquesvabre on Instagram @north_sails on Instagram @NorthSailsWorldwide on Facebook Live Race Tracking Full Race Schedule Race Photos Skippers 📸 Jean-Marie Liot/Alea READ MORE

THE TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE: A CRITICAL MILESTONE IN THE VENDEE GLOBE CYCLE North Sails Continues to Offer Personalized Cutting-Edge Design Service in the Rapidly Evolving IMOCA Class 📸 MxHorlaville /disobey /Apivia The newest generation of foiling IMOCAs are heading for the start line of the Transat Jacques Vabre – a crucial part of the four year Vendée Globe cycle. The 4,350 mile two-handed race from France to Brazil is the first opportunity for everyone to get a clear look at how both boats and skippers are progressing, one year before the start of the non-stop round the world race that is considered the pinnacle of solo offshore racing. Vendée Globe Dreams: Four Years in the Making North Sails has been deeply involved in helping six new IMOCAs, as well as a number of older boats, prepare for both the 2020 Vendée Globe and the TJV. There is no doubt the awe-inspiring foilers will wow sailing fans, but how will they perform when racing under pressure day after day? There is so much at stake and all to play for… Design First: Unique Tools and Expertise Head of North Sails France and 3Di expert Gautier Sergent leads the team that has been working closely with so many IMOCA skippers. “This has been a very exciting time in the IMOCA class. We have recently seen the launch of several brand new boats for the Vendée Globe, and the TJV is going to be a rigorous testing ground for 2020.” North Sails is unique because sailors consult with the company very early on in their design process, Gautier explains. “After the last Vendée Globe in 2016, we had a full debrief on what we had seen, learnt, and where things were heading: where was the innovation going to be coming from, and what was driving it? It’s important after a big race like that to look at what happens at the end, and the decisions that were made. That put us in a really strong position for this next edition of the race, and to be a trusted partner as foiling takes center stage.” The IMOCA class is constantly striving to push boundaries, and thanks to the elite team at North Design Services and the ever-evolving North Design Suite (NDS), North Sails is able to provide critical input to the continuous loop of information between designers, structural engineers, and skippers. NDS makes it possible to virtually test and optimize any part of a sailboat in any sailing environment, even before the boat is built, allowing skippers to find the very best solutions for their new boat. ”No one else has their own tools like we do,” says Gautier. “NDS allows us not only to do all the simulation in-house, but we are also continuing to develop our tools so we can be really responsive and reactive to needs and changing trends. We make sure we can provide useful data to the experts in other fields, such as hydro, structure, ergonomics, etc.” In such a fast-moving environment, old methods of on-the-water experimental learning no longer keep up. “That is why our Design Services offering has been such a game changer for finding what works for any given team,” Gautier says. “The VPP has been really useful in understanding the whole boat; not just the sail, but how is the sail affecting the full design, and vice versa?” But tools are not reality, he adds. “So you also need designers with enough expertise to interpret the results, integrate sailors’ feedback, and suggest directions to investigate. It’s the only way to keep up with the pace and work out a sail package that reflects the input from everyone. Objective information is what we are after, because pre-conceived ideas will hold you back. It is a brave new world.” Personal Service: Tailored Solutions for Skippers Each skipper brings a different level of experience to the campaign, so each boat requires a customized sail package. Gautier says his team has enjoyed the challenge of finding the right combination for each boat and sailor. “No team has been the same, and as a result no solution has been the same either. For each brand new boat, we have an almost dedicated North Sails expert. All have different ways to go about solving an issue, so it has really enabled us to broaden our thinking. We work really hard to find that sweet spot.” Time to Race: Vendée Globe Countdown As the clock ticks down to the start, Gautier is eager to see all this hard work line up on the race track. “I can’t wait to see the results of the work the team put into these boats, and how decisions play out in real terms. I am confident that we have given our skippers the best opportunity to achieve their potential. It has been a privilege, and we have all greatly enjoyed the process.” Looking ahead, he adds, “We have already set a plan of action to use the feedback from the TJV to keep moving forward from here. Much more to come before the Vendee Globe!” READ MORE

NEW MNR SERIES OPTIMIST BI-RADIAL MAINSAIL Tested and Approved 📸 Patrick Lelay 48 French Optimist sailors took to Kerguelen Beach to race and qualify for a spot at the 2020 Cap d’Agde. 13- year old Gabin Baly came out with the win overall after four races and two bullets powered by his new North Sails Optimist Bi-Radial Mainsail. Using this new model for the first time, Gabin was pleased with the performance gain he got from using his new sail. “Before I used the MZX4 and R2, and now I just tried the new model, the Bi-Radial for the first time for this regatta. I am very surprised about the abilities I had when it came to pointing, especially off the starting line. The new North Bi-Radial is great too downwind for speed and surfing waves.” When it comes to what conditions it worked best? Gabin replied; “I used the same rake I had with my R2 (2,80m) for this regatta with winds ranging from 15-25 knots.” “I am very happy with my new sail. It’s an easy decision when it comes to what I will be using for the French qualifiers, the Europeans, and the Worlds.” North clients finished 1,2,4,9. For more information on the fastest sail designs for the Optimist, contact your local expert today. 📸Patrick Lelay 📸Patrick Lelay 📸Patrick Lelay 📸Patrick Lelay 📸Patrick Lelay READ MORE

Nouveautés et développements pour 2020 Chez North Sails, nous avons à cœur de développer sans cesse nos voiles, afin que la vitesse et la simplicité des réglages soient à la portée de tous nos clients. Notre équipe travaille au quotidien sur des améliorations, jusqu'aux moindres détails, et nous sommes heureux d'avoir vu nos voiles monter sur tous les podiums cette année. En avant-première, nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer qu'à partir de 2020, en plus de notre incontournable 3Di 360, vos voiles pourront être fabriquées avec un nouveau tissu, le Xi V2. Ce nouveau matériau confère à la voile une meilleure isotropie et une meilleure distribution en trame grâce à son film innovant. Ce film est issu d'une évolution de sa base en polyester. Son coloris est foncé mat pour une meilleure lecture de la forme de la voile, notamment en termes de contrastes avec les bandes de visualisations. Retour sur la saison 2019 Avec Nelson Mettraux du CER « Pour 2019, je me souviendrai de la fois où tout un équipage est passé à l'eau, à l'exception du barreur, parce que les filières ont cassé. Soit ils ont tiré vraiment fort dans les sangles...soit le matériel avait un peu trop vécu! En attendant, ils ont été récupères et le bateau a fini sa manche... Plus sérieusement et après 8 épreuves, notre Surprise CER 1 Sofies monte sur la 3e marche du podium de la saison. Au vu des nombreux changements d'équipage et de la prise en main du bateau entièrement par des jeunes sur certaines courses, nous sommes satisfaits et continuons notre travail dans l'esprit du Centre d'Entraînement à la Régate. En regroupant nos forces et en commençant les entrainements assez tôt mars, nous visons la 1ère place en 2020! Avec deux belles échéances qui seront le championnat d'Europe à Thonon et le championnat Suisse à Morges, les deux tombant hors des dates du Tour Voile. Julien (Monnier) nous a parlé du nouveau tissu Xi V2, on se réjouit déjà de l'essayer la saison prochaine. Le Surprise est idéal pour apprendre et progresser. Le niveau est élevé, la classe est active, il y a plein de participants sur les épreuves et les courses ne sont pas faciles à gagner. Vivement 2020. Hivernage de vos voiles La fin de saison approche, il est temps de prendre contact auprès de nos experts afin de faire un bilan de votre inventaire de voiles et dresser la liste des travaux d'hiver à effectuer. Appelez-nous au 022 782 32 22 pour avoir plus d'infos ou prendre rendez-vous. Nos services hivernaux à la carte sont à votre disposition pour prendre soin de vos voiles et augmenter leur longévité. Pour toutes les marques de voiles, nous vous proposons un contrôle complet « Certified Services » : Service d'enlèvement des voiles sur le bateau, service de stockage pendant la saison hivernale, lavage et contrôle, expertise de vos voiles, réparations éventuelles. Le Salon Nautique du Léman du 8 au 10 novembre à Palexpo Notre équipe se réjouit de vous accueillir sur le stand SN358 du vendredi 10 au dimanche 12 novembre à Palexpo et sera à votre entière disposition pour répondre à vos questions, programmer un essai, ou vous faire découvrir nos nouveautés. Cliquez ici pour imprimer votre invitation gratuite et venez découvrir nos offres « spéciales salons ». READ MORE

Surprise: Nouveauté 2020, retours sur la saison 2019, hivernage et salon nautique du Léman NOUVEAUTÉS ET DÉVELOPPEMENTS POUR 2020 Chez North Sails, nous avons à cœur de développer sans cesse nos voiles, afin que la vitesse et la simplicité des réglages soient à la portée de tous nos clients. Notre équipe travaille au quotidien sur des améliorations, jusqu'aux moindres détails, et nous sommes heureux d'avoir vu nos voiles monter sur tous les podiums cette année. En avant-première, nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer qu'à partir de 2020, en plus de notre incontournable 3Di 360, vos voiles pourront être fabriquées avec un nouveau tissu, le Xi V2. Ce nouveau matériau confère à la voile une meilleure isotropie et une meilleure distribution en trame grâce à son film innovant. Ce film est issu d'une évolution de sa base en polyester. Son coloris est foncé mat pour une meilleure lecture de la forme de la voile, notamment en termes de contrastes avec les bandes de visualisations. Retour sur la saison 2019 Avec Nelson Mettraux du CER « Pour 2019, je me souviendrai de la fois où tout un équipage est passé à l'eau, à l'exception du barreur, parce que les filières ont cassé. Soit ils ont tiré vraiment fort dans les sangles...soit le matériel avait un peu trop vécu! En attendant, ils ont été récupérés et le bateau a fini sa manche... Plus sérieusement et après 8 épreuves, notre Surprise CER 1 Sofies monte sur la 3e marche du podium de la saison. Au vu des nombreux changements d'équipage et de la prise en main du bateau entièrement par des jeunes sur certaines courses, nous sommes satisfaits et continuons notre travail dans l'esprit du Centre d'Entraînement à la Régate. En regroupant nos forces et en commençant les entrainements assez tôt mars, nous visons la 1ère place en 2020! Avec deux belles échéances qui seront le championnat d'Europe à Thonon et le championnat Suisse à Morges, les deux tombant hors des dates du Tour Voile. Julien (Monnier) nous a parlé du nouveau tissu Xi V2, on se réjouit déjà de l'essayer la saison prochaine. Le Surprise est idéal pour apprendre et progresser. Le niveau est élevé, la classe est active, il y a plein de participants sur les épreuves et les courses ne sont pas faciles à gagner. Vivement 2020. Hivernage de vos voiles La fin de saison approche, il est temps de prendre contact auprès de nos experts afin de faire un bilan de votre inventaire de voiles et dresser la liste des travaux d'hiver à effectuer. Appelez-nous au 022 782 32 22 pour avoir plus d'infos ou prendre rendez-vous. Nos services hivernaux à la carte sont à votre disposition pour prendre soin de vos voiles et augmenter leur longévité. Pour toutes les marques de voiles, nous vous proposons un contrôle complet « Certified Services » : Service d'enlèvement des voiles sur le bateau, service de stockage pendant la saison hivernale, lavage et contrôle, expertise de vos voiles, réparations éventuelles. Le Salon Nautique du Léman du 8 au 10 novembre à Palexpo Notre équipe se réjouit de vous accueillir sur le stand SN358 du vendredi 10 au dimanche 12 novembre à Palexpo et sera à votre entière disposition pour répondre à vos questions, programmer un essai, ou vous faire découvrir nos nouveautés. Cliquez ici pour imprimer votre invitation gratuite et venez découvrir nos offres « spéciales salons ». READ MORE

Esse 850: nouveauté 2020, retours sur le championnat Suisse, hivernage et salon nautique du Léman NOUVEAUTÉ ET DÉVELOPPEMENTS POUR 2020 Chez North Sails, nous avons à cœur de développer sans cesse nos voiles, afin que la vitesse et la simplicité des réglages soient à la portée de tous nos clients. Notre équipe travaille au quotidien sur des améliorations, jusqu'aux moindres détails, et nous sommes heureux d'avoir vu nos voiles monter sur tous les podiums cette année. En avant-première, nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer qu'à partir de 2020, vos voiles seront fabriquées avec un nouveau tissu, le Xi V2. Ce nouveau matériau confère à la voile une meilleure isotropie et une meilleure distribution en trame grâce à son film innovant. Ce film est issu d'une évolution de sa base en polyester. Son coloris est foncé mat pour une meilleure lecture de la forme de la voile, notamment en termes de contrastes avec les bandes de visualisations. Retours sur le championnat Suisse avec les champions suisses Avec Paul-Ambroise Sevestre, à bord de Zebra Box, équipé par Yvan Staub, Philippe Gaillard et Pierre Jully "C'est une épreuve dont je me souviendrai ! C'est même pour moi la régate en Esse courue avec le vent le plus fort depuis que j'ai découvert cette classe. Le comité avait du mal à tenir, c'est pour dire... Après deux jours de baston, un jour de medium et un jour de petit temps, on l'emporte avec quelques points d'avance mais j'ai pris plaisir à trouver de l'adversité sur l'eau et à découvrir l'équipage allemand de Martin Buck qui termine 2e. Ils nous ont donné du fil à retordre, tout en restant fair play. Ils nous ont déjà proposé une revanche! Comme d'habitude nous embarquons un jeune pour compléter l'équipe et là, je dois avouer que Pierre Jully (Optimist) m'a impressionné par son sérieux et son approche de la régate. Hyper motivé, il trouvait même que l'on blaguait trop à bord !" Crédit: Angela Trawoeger Hivernage de vos voiles La fin de saison approche, il est temps de prendre contact auprès de nos experts afin de faire un bilan de votre inventaire de voiles et dresser la liste des travaux d'hiver à effectuer. Appelez-nous au 022 782 32 22 pour avoir plus d'infos ou prendre rendez-vous. Nos services hivernaux à la carte sont à votre disposition pour prendre soin de vos voiles et augmenter leur longévité. Pour toutes les marques de voiles, nous vous proposons un contrôle complet « Certified Services » : Service d'enlèvement des voiles sur le bateau, service de stockage pendant la saison hivernale, lavage et contrôle, expertise de vos voiles, réparations éventuelles. Le Salon Nautique du Léman du 8 au 10 novembre à Palexpo Notre équipe se réjouit de vous accueillir sur le stand SN358 du vendredi 10 au dimanche 12 novembre à Palexpo et sera à votre entière disposition pour répondre à vos questions, programmer un essai, ou vous faire découvrir nos nouveautés. Cliquez ici pour imprimer votre invitation gratuite et venez découvrir nos offres « spéciales salons ». READ MORE

NORTH VICTORY AT THE J/70 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP L’elagain Finishes The J/70 Season On A High L’elagain (ITA 629), Italian National Champions 📸 Zerogradinord Confirming that consistent results are the key to success, Italian team L’elagain celebrated victory at the J/70 Italian Cup after finishing with all but one result within the top 10 and the best discard in the fleet. With a competitive fleet of 52 boats from 11 countries racing at Yacht Club Sanremo, the regatta marked the end of a jam packed J/70 season. We caught up with J/70 Class Expert, Giulio Desiderato to hear how L’elagain made their victory possible. Sailing as part of L’elagain for one day of the regatta in replacement of Daniele Cassinari who sailed the remaining days, Giulio felt honoured: “I am very proud to have replaced Daniele who I consider one of the top Italian sailors. I was a little worried because this was my first time with the team, but sailing with them was amazing with a great atmosphere onboard and together we conquered the title!’’ The regatta could not have brought more varied conditions to test the teams; the first two days were light-medium wind conditions with choppy waves whilst the third and final day presented the sailors with an epic 20-22 knots of wind from the south and big waves. Talking about the team’s boatspeed, Giulio said “We felt really fast in the water in both sets of conditions and were able to recover well from race two and three where we didn’t get a good start.’’ With North Sails teams winning an impressive eight out of a possible nine races sailed in such a mixed bag of conditions, L’elagain adapted the shape of the sail through simple mast tuning. Daniele explains: “The XCS-2 Mainsail is a very good choice for my team since we are in the heavy side as crew weight. It gives us power in light/medium conditions while we can flat it enough with strong breeze. As usual, both the J-2 HC Jib and AP-1 Spinnaker have proven to be fast in all conditions, but it will be very interesting to also test the new F-1 Mainsail and J-6 HC Jib.’’ Browse our full J/70 Shop Inventory. “As usual, both the J-2 HC Jib and AP-1 Spinnaker have proven to be fast in all conditions, but it will be very interesting to also test the new F-1 Mainsail and J-6 HC Jib.” Sailing with a team he normally competes against brought an unusual opportunity to see what they do differently. Giulio explains “After sailing a lot of races against them, now I realise why they are such a strong team. I have to thank Franco Solerio and Daniele for the opportunity to sail at the event, as well as Nicolas, Simone and Manuel for the work done.’’ It is now time for Giulio to go back the team onboard Petite Terrible as they prepare for the South American Championships in December, hosted by Yacht Club Punta del Este. After conquering the 2019 European Championships, the Petite Terrible team are now setting their focus on retaining their title at the 2020 Europeans Championships in Denmark. The spectacular backdrop of Sanremo 📸 Zerogradinord Alice fully powered up downwind (ITA 1046) Intense concentration onboard Jcurve (ITA 1090) in the light winds of Day One 📸 Zerogradinord Notaro Team (ITA 725) and Amaiz Sailing Team (CYP 1401) battling it out downwind 📸 Zerogradinord 📸 Zerogradinord Breeze on and weight back onboard WHYNOT#SLAM (ITA 1187) 📸 Zerogradinord READ MORE

