NORTH SAILS BLOG

ORC/IRC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2020 Newport’s Hottest Event Of The Season 📸 Regate.com Calling all weekend warriors! The New York Yacht Club in Newport, RI, USA will be hosting the ORC/IRC World Championship this year, on September 25th – October 3rd. This is the first offshore championship to be held in the United States since 2001. “Any time a World Championship of this stature comes to Newport, it is special,” explained North Sails President Ken Read. “Preparation is already beginning to happen for locals and traveling teams alike. Having the ORC and IRC working together is key for handicap sailing around the globe, and you can be sure that our North Sails community and service team in Newport will be ready to support all teams arriving for this fantastic Fall 2020 event.” 📸 Regate.com The best part about this racing platform? Competitors are divided up into three classes, so each boat will only be competing with boats that have a similar setup, size, and speed. Three divisions consisting of many kinds of boats, meaning three world championship titles are up for grabs. Looking back to the 2018 Offshore Worlds at The Hague, competitors from all over the world racing everything from a GP26 to J/109s, Swan 42’s to 57-footers. This event is truly for anyone; club racers and cruisers, and the course offerings are fit for any program with any level of crew experience. This year the championship will also bring in the new Melges IC37 class, and from the current entry list, we’ll get to see a variation of boats between 27-52 feet. Teams from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, France, and Germany are already signed up and ready to represent. Competitors can expect 2-3 offshore or coastal style races, and 6-7 inshore races to complete an exciting six days of racing in Newport, RI, the sailing mecca of the USA. “Offshore sailing is part of the DNA of the New York Yacht Club,” said Commodore Philip A. Lotz. “Our waterfront clubhouse at Harbour Court combined with Newport’s tremendous sailing conditions and extensive marine infrastructure, provide what we feel is one of the greatest venues for offshore racing. The Club is very excited to welcome the world to our hometown for the 2020 ORC/IRC World Championship.” 📸 Regate.com This event is the primetime opportunity for club racers worldwide to experience the best racing in the crowd-favorite format, and it’s open to all. Up to 150 teams can register to compete and represent their respective countries for a chance to snag one of three world championship titles. Amateur Corinthian prizes will also be handed out in each class to those that apply. Registration closes September 10th, 2020. Extend your fall racing season in Newport, RI this year. The 2020 ORC/IRC Worlds is going to be the main event. Get your team ready, and get your game faces on! Our North Sails Certified Service team will be onsite to support the fleet with overnight sail repair service throughout the week. We’ll see you out there! Learn more about the event and view registrants here. There are 42 boats already signed up and ready to rumble. Are you on the list?! 📸 Regate.com 📸 Regate.com 📸 Regate.com READ MORE

CELEBRATING ANOTHER YEAR ON THE WATER CASRA Year End Awards North Sails is a proud supporter of Chicago racing, including in our continued gold-level sponsorship of Chicago Areas Sail Racing Association (aka CASRA). CASRA and North Sails share the common commitment to supporting the growth of the sport of sailing in the Chicago area. CASRA is an organization comprised of five Chicago-area yacht clubs. Combined, CASRA member clubs have approximately 3,000 members. Some of CASRA’s racing events include the Casual Race Series and the Charity Challenge. CASRA wrapped up another eventful season of organized racing with a Town Hall meeting and awards. CASRA past President Mike Hettel and current President Greg Miarecki, along with North Sails Chicago’s very own Keith Church, handed out custom-made flags for winners for various races and series. Here are the results for 2019. Chicago Race Week T-10 1st Place: Meat (Brian Kennalley, Edward Mui, Craig Roehl) 2nd Place: Water Works (Rick and Mary Ann Lillie) 3rd Place: Minister (Blane & Cindy Boynton) Buoy 1st Place: Momentus (Kevin Saedi / Raman Yousefi) 2nd Place: Eagle (Jerry & Shawn O’Neill) Distance 1st Place: Paradigm Shift (Dave Dickerson) 2nd Place: Valkyrie (Brian Bullock) 3rd Place: Mise En Place (Paul Thompson) CASRA Casual Race Series Winners, presented by Chicago Harbors Spinnaker Section 1st Place: Exeter (John Notch) 2nd Place: Success (Kasey Iwasyk) 3rd Place: Paradigm Shift (Dave Dickerson) Non-Spinnaker Section 1st Place: Solstice (Greg Bohmann) 2nd Place: Quicksilver (Vilia Sutkus-Kiela) 3rd Place: Jade (Mike Hoover) CASRA Charity Challenge Winners The Charity Challenge consists of three different events: the Gold Star Regatta; the Leukemia Cup; and the Chicago Regatta. All three events focus on raising funds for worthy charities making an impact in the Chicago area. GOLD LEVEL Flying Pig Global Nomads Jahazi Lucy Maskwa Ohana SILVER LEVEL Archimedes III Defiance Heartbreaker Ob La Di Paradigm Shift Spanker Skye We congratulate fellow racers and look forward to more future sponsorship with CASRA to promote the sport of sailing in Chicago. READ MORE

WINTER SEMINAR SERIES Join Us At North Sails Detroit For Education & Fun Building on the HUGE success of last Winter's Seminar Series, North Sails Detroit is pleased to announce this years Winter Series. All events are free except Feb 15th's full day seminar. Dec 18th at 7pm | "Team Building" with North Sails Expert Skip Dieball What can you do to build a successful team on and off the water? Skip Dieball has been a member of the North Sails team since 1997. He has been active in one-design and offshore sailing his entire life, and has won multiple National and World Championships, including the 2015 Etchells Worlds. This past Summer Skip represented USA at the Pan Am Games in the Lightning Class. Jan 29th at 7pm | T-minus 6 months with Bruce Burton "The Countdown to Tokyo"- Bruce Burton is a former President of US Sailing and is currently the Chair of the US Olympic Sailing Committee. Bruce will be talking about all the work that the Committee and Athletes have done in this cycle as well as the remaining lead up to the Tokyo Games. Feb 14th at 7pm | An introduction to Expedition with Peter Isler and Bill Gladstone An introductory look at all the "Bell's and Whistles" of Expedition Software. Peter Isler in Detroit teaching Expedition. Geared toward experienced and aspiring Expedition users, Peter Isler will lead a full day program to bring your Expedition skills to the next level. Peter is an Internationally renowned sailor, motivational speaker and author, Peter Isler has parlayed his love of sailing into a career. Inextricable from the America’s Cup since winning it as navigator aboard Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes in Australia in 1987. In all he has sailed in five Cup campaigns (most recently with the BMW Oracle Racing Team in Valencia, Spain), winning it twice. Feb 15th at 8am | Expedition Users Seminar with Peter Isler and Bill Gladstone One Day, Live, Peter Isler in Detroit teaching Expedition. Geared toward experienced and aspiring Expedition users, Peter Isler will lead a full day program to bring your Expedition skills to the next level. Peter is an Internationally renowned sailor, motivational speaker and author, Peter Isler has parlayed his love of sailing into a career. Inextricable from the America’s Cup since winning it as navigator aboard Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes in Australia in 1987. In all he has sailed in five Cup campaigns (most recently with the BMW Oracle Racing Team in Valencia, Spain), winning it twice.This will be a full day Paid Seminar presented by North U. For more information and to register here. March 19th at 7pm | Epoxy Tips and Techniques with North Sails Rep Joe Parker ** CANCELLED ** Successful use of WEST SYSTEM Epoxy products is easy when you follow some basic rules. We will discuss basic epoxy use, applications and safety. Joe will include strategies for success in all weather conditions and some secrets the pros use every day to build and repair boats. Joe Parker has been in the marine industry for 40 years; 25 of those years working for Gougeon Brothers Inc, makers of WEST SYSTEM Epoxy. Joe retired from GBI in 2014, but is still operating Bay Boat Works and is the Saginaw Bay Sails Rep for North Sails. April 8th at 7pm | Long Distance Race Strategy with North Sails Expert Perry Lewis ** CANCELLED ** Perry Lewis is a 40-year veteran of North Sails Chicago. His race trophies include a dozen national and North American championships, and another dozen overall Mackinac race wins. Perry will be talking about how he goes about preparing his strategy for distance racing. May 6th at 7pm | Managing and Maintaining your Sail Inventory with North Sails Experts Bill Lesnick, Mike Stark and Spencer Colpaert North Sails Detroit Team headed by Bill Lesnek a 40-year veteran of sailmaking and repairs shows you the best practices to maintain and grow your sail inventory both on and off the water, and what you need to do it. READ MORE

#NSVICTORYLIST: MINI-TRANSAT LA BOULANGERE Client Ambrogio Beccaria Wins MiniTransat Cruising Division 📸 Christophe Breschi Photography | MiniTransat 2019 Italian Ambrogio Beccaria is a twenty-eight year old nautical engineer, and he has completed the Mini-Transat after 13 days, 1 hour, and 58 minutes to win the cruising division and finish third overall. Ambrogio, onboard his Pogo 3 Geomag never lost command of his fleet, and he even found himself in the lead overall after choosing an impeccable racecourse. We interviewed Ambrogio after the finish to find out more about his program and why he chose North Sails to power his vessel across the ocean. “Sail development performances and speed are the part I’m most interested in these regattas,” he explains. “That’s also why I chose to sail a cruising boat because they are simple, but they are the ones where you can develop many aspects, including sails. I had also used North Sails in the previous Mini-Transat, and after moving to Brittany, France, I was able to work constantly with the sailmakers.” How did you develop your sail program? “After the first few miles with the first sail wardrobe, we started working on a second generation. Collecting photos and videos, we discovered some very interesting things. My boat is swift, but its aft shape has something like a motorboat deflector. When the sea state is up and from behind, it tends to put the bow in the water and can become dangerous. We designed a much flatter spinnaker so that I could sail at a higher angle. That choice turned into a winner!” What inventory did you carry? “Three gennakers, a Code 0, and a small heavy wind spinnaker that could be very reliable and fly as long as possible. With more than 20 knots of breeze, I can sail deep, down to 150 degrees TWA. For the mainsail and genoa, we used 3Di polyester because the mainsail must be Dacron, and the jib cannot have exotic fibers. For the Solent jib, 3Di was a revolution—seven boats in the first ten hoisted this sail. I didn’t choose a square head; some had a sail so large in the head that they had to lower it by 40 centimeters to tack. Compared to my setup, I would say that they did not have good VMG upwind.” 📸 Christophe Breschi Photography | MiniTransat 2019 How did you manage the sails? “At the start, I risked breaking the bowsprit. After that, I went back to what my coach Tanguy Le Glatin said; be the first to reduce the sails when there is too much wind, and then the first to hoist the sails, before the others. I pushed the boat hard with my bigger spinnaker, and it was there that I got in front of the prototype boats.” Are you satisfied with your results? Is the boat that won the prototype class that much faster? “On paper, the prototype which won his class goes much faster. But the prototypes are a lot less reliable. As soon as the conditions get tough, the skipper is often fighting to save the boat. Sailing at 20 knots makes you fear for the bigger blows you take on the hull. It’s complicated to know when to give it that gas and stay powered up, and when not to.” What are your impressions of the prototype that is equipped for foiling? “The prototype has some very special T-shaped foils with supporters on the rudders, and the original idea was to fly completely. Unfortunately, he had a problem with the forestay and was unable to push as hard as he wanted. They ended up in fourth, but very far from the podium. The DNA of the mini-prototype class is still experimental. The idea is to facilitate the foiling, which is now limited by the maximum width of three meters in port, so the foils must retract completely. Once this limit has been removed, it will be easier to push towards performance, as the Imoca boats do.” What are your plans for the future? “My current plan for the future is getting involved in a Class 40 project and competing in the 2023 world tour. I’m interested in the construction of the boat and will follow this new project personally. I’d love to succeed.” Learn more about Ambrogio’s Geomag. Learn more about Ambrogio’s sailing success. READ MORE

#NSVICTORYLIST: CEEREF IS RC44 SERIES CHAMPION Igor Lah’s Team Seals The Deal In The 2019 Series Finale 📸 Martinez Studio | RC44 Class Slovenian Igor Lah has claimed the 2019 season title, and all in the final moments of the RC44 Cup. Going into the last race, the points were tight, and the final race would produce just one overall season winner. The first day of racing was canceled due to weather, so with only a three-day event to make it happen, it was all or nothing. Acknowledging that their season did not go as well as they had hoped, they were hoping to at least have a solid race finish in the last event of the series. “Our goal was to come to Palma and win,” said their tactician. “If you don’t sail well, it is easy to be in the back- which we know!” Ceeref had their work cut out for them, going into the final event from far behind after a rough season of bad luck. In the last race, the Bay of Palma delivered a strong breeze, and Ceeref was ready to give it their all, coming off the line at the pin-end and crossing the fleet on port. They worked course left, rounding the windward mark in third just behind clients on Bronenosec and Charisma, the 2018 Season champs. Coming into the bottom of the course, Ceeref took their chances, splitting sides with leaders and was able to catch the first shift that kept them in the lead to the top of the course. Great speed and boat handling launched them ahead of Charisma, who was nipping at their heels in second place, to snag the bullet. Taking chances is what earned them the upper-hand on the tiebreaker, to take first overall in the RC44 Cup Palma and first overall for the season with 11 points after one discard. 📸 Martinez Studio | RC44 Class The RC44 season consisted of five events; Porto Montenegro, Adris, the Worlds in Marstrand, Cascais, and Palma. Ceeref started out strong, winning event one in Porto Montenegro with a seven-point lead. However, the event in Adris, the Worlds, and Cascais, they suffered from bad luck, which didn’t give them much of a chance to pull through and end their season on a bright note. Perseverance and smart sailing kept them in touch with the fleet, not to mention scoring four bullets in Palma gave them enough to squeak ahead with 27 points total to win it all. To win the overall trophy in one of sailing’s most competitive ‘big boat’ one-design classes is quite the accomplishment. For Igor’s Ceeref to win it again, their first time being in 2016, then again in 2017, now in 2019, was a great feeling. “I was sure that it would be impossible,” said Igor, who only found out when the boat hit the dock that the team had pulled it off. This was a great way to end the event, and the 2019 racing season. “Going into the last race, we knew it was mathematically possible, and the math was on our side today!” said Igor. “We needed this.” Ceeref is built for pure speed and powered by North Sails 3Di RAW 880. For more information on North 3Di, contact your local sail expert today. 📸 Martinez Studio | RC44 Class 📸 Martinez Studio | RC44 Class READ MORE

NORTH SAILS BRINGT SPANNENDE VORTRÄGE Auf der Bernau Boatshow in Süddeutschland von 29. 11. - 1. 12. 2019 Mehr Segeltage und Spaß mit Zusatzsegel Vortrag 1: Samstag, 30. 11. 2019 um 11:30 Uhr Mehr Spaß und Sicherheit am Segeln durch richtigen Segeltrimm vom Segelmacher in wenigen Schritten erklärt Vortrag 2: Samstag, 30. 11. 2019 um 11:30 Uhr Vortrag 2: Sonntag, 01. 12. 2019 um 13:00 Uhr Ort Yachtcentrum Bernau: D-83233 Bernau am Chiemsee · Chiemseestr. 65 Öffnungszeiten Freitag 29. 11. und Samstag 30. 11.: 10 - 18 Uhr Sonntag 01. 12.: 10 - 15 Uhr Erleben Sie eine einmalige Vielfalt auf der größten Segelyacht-Hausmesse in Deutschland und informieren Sie sich über die neuen Produktlinien 2020 von North Sails. Andrea Seidl und Ralph Koper, North Sails Österreich, präsentieren die neusten Segeltücher und interessante Messerabatte am North Sails Messestand im Foyer 1. Stock. Kontakt office.at@northsails.com oder Tel.: 0043 662 87 5507 READ MORE

SERVICE SPOTLIGHT: SAILWASHING What You Need To Know Are your sails and canvas looking a little dingy? DON’T WORRY! We can fix that! At North Sails Detroit we have many options to bring back life to your dirty sails and canvas. Not only do we offer new UV covers, Mainsail covers, and genoa socks, we also offer sail & canvas wash plus waterproofing for your old canvas. Get your sails looking their best for next spring with these service tips. Washing can be done year round, however, we recommend the best time to get your sails in for washing is at the end of the season. In terms of frequency, washing your sails does not and should not be done annually. We recommend getting your sails washed every two to three years, or as needed. Dacron sails and canvas benefit the most from this washing process. If your laminated sails are moldy, there are other options besides washing to clean them up. Contact us directly to learn more about this option. Getting your Dacron sails and canvas washed can remove all of those nasty spider stains, bird droppings, mold and mildew that have accrued over the course of the season. The sails and canvas are submerged for 48 hours in a cleaning solution then gently rinsed and hung to dry. Not only will your sails and canvas look brighter, but it will also expose any rotting stitching, which can be easily detected and addressed by the service team. A good addition to washing your canvas items is getting them waterproofed. Over time, Sunbrella can become porous and let water through getting your nice clean sails dirty. For any questions or quotes call our service team at North Sails Detroit or e mail Bill.Lesnek@northsails.com or Mike.Stark@northsails.com READ MORE

Thank you for choosing North Sails for your Harbor 20. We hope using this tuning guide will help you get the most from your new North Sails. Our goal is to give you a rig set up that is fast in all conditions and easy to adjust. Some relatively minor modifications are necessary to the standard Harbor 20 layout in order to get the most from your boat and sails. General Shroud Adjusters It is important to have the proper shroud set up for effective rig tuning. Notice the picture above, the keeper allows you to make adjustments with the shroud locking mechanism so you can make adjustments to the rig based off the conditions. The keeper and third hands will also prevent the shrouds from spinning off while sailing. These can be purchased in a variety of different rig shops. Adjustable Backstay In order to properly control the shape of the jib and mainsail it is a big help to have a easily adjustable and fairly powerful backstay. Making sure your backstay is running smoothly will allow you to de-power your sail in moderate wind conditions. Mast Tuning Before Sailing First loosen shrouds until they are making 5” circles. From there tension the upper shrouds until they read 20 on the loose gage. From there fill your bucket half full of water and untie your stern from the dock so your boat is head to wind. Attach the bucket to the main halyard and let your boom sit on the cushions in the cockpit. Hang the bucket over the starboard side of the boat, and cleat the main halyard so the bucket handle sits flush with the bottom of the cap shroud. Then, without uncleating the main halyard, take the bucket and hang it over the port side of the boat. If the bucket handle is hitting the same part of the cap shroud on both sides, this means your mast is in the middle of the boat. If the handle is above the mark on the port side that means your mast is to starboard. If it is below the mark then the mast is leaning to port. Adjust the shroud to get the mast in the middle of the boat. **Note: it is important that the boat is faced into the wind. Likewise it is important that just one person is in the boat during this exercise, and that person sits in the same spot on both the port and starboard side. Do the exercise multiple times before making adjustments.** After getting the mast in the middle of the boat, tension the lower shrouds to 10 on the loose gage. Sight the mast to make sure it is straight. Now you should be ready to race! You should also sight the mast on both starboard and port to ensure the mast is symmetric side to side while under sail. Sail Trim Light Air (0-8 knots) MAIN Outhaul should be tensioned so their is about 3.5” between the boom and the foot of the sail. Traveler should be centered. Never let your traveler go to leeward in any situations. There are folks in the fleet who actually screw their traveler to the deck so there is zero chance of it moving. JIB Tension jib halyard so that there is a hint of wrinkles in the luff.  Be careful not to over tension.  Adjust jib lead dependent on the jib.  If top telltales luff first, move the lead up on the clew board.  If bottom telltales luff first, move the lead down on the clew board. Backstay should be adjusted so you have about 1.5” of forestay sag at base setting. Moderate Air MAIN Pull on the outhaul until there is 1.5” between the foot and the boom.  Tension mainsheet so top telltale flies 70% of time; top batten will be parallel to the boom.  This helps to generate power.  Tension main halyard/ cunningham to just remove horizontal wrinkles in luff. Use the main sheet to tension the headstay along with shroud adjustments. If you are easing main sheet, you are loosing headstay tension. Pull on backstay to help with headstay tension and to flatten the sails. JIB Trim sheet so sail is 2-3” from end of spreader.  Tension backstay to medium setting.  This will straighten headstay and slightly flatten sail Ideally you want zero sag in the headstay. Heavy Air MAIN Outhaul out to band – max tight.  Tension halyard or cunningham hard to keep draft forward.  Tension lower shrouds to keep mast from bending too much.  Backstay on very tight.  Top batten should be outside of parallel.  Tension the vang tight enough so that the boom does not go up when the mainsheet is eased. This will allows you to “vang sheet” to keep boat on its feet.  Remember, flat is fast.  Play the mainsheet aggressively in the puffs to keep the boat flat. JIB Tighten halyard quite tight to keep draft forward.  Trim sail so it is 3-4” off end of spreader.  Tighten backstay very tight to make headstay as straight as possible and flatten sail. *Please note that the above trim settings should be taken as starting points only.  These are meant to show the range of settings from light to heavy air.  We have found it useful to keep a logbook every time we go sailing to note fast settings or ideas. Harbor 20 Quick Tuning Chart – California UPPERS LOWERS WIND SPEEDKnots UPPERS(PT1) LOWERS(PT1) Steps Turns from  base* Steps Turns from base* VANG OUTHAUL JIB LEAD < 6 -4 -2 – 2 -4 – 2 -2 0 3” Lower 6-8 -2 -1 – 2 -2 – 1 -1 0 2.5” Lower 8-10 20 10 BASE BASE BASE BASE Snug 2” Neutral 10-13 2 1 2 2 1 1 Snug 2” Neutral 13-16 4 3 2 4 2 3 Tight 1” Neutral 16 – 19 5 4 1 5 1 4 Tight Max Upper 19-22 6 5 1 6 1 5 Tight Max Upper 22+ 6 6 1 6 1 6 Tight Max Upper * The number of turns is an estimate and could be different from boat to boat. It is important to check your settings, and the number of turns between the settings, before going out on the water. Harbor 20 Quick Tuning Chart – Chesapeake Bay UPPERS LOWERS WIND SPEEDKnots UPPERS(PT1) LOWERS(PT1) Steps Turns from  base* Steps Turns from base* VANG OUTHAUL JIB LEAD < 6 -2 -1 – 1 -2 – 1 -1 0 3” Lower 6-8 14 10 BASE BASE BASE BASE Snug 2.5”+ Lower 8-10 2 1 2 2 1 BASE Snug 2” Neutral 10-13 4 2 3 4 2 2 Snug 2” Neutral 13-16 6 4 3 5 3 4 Tight 1” Neutral 16 – 19 7 5 2 6 2 5 Tight Max Upper 19-22 8 6 2 7 2 6 Tight Max Upper 22+ 8 7 2 7 2 7 Tight Max Upper * The number of turns is an estimate and could be different from boat to boat. It is important to check your settings, and the number of turns between the settings, before going out on the water. READ MORE

Mast: C section Mast Foot: 2700mm (From aft transom to aft face of the mast foot)Spreader Length: 395mm (From the outside of the shroud perpendicular to the bearing surface of the mast track)Spreader Deflection: 155mm (From the centre of the straight line drawn from tips of the spreaders to mast) Mast: Kappa section Mast Foot: 2700mm (From aft transom to aft face of the mast foot)Spreader Length: 380mm (From the outside of the shroud perpendicular to the bearing surface of the mast track)Spreader Deflection: 145mm (From the centre of the straight line drawn from tips of the spreaders to mast)   Wind Speed Light 1-8 knots Moderate 9-15 knots 16+ Knots Sea State Flat Choppy Flat Choppy Flat Choppy Mast Rake (Ft/Inches) 21″ 11″ 21′ 9″ 21′ 7″ Rig tension (lbs) 330 297 264 Mast Ram Pull forward to flatten the main Pull back to keep the mast straight as kicker is applied Pull back to ease over bending Cunningham None Take out minor creases Lower the cunningham block further by 30mm Outhaul Hard Ease 20mm Ease 20mm Hard Kicker Take up slack Keep top tell-tale flying 90% Hard Centreboard Leading edge vertically down Raise 1-2’’ Raise 3-4’’   Jib Fairleads The position of the fairleads affects the foot and leech tensions; pulling the fairleads forward is the same as pulling the barber haulers on. Moving them back in the boat increases the foot tension and allows the top half of the jib to twist open (see the top tell-tale break before the lower ones). Moving them forward has theopposite effects of opening the foot slightly, and closes the leech. Light Winds (1-8 knots) The pulley for jib sheeting should be set so if you follow the line of the jib sheet it bisects the clew at roughly 45 degrees. The general rule for light air sailing is to keep the flow of air moving through slot (leech of the jib to the luff of the main). Aim to have the higher tell-tales lifting before the lower ones as this shows the direction of flow is more biased to the top of the leech (twist) Moderate winds (9-15 knots) As the breeze starts to build you should be aiming for max power. Here you will be able to move the fairlead forward to close the slot to help stop losing power at the head of the jib. Again, sheet the jib aiming to get the higher tell-tales lifting before the lower ones. Heavy winds (16 knots+) The jib sheeting should be moved forward again to help close the leech. If the luff of the main starts to turn inside out the slot is being stalled, you may need to ease the sheet and move the fairleads back to help open and keep the flow of air exiting the sails as quick as possible. Spinnaker Trim The spinnaker should be flying so the two clews (two bottom corners) are level, then ease the leeward sheet so the luff (sail edge nearest the wind) just starts to flicker back on itself. A handy tip is the tie the halyard to the head of the kite so there is 2 inch gap from the knot to the edge of the sail, this helps the kite fly freely. This is purely a tuning guide and has been prepared to help you get the most out of your North Sails as quickly as possible. Some of these numbers will differ from boat to boat. Feel free to modify and experiment in small steps to find what suits you best. If you find settings that really work well, mark these clearly and please keep us informed. READ MORE

NORTH KITEBOARDING Sign Up for our Newsletter Today and Receive a North Hat and Jacket! At North, we’re for the seekers. The adventurers, the explorers, the freedom-junkies. Those who are their true selves when they’re at one with the elements. North Kiteboarding | Enter To Win! First Name * Last Name * Email Address * Address Address Address Address City City State/Province State/Province Zip/Postal Zip/Postal Country Afghanistan Aland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Côte d'Ivoire Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Barthelemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Country Submit READ MORE