ANMELDUNG Einladung zum Jubiläums-Apéro Samstag, 09. November 2019 ab 14.00h Ort: Promenadenstrasse 39, 8280 Kreuzlingen (SVK Clubhaus am Hafen Kreuzlingen) READ MORE

M2: Nouveauté 2020, retours sur la saison 2019, hivernage et salon nautique du Léman © M2 Speed Tour Nouveauté et développements pour 2020 Chez North Sails, nous avons à cœur de développer sans cesse nos voiles, afin que la vitesse et la simplicité des réglages soient à la portée de tous nos clients. Notre équipe travaille au quotidien sur des améliorations, jusqu'aux moindres détails, et nous sommes heureux d'avoir vu nos voiles monter sur tous les podiums cette année. En avant-première, nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer qu'à partir de 2020, en plus de notre incontournable 3Di Code 50, vos voiles de portant pourront être fabriquées avec un nouveau tissu, le Xi V2. Ce nouveau matériau confère à la voile une meilleure isotropie et une meilleure distribution en trame grâce à son film innovant. Ce film est issu d'une évolution de sa base en polyester. Son coloris est foncé mat pour une meilleure lecture de la forme de la voile, notamment en termes de contrastes avec les bandes de visualisations. Retours sur la saison 2019 Avec Didier Pfister, vainqueur du classement général avec Swiss Medical Network Les clés du succès pour enchainer deux victoires de championnat ? « Un bon équipage est essentiel, il faut que les manœuvres tournent. Avoir un bateau bien préparé et qui va vite reste fondamental également. Depuis trois saisons maintenant, j'ai souhaité naviguer avec des jeunes...ils ont la moitié de mon âge! Les jeunes sont performants de nos jours. Ils naviguent régulièrement sur d'autres supports et gèrent très bien les manœuvres. C'est vraiment plaisant de naviguer avec eux. Mario Pfister et Mathieu Ravussin constituent une base et ils s'organisent pour compléter l'équipage. Et moi je fais le chef d'orchestre à l'arrière ☺ En 2019, 14 personnes ont régaté sur Swiss Medical Network! Je me souviendrai de notre début de saison tonitruant avec des victoires alignées sur les trois premiers Grand Prix grâce à notre bonne équipe et à une super speed. On allait comme des fusées à Versoix avec notre GV et le gennak' polyvalent. Il est assez plat je trouve et j'avais des suspicions pour le portant. En fait on allait comme les autres, voire parfois mieux au portant, et on avançait super bien au près. Notre dernier Grand Prix restera gravé aussi. Tout se jouait encore pour la saison et on a failli ne pas pouvoir courir! Avant le départ de la 1ère manche, Patrimonium ne parvient pas à abattre derrière nous. Il nous perfore le flotteur en plein milieu, le bateau prend l'eau et c'est de justesse qu'on le ramène à terre. En bons marins, ils nous proposent leur monture. Le jury accepte, on gagne l'épreuve et la saison! » Hivernage de vos voiles La fin de saison approche, il est temps de prendre contact auprès de nos experts afin de faire un bilan de votre inventaire de voiles et dresser la liste des travaux d'hiver à effectuer. Appelez-nous au 022 782 32 22 pour avoir plus d'infos ou prendre rendez-vous. Nos services hivernaux à la carte sont à votre disposition pour prendre soin de vos voiles et augmenter leur longévité. Pour toutes les marques de voiles, nous vous proposons un contrôle complet « Certified Services » : Service d'enlèvement des voiles sur le bateau, service de stockage pendant la saison hivernale, lavage et contrôle, expertise de vos voiles, réparations éventuelles. Le Salon Nautique du Léman du 8 au 10 novembre à Palexpo Notre équipe se réjouit de vous accueillir sur le stand SN358 du vendredi 10 au dimanche 12 novembre à Palexpo et sera à votre entière disposition pour répondre à vos questions, programmer un essai, ou vous faire découvrir nos nouveautés. Cliquez ici pour imprimer votre invitation gratuite et venez découvrir nos offres « spéciales salons ». READ MORE

Dijamantna Viška regata FOTO: JK LABUD - JADRAN BABIĆ Viška regata - fenomen o kojem je do sada napisano i ispričano toliko mnogo riječi da je vrlo teško dodati nešto novo. Ove godine je posebna po tome što je dosegnula dijamantni status. Status koji su jedriličari proslavili s rekordnim odzivom i 179 jedrilica na startnoj listi. Ruta regate i aktivnosti oko nje su i ove godine bile nepromijenjene. Jedrile su se dvije etape uz jednu revijalnu regatu u Viškoj luci. Prva zbog bonace nije odjedrena cijelom dužinom, već je start izmaknut pred Splitska vrata, odnosno ispred punte Livke od kuda se prema Visu krenulo u 11:50. Vladali su uvjeti laganog vjetra i taktički je trebalo dobro procijeniti situaciju, pogotovo posade jedrilica s nižim jarbolima, dok je nekolicina ekstra visokih imalo bar malo laganiji zadatak. Naravno da je ove zahtjeve zadovoljavala uvijek ista skupina jedrilica koje nastupaju na Jadranskim regatama, pa je i rasplet u cilju uvijek temeljen na fondu od desetak istih imena. JK Labud je odavno odabrao za obje svoje regate koje se jedre na potezu između Splita i otoka Visa da je generalni pobjednik regate onaj koji pobijedi po ORC-u, sustavu koji nastoji sve jedrilice izjednačiti matematičkim putem. Na 75. Viškoj se u tu kategoriju prijavilo 28 posada, a formula po kojoj su se obračunavali rezultati je Time on time (ToT). Razloga zašto nije bilo većeg odziva po ORC-u vjerojatno ima nekoliko. Jedan od njih je vjerojatno revijalni pristup velikog broja posada kojima je Viška regata izgovor za odlazak na jedan izvrstan vikend kombiniran s jedrenjem u jednoj od najvećih organiziranih skupina na Jadranu, a drugi je ukomponiran u famu koja prati ORC odavno da je riječ o nečem što je skupo i rezervirano za najbolje. Istina, najbolji često i investiraju najviše u svoje jedrilice, pa tako i u optimizaciju po ORC-u, ali Viška regata se jedri po verziji ORC Club. Riječ je o jednostavnijoj varijanti ORC-a, a za izradu odgovarajućeg certifikata potrebno je u ORC prijaviti samo manju količinu mjera po nadgrađu jedrilice i na jedrima. Ta mjerenja može napraviti i sam vlasnik, dok za situaciju kad se želi izbjeći suparničke provokacije o krivom mjerenju može izabrati mogućnost da službeni premjerači obave taj posao. Da to nije nikakav veliki problem pokazuje i primjer Lige Orsan u kojoj je ORC Club službeni sustav po kojem se računaju rezultati i svi krstaši s regatnim ambicijama u Orsanovoj domeni utjecaja imaju ORC Club certifikat. Ali vratimo se Viškoj. Već u najavnoj fazi i pripremama za regatu očekivao se rekordan broj sudionika. To je pred organizatore stavilo i posebne logističke zahtjeve kojima su ove godine pristupili mnogo ozbiljnije i organiziranije nego ranijih godina, a više o tome je ispričao g.Toni Mlikota, predsjednik JK Labud: Regata je ekspandirala, dosta i naglo. Učinilo nam se da je došlo vrijeme da se napravi jedan iskorak, prije svega da se unese malo reda jer ovo je prvenstveno regata. Regata koja je postala popularna i kao biznis regata i jedan vid hedonizma, a i posljednja regata u sezoni za mnoge charteraše. I konzumenata ove regate je svake godine sve više. Primijetili smo jedan trend paljenja motora odmah nakon prolaska Splitskih vrata. Svi žure i hoće se vezati za rivu, pa smo imali dosta pritužbi jedriličara, a i meni samom se to dešavalo par puta da jedrim cijeli dan, dođem u Vis i nemam se gdje vezati, a ovi što su išli motor su već siti i u opuštaju se uz čašicu. I jednostavno smo odlučili tome stati na kraj, pogotovo jer smo ove godine dobili vrlo jake promotore. Zato ja ove godine nisam jedrio prvu dionicu i otišao sam dan ranije sve pripremiti. Tako da je pred dolazak regate cijela riva bila čista, kako sama riva, tako i u Kutu. Gumenjacima smo prihvaćali ove koji su dolazili na jedra, a i na sastanku kormilara sam kazao da neće biti nitko toleriran. Svi su dobrodošli, da ne bi bilo zabune, ali oni koji su upalili motor idu na bove. Za katamarane smo pripremili jednu "fun zonu", za ljude koji su došli prvenstveno radi pjevanja, zabave, mladi su... sve ja to shvaćam, ali ima ih koji žele spavati, spremit se za sutrašnju regatu u luci, za drugu etapu... mislim, ne možete smetati tim ljudima! Spomenuta fun zona je bila ispred "Bejbija" i tu su bili uglavnom mladi ljudi, a bilo nam je i dosta muzičara ove godine. Bilo je dosta pjesme i muzike, ali na način da se u gradu ne smeta Višanima i jedriličarima. I sve dok su u luku stizali oni koji su došli sa sportskim namjerama bili su vezivani na rivu. Tek nakon što svi takvi pristanu na rivu i ako je ostalo još mjesta onda smiju na nju pristati i ostali. Od sada će prednost imati ljudi koji jedre! Osim toga pojačali smo i transfer s bova na kraj. Vozila su četiri gumenjaka. Gratis je bio prijevoz cijeli dan do ponoći. Od ponoći su se svi koji su ostali vani i htjeli se vratiti na svoje brodove mogli javiti na kanal 71 ili na mobitele momaka koji su vozili, a uz doslovno simboličku naknadu koja nije smjela prijeći deset kuna po osobi. Tako da uz tu logističku podršku i vremenske uvjete ta dva dana, bova čak nije bila niti lošije rješenje. Službeno smo imali 180 prijavljenih, ali vjerujem da je bilo i oko 200 jedrilica. Razlog je što jedan dio natjecatelja ne prati objave na internetu, već su napravili gužvu u uredu Regatnog odbora u četvrtak navečer na prijavama. Za vrijeme popunjavanja papirnatih formulara nastala je gužva, neugodne situacije, stvorila se nervoza... tako da danas imamo jedan radni sastanak, dok smo još vrući, i raspravit ćemo neke stvari. Jedna od njih je da dogodine možda zatvorimo ured već u srijedu, ako ništa drugo da spriječimo te neugodne situacije. Čak razmišljamo o nekim drugim promjenama u rasporedu događanja, ali o njima ćemo u javnost izaći dogodine. Npr. ove godine smo se srećom već nakon par sati vratili u Split i imali smo vremena obraditi rezultate za sve jedrilice, ali da smo imali bonacu kao u prvo etapi pitanje je bi li stigli napraviti proglašenje pobjednika u vrijeme koje je bilo najavljeno. Moram reći da sam uživao u toj drugoj etapi. Bilo je dvadesetak čvorova i jedrenje je bilo čisti užitak. Zaista sam se guštao vraćati. Također ćemo i ubuduće inzistirati na tome da što više jedrilica dojedri i do Visa. Ove godine smo vidjeli da će mali broj sudionika proći kroz Splitska vrata, a da će većina ostati, pa smo odmah prebacili startnu liniju pred Šoltu. Nije nam cilj da se kompletna ruta odjedri pod svaku cijenu i da to uspije samo nekolicini. Ja kao kapetan uvijek gledam koja je najslabija karika. A to je u ovom slučaju većina flote. Zato treba i onima koji nemaju Full Pelt-ove, TP-ove... da završe regatu. Regata je za sviju! Toni Mlikota, JK Labud Start prve etape je signaliziran po laganom maestralu koji je tijekom poslijepodneva treba prijeći u laganu tramontanu. Brzine koje su prvi ostvarivali su uglavnom bile između 4 i 5 čvorova i ovisno o brzinama ostvarenim nakon otvaranja regate i mjestu gdje su se nalazili nakon par sati, neki novi refuli su činili preokrete. Startna linija je bila postavljena tako da je malo favoriziranija strana bila na pinu, ali s obzirom na veliku gužvu i koncentraciju dvjestotinjak jedrilica na relativno malom mjestu za tako lagan vjetar, bilo je važnije pronaći što čišću zonu da se što brže izdvoji ispred ostatka flote. Kao i uvijek taj zadatak je bio lakši velikim i laganim nego težim i sporijim. Najbrže do Visa je jedrio Polet Furioso. Posadi Nikole Deškovića je trebalo 3 sata, 25 minuta i 45 sekundi. Pet minuta i šest sekundi iza njega stiže David među hrpom Golijata, Fatamorgana Mate Arapova. Na trećem mjestu završava najveća jedrilica na regati, VOR60, Clean Sport One Marjana Kočile. Zatim sa sve kraćim razlikama stižu u Vis i ostali regatijeri. Što se tiče rezultata po ORC-u tu je situacija dosta drugačija. Prva jedrilica koja je jedrila i po "premjeru" je bio Polet Furioso, pa tek Dubrovnik koji je u cilj ušao osmi po redu. Lagani vjetar nije išao na ruku velikom Poletu koji je za bolji rezultat po ORC-u morao u Vis stići petnaestak minuta ranije, pa po korekciji završava na 10. mjestu. Najbrži po računalu su bili Orion II i Mareus II. Njih dvoje su u cilj ušli kao 20. i 27. u realnom poretku, više od 20 minuta iza Dubrovnika i više od 35 minuta iza Poleta. Na kraju je Orion bio 5 i pol korigiranih minuta, a Mareus dvije i pol ispred Dubrovnika. Kako je posada Dubrovnika jedrila ta tri dana ispričao je kormilar Denis Vukas: Prošle godine smo isto pobijedili i mislili smo da je to nemoguće ponoviti. Bili smo prvi po OR-u, u grupi i drugi po Openu i po NHP-u. Računali smo da je to maksimum i da ne može bolje od toga. Ali ove godine smo to nadmašili! Jedino nam je ostala apsolutna pobjeda, ali teško ćemo to osvojiti (smijeh). A što da kažem, prva etapa je bila naporna, bar za mene. Mislim da je i inače svakom jedriličaru jedrenje po bonaci ili po vjetru do 5 čvorova napornije nego po 20 čvorova. Uglavnom, startali smo s Livke. Računali smo da će probiti W - NW, ali za vrijeme starta je držali malo više s juga. Glavna strategija nam je bila držati se više Hvara i Paklinskih otoka i kad izađemo između Paklenih i Visa da se lagano penjemo po tom maestralu, sjeverozapadnjaku, već što dođe. Na startu mi je želja bila startati tamo gdje je najmanje gužva, da nam što manje smetaju. Tako smo startali sa sredine linije u čistom vjetru. Start je bio odličan i idućih par repiketa je bilo kako nas je vjetar okretao. Išli smo prema zapadu, pa nas je vjetar vraćao dva puta prema Hvaru, dok nismo odlučili da je to zadnji repiket i da idemo napraviti donju parabolu. Ispalo je super do Paklenjaka. Mate (Fatamorgana op.a.) je bio ispred nas možda pola milje, a mi smo mu bili točno po krmi. Po boku, poviše nas, je bio Overload, pa poviše njega Ful Pelta, pa negdje tamo daleko smo jedva vidjeli Niku Kmetovića (anima op.a.) i Poleta. Jedrili smo s drifterom cijelo vrijeme. Kako smo ga odrolali na startu nismo ga skidali do cilja. Vjetra je bilo 5 čvorova, a mi smo jedrili i malo brže od vjetra, kut idealan... i izgledalo je dobro dok nismo prošli Paklenjake. Tada je vjetar malo više jačao sa zapada i oni su svi prošli s jačim vjetrom i većom brivom. Ispalo je skoro kao što sam zamislio, samo što je izgleda kasnije vjetar jačao dovoljno da su nas po ORC-u uspjeli uhvatiti i Orion i Mareus. Tako da smo mi bili treći nakon prvog dana. Moram reći da je Ivan Kuret (Orion op.a.) imao dobar plan. On je iz svjedodžbe izvadio spinakere i genakere, ne znam što je sve imao. Ostavio je samo flokove, jedro i drifter. Zato je imao vrlo dobro razvrstanje. Kasnije smo gledali kako nas je uspio proći, što se dešava, pa kad smo prostudirali svjedodžbu vidjeli smo da mu je plan bio super. Vjerojatno je pratio prognozu i išao na kalkulirani rizik i isplatilo mu se. Drugi dan je bio standardna regata u Visu. Po mojoj procjeni najveći konkurent nam je bila Anima (ex. Stradivaria). Prvi plov smo izletjeli odmah na startu i kontrolirali smo regatu sve do cilja. Jedrio se trapez po nekakvom široku koji je probijao iz Kuta. Puhalo je 10-12 čvorova i uglavnom nakon starta s jednom bordadom može se doći do prve bove. Druga bova je bila malo laškija i vozili smo s jedrom i Code 0, malo je davalo s prove, malo u bok, kako dođe reful iz koje ulice. Bova je bila ispred Češke vile, pa onda smo išli na drugi kraj vale. Tu nam je isto davalo s boka, isto smo jedrili s Code 0, a od te bove do cilja je bila uglavnom mezzonava, pa smo malo koristili flok, malo Code 0. Ali najvažnije je bilo dobro odraditi start, dalje je bila samo kontrola. Zato je drugi plov bio malo zanimljiviji. Ponovno smo vodili, ali kod Češke vile je reful bio loš, pa smo stali u bonaci. S krme je onda počeo probijati novi reful s kojim je stizao Niko Kmetović, doletio je do nas, a mi smo bili unutarnji na bovi. On je računao na tu veću brivu i da će nas s njom proći, ali i mi smo krenuli. Bili smo preblizu i u jednom trenutku smo se skoro taknuli, ja sam morao zapojati. Tada smo dignuli protest na njega. Ali na idućoj bovi mi smo uhvatili bolji reful i proći ispred njega, tako da na kraju je ispalo super. Ta regata je ispala malo dosadna, ali posada je rekla "ajme što je ovo, stalno neke manovre", stalno smo mijenjali jedra i stvarno nije bilo pauze. Ono, jedino što se moglo napraviti je bilo otići na neku stranu s nadom da će tamo reful doći brže, kao i to što se nama desilo, bili smo naprijed i stajali na mjestu a kad nam je došao reful došao je i Niko... A povratak natrag u Split... Po prognozi je bilo neko jugo u pojačanju. stalno oko 20 s udarima do 22 čvora. Dosta sam studirao brojne prognoze i onda smo odlučili ići malo donjom stranom, jer sam očekivao da će prije Vrata vjetar pasti i dati više s juga umjesto jugoistoka, tako da sam htio biti donji brod. Startali smo bliže bovi. Kusta je stavio liniju dosta favoriziranu, mislim da je donja bova bila bliže Vratima za 300-400 metara, da malo rastegne cijelu grupu. Nama je ispalo dobro jer na bovi nije bilo gužve, a i malo smo zakasnili s dolaskom na liniju starta. Ostali su se držali sredine linije, razlog ne znam. Krenuli smo s jednim kratom i najmanjim flokom i još smo otvorili i Code 0. S Code o smo vozili pojanije, prema sredini Šolte, možda čak i prema Maslinici, od starta, pa sve do pola kanala prema Paklenjacima. U tom dijelu regate smo stvarno letjeli. Mislim da nam se brzina nije spuštala ispod 15 čvorova. Tako da osim što je ta donja bova bila favoriziranija i mi smo s tom brzinom napravili dosta veliku distancu prema naprijed, ali smo dosta padali i u jednom trenutku sam odlučio da je dovoljno i da ne smijemo više padati, skinuli smo Code 0 i nastavili natrag prema Vratima s jedrom i flokom. Tu nam je vjetar bio više u bok i brzine su nam stalno bile između 10 i 12 čvorova. Sve to je bilo uglavnom onako kako sam planirao da će biti, jedino što je u Hvarskom kanalu, prije ulaska u Vrata, vjetar davao više od levanta. Tu nam je bilo malo oštrije, pa nismo baš profitirali u tom zadnjem dijelu jedrenja do Vrata. Tako da je par brodova koji su bili visočiji... Marina Kaštela, Bare, Paola... jednostavno doletjeli i pregazili nas. Ostali brodovi koji su nam bili bitni za ORC nisu bili na vidiku jer smo napravili veliku razliku, a i trebali smo tako da bi po korekciji bili prvi. Mislim da smo trebali ući ispred ostalih 25 minuta ranije. U Vratima nismo znali što se događa, uglavnom je lagano probijalo preko Milne, s boka, pa smo nastavili s Code 0. Kako bi došao reful malo bi se spustili, dizali kad padne, uglavnom u Brački kanal smo ušli dok smo još bili dosta blizu samog Brača. Tu nas je vjetar dočekao više iz smjera Omiša, pa smo nastavili s flokom. Tu smo nastavili jedriti malo visočije jer sam planirao iskoristiti Code 0 ako bude moguće i na samom kraju ako ukrmi. Tako se i dogodilo, oko milju i pol prije okreta smo otvorili Code 0 i napravili dobar potez i uspjeli prijeći Baru V i sustići Paolu na bavi. Tako da smo praktički preklopljeni jedrili od Sustipana do cilja i uspjeli za par metara prije njih ući u cilj, 7. realno. Jednom riječju stvarno brza regata, "brza pruga". Denis Vukas, Dubrovnik - JK Orsan Uspoređujući vremenske uvjete, druga etapa je bila dijametralno suprotna prvoj. Ako su mnogi očekivali da će napraviti dobar rezultat do Visa, samo najspremniji su mogli očekivati da će ga napraviti na povratku. Puno vjetra iz smjerova laške orce, pa do pola krme obećavali su vrlo velike brzine. Da bi se taj vjetar mogao iskoristiti do maksimuma i ako ništa drugo uživati u glisiranju po velikom valu koji je dolazio s juga, morala su se dizati i "leteća" prednja jedra. Kako je izgledalo na palubi Dubrovnika ispričao je Denis Vukas, a slično je bilo i na ostalima. Prvi su u cilj ušli slovenci s VOR-om. To su bili uvjeti koje su oni vjerojatno s lakoćom podnijeli. Njima je od starta do cilja trebalo 2:23:01. Najbliži su im bili sunarodnjaci na Generaliju (TP52). Oni su kasnili za pobjednicima malo više od 6 minuta, ali zato su bili brži od drugog TP-a, Polet Furiosa, za 17 sekundi! Generali je jedrio i po ORC-u, ali je Dubrovnik ipak bio brži nakon matematičke korekcije. Generali završava na još jednom drugom mjestu, a između njega i realno trećeplasiranog Poleta, koji je po ORC-u završio na četvrtom mjestu, ubacio se pobjednik prve etape Orion II. Četvrti je završio Splitski kralj bonace, Tonči Antunović koji je još jednom dokazao da njegov Full Pelt vrlo dobro podnosi i uvjete jakog vjetra i mora. Još jedan dokaz koliko je uz dobar i kvalitetan brod nužna i posada koja će znati iz njega izvući maksimum. Sličnu kombinaciju imamo već i na petom mjestu. Ponovno David u društvu Golijata, odnosno Fatamorgana, jedrilica kraća od 10 metara puna vrhunskih jedriličara. Za duplo duljim Clean Sport Oneom su zakasnili malo više od 19 minuta, dok je prva iduća jedrilica približno jednake duljine, Magnum x3 završio na 17. mjestu pola sata iza Mate Arapova i društva. Osim po ovom izvrsnom rezultatu ekipa s Fatamorgane će ovu regatu zapamtiti i po uvjetima koji su omogućili njihovim foilovima da dođu do maksimalnog izražaja. Naime, već nekoliko godina Mate Arapov koristi foilove na svojoj jedrilici i trenutno je jedini krstaš s tim upgradeom, a kako stvari stoje takav će biti još jedno kratko vrijeme, dok ne stigne flotila Swanova 36 Club koji će uskoro činiti ACI-jevu sportsku monotip flotu. U svakom slučaju, kako je bilo na Fatamorgani ispričao nam je njen vlasnik i kormilar: Što da kažem, opća ludnica, samo smo imali djecu na brodu i na početku me bio strah hoće li sve izdržat jer je novi timun i nova kolomba, pa dok sam još uhvatio mot kako da to vozim. Ali je bilo fenomenalno! Najbolje nam je bilo kasnije u Vratima kad je bilo lišo more i nije bilo puno vjetra. Puhalo je oko 14, a mi smo vozili blizu 20 čvorova! Kad smo krenuli s Visa imali smo dignut Olympic i doslovno smo letjeli, bili smo brži od sviju. Tu smo još jedrili i malo niže, nisam se htio dizati, jer smo još uvijek išli prema Vratima. Tu je onda pao vjetar i počeo nam dolaziti s prove. Tada je bilo preoštro i nismo više mogli "poludit" skroz. Falilo nam je 5° da i tu uzletimo. Kasnije smo skužili da smo u zoni pred Vratima, gdje smo pali prenisko, da smo ostavili prednji dagger pola metra u moru dobili bi lift s kojim bi se mogli penjati. Tako da zglob kojeg imamo u toj situaciji nije uopće dizao i imao nikakvu funkciju u tom pogledu. Onda smo se kasnije u Vratima opet razletili i stigli Antunoviću (Full Pelt op.a.) na krmu. Kad smo izašli iz Vrata ispred nas je bila neka crna crta i izgledalo je da dolazi svježe jugo i da ćemo se sjuriti u cilj, ali na kraju nije bilo ništa od toga. Nakon jednog refula sve je palo i onda smo dignuli Code 0, ali se sve zamrsilo, pa smo ga spustili. Onda smo dignuli drifter i kasnije opet uhvatili 16 milja u dosta oštrom kursu po 13-14 čvorova vjetra. Taj drifter smo dignuli stvarno na brzinu, nismo imali jedara naprijed, nismo ga ni kacali po gindacu do kraja, ali svejedno smo se uspjeli zaletjeti. Tada smo prošli pored Marine Kaštela kao da stoji. Ono što je najbolje u tome je da nam ne treba previše vjetra. Brod sve to podnosi lijepo, mekano, stvarno je gušt tako jedriti! Sad to još treba naučiti kako to iskoristiti još više. Mate Arapov, Fatamorgana - JK Mornar Sva ova ispreplitanja i rošade na rezultatskim ljestvicama dovele su do toga da je na kraju titulu najbrže jedrilice po realnom vremenu odnio predstavnik domaćina, Polet Furioso! FOTO: JK LABUD - JADRAN BABIĆ Ali ipak, pravu žetvu trofeja imao je Dubrovnik koji je regatu pobijedio po ORC-u, drugom premjeru - NHP-u i bili su najbolji u svojim skupinama i po ORC-u i po Openu! Jedino nisu odnijeli pokal za najbržeg po realnom vremenu. Ne treba posebno isticati da je Dubrovnik svoje fantastične rezultate ostvario uz pomoć pogona koji mu je osigurao North Sails. Jednako tako i drugi naši klijenti ostvarili su vrlo dobre rezultate u svojim skupinama, i s osmjehom se vratili doma. Posebno bi istaknuli Kobru, X35 koji je osvojio skupinu C3 s 12 godina starim sivim North Sails jedrima! Paula, FW40, je jedrila u skupini R0 zajedno s Poletom i završila je regatu odmah iza njega u skupini i kao 6. u generalnom plasmanu. Gringo, Archamabult 40 iz JK Uskok na Viškoj je jedrio s 3Di Nordac jedrima starim nekoliko sezona. Unatoč tome završava na izvrsnom 3. mjestu skupine R2, iste u kojoj je jedrio pobjednik regate Dubrovnik i kao 13. na zajedničkoj ljestvici svih 180 sudionika. Bili smo prisutni i na malenim jedrilicama, istaknut ćemo SSC 27, El Orada, pobjednike skupine R6. A ne smijemo zaboraviti ni Farabuta, Rast Wave-a 30, koji je bio 3. u skupini R4 i 31. u generalnom plasmanu, a sve to je ostvario s davno kupljenim Nort Sails setom. Konačne rezultate za Open možete pronaći na ovom linku, dok su konačni rezultati za ORC na ovom linku. Open skupine se nalaze ovdje, dok su ORC skupine ovdje. A oni koje zanimaju rezultati po NHP-u mogu ih pročitati ovdje. READ MORE