ANDY ROY WINS J/105 MASTERS Local Sailors Come Out On Top Right after crossing the finish line 1st to win the regatta How did your team prepare for racing in San Diego? We had intended to get some practice time in by getting out in a J/105 in Toronto Harbour, but it just didn’t work out due to busy schedules. The five dudes in front of me on the boat, Scott Collinson (Main Trimmer), Dave Jarvis (Tactician), Andrew van Nostrand (Jib Trimmer), Rob Emery (Spin Trimmer) and Fraser Howell (Bowman), all race on J/105s throughout the season, so that of course was a nice factor in our preparation. Scott and Dave also were involved with a lot of highly competitive IC37 racing in Newport, RI this past summer, which really upped their game. My lack of recent J/105 or any kind of keelboat racing was a bit of concern from a preparation standpoint, as my racing is almost exclusively in Lasers. So not having even seen a J105 in a year meant our prep as a full team came down to emails, phone calls and one practice day at the event. Certainly not optimum, but we would just have to work with it. We went over the pros and cons from our 2018 regatta where we finished 2nd overall. I called up old friend, Dave Perry skipper of the winning team at last year’s regatta, to get his thoughts on what worked for his team. He kindly provided a few insights and reinforced some general strategic concepts we had picked up in last year’s regatta. One of the great things about the International Masters Regatta is that SDYC works hard in advance to equalize the boats. The owners “loan” their boats to the club for the event, which are then emptied of all excess gear, the rigs are tuned to the same shroud tensions, the identical sets of sails are club owned and used solely for this and one other event, and brand new jibs were provided this year. Teams rotate through the boats following each race. Volunteers go through each boat at the end of the day and a diver cleans the hulls each morning. The result ends up being a true test of sailboat racing, with equipment differences effectively removed from the equation. There are a several boats among the 11 that seem a little faster typically finish well each race; however, since everyone gets the same shot at each boat –it’s completely fair. What elements helped your team perform well together? What did each contribute? I think the key strength of our team is that each member knows his position to the level where there’s full trust and confidence in each other at all times. We have a very quiet and calm boat. I can only recall about three moments over the series where there was a bit of, shall I say, “tension” on the boat (and any that did occur originated from the nut at the end of the tiller). Scott has solid J/105 expertise in keeping the boat at its maximum speed and VMG towards the mark. For example, he will typically rip his hat off on downwind legs so that he can better sense slight apparent wind angle changes on the back of his neck. He’s all over me (in a positive way, of course) downwind to assist me in guiding the boat at the precise optimum angle. Combined with Rob’s spin trimming, these were definite advantages, as we felt we were the best performing crew off the wind. Scott is also a strong team motivator. For example, he would announce on the way to the course area our motivating/team-bonding “word of the day”. On the all-important final race day, his word of the day was “United”, and that was ideally timed. We sailed as a united team throughout, even when things weren’t working out quite to plan in the first couple of races of the day. Dave is an excellent tactician, both strategically and tactically. He’s calm and calculated, nails layline calls and decision making in general to keep our air clear and position us nicely for the critical mark rounding approaches. Andrew and Rob trim the jib and spin to perfection. Andrew stays on top of jib halyard tension and lead position as conditions change, and with Rob I can’t recall one moment when the chute luffed and needed an aggressive trim or ease. Rob and I have positive communication with each other downwind, where Rob is consistently communicating “good pressure” or “a little soft”, etc., which of course is essential for me to make very slight course alterations to maintain constant optimum VMG towards the leeward mark. Similar to our sail trimming, Fraser’s work on the pointy end was flawless. I can’t recall a hoist, takedown or other maneuver where we had any kind of sail handling issue. Fraser, Andrew and Rob also are all sensitive to our correct heel angle, and rarely does Scott or I need to call for more or less weight on the rail. It just quietly happens. Tell us about racing. What were conditions like? The conditions were pretty much the same all three days of racing. I’d call it 8-12 knots, flat water, small oscillations here and there, and typical variations in puffs and lulls. Overall a fair racetrack, with a few opportunities to make up ground or lose it if not on the correct side of the course. Tidal current would play a factor when the RC set the windward mark more to the east of the Bay, which was closer to a deeper shipping channel. This added an interesting tactical consideration. What was your favorite race? Easy question: it was the 11th and last race, which came down to a “who-beats-who” battle between the local “Team Sinks” crew and us. Chuck Sinks, an experienced racer, had as is tactician the legendary Vince Brun, former Olympian and multi-class world champion (and former President of North Sails One Design). The crew was also loaded up with seasoned top sailors, so we knew going in they would be a challenge. As is typically the case, getting a good start would be vital in the last race, as there wouldn’t be many passing lanes once off the line. With about 40 seconds before the start gun we were on starboard with sails luffing near the committee boat end. The Sinks boat tacked to starboard a few boats to leeward of us. Dave spotted a potential opening below Sinks where we could try to establish a leeward position on them. I looked down to leeward, saw the “hole” Dave had eye balled, and immediately decided, yes, there’s just enough space to slide in there. I pulled the tiller to weather, snuck behind their transom and starting heading up with just enough room above the next boat to leeward. We then began a slow luff to head-to-wind taking the Sinks boat up with us. We could almost sense a collective “UH OH” coming off their boat, as we quickly had them where we wanted them. With about 10 seconds to go we bore off for speed with a nice start leaving them struggling to get up to speed when the gun went. The bulk of the fleet headed to the right side of the upwind leg to get in the helpful upwind current towards the shipping channel and we were headed there as well, with Sinks directly to leeward of us. They tacked to starboard a little early for the layline we thought, but it gave us a perfect opportunity to tack right on their air. This pretty well put them away for good, and realistically we just had to sail a clean race from thereon. Fortunately, the current was stronger than I think anyone anticipated, and with a touch of luck involved, we were pushed upwind to where we ended up just making the mark without needing to tack. Beauty! We rounded with a couple lengths lead and held it nicely to the finish – a very satisfying final race! The press boat drove up and handed us a bottle of chilled champagne and our cooler bag, and the hour-long motor back to SDYC was rather enjoyable. Did anything surprise you about the event, conditions or the racing itself? No real surprises, per se, other than that most of the other 10 crews were very solid, with a few having some well-known sailors onboard including former Olympians. There was really only one or two boats not capable of putting in a top 5 race, so racing was tight. Also notable, although not surprising, was the flawless race management work. What does it mean to you to win the Masters International? What I’m particularly proud of is that, although we were happy last year with our 2nd overall finish, we knew we had what it takes to challenge for the overall title. We established the goal, maintained our confidence and executed our game plan. It’s nice to be the first Canadian crew to have won this event. How does this win stand out from others? As most of my racing in recent years has been in the singlehanded Laser, winning a competitive regatta like the IMR, in evenly matched/rotated boats, really stands out because it was a total TEAM WIN. This, in addition to the fact we came back a year later to “take care of some unfinished business”, made it a special victory. What advice can you provide to other sailors? The number one factor towards success is what I like to call putting in the “BTUs” for Boat Time Units. Now, as admitted earlier, we didn’t have time to put in the BTUs for the regatta, but we performed well because the other five guys had been sailing as much as they can, while the Laser helming time I’ve had translated nicely to steering the J/105 and being able to squeeze into tight spaces. So my advice is to get as many BTUs in with your crew as you can throughout the season. Don’t solely get together for racing, but rather get out for some solid practice time, where you’ve mapped out what you want to work on in advance, work on weaknesses, practice starts and mark roundings, and follow it all up with positive debriefs and note taking. And, of course, always make it fun! READ MORE

THE IN'S AND OUT'S OF RADIAN FURLING HEADSAILS North Sails Expert Spencer Colpaert Shares All Many cruisers love the ease of their roller furling headsails. Here is all you need to know about North's Radian furling headsail. When looking at Dacron sails you have two panel layouts of choice, the more traditional Cross Cut sail and the more advanced Radial construction. The most standard and economical option you will see on the water is the Cross Cut layout, meaning that the panels are oriented horizontally from luff to the leech. This is a very basic layout for sails which began in the mid 1800’s and is still being used today when building sails. While this layout is a perfectly good sail for most applications, when looking for a roller furling headsail you want to make sure that your sail has great shape holding properties for a prefect roll every time. North Sails NorDac Radian cloth stands alone as the premier cloth in the world for minimum stretch resistance. Our Radial panel layouts help to evenly disperse the load throughout the sail to help keep a better flying shape in your sail for a longer period of time, over a Cross Cut sail. This is especially so when looking at the impact a sail sees when being furled in and out numerous times over the years. There is a slight increase in price when moving to a Radial sail construction, however that will save you more in the long run when looking at the ease of use. When looking into great options to help extend the life of your sail, and make it easier to use, we always suggest some sort of UV protection for your sail. This is especially so if you are planning to leave the sail furled on the headstay for any period of time. Two great options are either the UV leech and foot cover or a Genoa sock. The leech and foot cover are a sacrificial UV preventative material that is sewn along the leech and foot of your sail so that when your sail is furled up there is no actual sail cloth being exposed to the sun. Over the life of your sail cover it is omen for the threads holding the cover down to deteriorate quicker than the cover itself will. This can be fixed by a simple re-stitching of the cover to make sure that the cover does not begin to pull away from the sail. A second option for UV protection is a genoa sock. This sock is a long piece of material that is attached to a halyard and zipped up along your sail while furled on the headstay. Here at North Sails our Genoa socks also include a line wrapping thought the sock to tighten up the excess material around the headstay preventing it from excessively flapping in the wind. READ MORE

NORTH SAILS FOR CHRISTMAS A Surprise Like No Other When John and Ellie came into the loft in early November they divulged that they were looking for North Sails and North Sails swag for their son for Christmas. As we were talking I thought that this is a great story about parents doing something special for Christmas for their son, an avid sailing enthusiast who makes a living as an architect. I was able to ask them a few questions about what they are doing and what gave them the idea of getting new North Sails for their son. This is part one of the story. The second half will continue after Tom receives his new sails. *Last names have been omitted in order to keep the secret safe until Christmas.* You and your wife are getting your son a set of North Sails for his boat for Christmas, what gave you the idea to do this? Well the idea came up because the kids come up every summer, they live in a cottage in North Carolina where his boat, a Harpoon 4.6 is kept. The only time he gets to use the boat is during the summer when he visits. At one point he was wanting to sell the boat and I said no we’re not going to sell the boat, we’ll keep it right here in our pole barn and it’s going to be there when you want it. Which I think that was the answer he had wanted to hear. Anyhow, he was visiting us last year and the sails looked a little aged when he was out on the lake. I said to my wife, you know, we ought to have new sails made. We talked to him about it and initially asked would you go for some pretty colored ones that stand out on the lake? He says; "no, no. They've got be white." North Sails are white so they’ve got to be white. He’s a purist when it comes to his sails. Taking that into consideration and knowing that he’s a purist when it comes to sails; we said, you know, "it’d be kind of neat if we could surprise him and just put new sails on the boat for him." What made you chose North Sails? Back in the 90’s we had a place, in Florida on the gulf and a marina had a store that carried North Sails. He went crazy! I didn’t know about North Sails up until that point. He’s the one that kind of set it in motion, and that was after he had already had the boat. Is sailing something you have done as a family? How did your son get into sailing? How he got into sailing was because my sister, her husband, and their children lived on Lake Muskegon and they had a sailboat. So as their children, their oldest son got into sailing. They invited Tom up for a weekend and that was all it took. They got caught in a gale that came across Muskegon Lake that was pretty dangerous. We were on the way up to the cottage and had to stop under a viaduct because the wind was so bad. Being out in that and the adventure Tom had with his cousins really cemented it in. That’s how he got interested in it and it seemed so comfortable for him that it just engrained in his blood. Who knows how people get enthusiastic about one particular thing but they do. He still has a huge passion for it. He’ll watch the sailing races any time he can. Is he more of a cruiser over a racer? Cruising is more of what he does. He also has a 16-foot Whaler. In fact, his son Noah last year, he was 11, it was a little rough so he didn’t go. He’s trying to get Noah into it. It’s going to take a little time. His son is on the spectrum as he has autism, so he didn’t want to push it. But I think once he gets a nice calm day out there, he’ll be hooked. That’s how Tom got hooked. He already knows all the verbiage and the angles of sailing. Do you have any other stories about your son’s interest in boats and boating? I think he has read every book ever written on the Edmund Fitzgerald. He is enamored with that story. When he was about 12 years old he asked me for a 3ft piece of a 2x4 and I asked said "for what?" He said he was working on a project so he carved up this piece of wood into a hull. He made a replica, I mean to scale, of the Edmund Fitzgerald. He was 12 or 13. We still have it. He’s got a power boat now too, on the lake at the cottage that he uses on the weekends for the kids, but he says real boating is sailing. His love is sailing. I this gift coming as a surprise? At first we were going to tell him. Then we thought, let’s keep it a secret and we’ll give it to him at Christmas. So we’re not going to say anything at Christmas, unless we have our hands on them. If we don’t, we’d rather just bring them down once they are made and surprise him. He’ll be excited about next summer to get back into the Harpoon; he’ll really get motivated. READ MORE

FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR GOOD MEMORIES Edison Boat Club Closes Their Doors After 105 Years On September 29th 2019, Edison Boat Club closed their doors one final time. Founded in 1914, EBC has been a mainstay in the Detroit Area Sailing Community. Earlier this Spring, DTE which owns the property where the Club sat, informed the membership that they had sold the property. The local team at North Sails in Detroit are saddened, and wish the members of Edison Boat Club the best. A positive side of this announcement is that it gave the membership a Summer to celebrate their history and when it came time for their Annual Regatta, the DRYA membership showed up in mass to help say goodbye. This was one of the best attended DRYA regatta parties in many years. It was great to see the support from the local community. Edison Boat Club is the club where I grew up sailing. My father Fred Kuspa was Commodore there in 1981 and has been a member now for over 55 years. On Saturday August 18th they held their Annual Flying Scot Regatta. I was fortunate enough to convince my friend Kerry Pebbles to drag his boat down there so we could sail the regatta, one last time. Kerry took the helm for the first race and despite a mix up on our end with the starting sequence (the crew's fault), we were able to claw back from way behind to pull off a second place finish. In the second race Kerry handed the helm over to me and we sailed a pretty clean race. Note, the new crew did a better job with the starting sequence, hence we won the race. The highlight of the day for me is when Kerry gave the boat over to my sister and I so that my sister could skipper the woman’s race. My sister no longer lives in the state and has not sailed a Flying Scot since 1989. She hopped on the boat and you would have thought she had been sailing regularly ever since, taking home the victory with ease. From the smiles on our faces, this is one more memory to add to our lifetime of memories provided by Edison Boat Club. READ MORE