NORTH SAILS GRAND SURPRISE CHALLENGE Un grand bravo à tous les participants pour cette nouvelle édition du Challenge Vous avez été nombreux à participer à presque toutes les régates de la saison, une jolie performance que nous espérons voir perdurer encore de nombreuses années. Nous avons le plaisir de vous convier à la remise des prix du Challenge, le samedi 9 novembre à 18h30 sur le stand SN358 de North Sails.à Palexpo. Un prix sera également tiré au sort ce soir-là et parmi les présents qui ont participé à au moins 4 de ces 5 régates (Championnat de Série, Thonon, Morges, la Double, X de Sciex). Retours sur la saison 2019 Avec Bernard Borter, à bord de Little Nemo: « La saison s'est très bien passée pour nous ! Nous sommes ravis des régates qui ont été courues, ainsi que de nos résultats. Le vent était au rendez-vous toute la saison, ce qui a permis à la classe de disputer de belles régates. Même un peu trop pour le Bol d'Or :-) Mais malgré ça, nos voiles ont très bien tenu, à peine quelques déchirures. On continue même à naviguer avec certaines d'entre elles... Il y a une excellente ambiance dans la classe, ce qui aide aussi beaucoup à passer de bonnes saisons. Lorsqu'il y a de la casse, tout le monde s'entraide afin que toutes les équipes puissent terminer la saison dans les meilleures conditions possibles. Et le niveau augmente également d'année en année : c'est stimulant, on se pousse les uns les autres pour s'améliorer. A nous de maintenir le niveau pour les années à venir ! » Hivernage de vos voiles La fin de saison approche, il est temps de prendre contact auprès de nos experts afin de faire un bilan de votre inventaire de voiles et dresser la liste des travaux d'hiver à effectuer. Appelez-nous au 022 782 32 22 pour avoir plus d'infos ou prendre rendez-vous. Nos services hivernaux à la carte sont à votre disposition pour prendre soin de vos voiles et augmenter leur longévité. Pour toutes les marques de voiles, nous vous proposons un contrôle complet « Certified Services » : Service d'enlèvement des voiles sur le bateau, service de stockage pendant la saison hivernale, lavage et contrôle, expertise de vos voiles, réparations éventuelles. Le Salon Nautique du Léman du 8 au 10 novembre à Palexpo Notre équipe se réjouit de vous accueillir sur le stand SN358 du vendredi 10 au dimanche 12 novembre à Palexpo et sera à votre entière disposition pour répondre à vos questions, programmer un essai, ou vous faire découvrir nos nouveautés. Cliquez ici pour imprimer votre invitation gratuite et venez découvrir nos offres « spéciales salons ». READ MORE

GIV DINE SEJL DEN BEDST MULIGE PLEJE MED ET GRATIS EFTERSYN HOS NORTH SAILS Vi tilbyder service til alle slags kunder, fra den lille Optimist til de allerstørste yachts. En ting har de alle til fælles - de har brug for sejl i den bedste kvalitet, vedligeholdt i den bedste stand. North Sails Certified Service tilbyder dig den bedste sejlpleje og uanset om du er til kapsejlads eller tursejlads, er der ingen mere kvalificeret til at hjælpe dig med at forlænge levetiden på dine sejl og opretholde deres maksimale ydeevne. Sejlmagerens 10 råd til at forlænge levetiden på dine sejl: Undgå at sejlene blafrer langvarigt, da det kan nedbringe sejlets levetid betragteligt. Undgå så vidt muligt at sejle for motor med blafrende sejl i vinden. Brug dine sejl i deres dertil designede vind område. Hvis du ikke kender de anbefalede vind områder for dine sejl, skal du kontakte North Sails. Når du forlader båden, skal du lette fald spænding og udhal for at forhindre at sejlet bliver overstrukket. Undgå at folde sejlet på de samme foldelinjer for at forhindre at små folder ikke bliver permanente. Beskyt dine sejl mod sollys med en presenning og lad dem blive i posen så længe som muligt. Skyl dine sejl med ferskvand og tør dem grundigt inden opbevaring for at undgå mug. Skyl fittings i ferskvand for at forhindre korrosion. Opbevar tørre sejl på et godt ventileret sted. Gerne mørkt og afkølet. Gå jævnligt sejlet efter for slidtage. Send dit sejl til eftersyn og service hos North Sails efter hver sæson! Kontakt os på 3920 4090 for mere information eller send os en email på DEN@northsails.com Se her, hvor du kan indlevere din sejl til gratis vintereftersyn. READ MORE

VERDENS BEDSTE SERVICE Hos North Sails er vores målsætning at give dine sejl det bedste mulige service eftersyn, hurtigt og effektivt. Vi ved, at uanset om du kapsejler eller cruiser, er sejlene en stor investering og vi sætter en ære i at hjælpe dig med at maksimere sejlets performance og levetid. Vores verdensomspændende netværk gør, at du får den samme service, uanset om du er hjemme eller på den anden side af jorden. Og vores sejlmagere kan håndtere ethvert behov for service og vedligehold. North Sails tilbyder 1 års Fri Service* Ved køb af et nyt Cruising-, Racing- eller One Design sejl. Dette program er gældende overalt i North Sails verdensomspændende netværk af salgs- og servicelofter. Ethvert sejl, der bliver serviceret hos North Sails, gennemgår en grundig inspektion, der identificerer eventuelle problemer tidligt, så de ikke bliver store problemer senere. En årlig gennemgang af din sejlgarderobe bidrager væsentligt til at forlænge sejlets levetid og performance. "North Sails "Certified Service" tilbyder dig den allerbedste service af dine sejl. Uanset om du sejler kapsejlads eller cruiser, er der ingen anden sejlmager som er mere kvalificeret til at hjælpe dig med at forlænge dine sejls liv og opretholde facon og performance i hele sejlets levetid. Vores globale salgs- og servicenetværk består af 7 produktionssteder, 159 salgs- og servicelofter og over 1.500 medarbejdere på verdensplan. North Sails Certified Service leverer kvalitet og håndværk i verdensklasse, uanset hvor du er i verden." Se også Sejlmagerens 10 råd til at forlænge levetiden på dine sejl REGATTA SERVICE North Sails “Certified Service” Sejlmager får dine sejl repareret og fixet over natten. Vores Service Bil er på stedet til alle de store kapsejladser, hvor vi tilbyder afhentning og levering af dine sejl. Skader kan ske, men det betyder ikke, at du skal være uden dit bedst sejl resten af kapsejladsen. ÅRLIG VINTER SERVICE En årlig service af din sejlgarderobe betyder forlænges af sejlets levetid og hjælper med at opretholde den rigtige dybde og facon. Ethvert sejl, der bliver serviceret af North Sails, gennemgår en grundig inspektion, der er designet til at identificere eventuelle problemer tidligt, så de ikke bliver store problemer senere. 1 ÅRS GRATIS SERVICE Ved køb af et nyt cruising sejl, racing sejl eller One Design sejl tilbyder North Sails 1 års gratis sejlservice og reparation efter den første sæson. Dette er gældende overalt i North Sails verdensomspændende netværk af salgs- og servicelokaler. READ MORE