VICTORIAS EN FORMATO ONE DESIGN Nuestros clientes de clases one design continúan cosechando grandes resultados. 📸 Pedro Seoane Es el caso de Jacobo García y Antonio Ripolle, ganadores de la Copa del España de 420 celebrada en el Club Náutico de Altea (31 de octubre a 3 de noviembre). En categoría Optimist, North Sails propulsó el barco de Alejandra Lencina para ganar la XX Semana del Atlántico – Meeting Internacional de Optimist Ciudad de Vigo (31 de octubre a 3 de noviembre) en categoría femenina y conseguir la tercera plaza absoluta por detrás del portugués Augusto Castelo-Branco, también con velas North Sails. Igualmente en Vigo, el Laguardia & Moreira patroneado por Gonzalo Araujo se impuso en la primera cita de las J70 Villalia Series (9-10 de noviembre). READ MORE

ÉXITOS DE SALÓN North Sails España ha participado con éxito en el Salón Náutico Internacional de Barcelona (9-13 de octubre) y en el Valencia Boat Show (30 de octubre a 3 de noviembre). Dos excelentes oportunidades en las que nuestros expertos pudieron mostrar a los visitantes todo el catálogo de velas North Sails, destacando como novedad más importante la gama HELIX, velas de proa sin cabo antitorsión para barcos de prácticamente todas las esloras. Los stands North Sails de ambos salones disfrutaron de una gran afluencia de público. READ MORE

CONSEJO NORTH SAILS Almacenar las velas durante el invierno requiere seguir ciertos criterios para evitar daños innecesarios. 📸 Ian Roman En primer lugar, debemos asegurarnos de que están limpias y completamente secas, ya que la humedad supone un foco de problemas, especialmente por la generación de moho, manchas y el siempre desagradable olor a humedad. También resulta recomendable enrollarlas o plegarlas de manera diferente a como lo hacemos habitualmente para evitar que queden marcas de doblado. Para su correcto almacenamiento, evitaremos la intemperie (y, en la medida de lo posible, el propio barco si no se estiba en tierra), buscando un lugar preferiblemente libre de frío extremo, sol directo y humedad, lejos del alcance de insectos y roedores, y evitando colocar objetos pesados encima. Estas medidas prolongarán la vida de nuestras velas. Ante cualquier duda, nuestro agente North Sails nos indicará la mejor manera de preservar nuestras velas hasta la próxima temporada. READ MORE

SIN RIVAL EN THE NATIONS TROPHY La segunda edición de The Nations Trophy constó de tres jornadas de intensa competición que mostraron un dominio absoluto de los clientes North Sails. 📸 Carlo Borlenghi La competición organizada por Nautor’s Swan en la bahía de Palma coronó al Skorpios de Dmitry Ryboloblev (con táctica del español Fernando Echávarri) como nuevo campeón del mundo de clase ClubSwan 50, al Fever de Klaus Diederich como campeón del mundo de Swan 45 y al Mela de Andrea Rossi como campeón de Europa de clase ClubSwan 42. El ClubSwan 50 Cuordileone de Leonardo Ferragamo y el Swan 45 Ulika de Andrea Masi lograron para Italia el título absoluto de The Nations Trophy 2019. Enhorabuena a todos, ¡y gracias por confiar en North Sails! READ MORE

REFERENCIA EN EL MUNDO IMOCA La nueva generación de monocascos IMOCA debuta en el cruce transatlántico de la Transat Jacques Vabre dejando espectaculares imágenes a medio camino entre la potencia y el funambulismo. 📸 Mx Horlaville / disobey / Apivia North Sails trabaja directamente con seis equipos en el diseño y evolución de sus velas bajo la dirección de Gautier Sergent, responsable de North Sails Francia y experto en 3Di. La velocidad con la que evoluciona la clase dificulta los ensayos en el agua, por lo que herramientas como North Design Suite resultan esenciales para el diseño de las velas. "Nos permite no sólo realizar simulaciones, sino seguir evolucionando y ser más rápidos en las respuestas a los cambios, proporcionando información muy valiosa a expertos en otras áreas como hidrodinámica, estructuras, ergonomía...", explica Gautier. El equipo North Sails ofrece soluciones a medida con expertos dedicados a cada proyecto. "Ya hemos establecido un plan de acción para utilizar lo aprendido en esta Transat Jacques Vabre para seguir avanzando. Veremos novedades antes de la próxima Vendée Globe". La salida será en junio de 2020. READ MORE

NORTH SAILS DOMINA LA ROLEX MIDDLE SEA RACE La 40ª edición de la Rolex Middle Sea Race (19-26 de octubre) reunió a 113 barcos de 23 nacionalidades para enfrentarse al mítico recorrido de 606 millas alrededor de Sicilia, con salida y llegada en Malta. 📸 Rolex / Kurt Arrigo Clientes North Sails ganaron nueve clases, incluyendo la victoria en tiempo real y el título absoluto en IRC. El estadounidense Rambler de George David fue el monocasco más rápido por quinta edición consecutiva y el triunfo absoluto correspondió al maltés Elusive 2 de la familia Podesta. De acuerdo con el patrón Chris Podesta, "las velas North Sails son esenciales para nuestras prestaciones. Hemos notado importantes mejoras con las velas de popa, y nuestros J4 (de 2018) y J3 (2019) proporcionan mucha potencia de avance". Desde North Sails felicitamos también por sus victorias a Black Pearl (IRC 2), Bewild (ORC general y ORC 3), Arobas2 (ORC 1) y Blur (ORC 5). ¡Muchas gracias a todos por confiar en North Sails! READ MORE

HELIX LUFF CORD Enrollado top-down para velas Helix North Sails y Future Fibres desarrollan conjuntamente la estructura de grátil Helix Luff Cord, la última evolución en tecnología de reparto de cargas Load Sharing Technology para velas de través. Un producto sin precedentes que combina el sistema de enrollado top-down con las ventajas en prestaciones, ligereza y facilidad de uso de las velas North Sails Helix. Diseñado exclusivamente para las velas Helix de North Sails, este innovador producto permite el enrollado top-down (de arriba hacia abajo) en velas tipo código con estructura Helix. El Helix Luff Cord de Future Fibres es una solución de ingeniería muy ligera y plegable, que aplica las ventajas del enrollado top-down a velas con tecnología de reparto de cargas. Los cabos son diseñados con la rigidez necesaria que proporciona un óptimo reparto de cargas entre el cabo y la vela. Los cambios de trimado no varían el ratio de tensión entre el cabo y la vela. Esto se traduce en un enrollado de arriba hacia abajo más seguro y fiable con los beneficios de proyección hacia adelante y a barlovento de una vela Helix. El director de ingeniería y diseño de North Sails, JB Braun, y el director de proyecto de Future Fibres, Seth Cooley, decidieron combinar las herramientas de diseño de Future Fibres con el North Design Suite para validar el concepto Helix Luff Cord y entender el comportamiento de la aeroelasticidad en diferentes condiciones de navegación. The Helix Luff Cord (right) delivers reliable top-down furling at a fraction of the size, weight, and stiffness of traditional anti-torsion cables (left). Membrain, el software de análisis de cargas exclusivo de North Sails, ayudó al equipo a entender las cargas en el barco, el mástil y las velas, incluyendo los ratios de cargas específicas entre el cabo y la vela. Los diseños se pasaron posteriormente por Flow, que analizó las presiones de viento por la vela a medida que se ejercía tensión en cabo y vela. "A medida que el concepto Helix crecía exponencialmente a lo largo del pasado año y medio, resultó evidente que el sistema de enrollado bottom-up (de abajo hacia arriba) del 75% de las velas de rango medio eran como mínimo poco fiables", explica el director de North Sails, Ken Read. "Hubiera sido fácil simplemente adaptar cabos de torsión covencionales al Helix, pero ese no es nuestro estilo. Necesitábamos desarrollar un sistema que incorporase ligereza y facilidad de uso junto a ventajas claras en cuanto a forma y prestaciones de las velas. Un reto difícil. Afortunadamente, JB, Seth y el resto del equipo acabaron proponiendo un producto que supone una auténtica revolución". El Helix Luff Cord permite un sistema de enrollado top-down con menos grosor, peso y rigidez que los cabos de grátil convencionales. A cambio, ofrece las ventajas de reparto de cargas y de forma asociadas a la estructura de una vela Helix sin las limitaciones de rigidez, peso y diámetro de un cabo antitorsión convencional. "Este es el siguiente paso en la evolución de la tecnología de reparto de cargas", explica JB Braun. "El Helix Luff Cord y la vela, trabajan conjuntamente frente a lo que ocurre con un pesado cabo antitorsión, diseñado para sostener el aparejo. Y los mismos ratios de carga entre vela y cabo se mantienen con los diferentes cambios de trimado. Esto permite que las velas cambien de forma con los ajustes de amura al tiempo que mantienen la óptima tensión de grátil". Desde su presentación, Helix se ha convertido en una referencia para navegantes de crucero, regata y Grand-Prix porque ofrece unas formas de vela mejoradas con menores cargas sobre el aparejo. Velas tipo código, asimétricos con tejido laminado, velas de través y trinquetas se benefician de los diseños Helix exclusivos de North Sails, y el Helix Luff Cord añade ventajas de facilidad, fiablidad y manejo de estas velas a los muchos beneficios de la tecnología de reparto de cargas. "Ahora, cualquiera puede enrollar, desenrollar, izar y arriar nuestro código cero Helix, y en cualquier ángulo de viento aparente", destaca Sam Richmond, director comercial de North Sails UK. "Hemos estado desarrollando y probando cabos de grátil para el Jethou a lo largo de los últimos cinco meses, especialmente con nuestros códigos cero Helix. El Helix Luff Cord nos permite beneficiarnos de las ventajas del diseño Helix con una radical reducción de cargas en el botalón y el mástil, todo ello al tiempo que disfrutamos de la seguridad y fiabilidad del enrollado top-down. Ya no tenemos que preocuparnos por perder esloras mientras enrollamos o desenrollamos, ni por el peligro asociado a manejar velas enormes con enrollado bottom-up". READ MORE