EVENT SPOTLIGHT: CUSTOMER APPRECIATION Thank You For Your Support, Toronto! This past Saturday we came together to celebrate one thing: YOU. Our Toronto team held a customer appreciation event to say THANK YOU to our loyal customers for all the support we've received over the years. It was fantastic to see so many faces and smiles on a sunny Saturday; we know it's a busy time with haul-out so we appreciate everyone taking the time to come by. In addition to saying thank you, we kicked off our fall hours. We're committed to helping you maximize the performance and lifespan of your sails which means we're open Saturday's from 9am to 1pm to accommodate all your sail care needs throughout the fall. Our Certified Service team is around to help provide a proper inspection for your sails before you storm them for the season. We also provide sail washing, in house, and winter storage if you're tight on space. We offer free winter storage with sail washing as well. Our 10 Point Inspection includes: Inspect head, tack, clew and reef attachments. Inspect webbing & hardware for chafe and UV damage. Inspect hand stitching. Inspect luff tapes and luff attachments. Inspect for chafe at external hardware contact points at spreaders, shrouds, stanchions etc. Inspect leech line, foot line and attachment system. Inspect sail for UV damage and proper furling side (if applicable). Inspect batten pocket ends, attachments and fit (if applicable). Inspect sail body for condition of cloth, seams, sail numbers, draft stripes and windows. Replace or add telltales (complimentary). Inspect miscellaneous gear: Spinnaker Snuffer line and hoop, mainsail external flaking system, headsail vertical battens, UV covers, etc. Inspect sailbag draw string, zippers, web straps, and label properly. Sail report, 10 checkpoints, comments. Fall Hours October 19th - November 23rd Weekdays: 8:30am - 5pm Saturday: 9am - 1pm READ MORE

4 KEY COMPONENTS TO SAIL CARE Insight Into Preserving Your Sails We have the most comprehensive service system backed by over 60 years of servicing the sailing community. Repairing Mildew, chafing, UV cover tears and corner webbing and stitching degradation are common issues we are looking for when a sail come in for sail care. We can then assess and make repairs. Chafing: There are areas on the headsail where we see excessive chafing.including where the lifelines terminate at the bow pulpit, on the leech where the sail can hit the shrouds, at the stanchions heads, and up the leech from flogging. UV Cover wear & tear: The UV cover is a sacrificial material attached to the leech or corner of a furling sail that protect the sail from sun degradation and dirt when the sail is rolled away. We replace these on a regular basis. The risk of not replacing the UV when it is degraded is rips and tears opening. If this happens during a wind storm at the dock, it will force the sail out of the furled position and shred the leech. Corner webbing degradation: Webbing is the strapping material that is sewn onto the sail at the corners holding on the headboard, clew ring and tack ring. When the webbing is degraded by mildew, pollution, sun decay and chafing, it shrinks and gets stiff. Over time the webbing can become very stiff and turn either green or black from mildew growing in the fibers. If this is the case for your sail, have your sailmaker replace the webbing right away. Stitching degradation: Like the webbing, threads in a sail can be susceptible to mildew, pollution, sun decay and just plane chafing. It is hard to see and can take a trained eye to identify and repair. Minor restitching once a year can prevent large repairs during the life of the sail. Reshaping When we look at a sail for shape analysis, we are looking at the draft position it helps us if you can take photos of the sails from mid-foot looking up towards the head. This allows us to analyze the draft of the sail and make decisions as to what direction to go in reshaping the sail. Reshaping a sail is the best way to get that extra season or two out of your sails. That said, reshaping is not going to make a 10 year old sail new again. Over time different sail materials shrink and stretch in different directions and areas of the sail. For instance, the luff rope can shrink, changing the luff shape of the sail and consequently causing the draft to move deeper towards the leech. The leech tape can shrink and the leech can get soft from flogging, causing cupping and degrading the performance of the sail. Our Service Team can adjust and replace components of some sails before it’s time to consider replacing. Cleaning Mooring your sailboat in the city can be rough on sails as far as keeping them clean. There are a number of ways to clean sails. Mildew is hard to clean. Mildew is made up of microscopic organisms that thrive on an atmosphere of air and water. It’s easy to clean if only on the surface of a sail. However, if mildew gets in the thread structure, it will cause permanent staining. We see this on many older taffeta surface laminated sails. Sailmakers use a combination of chemicals and methods in a controlled atmosphere to clean a sail effectively and safely. If you are self cleaning your sails, we recommend you still take your sail in for an inspection once a year prior to cleaning. Our 10 point inspection is the ideal option to give your sail a good once over before another season. OUR 10 POINT INSPECTION INCLUDES: Inspect head, tack, clew and reef attachments. Inspect webbing & hardware for chafe and UV damage. Inspect hand stitching. Inspect luff tapes and luff attachments. Inspect for chafe at external hardware contact points at spreaders, shrouds, stanchions etc. Inspect leech line, foot line and attachment system. Inspect sail for UV damage and proper furling side (if applicable). Inspect batten pocket ends, attachments and fit (if applicable). Inspect sail body for condition of cloth, seams, sail numbers, draft stripes and windows. Replace or add telltales (complimentary). Inspect miscellaneous gear: Spinnaker Snuffer line and hoop, mainsail external flaking system, headsail vertical battens, UV covers, etc. Inspect sailbag draw string, zippers, web straps, and label properly. Sail report, 10 checkpoints, comments. Storage Be sure your sails are dry and clean before flaking or rolling them for storage. Store your sail in a dry place, preferably cool as opposed to hot. Good places are up off the floor in efforts to keep vermin like squirrels and mice from making their home in the sail. In the attic or the eves of a garage are not recommended if the temperature is not controlled. Questions about end of season sail care for your sails? Connect with our service manager Luke Logan or North Sails experts Perry Lewis and Keith Church. Our team is here to help with all your sailcare needs. READ MORE

END OF SEASON TLC Your Sails. Our 10 Point Inspection. Quality Guaranteed. We hope everyone had a great summer filled with sailing! As the sailing season comes to a close, we would like to remind everyone that now is the time to get your sails in for an annual winter inspection. There are many advantages of getting your sails into us for our coveted 10-point inspection including an earlier start to next season, longevity of sails, and preventing minor issues from becoming larger problems. With our 10-point inspection, we will cover: All of your stitching, edges and reef points Review of your luff hardware, batten pockets, leech and foot cords UV cover inspection Replace tell tails During the 10-point inspection our service team will also check if there are any adjustments such as re-cuts, or luff adjustments to help your sail perform better. While our 10 point inspections are excellent insurance for next season, we also offer major re cuts/cut downs, luff curve adjustments, sail washing, canvas waterproofing, UV covers, canvas and more. If you would like to get a hold of our service team, feel free to connect with Bill Lesnek or Mike Stark. READ MORE

SSL - Nations Gold Cup FOTO: GILLES MORELLE Star Sailors League je otišao korak dalje! Njen osnivač i vlasnik, Michel Niklaus, nastavlja u smjeru čiji je konačni cilj osnivanje jedriličarske lige po uzoru na ATP Tour koji se organizira u svijetu tenisa, a trenutna faza je formiranje timova/posada koje bi nastupale na dijelu natjecanja, koji da ponovimo analogiju s tenisom, ima format kao Davis Cup. Naravno, natjecanje ovakvog ranga mora imati i zvučan naziv... Nations Gold Cup. Drugim riječima, na osnovu ljestvica koje ekipa is SSL vodi, pa može se reći na dnevnoj bazi, oformljeni su nacionalni timovi koji bi za oko dvije godine trebali krenuti s izlučnim regatama koje će se jedriti u Švicarskoj na modificiranim jedrilicama klase RC44. Trenutno na stranicama Gold Cup-a možemo vidjeti da je na popisu 19 posada iz Europe i obje Amerike, a među njima ima i vrlo zvučnih imena poput Robert Scheidta, Vasca Vascotta, Vasilija Žbogara, Paula Cayarda i naravno, naših jedriličara među kojima je trenutno najeksponiraniji Šime Fantela. Taj broj nije konačan jer je trenutno prijavljeno 48 nacija i samo treba malo pričekati dok se web stranica popuni sa svim aktualnim podacima. Pravilima je određeno da će ekipe biti sastavljene od po 11 članova, od čega će na jedrilicama biti po njih 9, a jedriličarima će na raspolaganju biti čak 12 jedrilica. Sad se dolazi do zanimljivog dijela, a to je po kojem kriteriju su se formirale posade. S obzirom da je ovo projekt SSL-a, neovisan o nacionalnim jedriličarskim savezima i olimpijskim odborima, glavni kriterij izbora sudionika, odnosno izbora kapetana tima je spomenuta SSL ljestvica. Po tom kriteriju našeg najbolje plasiranog jedriličara, Šimu Fantelu, SSL je postavio za kapetana ekipe, dok je on u dogovoru s Tončem Stipanovićem ulogu kormilara prepustio njemu. U skladu s tim ekipe nemaju status jedriličarskih reprezentacija, već npr, kao naša ekipa, imaju naziv SSL Team Croatia. Po pravilima svi članovi tima moraju biti iz iste nacije. Od toga njih sedam mora biti sa SSL rang ljestvice, dok četiri člana tima to ne moraju. U principu to su jedriličari koji nisu u malim klasama, a samim tim i na SSL ljestvici, ali zbog njihovih kvaliteta i iskustva kapetan želi da budu dio tima. Jedriličari koji su pozvani u hrvatski tim kao specijalisti van malih klasa su Antonio Arapović, Pave Pleslić i Marko Sorić. S druge strane u SSL ranking dijelu ekipe su uz Šimu Fantelu i Tonča Stpanovića još Filip Jurišić, Josip Olujić, Igor Marenić i Mihovil Fantela. To su jedriličari koji su odjedrili prvi trening ciklus u Švicarskoj prije dva tjedna, dok su dva mjesta još uvijek slobodna. FOTO: GILLES MORELLE Želja g.Niklausa je da sa sustavom koji organizira pokrene novu eru u jedrenju, u smislu da i jedriličari mogu ostvarivati profesionalne karijere kakve trenutno imaju tenisači, golferi, nogometaši te da posljedično dobiju cjenjeniji status u sportskom svijetu nego što ga sad imaju. Trenutno se cijela priča definira, a u nastavku bi jedriličari trebali dati svoj doprinos razvoju ideje i sistema natjecanja. Sustav natjecanja i priča koju je do sada razvijao s klasom Zvijezda je došla do svog maksimuma i kao slijedeći korak se nametnula ova nova priča. Za klasu u kojoj će se jedriti izabrao je jedrilice koje su trenutno RC44, ali do početka natjecanja napravit će se neke izmjene što na trupu što na podvodnim dijelovima jedrilice. Natjecanje počinje 2021. i jedrit će se svake 4 godine. Sad smo se vratili s pripremnog jedrenja na jezeru Neuchâtel u Švicarskoj. Tamo smo boravili u trening centru u malom mjestu Grandson u velikoj kući čiji je vlasnik g.Niklaus i koji je praktički cijeli svoj život podredio ovom projektu. Osim što nam je osigurao skoro pa idealne uvjete za treniranje ovaj put nam je pokrio i sve troškove da nam olakša ulazak u ovu priču. Šime Fantela, kapetan ekipe i taktičar Da bi sve ekipe imale jednake uvjete u ovom pripremnom razdoblju napravljen je raspored po kojem će se moći trenirati. Tako će naši momci i iduće godine imati ovu jedrilicu deset dana na raspolaganju. Broj dana za treninge nije svim posadama jednak, te se određuje po rankingu koji imaju pojedine nacije. Hrvatska je trenutno u sredini ljestvice, pa u skladu s tim definiran taj broj... slabije rangirani dobivaju više treninga, dok bolji imaju na raspolaganju jedrilice na kraći vremenski period. I na taj način se pokušava sve ekipe dovesti u jednak početni položaj, a kruna svega će biti ta fizička preinaka jedrilica, pa da se poništi prednost ekipama koje imaju priliku jedriti na RC-ovima i kad nisu u Švicarskoj na službenim treninzima. Da bi sve skupa bilo još više standardizirano na jedrilicama se neće moći mijenjati trimovi i sve jedrilice će ih morat imati jednake. SSL Team Croatia je u Grandsonu jedrio pet dana u ovoom pripremnom ciklusu i moram reći da me je g.Niklaus istinski oduševio. On je skoro svaki dan provodio s nama na treninzima, bio u gumenjaku, vodio računa o hrani, opremi... stvarno čovjek koji je u projekt ušao s cijelim srcem! Također me je impresionirala i sve što se nalazi u pozadini ovog projekta. Što na dijelu koji se bavi isključivo Star Sailor League-om, što s Gold Cup-om, stalno je zaposleno oko 130 ljudi! Od toga se svakodnevno rang ljestvicama bavi njih petorica. Stvarno jedan izniman trud, a ono što je jednako važno su temelji na koje je Michel postavio priču. Da bi osigurao dug vijek trajanja i neprekinutost, osnovao je fondaciju koja se brine isključivo o organizaciji ovih regata, jednako kao i s prikupljanjem financijskih sredstava za novčane nagrade natjecateljima. Filip Jurišić, floater Pozicije u kokpitu ovih jedrilica na kojima naši momci jedre nisu bile odmah definirane, već su se mijenjale i tražio se optimum. Posljednja kombinacija je bila slijedeća: kormilar: Tonči Stipanović taktičar: Šime Fantela trimer glavnog jedra: Mihovil Fantela trimeri prednjih jedara: Antonio Arapović i Igor Marenić grinder: Josip Olujić floater: Filip Jurišić pitman: Pave Pleslić bowman: Marko Sorić Natjecanje će trajati šest tjedana. Sustav je zamišljen da u prvom dijelu natjecanja sudjeluju lošije rangirane nacije i da pobjedama napreduju prema slijedećim stupnjevima gdje će ih dočekivati bolje rangirane. Sve regate će se jedriti na jezeru Neuchâtel, dok će se jedino finale jedriti na Ženevskom jezeru. FOTO: GILLES MORELLE Format natjecanja će biti flotni za četiri jedrilice u grupi. Svaki dan će jedriti po dvije grupe. Planirano trajanje plova je sat vremena i jedrit će se samo po jedan štapni plov na dan. Ukupno bi u jedan takav ciklus trebao trajati 7 dana. Na treninzima naše ekipe se desila nesreća koja je na kraju imala relativno sretan ishod. Tijekom drugog dana na treninzima i jedne pojalabande, Mihovila Fantelu je zahvatila škota glavnog jedra i bacila ga na nosač kormila. Nažalost nije uspio ublažiti pad rukama i udario je s dijelom trupa gdje se nalazi slezena. Nitko, pa ni Mihovil, nije posebno obratio pažnju na to, ali nakon pola minute počeo je osjećati da nešto nije u redu. Kako to biva s unutrašnjim ozljedama, vani nije bilo nikakvih masnica ili sličnih obilježja na mjestu udarca. Za svaki slučaj odmah se ukrcao na prateći gumenjak koji ga je odveo na kopno. U prvi mah na pregledu u bolnici nisu se vidjele nikakvi problemi, ali kad su stigli nalazi detaljnijih pretraga shvatilo se da je situacija alarmantna i odmah je odveden na operaciju na kojoj mu je uklonjena slezena. Srećom to mu neće prekinuti sportsku karijeru i moći će se nastaviti baviti vrhunskim sportom, samo što će morati iznimno paziti na infekcije i slične vanjske utjecaje s obzirom da je slezena filter koji štiti organizam od takvih štetnih utjecaja. READ MORE