17. Jabuka kompletno gotova za 22 sata! Regata Jabuka je ove godine bila zahtjevna i u natjecateljskom i u logističkom pogledu. U dosadašnjih 16 izdanja flota se velikom većinom mogla smjestiti u vodiškom portu, iza Parapeta, ali ovogodišnje jugo je znatno povećalo promet marine u susjednom Tribunju. Jako, vro jako, a i povremeno olujno jugo, puhalo je skoro cijeli tjedan prije starta regate. Osim standardnih pitanja koja su međusobno postavljali organizatori iz JK Tijat, morali su se sebi postaviti i nekoliko novih. Osim mogućnosti da vremenske prilike osujete dolazak jednog dijela natjecatelja, pojavilo se pitanje gdje će se tolika flota smjestiti po tako jakom jugu. Svima koji su bili u Vodicama u vrijeme održavanja Jabuke poznata je slika zakrčene gradske luke u kojoj su jedrilice u iščekivanju starta vezane "alajo" do desetak u nizu i tako po nekoliko skupina sa svake strane rive koja vodi do Parapeta. Ove godine zbog sigurnosnih razloga to nije bilo moguće. Istina, bile je nešto jedrilica vezano na ovaj način, ali to nije bilo ni približno slici koju smo viđali ranije. Susjedna ACI marina nije mogla primiti sve ostale jedrilice koje se nisu mogle smjestiti u luci. To je već uobičajena situacija, jer je gro vezova zauzet u ovo doba godine, a ne postoji klasični tranzitni gat. Zato je uprava tribunjske marine dobrosusjedski stavila svoje slobodne vezove u tehničkoj zoni na raspolaganje po akcijskim cijenama za sudionike regate. Drugi logistički zahtjev ovako velike dislokacija flote je bila organizacija pregleda nužne opreme po jedrilicama, kao i omogućavanje službene prijave sudionika u uredu Regatnog odbora. Zato je organizirana transportna služba s dva kombija koji su jedriličare vozili na relaciji Tribunj - Vodice i natrag. Sam petak u Vodicama je započeo s lijepim i ugodnim jutrom bez vjetra. Takvo stanje je vladalo do ranog poslijepodneva kad se jugo počelo dizati. Do mraka je već bilo respektabilnih dvadesetak čvorova, dok su u vrijeme održavanja sastanka kormilara s Regatnim odborom refuli bili i značajno jači. Do tih trenutaka glavno pitanje u Vodicama je bilo o vremenu starta. S obzirom na prognozu već se ranije krenulo s nagađanjima o odgodi starta, a možda i o skraćenoj ruti. RO zajedno s Organizacijskim odborom regate nije davao informacije o tome da li su već donijeli neku odluku, već se pričekao najavljeni sastanak u 19 sati da se oglase urbi et orbi ta dva najtraženija odgovora dana. Regatni odbor je dobro odlučio što je start prebacio za subotu ujutro u 7:00! Mogu reći da je adrenalina sa strane sudionika bilo već nekoliko dana prije samog starta regate u smislu što će se desiti i kakva će odluka biti s obzirom na vremensku prognozu. Sa strane sudionika dobili same pohvale, koje jasno, treba opravdati i narednih godina, a mi ćemo dati sve od sebe da to i bude tako. Ovim putem se još jednom želim zahvaliti članovima mog kluba, JK Tijat i ljudima sa strane koji su nam omogućili održavanje regate. Među njima posebno želim istaknuti članove JK Val iz Šibenika s kojima surađujemo od samog početka, ne samo u smislu pomoći s ljudstvom, već i s materijalnom pomoći. Naravno, bez podrške u svim oblicima od Grada Vodica i Turističke zajednice Vodica sigurno se ne bi upuštali u ovako zahtjevan projekt. A po pitanju odmaka od standardne rute moram reći da smo imali sastanak u četvrtak na kojem je uz članove Organizacijskog i Regatnog odbora u konzultantskoj ulozi sudjelovao i renomirani slovenski metereolog i jedriličar g.Jure Jerman. Pregledali smo puno prognoza i zaključili da će biti stvarno puno mora, kao što je i bilo, te da bi u kombinaciji s nestabilnim vjetrovima koji su trebali puhati u zoni jedrenja rute prema Blitvenici to bilo prenaporno za natjecatelje, a u kombinaciji sa skraćenim ograničenim vremenom jedrenja bilo bi upitno koliko bi jedrilica rutu odradilo na jedra. Ovako smo ih praktički natjerali da odmah jedre prema kopnu, jer je u najavi bilo da će pred kraj dana biti bure s kojom će moći dojedriti do Vodica. Istina, bure je bilo malo, ali ipak je stigla i odradila ono što smo od nje i očekivali, a to je omogućavanje ugodnijeg povratka u Vodice. Stanko Skočić, predsjednik JK Tijat Flota je bila podijeljena po Open-u i ORC-u. U Openu je podjela bila na 8 skupina klasičnim sistemom. Najmanja dozvoljena veličina je 9.40 metara, a skupine su se dijelile svakih idući metar. Još su bile i dvije monotip skupine, za Firsteve 45 i Seascapeove 27. Inače, Seascape 27 je jedrilica čija LOA je 7.30m, što je više od dva metra manje od minimalno dopuštene duljine, ali ovi maleni bolidi imaju "wild card" već godinama. Po ORC-u je jedrilo 46 jedrilica, skoro polovica flote i bili su podijeljeni u dvije skupine, a kriterij podjele je bio koeficijent CDL, a granična vrijednost 10.500. Rezultat podjele je 25 jedrilica u skupini ORC 0 i 21 u skupini ORC 1. U skupini ORC 1 jedrile su manje jedrilice, a najveće među njima su bile dvije četrdesetice. Pobjeda odlazi u ruke vrlo iskusne slovenske posade na Sun Fastu 3200 imena Shark. Iako je riječ o relativno malenoj jedrilici, njena ekipa je nekoliko godina bila vrlo aktivna i sudionik skoro svih važnijih Jadranskih regata, a također se mogu pohvaliti i jedrenjem na Middlesea Race-u. Ove godine su u cilj u Vodicama ušli 47 sekundu iza ponoći, odnosno kao drugi u ovoj skupini jedrilica po realnom vremenu. Realno brži od njih su bili samo njihovi sunarodnjaci na Aurora Pirnar koji su bili brži sitnih šest sekundi! Na kraju je matematika pokazala da su Sharkovci bili korigirano brži za čak 40 minuta. Takva korekcija im je donijela i ukupnu pobjedu u ovoj skupini, dok je Aurora završila na 4. mjestu. Između njih su bili Hebe V (M34), češka posada, brončana na ovogodišnjem ORC Svjetskom prvenstvu odjedrenenom u Šibeniku i još jedna češka posada... Paula (Dufour 34). Ukupno četiri hrvatske posade su jedrile u ORC 1, a najbolji među njima je bio Žarko Juraga s posadom na jedrilici M&M (Elan 340). Oni su bili 60. u generalnom plasmanu, dok su nakon korekcije zauzeli 9. mjesto u skupini ORC 1 i 3. mjesto u skupini 7. U istoj ovoj skupini mjesto ispred njih u realnom mjestu završava Shark. U skupini ORC 0 svrstale su se jedrilice veće od 40 stopa. Najmanji su bili Farr 40 i Elan 400/S5. Tu su samo četiri posade bile čisto ili većinski hrvatskog predznaka. Slično kao u skupini ORC 0, pobjeda je otišla u ruke još jednim veteranima Middle Sea. Ovaj put slavodobitnici su bili momci i cure predvođeni Cirilom Vrančićem, a jedrili su na njegovoj Bavaria 46, Srna V. Osim što je Ciril okupio jednu od najmlađih ekipa na regati, nastavio je jedan projekt koji je obilježio prošlu godinu, a riječ je o obučavanju studenata Pomorskog fakulteta iz Splita jedriličarskim vještinama. Istina, nije baš u službenom obliku kao što je to bilo dok su studenti jedrili na Elanu 450 Adio pameti, ali definitvivno izniman ljudski potez koji će ovim budućim profesionalnim pomorcima pružiti uvid u još jednu dimenziju plovidbe. Više o regati i o ovoj temi ispričao nam je sam g.Vrančić. Bilo je dosta čupavo, vremenski uvjeti su bili promjenljivi. Bilo je puno mora i puno kiše koja je stizala s vjetrovima sa svih strana. Trebalo je biti dosta oprezan. Dolazile su nevere... Jedrili smo sa svim jedrima koje smo imali. Uglavnom su gore bili jedro, flok i genaker. Jedro nismo kratili u niti jednom trenutku, a prednje jedro nam je u principu flok. Na Srni nemam klasičnih genova od 110% ili 120%. Od letećih jedara uglavnom smo koristili genaker A3, a poslije Mula smo napravili dobar potez kad smo podignuli A1.5, jedan veći genaker. Tada smo izašli malo više vani, oko 2 milje, jer je tamo bilo nešto više vjetra nego uz obalu i stvarno smo lijepo vozili. Što se tiče taktike, cijelo vrijeme se promatralo gdje su fronte, gdje se treba prebaciti... a po pitanju rute nema nekih tajni. I po trackeru se vidi da smo svi zajedno pokušavali pogoditi dobitni potez. Da li smo mi u nekom trenutku prije skinuli genaker ili je nekom nešto puklo... to su detalji koji su možda donijeli prednost u nekom trenutku. Htio bi naglasiti da su u posadi bili studenti Pomorskog fakulteta u Splitu. Jedna mlada ekipa koja nije jedriličarski školovana. Jedrile su tri djevojke i pet momaka. Pokazali izniman interes za jedrenjem i uz par treninga koje smo napravili prije ove regate u njoj, po zahtjevnim uvjetima na moru, pokazali su zadivljujuću smirenost. Dolazi nevera, treba skinuti genaker... tu nije bilo nikakve panike. Radili su ono što smo vježbali na treninzima. I to je funkcioniralo vrlo dobro. Nismo oštetili niti jedno jedro! Za vrijeme jedrenja samo nam je pukao karel na lijevog klizaču od škotine floke, ali to se dogodilo uslijed sile. Drago mi je što sam ih uspio privući. Rekao sam im da je Srna u Kaštelima i da dođu da jedrimo kad god mogu. To se pokazalo dobitnom kombinacijom... mladi ljudi željni učenja, spremni raditi, pokisli su do kože jer nemaju prava jedriličarska odijela i nisu se bunili! S ovom ekipom ću nastaviti suradnju i dalje. Plan je da jednom tjedno imamo treninge. Nastojat ću angažirati nekog da nam pomogne u smislu taktike i tehnike. Do sada nam je stručni savjetnik bio Kolja Dumanić. Stvarno nam je puno pomogao, pokazao je na što treba paziti dok se jedri, što treba gledati na jedrima... savršena suradnja. Tako da kao rezime mogu reći da je uspjeh Srne V, koja je charter jedrilica Bavaria 46, plod suradnje studenata Pomorskog fakulteta u Splitu, charter tvrtke Yacht 4 You i vrsnog splitskog jedriličara Kolje Dumanića, koji je napravio onaj finalni dodir i sve posložio na svoje mjesto! Ciril Vrančić, Srna V U vrhu ORC 0 skupine završila je većina jedrilica koje su ostvarile izvrsne rezultate i u realnom vremenu. Iza Srne V, na drugom mjestu je Taia 2 & White Goose (Arya 415 MOD), pobjednici regate u realnom vremenu. Na trećem mjestu završava Toto Travel (Farr 40), inače trećeplasiran u realnom vremenu. Srna je finiširala skoro sat i pol iza spomenutog dvojca, ali nakon matematičke obrade rezultata bila je brža od Taie za oko pola minute, dok je Toto kasnio skoro pola korigiranog sata. S obzirom na nekoliko jedrilica koje su se mogle pronaći na startnoj listi ovogodišnje Jabuke, teško se moglo očekivati da će razvoj situacije u cilju biti u znaku "normalnih" jedrilica. Dva imena su definitvno dominirala u svim predviđanjima imena pobjednika. To su bili VOR 60 - Cleansport One i Cecarelli 53 - Molo Longo Tutta Trieste. Nakon starta flotu je predvodila Taia 2 & White Goose, ali nakon pliči Sestrica lidersku poziciju ipak preuzima Molo Longo. Tu se brzo odvaja od pratnje i nakon zaorcavanja i prolaska između otočića Dugo i Komorice, te prebacivanja na lijeve uzde njegovoj ekipi preostaje samo kontrola flote ispod njih. Već ova zona je dosta otvorena na val koji dolazio s juga, a posebno nakon prolaska južne punte Žirja i otočića Mažirina. Nešto malo više nakon sat vremena od starta, vjetar počinje ići na zapad i flota lagano okreće u desno. Nakon još pola sata jedrenja posada Molo Longa donosi odluku o povlačenju s regatnog polja. Razlog je ispadanje iz ležišta dijelova koji su bili postavljeni između jarbola i palube na mjestu gdje jarbol prolazi kroz palubu. Zbog toga su se udarci provom u valove prenosili u obliku neugodnih vibracija na jarbol koji je na tom mjestu, u najboljem slučaju, mogao biti oštećen, a jedna od mogućih posljedica je sigurno bila i lom jarbola. U tim trenucima Cleansport One, Swanovi i ostali prolaze Molo Longo i kompletna slika na regatnom polju se mijenja. Cleansport tada ostaje najveći favorit regate i kao takav dolazi do Jabuke, zajedno s Farrom 40 i jednim od Swanova. Na putu do ove točke obaveznog obilaska gubi dva genakera. Osim njega, genakere i oštećenja na drugim jedrima ima još dosta jedrilica. S obzirom da su se svi morali probijati kroz valove, opterećenje na prednjim jedrima je bilo ogromno. Po manje valovitom moru ta opterećenja su mnogo konstantnija i nema naglih trzajeva kao što je to bio slučaj ovaj put. A kako je velika većina sudionika stigla iz chartera nakon vrlo duge i intenzivne sezone, materijal je morao negdje popustiti. Nakon obilaska Jabuke, svi su morali nastaviti jedrenje s kurom u orcu. Također i ekipa Cleansport One-a koja je tada bila sigurna da na toliko dugu orcu u kombinaciji sa stanjem mora, nemaju više konkurencije. Međutim, sad opterećenja postaju prevelika i za njihovo glavno jedro, koje se kompletno raspada. FOTO: MARIO HRVOJ Novonastala situacija je otvorila vrata ostalim jedrilicama koje su bile manjih dimenzija i sličnijih brzina, te regata postaje mnogo zanimljivija, a popis potencijalnih pretendenata na prvo mjesto postaje mnogo veći. Jedni od njih su i slovenska ekipa na jedrilici dugog imena, Taia 2 & White Goose. Iza imena stoji kombinacija posada dviju jedrilica, Taia i White Goose, koje su ujedinile svoje snage nakon što je stigla Taia 2. Da bi se istaknula ova sinergija, ime nove jedrilice je izabrano da bude kombinacija dviju prethodnica. Za potrebe ovogodišnje Jabuke, posada je pojačana s još dva vrlo važna člana. Jedan od njih je Samo Žvan kojeg inače susrećemo na regatama za kormilom Asiline (Generali), a drugi je jedan od najtrofejnijih slovenskih jedriličara, Branko Brčin, iskusni taktičar s višestrukim naslovima svjetskog prvaka u Melgesima i "đejevima". Par riječi o svemu ovome je rekao g.Žvan: Dosta zanimljiva regata, teška za jedriti. Ne toliko zbog jakog vjetra koliko zbog tramontane od 10-12 čvorova s genakerom, a skoro pa ravno u provu imaš val od metra, metra i pol, što je ostao od juga. Mislim da je to bilo najzahtjevnije. Imali smo par kišica i par refula iz drugih smjerova koje smo mi uspjeli dosta dobro iskoristiti. I onda na povratku s Jabuke prema Mulu trebalo je pravilno izabrati stranu. Mi smo išli kroz sredinu, niti previše lijevo niti previše desno... osjećali smo da ne treba ići na ekstreme. Uvjeti su bili takvi da se na par stotina metara udaljenosti između dvije jedrilice mogli stvoriti toliko različiti uvjeti da se tog drugog nakon sat vremena više nije moglo niti vidjeti. To se nama desilo. Desetak milja prije Mula smo bili još uvijek zajedno s Crazyjem (Class 40) i Go Racing (Club Swan 36), a kad smo mi stigli do Mula njih više nije bilo u blizini. Čak su ga okretali i više od sat vremena nakon nas. Inače, mislim da je je bila vrlo dobra odluka organizatora što su pomaknuli start regate na subotu ujutro. I tada je na startu bilo nekoliko sudara, ali po onim uvjetima start u noći bio bi masakr, a i u noći bi bilo mnogo štete. Što se nas tiče imali smo jednu štraorcadu i tada smo rasparali jedan genaker. Brzo smo se izvukli iz nje, ali genaker se omotao oko prednjeg štraja i rasparao. To nam se desilo kad je došao najjači reful tramontane od 23-24 čvora, 6-7 milja od Jabuke. Samo Žvan, Taia 2 & White Goose FOTO: SCREENSHOT RUTE TAIA 2 & WHITE GOOSE - SAMO ŽVAN Osvajanje Jabuke u realnom vremenu je ovoj ekipi samo šlag na kraju vrlo dobre jedriličarske sezone. Prije Jabuke osvojili su ORC Kup Slovenije i postali su i Prvaci Slovenije po ORC-u. Spomenuti Swan je bio s većinskom češkom posadom uz pojačanje dva "local knowledge guys". Šest stopa kraća jedrilica je kraću vodenu liniju uspješno nadoknađivala s foilom. Iako offshore uvjeti nisu ono za što je predviđen ovaj bolid najnovije generacije, obje posade su vrhunski odjedrile kompletnu rutu, a kao što vidimo, na kraju jedna čak završila i na postolju. S brončanim statusom regatu je završila kombinirana hrvatsko-češka posada na Farru 40, Toto Travel. Toto je ovog puta za vrijeme predstartne procedure bio negdje oko sredine startne linije. Tu mu se desila i jedna nezgodna situacija. Dok se odbrojavalo vrijeme uz njega je bilo jedno veliko More 55 i u trenutku kad je Toto imao namjeru krenuti More još uvijek nije bilo nagnuto, pa je Toto s jarbolom zapeo za bočne pripone Mora. Srećom, incident je prošao bez materijalne štete i obje jedrilice su odmah nastavile s jedrenjem. Nakon starta smo bili 5-6. brod i vozili lašku orcu do Sestrica nakon kojih smo svi uletjeli u oblak i kišu. I tu se desilo prvo razilaženje i biranje strane. tko će pogoditi, a tko ne. Mi smo tu dosta dobro prošli, pogodili smo stranu. Mi, VOR i Molo Longo smo otišli desno. Tada smo jedrili s Code 0 jer je pala bonaca, pa je bilo izvlačenje i spašavanje. U jednom trenutku nam je Bambi (Club Swan 36 - Go Racing) došao na pedesetak metara. Virao je i otišao lijevo, a onda smo mi ušli u vjetar i pobjegli svima, a on je ostao daleko iza. Tu se u stvari raščistila situacija, te smo mi i ovaj drugi Swan (Facing Future) produžili desno. U tim trenucima je VOR-u pukao genaker i onda smo praktički mi i Swan prvi stigli do Jabuke. Do nje smo stigli praktički u 50 metara, ali tada Swan upada u jednu problematičnu situaciju, a to je zamjena floka (Swanovi nemaju žlijeb na prednjem štraju u koji se uvlači flok, već se hvataju oko štraja, a to izistkuje mnogo više vremena od običnog podizanja i spuštanja pomoću žlijeba - op.a.) i ostaju ispod Jabuke da to naprave do kraja. Do Jabuke smo se mi sjurili s brzinama od 16-17 čvorova. Ispojavalo nas je ravno na Jabuku i to nam je bio najbolji potez, jer nas je toliko ispojalo da smo na jednim uzdama genakerom stigli do Jabuke, a oni su otišli previsoko pa se nisu mogli spuštati na Jabuku s genakerom već su se morali prebaciti na flok. Iza je još stigao i VOR koji nas je onda, normalno, uhvatio u orcu. Išli smo desno od Jabuke, a u tom trenutku kad nas je ulovio rasparalo mu se glavno jedro. Nakon toga smo do Mula praktički vozili match race sa Swanom. Pola regate smo bili jedni do drugih. Nakon što je pao mrak na Mulu nam je u mraku doletio još jedan brod za kojeg nismo znali tko je. To je bila Taia. Oni su Jabuku okrenuli desetak minuta iza nas, ali ovih 40 milja orce su nas sustigli. U par minuta smo svi troje okrenuli Mulo i onda su oni vozili s Code 0 po sredini, jednako kao i mi, a Swan je otišao desno pod Zlarin i stao je u bonaci. U tom trenutku smo mi bili ponovno drugi, ali Swan se vratio još jednom, a taj brod čim je malo laškiji kurs stvarno leti! I do kraja je bila konjska trka... Mario Hrvoj, Toto Travel 16-17 minuta nakon Tota u cilj stiže četveroplasirani, a to je u ovom slučaju prva jedrilica s kompletno hrvatskom posadom. Riječ je o regatnom krstašu jedriličarskog kluba Orsan. Ova izrazito regatna jedrilica uspješno je držala kontakt s vodećima i ponovila rezultat iz 2016. godine kad se Jabuka zbog vrlo jake bure jedrila na skraćenoj ruti, Vodice - Blitvenica - Mulo - Vodice. Te godine je povjedu odnio VOR70 Green Dragon, a na drugom mjestu je završila Ola (Class 40), dok je na trećem bio klasik oceanskog regatnog jedrenja IMOCA60 - Austria One. Te godine, četvrto mjesto, je bilo najbolji rezultat Dubrovnika na ovoj regati, a ove godine su Orsanovci dokazali da to nije bilo slučajno. Dobro smo startali i bili smo dobri na okretu Sestrica. U nastavku smo prošli lijevo od Mažirine iznad koje je u to vrijeme bio oblak koji je napravio kišnu zavjesu.Vidjeli smo da su jedrilice šoto nas usporile, a mi smo išli ravno u tu kišu. Ali u tim trenucima se pojavio raz tramuntane s desne strane i jedrilice s desne strane su već podigle genakere, pa smo se i mi prebacili na gornju stranu da uhvatimo taj vjetar. Ali to nije dugo trajalo, jer taj oblak, umjesto da ga je tramuntana potjerala prema istoku, on se stacionirao i gušio je vjetar koji je dolazio sa sjeverozapada. Tako da smo mi čas imali vjetra, čas smo ispadali iz njega, baš smo bili u graničnoj zoni. A vratit se dolje više nismo mogli. Jedrilice koje su bile ispod nas oprala je ta kiša, ali onda je probio vjetar i do njih pa su nam i oni pobjegli. Nas je u stvari granica tog vjetra stalno tjerala sve više prema vani. Onda smo u jednom trenutku okrenuli i tada nas je oprao još jedan pljusak. Taj prvi dio regate smo jedrili s Code 0 i tek nakon ovog pljuska dižemo genaker. Previše je bilo valova, inkrožanog mora, a premalo vjetra. U tim uvjetima nam genaker ne bi bio baš najbolje rješenje. Kad smo dignuli genaker vjetar je sve više jačao, ali i okretao prema sjeveru. U nekim trenucima je i puhao iz čistog sjevera. I što smo više prilazili Jabuci vjetar je bio sve jači, a jedrili smo brzinama od 15-16 čvorova. Tada smo izbrojali deset jedrilica ispred nas, ali nismo baš bili sigurni da je to točan broj jer zbog kiše nismo vidjeli ni tko je bio oko nas ni ispred nas. Nakon okreta Jabuke vjetar je sve više jačaopa smo se prebacili na dvojku, manju genovu. Zbog manjeg vala i jačeg vjetra smo jedrili više prema Svecu, a kad smo virali val koji je ostao od tramuntane nas je malo usporavao. Tu nas je jedna jedrilica prestigla, ali kako su i oni povremeno mijenjali stranu jedrenja tako je u nekim uvjetima njima manje odgovaralo, a nama više i obrnuto. I na kraju je pogriješio jer je otišao lijevo, a svježi vjetar je stalno dolazio više s levanta, tako da smo mi forsirali tu stranu i tu smo napravili najbolji posao. S tim izborom smo prestigli sedam jedrilica do Mula i njega obišli kao četvrti. Kad smo ga obišli vjetar je bio stvarno dobar i vozili smo 7-8 čvorova, malo laško i kasnije smo dignuli Code 0 i vozili preko 8. Ali negdje prije Komorice smo upali u bonacu. Nakon jedrenja od 7-8 čvorova odjednom je brzina pala na 1-2 čvora. Srećom to nije dugo trajalo, ponovno ubrzavamo, vjetar jača i skidamo Code 0 jer smo puno padali, te nastavljamo s genovom. Kako nije bilo najoštrije brzina nam se penjala i do 9 čvorova. Prava orca nam je bila tek kod Prvića. Što se tiče štete na brodu, jedino nam je pukao nosač senzora instrumenata za vjetar. Kako brod ima dosta ravno dno, tako je svaki udarac na valovima bio neugodan i stvarale su se vibracije na jarbolu koje su slomile taj dio opreme. Ali dobra stvar je što su windex i anemometar samo kliznuli niz glavno jedro na palubu pa smo ih uspjeli uhvatiti. Još smo imali i problem s košuljicom konopa mure, koja je prsnula dok smo jedrili prema Jabuci. Tada je mura proletjela kroz štoper, ali srećom genaker nije odletio jer je na kraju mure bio čvor koji ju je zaustavio. Isti problem je bio i s gindacom genakera, ali ovaj put gore na vrhu, tako da obavezno moramo sanirati ta dva konopa. A sad, da li je moglo biti bolje ne znam... sreća je na ovakvim regatama vrlo važan element, vidiš da je negdje kiša i da jedrilice stoje, onda nemaš što, već ići tamo gdje jedrilice idu i gdje vidiš da vjetra ima i da su brzine jedrilica veće. Nema smisla ostati negdje na pola, već hvataš priključak tamo gdje vidiš da je bolje. Nismo metereolozi, a i oni griješe :) Tonči Kordić, Dubrovnik Još jedna hrvatska ekipa je jedrila brzo, a jedno vrijeme i bila u samom vrhu regate. Riječ je o momcima i djevojkama s Crazyja, open jurilice koja se nedavno vratila s regate na Malti, a ovo proljeće je u doublehanded kombinaciji pobijedila Cinquecento, 500NM bez stajanja od Caorle na sjeveru Jadrana, oko Tremitija i natrag. Posada koja se ove godine okupila na Crazyju je bila impresivna i u sličnim kombinacijama smo je viđali na prethodnim Jabukama, a da ovu vrstu jedrilica i akvatorij poznaju vrlo dobro pokazali su i ovaj put. Njihov put do 8. mjesta ispričao je alfa i omega jedrilice, Fabijan Roić: Jabuka je bila dobra s obzirom na uvjete na moru. Ostalo je puno vala, mislim stvarno je bio ogroman. Mi smo vrhunski startali, izletjeli smo prvi zajedno s Taiom, tamo uz Prvić. Međutim, imali smo problem na startu... kolega, kojeg neću imenovati :), je napunio krivi balastni tank. Napunio je tank u zavjetrinskoj strani... i mi vozimo vozimo, trimamo, mučimo se, ali vidimo da nešto nije dobro... Slučajno jedan ode unutra i vidi da je šoto tank pun, a ispraznit se ne može dok se ne vira. I onda smo morali prisilno virati da to ispravimo, malo smo tu izgubili i nastavili dalje. Kod Žirja svi su se nagurali tamo pod tramuntanu, a mi smo ostali negdje u sredini. Dignuli smo veliki genaker i počeli juriti prema dolje, čak smo bili i vodeći brod jedno vrijeme. Bili smo u super poziciji za nastavak, dealan kurs prema Jabuci, vjetar je sve više pojačao... baš naši uvjeti. Jedrili smo s oko 15-16 čvorova, sve je bilo super i na oko pola milje do Jabuke, trebali smo pojalabandati genakerom i planiramo ga tek kod nje skinuti i dignuti flok i prvi ćemo sigurno obići Jabuku, jer su Toto i Swan već počeli spuštati genakere i prelaziti na flokove, a VOR-a smo već ranije prošli. Međutim, mi napravimo pojalabandu, a bilo je već 26-27 čvorova, kad "bam" genaker se razleti. Problem je bio što je ovaj genaker bio za 15-16 čvorova, a ovdje je diglo za bar 10 čvorova više. Sve je otišlo u more i sad ga treba skupiti, dižemo flok i vozimo prema Jabuci. Nju obilazimo sad kao treći, krećemo u orcu i kad smo malo dokacavali gindac floka ponovno "bam", ovaj put puca gindac floka. Brzo to rješavamo prebacivanjem na gindac od 7/8. Ponovno je flok gore i nastavljamo borbu dalje. Jedrimo, brzina je dobra, napredujemo, ali tada radimo grešku što smo se uhvatitli match racea s Bambijem umjesto da gledamo prognozu... nismo išli na levant, nego smo išli na pokrivanje. Oko 5 milja od Mula oni nas prolaze jer su imali puno bolji kut, a svi ostali stižu s levantom. Da smo pazili na to i prebacili se u levanat na vrijeme sigurno bi bili prvi na Mulu. Nakon što smo ga obišli dignuli smo Code 0 i počeli smo nadoknađivati, jer je skupina ispred nas jedrila s genakerima i flokovima. Tu smo prošli Munjeka i još jedno More 55 i još jedan brod. Tu je vjetar bio dosta stabilan i na granici izeđu Code 0 i floka, a mi smo se dosta dobro držali na Codu. Stalno smo trimali i radili i nismo upali ni u jednu bonacu za razliku od nekih ispred nas. Valjda je nama došao neki svježi vjetar. Puhalo nam je od 8 do 13 čvorova, a na momente smo vozili čak i 10-12 čvorova. Da je ta dionica potrajala malo duže vjerujem da bi i Swana uhvatili koji je s nekom malom prednošću ušao ispred nas u cilj. I moram reći da mi stvarno nije jasno zašto su nas poslali na Mulo, mislim da bi bilo puno zanimljivije i natjecateljski, a i nježnije za brodove i opremu da smo išli na Blitvenicu. Ovako smo mogli birati ili lijevo ili desno, a tamo bi svi bili na istom pravcu i mislim da bi prvih desetak brodova zajedno stiglo u Vodice u vrlo kratkom vremenu. Više bi morali raditi na brzini broda, a ne ovisiti o pogađanju strane. Fabijan Roić, Crazy I za kraj nam je ostao kormilar Go Racinga, jednog od dva Club Swana 36, svjetskog noviteta i definitivno najzanimljivijeg modela na ovogodišnjoj Jabuci, a ujedno i voditelj projekta koji bi ACI trebao na velika vrata vratiti na svjetsku scenu, Ivan Kljaković Gašpić. Već smo spomenuli da je drugi Swan bio s većinski češkom posadom i dva hrvatska jedriličara, dok je na ovom Swanu situacija bila obrnuta. Uz Ivana i posadu jedrio je jedan gost iz Italije. Na regati je trebao biti i dopredsjednik Nautora, tvrtke koja proizvodi Swanove, ali na kraju je jedrio samo njihov direktor zadužen za monotip regate, inače višestruki svjetski prvak u nekoliko različitih klasa krstaša. Naravno, to je Federico Michetti, a kad bi se krenulo s nabrajenjem njegovih titula sigurno bi ih se nekoliko zaboravilo. Ove dvije jedrilice su stigle s Palma de Mallorce, ali kako to već biva s velikim transferima, dio opreme je negdje zapeo i stigao je u posljednji tren. Zbog toga su se jedrilice pripremale do petka i nisu napravljeni treninzi, već je izlazak na start regate bio i trening i regata. Već su ostali natjecatelji spomenuli da su oba Swana stalno bila u vrhu i da su pokazivala neke nedostižne performanse u određenim uvjetima, a nešto više iz prve ruke saznat ćemo od Ivana Kljakovića Gašpića koji je s Go Racingom dojedrio do 7. mjesta u generalnom plasmanu. Došli smo dosta u knap s vremenom u pripremi brodova. Kako su brdovi dolazili s regate na Palma de Mallorce i s testiranj za nagradu Boat of the Year, sve je stiglo u zadnji čas. Jedan dio opreme je stigao baš u zadnjem trenutku, tako da sam bio stvarno dosta umoran i praktički neispavan sam startao regatu. Sam start je bio totalno van kontrole. Nismo startali gdje smo htjeli, pa smo se kasnije morali izvlačiti. Na početku smo jedrili stvarno dobro i brzo. Nakon starta nije bila čista orca, možda 6-7° laškanija i brod je išao fenomenalno u odnosu na ostale. I kad smo izašli van na jugo, poslije pliči Sestrica, bili smo u blizini VOR-a i Molo Longo. Tako da smo i bili na istoj strani (desno) i zajedno s cijelim tim dijelom flote smo dočekali tranziciju vjetra. Ta tranzicija je bila relativno brza i odmah smo nastavili jedriti ravno prema Jabuci na desnim uzdama. I onda malo nakon Žirja nas je uhvatio jedan oblak i zalila nas je ogromna kiša. Sigurno smo bar 45 minuta plutali u mjestu a sve ostali koji su bili i s lijeve i s desne strane su nas zaobišli i nastavili jedriti. Onda je krenula bura i krenuli smo jedriti s genakerom. Na kiši nam se smočio mobitel preko kojeg smo trebali raditi routing, tako da smo već od tog mjesta bili osuđeni na jedrenje bez prognoze i na čisti osjećaj. U cijeloj toj krmi do Jabuke par puta smo ponovno upali u bonacu a najgore je bilo u rupi od nekih dvadesetak minuta kad smo imali jedna 4 čvora vjetra. Tako da nam je cijela krma bila bez nekog orijentira... stihijska... Onda je pred Jabukom pomelo i tu smo imali super brzinu broda, međutim, odlučili smo se mijenjati flok s jedinice na trojku. Tako da smo tu dosta izgubili, jer smo morali usporiti da posada na provi broda može to fizički napraviti. Tu smo izgubili još dodatnih dvadesetak minuta, iako smo i tada jedrili s 9-10 čvorova brzine. Kad smo to promijenili ponovno smo se zaletjeli s 18-20 čvorova. Meni osobno je to bio heighlight regate... na 25 čvorova bure i kontra val jedrili smo brže od 21 čvora! Stvarno je bila fantazija... čudo... tih 5-6 minuta jurnjave sigurno ću zapamtiti za cijeli život. Nakon toga je sve prošlo OK. Mislim da smo okrenuli Jabuku kao 5. ili 6. brod i orcu smo krenuli voziti, možda ne baš najbolje, ali par driceva smo lijepo odigrali i onda napravili kardinalnu pogrešku regate što smo u jednom kratkom dricu s desne strane odlučili virati i krenulo nas je vrtiti u skroz nepovoljnom smjeru. Kako nismo imali prognozu tek kasnije smo shvatili što smo napravili. Vjetar je otišao na levanat, mi smo ostali ispod lay linea, praktički 6-7 milja smo mi odjedrili u kontra dricu i to nas je koštalo sigurno sat vremena u konačnici. Do tada smo imali priliku spojiti se s vodećima, ali tu smo ostali van igre i izgubili sve što smo napravili do tada. Stvarno mi je žao što nismo iskoristili ovu priliku READ MORE

BREST ATLANTIQUES: NORTH SAILS FAVORITE VIDEO & PHOTO PICKS What “Great” Means In Our Offices Four Ultims are participating in the Brest Atlantiques to test the latest generation of extreme trimarans. The race began on November 5th after a weather-induced postponement. All four of the 32m tris are using 100% North Sails, and the team also spent many R&D hours with our sail designers in France. Since its start, there have been at least a few emails circulated around the North Sails offices with links and photos as we all watch in awe. We’ve curated our favorite footage from this 14,000-mile race to share with all our readers. Know Your Power: Our initial reaction to these photos was “what is going on here? Are they racing? Can we show this video with hardly any sails up?” Our next move was to email our North Sails team in France, who are our in-house (and trusted) experts on the Ultims. Here is their answer: The photos show the reality of power for the Ultims. Sailing with a main-only is fast in certain conditions, it is safer (super important on these monsters), and easier to control the power. The sail configuration is something North Sails helped model in aero and VPP and is, therefore, an integral part of the Ultim sail package and boat design. Wait For It… Check out this video of Macif and their North Helix sail. Keep in mind the Ultims have no runner; they rely on side rigging and mostly mainsheet tension to support the forestay. This set-up provides plenty of headsail luff tension when sailing tight angles, but can become problematic when the mainsheet is eased and the load goes down, not providing a lot of support for the headsail luff for downwind sailing. Simply explained, there is a large amount of luff sag, which gets worse when the mainsail is reefed. The Helix sail with Load Sharing Technology provides a solution to this issue. The Helix structure supports the luff of the sail and dramatically reduces luff sag. True to its intended purpose, the structure keeps the sail forces projecting forward and harnesses the wind force to maintain stable forward propulsion. Nothing catching your eye in the video? Hang on until after 46 seconds… Beasts of the Ocean Perspective is everything. It’s easy to lose that when looking at the Ultims. Notice Thomas Coville up the rig in the video, he is so small on the scale of the 32m mast. We often need to remind ourselves that these boats are being sailed with one or two people on board. With this in mind, reliability is key as any breakdown can be terminal because it is so hard to fix short-handed. Plus, the Ultims are so fast that any stop or reduced speed periods translate into hundreds of miles lost, which we have seen this past week. While this video may look peaceful, these boats are anything but. They are like the contrast of the Albatros; super-fast, powerful and elegant when they are powered up, but equally clumsy and inefficient in lighter conditions (below TWS13). They have two distinct modes. Non-foiling, the Ultims are (relatively) slow and underpowered, yet foiling they are fast and overpowered. For that reason, the sail plan needs to cater to both with a minimal amount of sails. READ MORE