NORTH SAILS DIVIDES AND CONQUERS AT THE NATIONS TROPHY Three Podium Sweeps, Two World Titles, and One European Champion 📸 Carlo Borlenghi The 2019 edition of the Nations Trophy crowned World Champions in the ClubSwan 50 and Swan 45, and both were North Sails clients. It also established the European Champions in the ClubSwan 42 (won by another North client) and the ClubSwan 36. North client Andrea Masi on Ulika* and Leonardo Ferragamo’s Cuordileone won the overall Nations Trophy, as the two teams from the same country that together scored the lowest total points. Clients also swept podiums in the ClubSwan 42, 45, and 50. Congratulations to ClubSwan 42 winners on Lorenzo Mondo’s Far Star in third, Alberto Franchi’s Digital Bravo in second, and Andrea Rossi’s Mela in first, winning the European title. And to Swan 45 winners Tea Ekengren-Sauren’s Blue Nights in third, Lennard Van Oeveren’s Automotions in second, and Klaus Diederich’s Fever in first, winning the World title. In the ClubSwan 50, the podium spots went to Sonke Meier Sawatzki’s Niramo* in third, Ross Warburton’s Perhonen in second, and Dmitry Ryboloblev’s Skorpios in first, winning the World title. In the debut of the new ClubSwan 36, clients on Pier Luigi Loro Piana’s Sease took second, Aci’s Go Racing in third, and Haakon Lorentzen’s Mamao in fourth. “Our clients put in a lot of time and effort, and it’s up to us to provide them with the best resources and make improvements where they are needed.” Loft experts and the Certified Service team at North Sails pitched in to help clients, both on and off the water. The service team worked late into each night making sure clients were ready for the next day of racing. North sales experts helped post great results on the race course. North Sails Sustainability Officer Fiona Bruce helped hand out prizes at the awards ceremony. Boat speed is what wins races, so leading up to the event North Designer Juan Meseguer helped his team on the winning ClubSwan 50, Skorpios evaluate every area of the boat. “We worked to improve settings and evaluate our sail inventory, and that helped us pinpoint what we could improve.” Rigging and sails are equal in the ClubSwan 50 fleet, so Juan knew small improvements would mean a lot. “One thing our team does exceptionally well is sail selection for each leg of the race,” he points out. “We acquired two new headsails, which helped our upwind game. What stood out in a big way was the combination of the right equipment and an outstanding crew. It was great to finish the season with the win at the Worlds.” Skorpios, ClubSwan 50 overall winner 📸 Carlo Borlenghi Onboard Fever, the class-winning Swan 45, expert Andrea Casale agrees that accurate sail selection before the start was a point of pride for the team. “On average, we race with our rig a bit softer, which provides a nice groove.” Another focus was the aggressive adjustments of their mast butt. “We have two settings, one for more than nine knots and one for less than nine knots. That was helpful to maintain the perfect luff curve with our 3Di RAW mainsail.” Fever’s boat speed helped the team’s confidence going into the last race, when only one point separated three boats at the top of the fleet. Owner Klaus Diederich told his team they had nothing to lose, reminding them that they had already won two races and could do it again. When Fever won the final race of the regatta too, it handed Andrea’s team the victory. “This regatta is the cherry on top to all the hard work each team has put in over the season,” Andrea says. “Our clients put in a lot of time and effort, and it’s up to us to provide them with the best resources and make improvements where they are needed.” Fever, Swan 45 World Champions 📸 Carlo Borlenghi 2019 Nations Trophy winning team member Daniele Cassinari sailed on the ClubSwan 50 Cuordileone and says preparation was the key to their success. “We started testing out new tuning settings early in the season and kept the same crew as last year, so we could focus on tuning and boat handling.” In a class that only allows a few sail cards per year, Daniele points to the value of 3Di’s durability. “We used the same set of sails for the entire season, and we won. Then we made a new set of sails– just for the Nations Trophy, which was another win! North Sails 3Di has proven to be the fastest sails on the water. Not just in the Swan Club 50, but also in the 45 and 42.” Cuordileone, overall Nations Trophy winner 📸 Carlo Borlenghi Onboard the winning Swan 42 Mela, Giovanni Cassinari says their team has been working hard on boat speed and strategy since they won last year’s Nations Cup. “Our crew works very well together, which gave us the one-up on our competition. We added a new light and medium headsail and a new A2 spinnaker for this event, and it made the difference. “Andrea Rossi, our owner, and his brother and part-owner Mario (who ran the pit), have put together a mixed crew with friends and family. That created a positive atmosphere that allowed us to replicate our 2018 victory. This year the racing was harder, so it was an honor to come back and win this event again.” “North Sails 3Di has proven to be the fastest sails on the water. Not just in the Swan Club 50, but also in the 45 and 42.” Regattas like the Nations Cup help push North experts to develop the best products for clients, concludes Giovanni. “The only way to test new ideas and concepts is to see them live–on the race track.” Mela, ClubSwan 42 European Champions 📸 Carlo Borlenghi READ MORE

IT ALL COMES BACK TO DETROIT Expert Spencer Colpaert Shares His Goals For Sailing In Detroit After moving around the country for the past seven years, taking some incredible opportunities to grow as both a sailor and sailmaker, I am very excited to be moving back to Detroit to continue my career in the sailmaking industry with North Sails. Along the way I had the chance to race in some of the top One Design classes like the J/70, Melges 24, 32, C&C30, and Farr 40’s, while also racing boats like the Maxi 86, TP52, Santa Cruz 70, and many other handicap classes along the way; and even some Classic Yacht racing on the R40 Gamecock, while I lived in Newport, RI. Over these past couple years I have been spending most of my time racing J/70’s down south over the winter months and racing TP52’s in the Great Lakes during the summer. For the J/70, I have been spending most of my time racing with Hanson Bratton from my home club in Detroit, Bayview Yacht Club, with a season highlight of our race win at Charleston Race Week in a class of 55 boats being the top one design class in the country. Our team has been sailing with Hanson for the past three years in both the J/70 and Tartan 10 classes, winning the T-10 North American Championship in 2017. The past two summer I have spent managing and racing on the TP52 with Phil and Sharron O’Neil on their boat Natalie J, also out of Bayview Yacht Club, and Chris Duhon on Mockingbird out of Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago. Having had great success with both programs working to fight off the newer built TP52’s racing both inshore W/L races and Offshore in the Mackinac Races. Moving forward with North Sails Detroit my plan is to focus on the grass roots sailing back in the Great Lakes. Be it local racing in Anchor Bay, helping to set up your boat for cruising with your family, or a boat owner looking to step their game up and bring home more wins, I want to help support local sailors in all dimensions of their sailing. You can most likely find me on a boat seven days a week, and I'm always around to help. The support I have seen from everyone at North Sails has given me great confidence that I have every tool necessary to support our customers at any level, from our local service staff of Mike and Bill (Bill was the one who first taught me the ins and outs of sail making when I started on the production loft floor twelve years ago!), to the design team, and management, there is not a question I can’t get answered or a piece of information that can’t be found. On top of all of that, we have a great new loft on Fonterra Dr. in Warren, MI that has been a dream to work out of. Being able to fit any size sail we need, even the Volvo 70 main we pulled out on the loft floor a few weeks ago, has been a dream. This fall if I am not out sailing with a customer looking at possible sail replacements, or what we need to do to re-cut a sail to make it back its original shape, you can find me at one of our many winter service sail pick up locations at Bayview Yacht Club, West Marine, Port Huron Yacht Club, or North Star Sail Club. I will also be out sailing the Fall Series Races in Anchor Bay out of North Star Sail Club. I am personally excited to be racing out of NSSC more now, as my fiancé and I are very excited to have recently joined the club becoming 3rd generation members. I am available year-round for all of your sail care needs, and I look forward to seeing everyone on the water in spring 2020. READ MORE

500th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST CIRCUMNAVIGATION History Repeats for Another Lap with North Sails On August 10th, 1519, 239 sailors led by Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan sailed five ships out of Seville, Spain, looking for a trading route to the west. When one of those ships finally returned to Spain three years later, it was the first scientific proof that the earth is a sphere. Next year, the 500th anniversary of that very first round-the-world voyage will be commemorated with a joint circumnavigation organized by the governments of Spain and Portugal, using their two most famous tall ships: Sagres and Juan Sebastián Elcano. North Sails will supply the sails for both vessels, a total of forty sails and 4,313 square meters of material. Top sails, jibs, and gaff sails have all been produced at North Sails in Cuntis, Spain, one of the only lofts in the world with enough space to handle such an enormous project. “The Cuntis team has spent countless hours on the loft floor for over two months manufacturing these sails, alongside our racing and other classic sail designs,” says local sales expert Manuel Lastra. “We have extensive experience in the manufacture of Tall Ship sails. But when I see the leather used to reinforce the sail corners, I think about Magellan’s crew. When there were food shortages over the four months it took to cross the Pacific, they had no other option than to eat the leather from the sails.” Magellan himself never made it home, and only 18 of the original crew completed the circumnavigation, returning under the leadership of Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano. Though Portugal’s Magellan has received most of the credit for the successful voyage, Spain and Portugal have organized this joint commemoration in part to recognize the important part the Spanish Elcano (and the Spanish king’s original funding) played. With plans for many events along the way, the voyage may last as long as the original circumnavigation. Already on the schedule are celebrations at the start and finish of the 2019 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. For more information, visit the 5th Centenary website. Looking for sails for your classic yacht or tall ship? Contact your local experts. READ MORE

DRAGON 90TH ANNIVERSARY REGATTA North Sails Expert Jens Christensen Wins Championship 📸 Elena Razina What does North Sails contribute to the Dragon class? “Our class experts go above and beyond for client support,” says North Expert Jens Christensen, who was the overall winner at the 90th Anniversary Regatta in San Remo, Italy. “Theis Palm and Ruairidh Scott do an outstanding job supporting the class and clients with their knowledge and expertise. We all compete regularly at events, and really do everything we can to help keep the class special yet competitive.” Jens is already looking forward to the 2020 racing season—even as he credits his team, new boat, and new sails for their most recent victory. To win the 90th Anniversary Regatta, he used the North Sails all-purpose A-14 mainsail, which is a crosscut sail with a radial head that allows the sail to twist open and de-power when needed. The design evolved out of the 2015 main used by 2017 and 2019 World Champions Provezza Sailing Team. “The new mainsail sets up easy and is simple to trim,” Jens explains. “It is smooth and a little flatter than our A-7+. This sail is a strong choice in light to medium wind conditions.” For tuning, “We follow the North Sails tuning guide, which helps put us right where we want to be.” They also used the V-6M Genoa and BR-9 Spinnaker. “Having a good team and a new boat may have something to do with it too!” Two qualifying races over the first two days divided the 163-boat fleet into Silver and Gold divisions, which each sailed three more races to determine a champion. Jens’ team won the first gold series race but posted a 24th in race two. Trusting both his team and their boatspeed, Jens rounded the top mark of the final race in fourth place. “We knew all we had to do was finish without making any big mistakes.” 📸 Elena Razina Jens has been involved in the Dragon Class for fourteen years, and he says the great competition is what keeps him coming back. “There were something like 22 Olympic medalists at this event, and we are all well-matched at the top. The Dragon Class always brings the best of the best in small boat one design sailing.” He also enjoys the boat itself, because “ it is technical and there are things you’d only know if you sailed one. It is a fun yet difficult boat to sail, and what makes it special is that the boat design has not changed over the years.” Another special feature of the 90th Anniversary event was the location. “San Remo hosted a fantastic event,” Jens concludes. “It is a traditional venue and the racing was top notch—as expected.” Interested in our Championship-winning Dragon sails? Contact your local North Sails Dragon expert today. Full Results 📸 Elena Razina READ MORE

NORTH SAILS AUX AVANT-POSTES Tréhin et Beccaria triomphent sur la 1e étape de la Mini-Transat Axel Tréhin et Ambrogio Beccaria, vainqueurs de la première étape 📸 North Sails / Julien Texier Cette première épreuve de la Mini-Transat La Boulangère s’est déroulée au coude à coude, mêlant conditions météo capricieuses et suspense jusqu’aux derniers milles ! Après plus de 8 jours de course au large en solitaire et une belle option tactique à l’approche des îles Canaries qui a fini par payer, Axel Tréhin à bord de Project Rescue Ocean (FRA 945, voiles North) franchit le premier la ligne d’arrivée en soufflant la victoire sur le fil à François Jambou (Team BFR- Marée Haute Jaune, FRA 865). Tandis que Tanguy Bouroullec (Cerfrance, FRA 969) complète le podium (classement prototype). En classement série, Ambrogio Beccaria sur Geomag (ITA 943, voiles North) a quasiment fait course en tête du début à la fin et s’adjuge une 1e place méritée, assumant parfaitement son rôle de favori. Par la même occasion, il décroche sur cette première étape le record des 24 heures overall avec 281 milles parcourus. Durant ces 1350 milles, de La Rochelle à Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, les conditions météo et situations tactiques ont donné du fil à retordre aux 87 marins en lice (dont huit femmes) avec deux fronts à négocier en début de parcours, un passage extérieur ou intérieur du DST délicat au niveau du cap Finisterre, du vent fort au portant, de la pétole, une fin d’étape très tactique à l’approche des îles Canaries. Il fallait donc aller vite, bien évidemment, mais il fallait aussi protéger l’Ouest. Et ce n’est pas sans mal que les coureurs sont parvenus à franchir cette série d’obstacles. Tous ont eu droit à leurs gros ou petits tracas quotidiens : black-out électroniques, voiles déchirées, tangons pliés en deux, aériens arrachés, drisses cassées... Le bilan de cette première épreuve de la Mini-Transat fait donc l’unanimité chez les coureurs : « Nous avons vécu une étape intense » physiquement et moralement, et avec de grosses frayeurs pour certains. Des compteurs affolés, des vitesses atteignant les 24 nœuds en proto, 19 en série, le tout au large en solitaire sur des petits bateaux de 6m50. L’heure est au débrief avec les coureurs et aux réparations. Pour l’occasion, North Sails assure un service sur place. Le départ de la seconde étape de la Mini-Transat aura lieu le 2 novembre à 13 heures, direction La Martinique. Alex Tréhin savourant sa victoire à Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 📸 North Sails / Julien Texier Résultats North Sails : Classement Proto : 1. Axel TREHIN (FRA 945) en 8 jours 17 heures 58 min et 28 sec Classement Série : 1. Ambrogio BECCARIA (ITA 943) en 8 jours 19 heures 52 min et 07 sec 2. Felix DE NAVACELLE (FRA 916) 3. Mathieu VINCENT (FRA 947, inventaire partiel) 7. Julien LETISSIER (FRA 868, inventaire partiel) READ MORE

NORTH SAILS SUPPORT ONE DESIGN RACING AT THE SAN DIEGO YACHT CLUB The Battle for the The International Masters And Lipton Cup Titles 2018 Lipton Cup 📸 JoySailing From October 18th to 27th, the J/105 fleet of the San Diego Yacht Club will be racing two consecutive events – the International Masters Regatta (October 18-20) and the Lipton Cup (October 25-27), proofing the well-earned reputation of the J/105s as one of the best One Design yachts for fun and evenly-matched competition. The boats will be raced by 11 different teams at each event. North Sails is proud to be an official sponsor. Our San Diego loft crew will be on site providing the North Sails outstanding service to all teams. “We go through all the sails to make sure all repairs are completed, battens are loaded and tensioned properly,” explains Eric Doyle, One Design expert at the North Sails San Diego loft. “Some years we replace the belly sections in the spinnakers to allow new sponsors to come on board. This involves the whole loft, from sales to service and the graphics department.” The North Sails San Diego team works closely with the San Diego Yacht Club to guarantee the success of the events. “Different people volunteer in lots of areas from tuning the boats to race committee, to even hosting out of town sailors, so pretty much everyone at the loft is involved in some way and that gives us a personal interest in making sure the sails are perfect,” Eric added. As the worldwide leader in sailmaking, North Sails is proud to offer a first-class service, with family members as committed to clients as the members of the San Diego loft. 2018 International Masters 📸 Alex Pupko/Tom Walker Two Events, Two Concepts, One Boat The International Masters Regatta is a three day battle between 11 Master sailors from around the country in a rotation of J/105s. It’s a very intense regatta for the invited skippers over the age of 60, including some of the most accomplished experts in the sport, such as Andy Roy and William Petersen, returning to better their 2nd and 3rd places respectively last year, or TV commentator and America’s Cup winner Gary Jobson. The Lipton Cup is a different concept. Eleven yacht clubs will battle for a trophy that dates back to the early days of yachting on the Pacific Ocean, circa 1900. Competition promises to be tight between the same yacht clubs that raced in 2018, returning to South San Diego Bay for a rematch. The San Diego Yacht Club will be defending their title in 2019. Both events share a fleet of eleven J/105s loaned from local owners. A popular class on the West Coast, the J/105 has all the ingredients for fair and even racing, especially with the system ruling that teams rotate boats between races. “It's a nice size, not too complicated, easy to sail and almost everyone at every level can be competitive at some point in a series like these, so that keeps it interesting for all participants,” explains Eric Doyle. For the Masters and Lipton Cup, the sails inventory onboard includes one main, jib and spinnaker. The mains have a slot to put the skippers’ name on for the spectators to follow, and the teams draw for spinnakers which stay with them from boat to boat. All sails are supplied by the organizer, and the North Sails San Diego loft team is responsible for making sure the material is always in perfect racing conditions. North Sails is the natural brand of choice for the San Diego Yacht Club and is the official partner for both the International Masters Regatta and Lipton Cup. “We have a strong history with the class, being involved with the sail development since the inception of the boat and organization of the class as primarily a one design race boat,” highlights Eric Doyle. “North Sails also uses the best materials and has the best workmanship of any sailmaker. In fact, when the SDYC first laid out the new format for the event, they were counting on getting five years out of mainsails and three for jibs. I believe they got two extra years out of both sails which is a testament to the quality.” To learn more about North Sails and the J/105 One Design class, click here. The North Sails J/105 sails inventory is available here. For more information about the North Sails San Diego loft, click here. 2018 Lipton Cup 📸 JoySailing READ MORE

Lifelong sailor sailor Jim Bacon tells us about his Catalina 36, which he's shared with boat partner Ted Ingling and has been sailing with since high school, and the journey to new sails. READ MORE

10. Gajeta kup - pobjedničko jedro je NS Desetu godinu za redom murterini rade nešto što je totalno neuobičajeno u našim jedriličarskim krugovima, odnosno možda bi bolje bilo reći u krugovima vlasnika tradicionalnih drvenih brodova. Riječ je o regati na klasičan sportski način postavljanjem regatnog polja u obliku štapa i s obaveznom predstartnom procedurom s pripadajućim letećim startom. S obzirom na manevarske mogućnosti gajeta ovo je vrlo zanimljiva i zahtjevna disciplina pogotovo s obzirom na potrebe viravanja i sličnih manevara kad se značajnije mijenja smjer kretanja. Naime, u klasičnim regatama, a i u normalnom jedrenju, kad je potrebno promijeniti smjer jedrenja u orcu mora se koristiti veslo. U tim trenucima jedrilice značajno usporavaju i to je posao koji ne može kvalitetno odraditi samo jedan član posade, pogotovo u žaru regate. Ove godine je na Gajeta kupu sudjelovalo 11 gajeta. Deset murterskih i jedna tišnjanska registracija koje se mogu naći u vrhu rezultatskih ljestvica ostalih regata koje su se organizirale na početku sezone. FOTO: VLATKA MALEŠ Polje je postavljeno u murterskom zaljevu, jedrila su se dva kruga po plovu i ukupno su odjedrena dva plova. Više informacija o regati ispričao je jedan od organizatora, Ante Turčinov: Puhalo nam je 10-12 čvorova bure, polje je bilo postavljeno doli od Luka, pa gore do ferala od Tegine, duljine malo manje od polja milje. IMali smo klasičan leteći start. Sudac je signalizirao početak procedure na 5 minuta, pa 4, jednu i na kraju start. Sve bove smo okretali lijevim bokom i polje nam je bilo vrlo jednostavno, orca bez offseta i krma bez gatea. Unatoč tome nije bilo gužvi na bovama i samo smo imali jedan protest koji je na kraju sporazumno riješen. Svaki plov nam je u prosjeku trajao oko 45 minuta, u stvari toliko je trebalo mojoj ekipi dok su ostali trebali nešto više vremena. Trtuša je i ovaj put bila najbrža. Prvi plov smo ih sve ostavili za jednu stranicu, a drugi plov za oko pola stranice. Stvarno smo bili brzi, a jedrenje općenito je bilo super... čisto i bez problema. Mislim da je bio samo jedan jedini protest, a i on je kasnije na saslušanju odbačen. Nije bilo nesportskih poteza, stvarno korektno jedrenje. A i nije bilo gužvi na bovama, svi su dolazili čisto. Mislim da je samo jednom bila mala gužva na orci i to je sve. Još moram reći da je od 11 posada prvih 6-7 sigurno prošlo kroz JK Žal i da sudjeluje i na regatama krstaša. Ante Turčinov, gajeta Trtuša Do sada je ovakva regata bila samo jednom godišnje, a za iduću godinu se još ne zna da li će biti možda nekih promjena po tom pitanju. Trenutno udruga "Latinsko idro" od svibnja ima novu upravu. Javljaju se neke nove ideje, ali još uvijek je to u fazi razmjene mišljenja i diskusije, pa nam ostaje da se strpimo do nove kalendarske godine kad izađu u javnost s kalendarom događanja za 2020. i eventualnim novitetima. Posljednjih 22 godine koliko Udruga djeluje, Latinsko idro nije imalo svoje službene prostorije. Ta nasušna potreba se napokon realizirala prije nekoliko dana kad su od murterske župe Sv.Mihovila dobili na korištenje malenu kuću u blizini centra, a koju je župi ostavila jedna starija gospođa koja je umrla bez nasljednika. Potrebna su određena ulaganja u prostor, pa su trenutno u razradi aktivnosti koje je potrebno napraviti da bi se prikupila potrebna financijska sredstva. Riječ je o dvoetažnoj kućici u kojoj se u prizemlju planira urediti odgovarajući promotivno izložbeni prostor, dok se na katu planira urediti prostor nužan za obavljanje administrativnih aktivnosti, organiziranje sastanaka i sve ono što je potrebno za rad i sastanke. Među svim aktivnostima Udruge možda posebno treba izdvojiti Školu jedrenja na gajetama. Njen rad počinje u svibnju kad se ide na "pravu" Gospu od Tarca u Kornatima. Pok. Željko Jerat, začetnik ove priče u Murteru, je prije 8 godina inicirao da se gajetom Kurnataricom murterska djeca za taj blagdan voze u Kornate. Nakon toga se zakotrljala priča sa školom u kojoj praktički svi pomažu i uskaču po potrebi. Treninzi se rade po dva puta tjedno, a kad se približava termin Male Gospe i veslačka regata tako se osim jedrenja u treninge ubaciva i veslanje. Svake godine broj polaznika raste, a ove godine je bio toliki da je osim Kornatarice na treninzima znalo biti i još po dvije gajete pune djece! Službene rezultate regate možete pronaći na ovom linku. READ MORE

QUICKCOVER INSTALLATION GUIDE North Sails QuickCover makes storing and protecting your mainsail a simple and easy process, eliminating the need for a cumbersome sail cover. Following these steps will ensure that your QuickCover is properly installed and will be easy to handle. Step 1- Attach Clew and Foot Slide the sail’s clew slug into the boom, followed by the bolt rope on the foot of the cover. The sail and cover should slide all the way to the end of the boom and attach to the outhaul. If the sail has reef slots in the foot, run the reefing lines inside the cover. NOTE: If your boom has a clew car then there is no need to worry about bending on the main and cover at the same time. Simply install the cover and flake it out on either side of the boom. Step 2 -Attach the Tack and Luff Slides Once foot and clew are in place, attach the tack and install the luff cars/slugs into the mast. After the tack and luff are secured, install the battens into the pockets on the inside of the QuickCover. Zip the cover from the clew to the mast and you are now ready to install the Lazy-Jacks. Step 3- Install Cheek Blocks on the Mast Installing the cheek blocks will require sending someone approximately 65% of the way up the mast, which is where the cheek blocks (supplied) will be installed. You will need a center punch, a drill fitted with a 5/32 bit, a few 5/32 pop rivets (supplied), and a pop rivet gun. Mark the location of the cheek block on the side of the mast, slightly more than halfway aft. Use the center punch to pre-locate the holes, drill, and install with supplied pop rivets. The Lazy-Jack lines lead through the cheek blocks from aft to forward. When you come down the mast, the Lazy-Jacks should be led down the backside of the mast. Make sure they are aft of the spreaders. Step 4- Adjust Lazy Jacks and Install Padeyes Pull the Quickcover up into place where it will sit when the main is dropped, and tension both sides of the Lazy-Jacks evenly. Install the supplied padeyes at the forward upper end of the cover and at a 45-degree angle, about the same distance aft as the cheek blocks. Tie the line attached through the webbing into the padeyes. Step 5- Install the Lazy Jacks Cleat Once the foot and clew are in place, attach the tack and install the luff cars/slugs into the mast. After the tack and luff are secured, install the battens into the pockets on the inside of the QuickCover™. Zip the cover from the clew to the mast and you are now ready to install the Lazy-Jacks. Step 6- Lazy-Jack Fine Tune Lace the line at the tack through the gooseneck fitting. The forward edge of the QuickCover should be even with the backside of the mast. Once the tack is tied securely, tension the cover from the clew by running the line on the bottom of the cover through the back of the boom. Usually there is a hole or shackle that can be used for this. If you have a topping lift, tie the line on the top aft corner around the topping lift to keep the top of the cover tight. If you don’t have a topping lift, the cover will still work fine; the aft lift for the Lazy Jack provides ample support. Don’t forget to rig reef lines and run them through the slots along the foot. Step 7- Install The Front Cover This separate piece is removed for sailing. NOTES To reduce flutter in the QuickCover while sailing, zip together the two sides. Lazy Jacks will work best when you hoist or drop the main with the bow pointed directly into the wind. READ MORE

FALL SERVICE COLLECTION We're Here For All Your Sail Care Needs We're coming to you to make it easier than ever for fall service and winter storage. It's time for some TLC for your sails that have done a lot this season. Pick Up Times & Locations Crowley's Yacht Yard | November 16 Larsen Marine | October 21 What Does This Include? Your sails will receive our trademark 10 point inspection: Inspect head, tack, clew and reef attachments. Inspect webbing & hardware for chafe and UV damage. Inspect hand stitching. Inspect luff tapes and luff attachments. Inspect for chafe at external hardware contact points at spreaders, shrouds, stanchions etc. Inspect leech line, foot line and attachment system. Inspect sail for UV damage and proper furling side (if applicable). Inspect batten pocket ends, attachments and fit (if applicable). Inspect sail body for condition of cloth, seams, sail numbers, draft stripes and windows. Replace or add telltales (complimentary). Inspect miscellaneous gear: Spinnaker Snuffer line and hoop, mainsail external flaking system, headsail vertical battens, UV covers, etc. Inspect sailbag draw string, zippers, web straps, and label properly. Sail report, 10 checkpoints, comments One Year Free Sail Care Recently purchased a sail within the past year? Congratulations – not just on your sail but also your sail qualifying for One Year Free Sail Care; another standard from North Sails. We proudly offer one year of sail care and repair free with the purchase of a new Cruising, Club racing or One Design sail. This program is honored anywhere in North Sails worldwide network of sales and service locations. Annual Inspection Annual inspection of your sails will help extend the sail life and maintain performance, don’t compromise! When your sails arrive, a member of our service team will thoroughly inspect your sails and identify any maintenance issues with recommendations on how to proceed to maintain their longevity. This service is standard across any North Sails loft due to our unmatched worldwide network means you get the same quality service whether you’re at home or in a distant port. Recommendations regarding UV replacements, re-cuts and sail washing are available; we do it all! Expertise At Your Fingertips Beyond this, the crew at North Sails Chicago are available to help with all your related sail care needs! You can speak with Perry or Keith about upgrading your sails or with Luke on how to best take care of your sails including short and long term storage. Deanna will be at the loft from 10am-2pm on Saturday November 2nd and November 9th for any customers who want to drop off sails. READ MORE

PURSUING PERFORMANCE North Sails Experts Provide Preparation and Performance Insight At Inaugural Seminar Twenty five sailors joined North Sails' Sales Experts Peter Grimm & Bob Meagher for the inaugural Performance Seminar in Miami at Coral Reef Yacht Club. Focused on big-picture strategies for the various races of the South Ocean Racing Conference (SORC), the seminar featured discussions around examining race charts, sail options, and safety precautions. "The SORC offers challenging and enjoyable racing for sailors of all types," said Bob Meagher. "Casual day-sailers can race alongside some of the most amazing grand-prix boats on the water, and then have fun in places like Key West, Nassau, and Eleuthera." In addition to the seminars, North Sails in Ft Lauderdale is offering registrants in any of the races a free in-loft sail inspection to identify any problems with existing sails, or opportunities to improve them. Chafe points or sun damage that could become tears can jeopardize the time and money spent planning for a race. Professional sail inspection by our Certified Service experts can reduce this risk and ensure you leave the dock with the most reliable sails possible. Recuts are also available for older sails. Registration is now open for all SORC events, and the early entry deadline for the Nassau Cup Ocean Race is approaching. The next North Sails Performance Seminar is scheduled for October 23 at the Palm Beach Sailing Club. Register below and secure your space. READ MORE

BOATATHALON 2019 Boat Trivia, Navigation, and Murder Mystery What does a murder mystery, intrigue, bribes, outright lies, boat trivia, navigation and boating skills all have in common? Boatathalon! Every year in September—for the past 20 or so years South Florida Sailing and Boating Clubs have come together for an amazing and adventurous day on the water. But for those of you who might be scratching your head saying, “what the heck is Boatathalon," well here’s your answer. Each year over 100 people come together to decorate their boats in a whimsical fashion. Participants dress up in costumes related to the event’s theme and then compete in a series of adventures on the water. There are serious prizes at stake too. Boats from as far north as West Palm Beach and south to Miami participated this year’s theme…"Murder on the Seas". The suspense grows…a mega yacht named Horizon Flybridge (a make believe name even if there is a boat named that way) leaves Miami with a guest crew of eight and service crew of seven. They are making their way to West Palm Beach where they are heading to attend a gala affair a couple of doors north of Mar-a-Lago. What all of the crew doesn’t know is one person is trying to murder someone else aboard. Each stop presents a new opportunity for the murderer to make their move. Boatahalon’s theme is arranged to parallel the physical event and with that there are many twists along the way. One we thought to share was Boatathalon participants had to make breakfast/brunch foods in the shape of murder weapons. Participants brought everything from grenade-shaped pancakes to breakfast sausages wrapped to look like sticks of dynamite. Food was judged on taste and creativity and an award was given for “Best Murder-Shaped Food”. There were many other activities and skill sets…enough to make a very windy day challenging but super fun. North Sails loves to help people have fun on their sailboats, even in zany nontraditional ways like this, and was proud to be a sponsor of this annual floating party! A big thanks to Brian Brown for organizing a fun event that we all enjoyed! READ MORE

Novi početak Flying Dutchmana FOTO: ĐANI CELIJA Za vikend od 4. do 6. listopada prekinuta je suša koja je trajala dugih 27 godina, naime toliko dugo nije održani državno prvenstvo klase Leteći Holandez. Drugim riječima ovo je bilo tek drugo Prvenstvo Hrvatske organizirano za ovu klasu! Domaćini, ujedno i organizatori, regate bili su članovi JK Vega iz Pule, a glavni i odgovorni posada objedinjena pod imenom Bole i Fudo Racing inače u službenim dokumentima poznati kao Boško Čelić i Nadan Kosanović. Riječ je o trenutno našoj najaktivnijoj posadi. Flying Dutchman je klasa koju su 1951. dizajnirali nizozemci Uus Van Essen i Conrad Gulcher. Duljina trupa je 6.06m, masa 130kg, jedri se u dvoje, opremljena je s jedrom, flokom i spinakerom i postiže fantastične brzine i u orcu i u krmu.Od 1960. godine i olimpijade u Rimu postaje olimpijska klasa i ovaj prestižni status drži do Barcelone 1992. kad se posljednji put na njoj jedrilo na najvećoj sportskoj smotri. Naravno, nakon tog izostavljanja s olimpijskih popisa klasa nije iščeznula, već je nastavila i dalje s radom, samo što sad u njoj prevladavaju jedriličari starijih dobnih skupina. I dalje se održavaju kontinentalna i svjetska prvenstva, a dvojac Čelić - Kosanović je ove godine sudjelovao i na Europskom prvenstvu koje se jedrilo na Balatonu. Da se ne bi krivo razumjelo, u ovih 27 godina, koliko se nije organiziralo PH ipak je bilo regata organiziranih u Hrvatskoj, a svakako treba izdvojiti Europska prvenstva koja su se organizirala u Rapcu 2008. i u Umagu 2015. To je vrijeme kad je Hrvatska imala jednu vrlo perspektivnu i ozbiljnu posadu u vidu braće Tina i Robina Matulje. Oni su nastavili obiteljsku tradiciju koju je započeo njihov otac Ferdo Matulja. On je osamdesetih godina bio član nacionalne selekcije tadašnje države i čak tri puta bio kandidat za olimpijsku reprezentaciju. Njih dvojica se prestaju aktivno baviti klasom 2015. godine zbog Tinove ozljede leđa, tada prodaju svoju jedrilicu i ulaze u fazu FD apstinencije koja je trajala do proteklog vikenda. Za ovu regatu su dobili poziv organizatora, uspijevaju pronaći jedrilicu i priključuju se hrvatskom timu koji je za ovu regatu bio sastavljen od ukupno četiri posade. Osim ove dvije posade na PH u Puli jedrila su još dva hrvatska tima. Antun Vuletić i Igor Šepić na regatu stižu iz Rijeke, dok snage kluba domaćina pojačavaju Andrea Battistin i Dren Dejanović. I u još jednoj posadi smo imali predstavnika, a to je bio Andrej Hinić koji je jedrio u kombinaciji s grkom Ioannisom Remoundosom. Ukupno je bilo deset posada. Uz spomenute hrvatske i hrvatsko - grčke kombinacije, predstavnike su imale Mađarska, Švicarska, Njemačka, Slovenija i Poljska. Kao što je to običaj s višeljudnijim i ekonomski jačim nacijama u mnogim drugim klasama, tako je i u Flyingu. Najviše jedrilica ove klase je u Njemačkoj, dok je i na Balatonu impozantna flota, jednako kao i na svakom većem jezeru na starom kontinentu i u svakom većem klubu na sjevernim europskim obalama. Priprema za ovaj članak je napravljena u razgovoru s g.Kosanovićem i ono što je posebno isticao u više navrata je to da je jedrenje na Flyingu, slično Šljukama koje se kod nas također vraćaju na scenu, i sama regata događaj u kojem više dolazi do izražaja pristup u stilu života, nego što do izražaja dolazi natjecateljski naboj i forsiranje rezultata. Vrijeme nam je bilo full dobro. Stvarno su uvjeti bili savršeni. Kad smo bili na Balatonu Švicarci su nas pitali kakvo će vrijeme biti u Puli. Morao sam im obećati da će biti vjetrovito i evo ispao sam čovjek koji ispunjava obećanja :) Prvi dan smo imali petnaestak čvorova neke grbinade koja je išla na maestral. Malo je miješalo, nije bilo konstantno, ali se lijepo jedrilo. Drugi dan smo odjedrili dva plova po laganom jugu i u nedjelju smo imali 25 čvorova bure. Uglavnom svi su veseli i prezadovoljni, ekipa već sama među sobom komentira da ovdje bez problema možemo organizirati EP ili SP bez ikakvih problema. Moram spomenuti da je s nama bila i jedna mađarica, starija gospođa od preko 70 godina, koja više od 30 godina obnaša različite funkcije u klasi. Sama je sjela u auto i dovezla se iz Mađarske u Pulu, a glavni motiv joj je bila želja da ponovno u klasi vidi braću Matulja. Bila je s nama cijelo vrijeme, s Regatnim odborom, a kad je bilo proglašenje pobjednika i kad su se Matulje popeli na postolje kao viceprvaci počela je plakati. A koliko je i njima dvojici ovaj rezultat bio drag govori i to da su bili konstantno u top 10 na svijetu desetak godina, a nikad nisu imali prilike postati prvaci Hrvatske jer nije bilo uvjeta za organiziranje istog. A njih dvojica nisu jedrili 4 godine u ovoj barci. Za regatu su je posudili u Mamića i da im nisu pucali boceli i dešavali se neki takvi tehnički problemi bili bi prvi. Stvarno lijepa i posebna priča. Poanta svega ovog je to da je ovo poseban đir ljudi koji uživaju u tome što rade. Nije bilo niti jednog protesta. Protesti ovdje ne postoje! Kako mi je rekao jedan talijan na Balatonu: "This is gentleman class!". Mislim, uvijek se u žaru borbe dogode neke situacije, ali sve se to rješava na moru ili eventualno uz pivu na povratku. Nadan Kosanović, JK Vega FOTO: ĐANI CELIJA Ako je nekog nakon čitanja ovog teksta zainteresiralo jedrenje u FD-u možda se malo pokoleba zbog cijene nove jedrilice. Ako se želi kupiti novi trup, kompletno opremljen, mora se spremiti na popriličan iznos od 45.000€, ali naravno, kao i u mnogim drugim klasama uvijek se može naći polovan brod i opremiti ga za mnogo manje novca. Posebna karakteristika Flyingova trupa je konstrukcija koja ima dvodno. To mu je garancija za strukturalnu čvrstoću i trajnost mnogo veću nego npr. od 420 i 470, jedrilica sličnog koncepta. Znači, ne dolazi do torzija i izvitoperenosti trupova niti nakon deset i više godina. Kao primjer trajnosti i kvalitete može se spomenuti da su ovogodišnji Europski vicceprvaci, njemačka posada, braća Borowski (bivši olimpijci i svjetski prvaci u 470) jedrili na trupu iz 1994. godine, a jedra su im bila stara 4 godine. Zaključak je da su najvažniji trim i taktika. Jednako tako braća Matulja su na ovom PH jedrili na jedrilici iz 1991. Inače ta jedrilica se upisala u povijest kao posljednja koja je pobijedila u plovu na Olimpijskim igrama, a kormilar je bio Slovenac Kosmina. Klasa je tehnički dosta zahtjevna i dozvoljava eksperimente s mnogim idejama. Npr. jarbol se može trimati i za vrijeme jedrenja u orcu. Peraja osim što standardno ide gore - dolje, ima mogućnost da se namješta naprijed - natrag. Prilikom jedrenja u orcu peraja se podiže za jednu četvrtinu i ponaša se kao daska za jedrenje. Zato u orcu u kombinaciji velike genove i trima peraje može postizati velike brzine i glisirati. Ali da se vratimo regati. Nakon tri dana jedrenja i sedam odjedrenih plovova (s jednim odbacivanjem) pobjeda odlazi u ruke mađarske posade Suli - Papp, dok su braća Matulja drugi u tvorenom dijelu regate i prvaci Hrvatske u zatvorenom dijelu bodovanja. Posada Kosanović - Čelić su peti u generalnom plasmanu i drugi u Hrvatskoj, a Vuletić i Šepić regatu završavaju kao deveti, dok su Battistin i Dejanović deseti, odnosno 3. i 4. u Hrvatskoj. Kompletne rezultate regate možete pronaći na ovom linku. Fotogalerije i ostalo možete pronaći na Bole i Fudo Racing. READ MORE