#NSVICTORYLIST: TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE Doublehanded IMOCAS Take On The Atlantic Trade Route Originally in 1993, the TJV was a race that was solo, but since 1995 has turned into a race for double-handed duo’s who are itching to tackle the historical maritime Atlantic trade route from Le Havre, France to Cartegna, Columbia. The Transat Jacques Vabre is a true testament to offshore sailing and perseverance, with an 4,350 mile-long race track, anything is possible, and anything can be expected. From structural breakdowns to UFO’s, and major wipeouts that can turn the boat 360 in a matter of seconds without warning, the challenges of the TJV is what keeps these doublehanded duo’s coming back for more each edition. North clients filled eight of the top ten IMOCA overall after 4,350 miles of non-stop racing, highlighting the talent and the importance of having the best equipment for offshore sailing. After seeing our clients success in the second official offshore race for the Imoca class for both foiling and retro-fitted foiling hulls, we know that teams are ready to take on the Vendee Globe next year. North 3Di sails were put to the test again here in the 14th edition of the TJV, and shined brightly throughout the race. The race results speak for themselves, and after the Defi-Azimut, which was just the beginning, we know that our clients are up for their next offshore challenge. As we set our sights on the Vendee Globe next year, we acknowledge the importance of client-designer relationships that help us better understand what is needed to raise the bar in performance, and we will continue to refine products for the IMOCA class to assure that clients are equipped with the best possible sail products so they can perform at the highest level. Charlie Dalin and Yann Eliès raced Apivia to the overall win in the 14th edition. They completed the race on November 10th, in 13 days 12 hours 8 minutes after their start in La Havre. They were not in the lead at first, but made smart navigation decisions that lead them out of the Tropic Convergence Zone. 📸 MxHorlaville /disobey/Apivia In what is now known as the closest finish in the history of the TJV, Kévin Escoffier and Nicolas Lunven snagged second place, finishing just six minutes and 18 seconds ahead of Charal. 📸 Jean-Louis Carli For Jérémie Beyou,( winner of the TJV in 2013), and Christopher Pratt had a great comeback from sixth place, but struggled with boat speed in the latter part of the race giving them a third place finish. Not exactly what they were hoping for, but still a great accomplishment! 📸 Jean-Louis Carli North Sails Charlie Enright, first timer to finish the TJV in the Imoca Class and French co-skipper Pascal Bidegorry took fourth overall, finishing in 14 days, 6 hours, 10 minutes, and 23 seconds.📸 Jean-Louis Carli Thomas Ruyant and Antoine Koch on Advens for Cybersecurity, have finished fifth after 14 days, 5 hours 55 minutes and 41 seconds. 📸 Jean-Louis Carli Clarisse Crémer and Armel le Cléac’h finished sixth after 14 days, 08 hours 46 minutes and 24 seconds. Co-skipper Clarisse Crémer is now the first woman to finish in the Imoca class. Banque Populaire is also the first Imoca to finish the race without foils. 📸 Jean-Louis Carli Louis Burton and Davy Beaudart, on their 60ft monohull, Bureau Vallée 2, have finished eighth overall, after 14 days, 14 hours 51 minutes and 43 seconds. 📸 Jean Marie Liot Fabrice Amédéo and Eric Péron on Newrest – Art et Fenêtres, finished tenth after 14 days, 16 hours 1 minute and 7 seconds. 📸 Jean Marie Liot READ MORE

TOP-DOWN FURLING IS BACK The Helix Luff Cord Changes Everything North Sails and Future Fibres co-engineered the Helix Luff Cord, the latest advancement in Load Sharing Technology. This exciting new product was designed and manufactured by North Sails partner Future Fibres, who took their vast experience and technical expertise in torsion cable and furler integration to the next level on this shared R&D project. Designed to work exclusively with North Helix sails, this innovative product brings top-down furling back to self-supporting Code sails. The Future Fibres Helix Luff Cord is a very light, thin, and pliable engineering solution that brings the benefits of top-down furling to Load Sharing sails. The cords are built to the precise tensile stiffness which allows for optimal Load Sharing between the cable and the sail. As the sail trim changes the cord to sail load ratio remains the same. The onboard benefit is a safe and reliable top-down furl while reaping the benefits of a free-flying, forward projecting Helix sail. North Sails Head of Engineering and Design JB Braun and Future Fibres Project Manager Seth Cooley employed Future Fibre design tools in combination with the North Design Suite, validating the Helix Luff Cord Concept, and then understand the details aeroelastic coupling through a range of sailing conditions. Membrain, the North exclusive load analysis software, helped the team understand the loads on the boat, mast and sails, right down to the specific Load Sharing ratios between cord and sail. The designs were then run through Flow, which analyzed wind pressures across the sail as cord and sail load up together. “As the Helix concept has grown exponentially over the past year and a half, it became clear that bottom-up furling of 75% mid-girth sails was unreliable at best,” says North Sails President Ken Read. “It would have been easy to simply retrofit standard torsion cables back into Helix, but that isn’t our style. We needed to develop a system that incorporated lightweight and ease of handling along with clear sail shape and performance advantages. A tall task. Fortunately, JB, Seth and our teams came up with a product that is a true revolution.” The Helix Luff Cord allows for “top-down” furling at a fraction of the size, weight, and stiffness of past luff cables. This, in turn, allows the Load Sharing and shape of the Helix sail structure to fly unencumbered by the stiffness, weight, and diameter of a conventional cable. The Helix Luff Cord (right) delivers reliable top-down furling at a fraction of the size, weight, and stiffness of traditional anti-torsion cables (left). “This is the next step in the evolution of Load Sharing Technology,” JB Braun explains. “The Helix Luff Cord and sail work together, as opposed to a heavy anti-torsion cable which is designed to hold the rig up. And the same sail/cord load ratio is maintained through changes in sail trim. This allows the sails to change shape through tack line adjustment while maintaining optimum luff tension.” Since its introduction, Helix has become the choice for cruisers, racers, and Grand Prix sailing because it offers superior flying shapes with less overall loading. Code Sails, laminate A-Sails, reaching headsails, and staysails have all benefited from the North exclusive Helix designs, and the Helix Luff Cord adds easier and more dependable Code sail-handling to the many other benefits of Load Sharing Technology. “Anyone can furl, unfurl, hoist and drop our Helix Code Zero now, at any apparent wind angle,” says Sam Richmond, sales manager for North Sails UK. “We have been developing and testing luff cords on Jethou throughout the past five months, mainly on our Helix Code Zeros. The Helix Luff Cord allows us to reap the benefits of the Helix design with its forward-flying luff and a radical reduction in loads on the bowsprit and mast, all while adding the safety and reliability of top-down furling. We no longer have to worry about losing boat lengths during a furl or unfurl, or the danger of handling big sails with bottom-up furling.” To find out more about Helix and the new Future Fibres Helix Luff Cord contact a North Sails representative near you. The Helix Luff Cord is exclusive to North Sails, part of our mission to make sailing better for all types of sailors. Read more about the Helix Luff Cord here. READ MORE