TP SEASON KEEPS GLENFIELD LOFT BUSY It’s been a busy winter for the team at North Sails New Zealand’s Glenfield loft, with more than 6 tonnes of new sails heading out the door TP 52 'Phoenix' Head sailmaker Casey Bellingham, who specialises in upwind sails, says the loft has been busy making race sails for the northern hemisphere TP 52 Super Series, which has seen an intense season of racing in Spain, Portugal and Italy. The NZ loft alone, has finished nearly 100 TP sails this year, including all the sails for Hasso Plattner’s Phoenix 11 and Phoenix 12 and the Sled, Bronenosec and Alegre teams, as well as producing sails for IRC TP 52s such as Hooligan, Ichi Ban, Team Hollywood, Envy Scooters and Beau Geste, and Pacific 52s Invisible Hand and Rio. North Sails made sail inventories for all, but two boats in this years Super Series. "Every team requires small custom details, and that is what we do well", Bellingham says. The majority of the TP sails are made from North 3Di RAW 880 cloth, a blend of carbon, aramid and Ultra PE fibres, which provides a high level of shape stability and strength in a lightweight sail. "This is a product that North has been developing over the past few years," Bellingham says. "Everything superfluous has been stripped out of the structure so these sails are much lighter, which is what every sailor wants. It’s not only an advantage on the water but also makes them much easier to handle in the loft." For example, the 3Di RAW 880 headsail for Fast 40 Team Hollywood, on which North Sails sales and marketing manager Andrew Wills sailed at Hamilton Island, weighed 10% less than our previous 3Di headsail, but had even more useful structure. At the conclusion of the end of this season, designers and sailors will have a performance review, working out how the concept can be refined for even more gains. The team is now working on major orders in preparation for the Sydney–Hobart race in December, and the superyacht season. Among them are sails for Wild Oats and Black Jack, and a suit of sails for the 34 metre Sassafrass, including a mainsail with a 37 metre luff, in preparation for January’s Millennium Cup event in the Bay of Islands. Wills says having Bellingham’s nearly 30 years of expertise in the loft has made the busy production season run smoothly. "Casey has such a wealth of experience, and he really takes the young sailmakers under his wing and teaches them a lot," Wills says. "It’s great for everyone that he and the other highly experienced sailmakers here are able to share that knowledge and pass on their passion for making great sails." READ MORE

Representatives from North Sails New Zealand were in the crowd watching the race boat, christened Te Aihe or 'Dolphin', hit the water on a rainy Friday morning at Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour. "It was an amazing thing to witness," North Sails New Zealand sales and marketing manager Andrew Wills says. READ MORE

I s 88. Mrduje naši klijenti se zadovoljni vraćaju doma Odnos LOA dvije prve jedrilice, odnosno pobjedničkog slovenskog super maxija Way of Life i Matine Fatamorgane iz skupine 4 je 23.99m : 9.98m. Stvarno ogromna razlika, a ono što im je zajedničko je da su dijelom opremljeni North Sails jedrima. Naravno, u pitanju je Mate Arapov iz JK Mornar koji se vrlo dobro držao za vrijeme cijele regate do otočića Mrduje i natrag, pogotovo u prvom dijelu kad je držao priključak za Gašparom Vinčecom i njegovim gigantom koji je vrlo vjerojatno jedna od najvećih, ako ne i najveća, jedrilica koja je jedrila na ovoj tradicionalnoj regati. Riječ je o 88. izdanju ove najstarije regate s hrvatske strane Jadrana, a za čiju realizaciju i održavanje tradicije je zaslužan JK Labud iz Splita. Sudionici regate su podijeljeni u 13 skupina, a organizator na svojim web stranicama barata s impozantnom brojkom od 162 jedrilice koje su presjekle startnu liniju. Uvjeti na moru nisu bili nimalo naklonjeni prosječnim sudionicima, odnosno jedrilicama koje nisu ultra lagane i s jarbolom među oblacima. Na startu je bilo najvjetrovitije, a puhalo je svega nekoliko čvorova s kojima su se vodeći odmah izdvojili od ostatka flote. Osim spomenutog dvojca u samom vrhu je jedrio i Shining, maxi jedrilica koja prvi put na Mrduji nastupa pod crnogorskom zastavom. Spomenuta trojka je startala s desne strane linije, ali tijekom jedrenja prema Splitskim vratima pokrili su sva tri moguća pravca. Shining je otišao pod Brač, Way of Life je uspješno održavao rutu kroz sredinu polja, dok je Fatamorgana malo otklizala pod Šoltu. Na kraju se ta strana polja, u tom dijelu regate, pokazala najlošijom, jer je Shining mnogo brže jedrio s nekim povjetarcem koji je puhao uz Brač. Do Mrduje ipak prvi uspijeva stići Way of Life, dok je Shining bio iza njega na nekoliko dužina. Kako je Mrduja bila pomoćni cilj zabilježena su i vremena obilazaka na tom mjestu. Sat, 54 minute i 29 sekundi je trebalo prvom do ovog mjesta, a drugoplasirani su kasnili za njima minutu i 57 sekundi, dok su trećeplasirani Mrduju obišli 20 minuta i 39 sekundi nakon Shininga. Radili smo stvarno puno zadnjih mjesec dana oko broda. Promijenili smo timun i kolombu i bilo je posla za poluditi, ali pokazalo se da to kao cjelina dobro radi! Posada je bila odlična. Jedrili smo maksimalno fokusirani, forsirali smo cijelo vrijeme s tim da sam znao otprilike što će nam se dogoditi na ulazu u vrata, ali bilo nam je bitno da držimo kontakt s velikima. Nismo mogli ići skroz na Brač, već nas je odnijelo na Šoltu i tu smo izgubili taj priključak. Ali smo super zadovoljni. Povratak je bio skroz dobar. Kad smo izašli iz Vrata vjetar je skroz pao i otišli smo lijevo na maestralić, ali smo iz vrata izašli po nekom sjevernom vjetru i očekivali smo da će vjetar u jednom trenutku prebaciti na južni smjer. Tada smo zaobišli Shininga i na kraju smo došli paralelno s Way of Life, ali protiv njega nismo mogli. Njima je dovoljno da posada malo prošeta po palubi i oni dobiju dovoljan poriv za nastavak. Mi smo se mučili, ali nije išlo. Sve u svemu je bilo dobro i cijela posada je zadovoljna. Mate Arapov, Fatamorgana Što se tiče ostalih aktera regate iz prvih redova tu treba istaknuti Overloada koji se držao lijeve strane sredine polja i do Brača je u nekim trenucima bio i ispred Shininga. Također se i jedini splitski TP52, Polet Furioso, istinski trudio držati priključak. Ova ekipa je izabrala Bračku stranu, ali kasnije se prebacuju pod Šoltu i kao četvrti obilaze Mrduju. Kroz sredinu je nekoliko minuta kasnije, praktički iz drugog plana, na visoko 5. mjesto dojurio kralj bonace, Full Pelt. 90% ostalih jedrilica je prema Mrduji jedrila desnom stranom polja, a karavana se rastegnula skoro od Čiova... Vremensko ograničenje je postavljeno na 7 i pol sati, tako da se jedrenje moralo završiti do 18:30. Kompletnu regatnu rutu koja je završavala ispred "galebova" uspješno je odjedrilo samo 12 jedrilica! Njih je do kraja predvodio Way of Life, a na drugo mjesto se probila Fatamorgana. Vremena ulaska u pravi cilj Mrduje su slijedeća: Way of Life - 04:57:02 (partly NS inventory) Fatamorgana - 05:49:17 (partly NS inventory) Shining MM - 06:23:20 Full Pelt - 06:44:44 (partly NS inventory) Polet Furioso - 06:45:44 (partly NS inventory) Overload - 06:54:53 (partly NS inventory) Furiosa 2 - 07:00:35 Gringo 2 - 07:03:47 (partly NS inventory) Bare V - 07:07:26 (full NS inventory) Arhimed - 07:20:22 My May - 07:25:38 (full NS inventory) Magnum x3 - 07:29:30 Prolaske ostalih jedrilica oko Mrduje i plasmane po grupama možete pronaći u službenim rezultatima, a iduća velika regata koju organizira JK Labud je 75. Viška regata čiji Oglas možete pronaći na ovom linku. READ MORE

ALL NEW ELLIOTT 5.9 INVENTORY FOR 2020 North Sails Announces Winning Inventory With the change to 3Di Raw 330 sails in the Elliott 5.9 class, we were eager to talk to the current New Zealand National Champion, Craig Satterthwaite about how his team achieved multiple victories using the new One Design sails. After the E5.9 Association announced a new model of boat, Craig caught the bug and raced at various venues which is how his team R&R came to be six year ago. Along with teammate Bart, Craig is from Auckland and first sailed an Elliot 5.9 in the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Youth Training Programme. The team made sure to have plenty of fun both off and on the water, which is another reason why the E5.9 Class is appealing to Craig. Not only are B&B current National champions, they are impressive five-time National champions in a competitive fleet which ranges from 12-18 boats. Craig credits these multiple victories to having a strong crew. “Having a good crew is important. We have been together for a while so we’ve learned a lot from our mistakes and we know what works for us. We worked really hard on turning light air sailing into a strength which is not that easy when we always seem to be the heaviest crew!’’ Since using the new 3Di RAW sails for the past two Nationals, Craig has noticed key differences in the performance and handling of the sails, finding the decrease in material stretch leading to a change in sail stability: “When a puff hits, we accelerate rather than heel. 3Di sails are also easier to set the rig up for – it is very easy to change modes from the high slow to the lower fast mode and 3Di sails are easier than panelled sails to set up.’’ “When a puff hits, we accelerate rather than heel and it is easy to change modes from high slow to the lower fast mode.’’ Sailing with a full North inventory, Craig and the team used the new MNi-1 Mainsail which has been designed to make maximum sail area and to be easier to trim. B&B used the new-design 3Di RAW Light/All-Purpose/Heavy Jibs alongside the AP Spinnaker and flatter VMG Spinnaker designed for lighter airs. Craig explains how he felt the 3Di RAW sails responded to a mix of wind strengths: “With the stability and stiffness of the 3Di RAW sails, it is very easy to change gears as the wind increases. Rig tension becomes less important as the sails do not stretch. We are very happy with the sail quality – we sailed in big winds and saw no signs of material or shape damage.’’ Craig and the team onboard B&B are soon to challenge the fleet during the Omaha Regatta, with the New Zealand Nationals coming up at the end of the season. Craig Satterthwaite (4247) sailing well upwind with the nicely trimmed new-design MNi-1 Mainsail READ MORE

FAR NIENTE WINS THE FARR 40 WORLDS Brun & Freides Create The Winning Combination Long time North Sails legend Vince Brun and his boat partner (and long-time friend) Drew Freides put together a strong program for the 2019 Farr 40 World Championship and sailed brilliantly to come away with a win over a talented international field in Long Beach, CA. Over a wide variety of conditions in the eleven-race regatta, team Far Niente showed great boat speed, excellent tactics, and solid starts to take the victory over last year’s champion Strungie Light from Germany. Competitors from Australia, Germany, Canada, Uruguay, Great Britain, Mexico and the US enjoyed a great week of racing in Southern California in a total of fourteen teams. The Prep Vince and Drew have had the boat for several years, but did only a few local regattas in the San Diego Bay area. When the World Championship was awarded to Long Beach Yacht Club, a team was assembled, a work list was started, and sails were ordered. Two weekends of training and tuning were set up but not a lot of fleet racing was done until just before the event started. The trimming team of Vince, John Hayes, Eric Doyle and Charlie Smythe worked very hard to improve the rig tune, boat handling, and trimming techniques throughout the whole event. Under the watchful eye of coach Ed Adams, changes and improvements were being made right up until the last day. Drew Freides commented; “We had the very best team and kept an open mind to learn and try new setups. These were the keys for our success. We were improving our performance every race.” “We knew we had a good boat, but in any one design program you need fast sails.” Conditions The conditions were typical Long Beach sea breeze the first day but then were generally on the light side. Lots of 7 to 11 knot races with nice flat water. Powering the boat up as quickly as possible was the key to success upwind. Maintaining speed at the correct angle was paramount downwind and in light conditions it required maximum concentration and teamwork. The Sails “We knew we had a good boat, but in any one design program you need fast sails,” said Vince Brun. Team Far Niente’s upwind sails were 780 3Di RAW and performed well throughout the wind range winning races in everything from 8-22 knots, using tuning suggested settings practically straight from the standard North Sails Tuning Guide. Vince Brun commented; “Having good sails is not enough, you need to know how to use the sails. Just like a big family, we contacted the North Sails Farr 40 experts around the world and they shared everything they knew, making it easier for us to get up to speed.” Rob Davis and his team Nutcracker also used a full inventory of North Sails to finish 4th overall. 📸 Bronny Daniels / Joy Sailing 📸 Bronny Daniels / Joy Sailing   READ MORE

3Di OCEAN: THE ULTIMATE SUPERYACHT CRUISING SAIL Revolutionary cruising sails for boats over 60 feet 3Di OCEAN is the ultimate superyacht cruising sail, providing medium to large cruising yachts more choice within the North Sails product line. Everything North Sails has learned as the preeminent builder of superyacht sails for more than three decades has been combined with current state of the art 3Di technology to deliver high strength and a supremely reliable sail for cruising yachts over 60 feet. 3Di OCEAN sails are more durable and easier to handle than any string sail counterpart. 3Di OCEAN is a cosmetically beautiful sail where North design, material science, and 3Di longevity are engineered for the ultimate cruising experience. And in 2019, North Sails has continued to refine and optimize the benefits of UltraPE in 3Di sailmaking for the large boat cruising market. 3Di OCEAN is a true cruising product. Per Andersson, 3D General Manager for North Sails, led the development of 3Di OCEAN: “The successful launch of the revolutionary 3Di Nordac in 2017 opened our eyes that there was a gap in our product line to serve the larger boat cruising market. This is the reason we created 3Di OCEAN, a sail that has the benefits of North 3Di yet with a design that is more forgiving and easier to set up and trim. Unlike racing yachts, cruisers are normally sailing short handed and want ease of handling. Unique in the 3Di line of sails, OCEAN sails carry a specially developed woven exterior tape which has eight times the chafe resistance of our standard non-woven Endurance surface, which also adds greater UV resistance. A 3Di OCEAN sail will carry through a wider range of sailing angles and generally make your sailing more enjoyable.” A proven technology, North Sails has made 1,900 3Di sails for yachts over 70’ since 2013. Like with the introduction of 3Di NORDAC, 3Di OCEAN has been immediately welcomed by serious cruisers, with 200 sail sold in the first 12 months to boats ranging from 60′ up to 200.’ With perfectionist design and manufacturing built-in, 3Di sails are stronger, more resistant to stretch and more durable, delivering inherent value for money. The durability of 3Di OCEAN is underlined by the nature of all 3Di sails, which contain zero “mylar” film and are true composite structures, resisting strain and compressive forces in all directions. Being 3D molded, 3Di OCEAN sails are a more efficient use of material and manufacturing to meet the demands of global cruising yachts, including high resilience to UV, flex, and abrasion. And because there is no mylar, 3Di OCEAN sails will not delaminate. Andersson explains, “Using our patented 3Di technology to craft precise sails for each client, we use high Dyneema content with 3D molded construction to achieve the perfect cruising sail, which is very different from our racing products.” Adding even greater value, every North sail includes access to the unparalleled worldwide network of North Sails expertise and service. Wherever you cruise there is a North Sails loft and people ready to support your adventure and committed to world-class customer service, 24/7, 365 days a year at over 100 loft sites across five continents. 3Di OCEAN is available now. Click here to learn more. READ MORE

THE SUPERYACHT SPECIALIST The North Sails Industry-Leading Team Offers Unparalleled Support At North Sails we understand that every superyacht is unique. And this philosophy shapes the North approach to serving this premier segment of our sport. Each superyacht project combines North design tools with decades of experience, which is why we are known for finding solutions to any challenge. And with each new yacht, the North Sails team of superyacht experts is uniquely positioned to deliver an experience as custom as the design of each boat. Our Superyacht group is led by Jens Christensen, who is well-known and highly respected, and whose superyacht expertise is in demand by the world’s most high profile projects. Alongside him, North Sails has amassed a group of superyacht experts across design, sales, and aftercare sail service who deliver industry-leading customer support. “We are well aware that our products are only as good as the people that work for us,” Jens says. “We need to have the leading experts working for us across design, development, cloth, sailing, and everything in between to make sure we stay at the forefront of the superyacht industry.” “We are also aware that people want to go sailing for a whole lot of different reasons – some want to cruise the world, some want to focus on charter, and some want to race (and win). So making sure that any boat is fitted and optimized for purpose is at the core of what we do. We want clients to have the best possible experience whatever they are doing and wherever they are going. And we are able to do this through our extensive network of salesmen and designers backed by our world-class selection of product, Design Services, and our global network of lofts. It is a complete package for any boat owner, that is unmatched.” True to the company’s heritage, many North Sails superyacht sales experts and designers sail on the yachts to make sure they understand how a sail interacts in real terms. Jens explains: “When you have a ketch with an inner forestay, and you have to furl the jib through the tacks in St. Barths in 20 knots of breeze, you see the beating that everything takes. It is essential that we’re there with clients to see all the small improvements that can be made to a sail: the kind of details that you’d never know about if you didn’t get out on the water with the crew.” Expert Sail Consultation: A Stable of Superyacht Specialists The North Sails stable of superyacht specialists is second to none. Veterans such as Mike Toppa, Tom Dodson, Ken Read, and Tom Whidden are currently mentoring the next generation of North Sails Superyacht experts, who continue to work together to expand our ability to service clients. The coordinated effort by the North Superyacht group has resulted in location and personnel acquisitions that have helped shape the future of the business. In 2018 North Sails acquired the former Doyle Palma, enhancing our presence at the heart of superyacht activity. North Sails Palma, led by Quinny Houry, is now the largest sales and service site within our global network. We have also made other key hires to support the segment, including Andrew Schneider, Peter Grimm and the latest addition, sail designer Glenn Cook who was attracted to North from Doyle for access to the best tools and products on the market. Better by Design: World-Class Analytics To Deliver Optimized Performance North Sails goes beyond just traditional sail design. North Design Services is an elite team of engineers who help yacht designers bring an owner’s vision to life. Headed up by Jeremy Elliot, North Design Services works directly with yacht designers, project managers, boatbuilders, sparmakers and riggers to test and optimize virtually any part of any sailboat in any sailing environment, even before the boat is built. Analysis can range from determining load ratings for specific winches to complex relationships of yacht balance, target speed, wind angle, sea state, rig loads, sail shapes, ratings and more. Once the owner’s brief is understood, North Design Services works with all external parties, and alongside a North Superyacht sail designer, to create the optimum solution for the boat and type of sailing. It is a unique service that gives clients the very best solutions for their new boat. Superyacht Service and Support: A Global Network of Sales & Service As any superyacht owner knows, the journey only starts when the boat is delivered – support and service is a huge part of life on the water. And that is why North Sails have put so much time and effort into North Sails Certified Service. It gives superyacht crews and boat owners the benefits of convenience and experience through an unrivaled global network of sail lofts. In the last two years, North Sails has an expanded presence in Palma, Mallorca, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Newport, Rhode Island. With 14 dedicated superyacht service lofts across five continents, clients get the best service and results thanks to local experts, loft space, and technology. All of these facilities can handle the unique logistical needs of superyacht sails, including trucks, cranes and specialty sailmaking equipment. You will also find North Certified Service offered at key regattas on the Superyacht racing circuit. With a yearly maintenance check-in offered on all sails and a stringent 10 point inspection, the team works hard to ensure any issues are spotted early and dealt with quickly. But its the North Sails Blue Book that really stands the company apart from anyone else. The Blue Book ensures that wherever you are in the world, whatever loft you go into, your sail will get the same world class treatment as if you went back to where you bought it. It is a manual for company-wide consistency and depth of knowledge from the Pacific Islands to the Canary Islands and everywhere in between. READ MORE

SAVE A BUNDLE WITH SPECIAL PRICING Talk To Your Expert About How You Can Save On Cruising Sails The time to buy new North cruising sails is now. For a limited time, receive a G1 all-purpose gennaker with the purchase of a 3Di NORDAC or NPL TOUR main and headsail. Visit the United States Sailboat Show or get in touch with your local North loft now to add North Sails performance, quality, and value to your cruising. Choose Your G1 Gennaker North Sails G1 all-purpose cruising asymmetrical spinnaker delivers fast and easy downwind sailing. These custom, built to order spinnakers are optimized for your boat with wider steering grooves for maximum versatility, and made out of propriety Norlon fabric. Terms: Free G1 Gennaker promotion valid when customer orders one mainsail and one headsail of either 3Di NORDAC 330 or NPL TOUR Xi with max P dimension of 18m. G1 Gennaker must be made of single, select colors Norlon fabric. Minimum 50% deposit at the time of order with balance due at the time of completion and prior to delivery. All sails must be delivered no later than December 31, 2019. Offer expires November, 4, 2019. READ MORE

Team Hvergang, med skipper Esben Keim, rormann Trygve Leergaard, trimmer Stein Broch Olsen og fordekk Tellev Tveit seilte overbevisende gjennom hele serien og kunne endelig smykke seg meg NM-tittelen. Laget valgte for 2019 sesongen å seile med North Sails. Vi syns derfor det var interessant og ta en prat med Esben for å høre hva han mente om seilene og hvordan de trimmer for maks fart. Foto: Morten Jensen ‍Intervju med Esben Keim Dere er kanskje det laget som har lengst erfaring i Express i Norge, dere har seil sammen i hvor mange år? Vi har seilt sammen i 20 sesonger nå, både Trygve Leergaard, Stein Broch Olsen og meg selv. Tellef Tveit kom om bord før 2018 sesongen og er superivrig etter å lære og bidra. Han har nå lært seg å se etter vind og trykk, det hjelper oss alle. Ryktet fra NM-banen var at dere var feltets raskeste båt? Hadde dere fartsoverskudd? Vi er veldig raske i år. Spesielt opp til 5-6 m/s. Vi har alltid vært raske opp til 2-3 m/s,nå på slutten og spesielt under NM fant vi supergearet også på litt sterkere vind. I første racet hadde vi ikke det, vi gjorde så noen grep med flytting av skjøtepunkt på fokken. Det ga veldig uttelling og vi opplevde deretter at vi hadde overskudd hele veien.‍ Eller var dere bare smarte? Med 52 båter på linjen er det selvsagt viktig å være smart, det smarteste vi gjorde var å bruke en hel kveld i uken før mesterskapet på startdrill, timing og gearing av båten. Vi hadde gode starter på alle regattaene med unntak av den vi ble påseilt ca.1,5 minutter før start, da var vi på rett side av linjen, men ca 10 sekunder for sene. Vi bestemte oss umiddelbart for å seile oss fri og gikk for fri vind hele første kryss i kombinasjon med vindskift. Det traff bra og vi ble tilslutt nr. 6. ‍Dere brukte North Sails/Ottoson for en del år tilbake, så hadde dere en annen leverandør noen år, og fra 2019 var dere tilbake på North Sails. Hvordan opplever du de nye North Sails modellene? Sammenlignet med tidligere North Sails/Ottosson så ser vi jo at verden er gått videre. Vi gjorde det enkelt med Ottosson seilene før; hadde stort sett samme riggsetting, alltid stramt uthal på storseil og et fast gir på fokken. ‍Med de nye seilene får vi bedre respons på justeringene, spesielt uthal på storseil gir større effekt. Vi tror nok at disse seilene er de raskeste vi har hatt, det gir det litt ekstra som kan bety en båtlengde på en kryss, det kan være nok til å gå foran rundt toppmerket og kunne seile fritt. ‍Følger dere tuning guiden? Seilte dere på noe annet enn base rig-setup under NM? Vi har ikke fulgt tuning guiden så mye. Mulig vi burde gjort det mer. Vi har stort sett valgt å konsekvent seile med ca 5-10 mm pre-benn på masten. Litt løsere setting i lite vind (sluppe ca 2 hele turn på over og undervant ut fra base setting).Det fungerer på vår rigg. Hadde vi hatt en annen mast og andre salingshorn er det ikke sikkert det ville fungert like godt. Nøkkelen for oss er pre-ben på masten. ‍Hva hadde dere av rake? Vi har ikke målt dette, vi skiftet mast i 2018 og testet med samme lengde på forstag. Det viste seg at forstagsinnfestingen ikke var på samme plass og det ble for lite rake. Vi testet og justerte med sjakler og konkluderte med at vi måtte forlengemed ca. 1,5 cm (mener jeg å huske). Vi har nå lik rake med alle de andre expressene som ligger parallelt på expressbryggen i Oslo Seilforening. Det er vi fornøyd med og har ikke planer om å endre dette. Vi har ikke målt hvor mange mm det er fra mastefot og ut til møtepunktet mellom dekk og fall dersom vi slipper alt og det er vindstille. Har dere gjort noen spesielle forberedelser med båt / mannskap. Andre punkter du tror vil være nyttig for andre Express seilere? Skal man seile mesterskap med mange båter som i utgangspunktet går like fort (en-type), er det lurt å få gode starter. Det gir valgfrihet og muligheter for å følge en strategi (seiler der man tror vinden og strømmen er mest optimal). Bruk tid på å trene start, det gir mye mer enn å slipe kjøl i tilsvarende tid. ‍ Hva er planene for neste år? Neste år skal vi fortsette å seile Express. Vi håper båten lar seg reparere og bli like god igjen, det er en stor skade etter kollisjonen i NM. Vi seiler OS tirsdagsseilingen på vår og høst i 2020, det er den beste plassen for å lære og ha det moro. Så blir det spennende å se om vi kan vinne 3 færderseilaser på rad. NM Express i Kr. Sand blir jo litt «hjemmebane» for meg….. jeg kan ikke huske å ha seilt annet enn optimistjolle der…. Det blir uansett moro å teste uten bane med mye strøm, varierende og periodevis mye vind og solgangseffekt. Vihar pt ikke tatt stilling til HRW, jeg har lyst, men det er krevende å få alle til å kunne ta seg fri da. Team Hvergang benyttet følgende Express modeller i 2019: Storseil KV-5 Fokk RE-7 Spinnaker VTR-2 Du kan lese mer om Express modellene her: https://www.northsails.com/sailing/en/od/express ‍ READ MORE

EVENT SPOTLIGHT: INTERNATIONAL ALBACORE CHAMPIONSHIP A Roaring Success Forty-seven teams from Great Britain, the U.S.A, and Canada competed in the six-day regatta. British sailors Neville Herbert and Mark Fowler sailing You Can Call Me AL took the overall win. While the official hosts of the regatta were the Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club, the Town of Shelburne also played an integral role in the event, providing infrastructure and venues so that the participants, athletes and their families and supporters, could gather each day following racing. The Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club has received incredible support from the community and sponsors for hosting the event. Competitors used the Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club marina, the Shelburne Sailing Academy slipway, and the Town of Shelburne to store their boats. The nearby Shelburne Guild Hall served as a social gathering spot in the evenings for the competitors. These nightly gatherings were open to the public, and town residents would stop by to check out the proceedings and interact with the regatta participants. “This was a great way to bring the Sailing Club and the local community closer together,” said lead organizer Henry Pedro. Over 67 volunteers, including many youth stepped up to the plate to help during the week, all with the help of the local community. Everyone was very enthusiastic and happy to see a large number of visitors to the town all together; competitors certainly enjoyed that as well. The International Albacore Championship was started in 1973 and is held every two years, with Canada, Europe and the U.S.A. alternating as hosts. The 2021 Albacore International Championship will be held in at the Plas Heli Welsh National Sailing Academy in Northwest Wales. North Sails Toronto was thrilled to support such an amazing event that brought the local community together with participants and their families. Learn more about Albacore products from North Sails experts including tuning techniques. READ MORE

CONSEJO NORTH SAILS El uso y el mantenimiento son dos de los principales factores que definen la vida de una vela. 📸 Michael Egan Asegurarnos de que las velas son utilizadas en el rango de viento para el que fueron diseñadas garantiza su longevidad y, consecuentemente, mejora nuestra satisfacción y protege nuestra economía. Por ejemplo, dejar una vela izada en un chubasco durante 30 minutos equivale a 50 horas de crucero normal. Resulta también imprescindible revisar las velas regularmente, lo que nos permitirá detectar pequeños problemas que tratados a tiempo evitarán grandes daños y costosas reparaciones. Y cuando la temporada llega a su fin, nada mejor que una visita al Servicio Oficial North Sails, donde los mejores expertos evaluarán la salud de nuestras velas y nos propondrán las mejores soluciones para prolongar al máximo su vida útil. READ MORE

NORTH SAILS, PROVEEDOR OFICIAL DE J CLASS La J Class Association renueva su confianza en North Sails como proveedor oficial de velas. 📸 Carlo Borlenghi Louise Morton, secretaria de esta asociación nacida en 2000 para preservar los intereses y el futuro de los J Class, explica: "North Sails continuará proporcionando su servicio de velería en los eventos y ayudando a promocionar nuestra clase. Los comentarios de nuestros armadores son unánimes al afirmar que la experiencia en diseño de North Sails, su red mundial de velerías, su excelente servicio y sus productos de última generación, contribuyen a que la competición sea más intensa e internacional". READ MORE

TE AIHE YA ESTÁ EN EL AGUA Emirates Team New Zealand botó el pasado mes de septiembre Te Aihe, el AC75 con el que defenderá la próxima America’s Cup. 📸 Emirates Team New Zealand / Grant Triplow En su condición de proveedor oficial de velas del equipo, North Sails trabaja en el desarrollo del inventario que permitirá volar al barco neozelandés. "Históricamente, un ciclo de America’s Cup marca la próxima generación en evolución de velas, y esta vez no es una excepción", declara el presidente de North Sails, Ken Read. "Estamos a punto de presenciar una de las mayores transformaciones que ha recibido nuestro deporte". En el desarrollo de las velas del AC75, los diseñadores han recurrido al North Sails Design Suite, destacando una mayor con sistema de doble capa. Todas las velas del equipo serán finalizadas en la velería de North Sails en Auckland. READ MORE

CAMPEONES DE EUROPA DE MELGES 20 El campeonato del mundo 2019 de Melges 20 se disputó del 11 al 14 de septiembre en la localidad italiana de Malcesine. 📸 Zerogradinord El Brontolo Racing del patrón y armador Filippo Pacinotti fue el mejor de los 37 equipos participantes, proclamándose campeón de Europa 2019. El mallorquín Manu Weiller ejerció de táctico del equipo junto al trimmer Federico Michetti y el proa Andrea Pacinotti (hijo del armador). "El inventario North Sails de Melges 20 es eficiente y fácil de trimar", reflexionaba tras el triunfo el patrón italiano. "Desde las velas al servicio, creo que la velocidad que mostramos durante el campeonato fue una buena demostración de su calidad". El Brontolo Racing compitió con mayor North Sails Mi-2, foque Ji-4 y spinnakers V4-2R y R-2. La propuesta de North Sails para clase Melges 20 está disponible aquí. READ MORE

AZZURRA GANA LAS 52 SUPER SERIES 2019 El Azzurra se ha proclamado campeón de las 52 Super Series 2019. 📸 Nico Martínez El barco armado por la familia Roemmers y patroneado por Guillermo Parada confirmó su cuarto título absoluto en la regata Audi 52 Super Series Sailing Week disputada en Porto Cervo, última prueba de la temporada para el circuito de monocascos más competitivo del mundo. Al barco italiano le bastó firmar la segunda plaza en este evento (por detrás del Sled, también equipado con North Sails) para llevarse la corona, que se une a las conseguidas en 2017, 2015 y 2012. El diseñador Juan Garay está detrás del inventario de velas North Sails a bordo de Azzurra, una de las claves de esta importante victoria. READ MORE

NORTH SAILS, CON THE NATIONS TROPHY La segunda edición de The Nations Trophy reunirá en Palma La segunda edición de The Nations Trophy (8-12 de octubre) reunirá en Palma a los mejores equipos de monotipos Nautor’s Swan en un formato único que promueve la competición entre naciones. North Sails colabora con el evento y equipa a la gran mayoría de la flota en las cuatro clases participantes: ClubSwan 50, Swan 45, ClubSwan 42 y el nuevo ClubSwan 36, que realizará su esperado debut mundial en competición. Nada menos que 41 barcos en representación de 14 países competirán por este último evento de la temporada ClubSwan, que erigirá además a los campeones del mundo de ClubSwan 50 y Swan 45, y al campeón de Europa de ClubSwan 42. READ MORE