GEWINNER DES JUBILÄUMS-WETTBEWERBS Die Gewinner des Wettbewerbs anlässlich des 30 jährigen Jubiläums von North Sails Schweiz sind bekannt. Wir gratulieren! In der Box waren genau 133 Teile. 3 Personen haben auf 132 Teile getippt, eine kleine Losfee hat die Gewinner an unserem Jubiläumsapero gezogen: Samuel Graf aus Rüschlikon hat den Hauptpreis, einen Gutschein über CHF 1'000, gewonnen Simon Lussy aus Oberdorf erhält einen Gutschein über CHF 500 Peter Winteler aus Lichtensteig darf sich über einen CHF 300 Gutschein freuen Das Team von North Sails Schweiz gratuliert herzlich! READ MORE

SVERIGES KANSKE MEST ERFARNE SEGELMAKARE Vi på North Sails har en jubilar att fira. I år är det nämligen 50 år sedan Peter "Peppe" Lundqvist fick sitt allra första jobb som segelmakare. Peppe skulle komma att få en spännande och händelserik karriär som seglare och segelmakare. Och den är inte över än. Hösten 1969 var Peppe Lundqvist en knappt 18-årig yngling med ett brinnande intresse för segling. Nu hade han fått upp ögonen för segelmakeribranschen. Det verkade vara ett kul yrke och att få betalt för att hålla på med segling lät ju fantastiskt. Det sena 60-talet var en brytningstid. Plasten hade fått sitt definitiva genombrott i mitten av 60-talet, och det bokstavligt talat sprutades fram nya segelbåtar. Utvecklingen påverkade även vår bransch. Många av de etablerade segelmakarna började närma sig pensionsåldern och företagen de ledde var illa rustade för att möta de nya tider som väntade; bara några år senare skulle de flesta av de gamla segelmakerierna vara borta eller reducerade till bleka skuggor av sina forna jag. Istället trädde en helt ny generation segelmakare fram på scenen. Först ut var Gransegel, som hade startats i mitten av 60-talet av Arved von Gruenewaldt, och det var han som hösten 1969 tog Peppe under sina vingar. Ett hektiskt 70-tal Arved von Gruenewaldt, även kallad ”Greven”, var en kappseglare av rang, med internationella mästerskapsmedaljer i både Finnjolle och Soling. Därtill en man med mycket idéer, stor drivkraft och en vilja att skapa någonting nytt i en traditionell bransch. Gransegel skulle under 1970-talet utvecklas till ett av de större segelmakerierna i Sverige, men när Peppe klev in över tröskeln var företaget ännu i sin linda. Bortsett från grundarna och en viss Stefan Winberg, som jobbade extra på loftet vid sidan av studierna på KTH, blev Peppe Gransegels allra första fastanställda medarbetare. Han skulle bli kvar på Gransegel i nästan 15 år, och fick under den tiden vara med om en ganska remarkabel resa. Båtboomen rullade på i allt snabbare takt. Hela marinbranschen präglades av nybyggaranda och utvecklades, på gott och ont, till något slags Klondyke. Segling blev en bred folksport och Gransegel växte i snabb takt. Tempot var högt för det mesta. "Vi kunde göra femtio IF-genuer på en och samma gång", minns Peppe. Peppe hann ändå med att kappsegla mycket under den här perioden. Han hade bakgrund i jolle, och under 70-talet gav han sig i kast med Tornado, 505 och Laser. 1979 var han med på Laser-VM. Det gick i Perth och blev ett minne för livet. 1979 lanserades också Albin Express, och Peppe var snabb att haka på. Det var han inte ensam om. På mindre än tre år byggdes över tusen båtar – och många köptes av inbitna kappseglare. Mästerskapen samlade ofta över åttio båtar och på Lidingö Runt kunde det vara hundra Expresser på startlinjen. Det var ett riktigt getingbo, med OS-seglare, världsmästare och segelmakare i var och varannan båt. Peppe vann aldrig SM i Express. Men han fick med sig både ett SM-silver och ett SM-brons. Idag kan han stoltsera med ett tiotal SM-guld i flera andra klasser, och han är stolt över vartenda ett, men det är ändå SM-medaljerna i Express som han håller allra högst. Konkurrensen i klassen var stenhård och en SM-medalj var något som imponerade på vilken seglare som helst. Peppe 1996. Mycket har hänt under årens lopp, inte minst på materialsidan. Men en hel del är sig också likt: Dacron är fortfarande ett gångbart alternativ och symaskinen på bilden används faktiskt än idag. Nya vägval, nya möjligheter Peppe trivdes bra på Gransegel men började känna att han ville prova sina egna vingar. 1983 gjorde han slag i saken, flyttade med familjen till Nyköping och öppnade ett eget loft. Det döptes till Blue Peter och logotypen hämtades från signalflaggan med samma namn. Starten underlättades förstås av att Peppe vid det här laget hade jobbat femton år i branschen och var väletablerad som både segelmakare och kappseglare. Blue Peter blev snart känt för att göra snabba segel till bland annat Express och IF, och när Peppe började intressera sig för klassiska båttyper gjorde han sig ett namn även i klasser som M30, A22, Rival 22 och Smaragd. Att driva eget var kul och utmanande men också lite ensamt, och efter tio år under egen flagg i Nyköping lystrade han till lockropen från huvudstaden. 1993 kontaktades han av Stefan Winberg, som efter en lång sejour på Gransegel hade startat eget segelmakeri och nu ville ha över honom dit. Peppe nappade, började jobba på Stefans loft på Lidingö – och han har blivit kvar i samma lokaler ända sedan dess. Mycket har dock förändrats under de mer än tjugofem år som Peppe varit på loftet på Lidingö. Det började ganska omgående med att Stefan Winberg Segelmakeri anslöt sig till danska Diamond Sails. Och bara något år senare, 1995, gick Diamond ihop med North Sails. Rent konkret innebar detta att namnet Diamond försvann, men att de danska ägarna tog över ledningen av North Sails i Europa. Peppes dagliga rutiner ändrades inte särskilt mycket under de här turerna. Han fortsatte att åka till loftet på Lidingö varje morgon och jobbade på ungefär samma sätt som tidigare. Men nu jobbade han på North Sails, och det skulle snart visa sig att det hade sina fördelar. Då som nu hade North Sails en dominerande ställning inom Americas Cup och Volvo Ocean Race (eller Whitbread som det ju hette fram till 1998), och det nya North-loftet på Lidingö skulle snart få sin beskärda del av de här mumsbitarna. När Peppe blickar tillbaka på den här tiden kan han konstatera att han gjorde segel till ett Whitbread-projekt, två Volvo Ocean Race-projekt och ett Americas Cup-projekt. Det är mer än vad de flesta segelmakare ens kan drömma om. Seglen designades och tillverkades på Lidingö och tempot under de här åren var stundtals oerhört högt. När det var som mest intensivt jobbade man i treskift. Maskinerna gick bokstavligt talat dygnet runt. Fokus på service och reparationer Idag tillverkar vi inte längre några segel i Sverige. Inte i så många andra länder heller. De flesta North-segel görs istället i våra två stora anläggningar i USA och Sri Lanka. Lite trist är det allt, tycker Peppe. Det var kul att få se ett nytt segel växa fram på golvet framför sig. Men det går inte till så längre. Moderna prestandasegel är så tekniskt avancerade att de måste tillverkas med hjälp av industrirobotar och lamineringsmaskiner i speciella fabriksliknande anläggningar. Det är inget som går att göra lokalt i liten skala ens om man skulle vilja. Numera ägnar sig därför Peppe mest åt service, reparationer och modifieringar. Tillsammans med Oscar Wetterling och Tomas Mark tar han hand om alla segel som kommer in till Lidingöloftet. Tillsammans har de i runda slängar 80 års erfarenhet, och de har stött på det mesta ifråga om skador och slitage. Med övriga på loftet på Lidingö är det nog över 200 år av erfarenhet. Om Peppe med sina 50 år i branschen ska ge ett enda råd till Sveriges seglare, så är det att för guds skull se till att skydda seglen från solen. Man seglar sällan sönder ett segel, menar han. Det är istället UV-strålningen som gör störst skada: "Att slarva med UV-skyddet är ett snabbt sätt att bränna pengar." Och i framtiden? Peppe är 68 år och efter 50 år i branschen är det väl helt i sin ordning att trappa ner lite. Men än är han kvar här på Lidingö, och vi gör allt för att han ska stanna kvar så länge som möjligt. Med hans erfarenhet och yrkeskunskap blir allt som lämnar hans händer riktigt bra. Eller "stabilt" som han själv säger. Och segla, det tänker han göra länge till. Han har kvar sin gamla M30, som han skaffade sig för många år sedan, och på senare år har han tagit upp Laser-seglandet igen. Han brukar köra en kväll i veckan. Det är en enkel och kul seglingsform, och ett bra sätt att hålla kroppen i trim. Han kappseglar en hel del - planerna för 2020 omfattar bland annat SM i M30 och Neptunkryssare - så det är inte inte omöjligt att du stöter på honom under någon regatta. Ambitionsnivån är kanske inte riktigt lika hög som för ett par decennier sedan, och antalet träningstimmar per år är avsevärt lägre. Men möter du honom på banan lär du märka att han inte är lätt att tas med. Segling är ju en erfarenhetssport, och om det är något Peppe har så är det erfarenhet. Både som seglare och som segelmakare. READ MORE

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: BRIAN RUTTER One Beneteau Owners Dream Come True When retirement came for Brian Rutter all he wanted to do was sail, all year long. This meant summers in Toronto and winters in the Caribbean - a dream come true for many sailors. When it came close to time when he was looking at retiring, Brian decided to pull the trigger and see his life long dream of wintering in the Caribbean come true. Not a huge winter sports guy, this made sense for the next chapter of his life. He shares his journey to year round sailing, owning a Beneteau 36.7 plus a Beneteau 44.7, and helping grow the local sailing scene on the lake. How did you go about picking a boat and figuring out where to keep it? What's involved in that? I've always been used to sailing a relatively good performing boat, so I didn't want to buy the typical clunker. I wanted to do the trip south, so I bought the boat from RCR in Buffalo. We bought it in the winter, so sort of February, four years ago now. So then started to get familiar with the boat and then left in September. We sailed it from Buffalo down to Norfolk, Virginia through the Oswego canal. Then the coast down to Norfolk. We left it there for about two weeks until the end of hurricane season. On November 1st, we went straight from Norfolk to the BVIs, which was a 1,500 mile passage. It was a 'get to know yourself' voyage; it was a beast the whole way in about 25-knots of breeze. Tell us about how you pick where you'll go every winter. We spent the first winter down there in the BVIs and then hauled out there. We launched it the following January and went to Antigua. Following that, we spent our time in Grenada. What's been your favorite Caribbean event so far? You know, they all are quite different. The BVIs is the easiest in that there's lots of places to go. Antigua is really neat and has more superyachts racing. We've done basically the whole chain of events now because we've been to most of the islands. The boat's in Puerto Rico right now as we sailed it North from Grenada. We'd like to do the Bahamas at some point. We'll likely tackle that in another year or so, but we're going to do the St. Thomas and the BVI's this year. It's always blowing down there in the trades. 15 knots is a normal day! © Parker Media Management What's different about living aboard your race boat in the Caribbean? It's a little bit unsettling at first because it blows 24-hours a day. So the boat is dancing around on the anchor constantly. You hear the wind humming through the rigging all the time. Tell us about your involvement as fleet captain at Mimico Cruising Club & how you maintain your large start line for weeknight racing. It's a huge time commitment that while I was working, it wasn't possible so when I stopped working, it was sort of time to pay back. When you do have the time that you can put into it, it's rewarding to give it back. , I wouldn't want to say by accident or anything, but it just kept growing and growing in the Spinnaker fleet with a relatively narrow performance range. So most of the boats are not that far apart from each other. It just sort of snowballed is that we had a fair number of people who came from other clubs to see what kind of a start line we have. They quit their club and join ours. I think this year we had 18 teams registered in the Spinnaker division. I think the least we ever had was maybe 14. What would be your best advice for people who are thinking about getting into racing and for other clubs that are trying to figure out how to grow their racing? Just do whatever you can to make it fun. Larger starts make it fun with more boats on the line. I think it's better than dividing up the fleet into a whole bunch of divisions , where some divisions will only start with five boats. Even if they're separate divisions for scoring, start them together. We try to make it a lot of fun coming back to the club afterwards to share a beer and wait for results, which brings everyone together too. How do you attribute or do you even attribute your inventory to part of your success on the water? I guess I've been a big fan of the North product. I think you could see from my records from a long time ago and just they seem to fit what I want. There's no question the sails have been getting better and better. Not only from a shape performance standpoint but with the new 3Di product, things last much longer. I guess for the 36.7 this will be my third mainsail from North. The first 3DL sort of had a couple of seasons on it. I think that was about five or six years and just way superior to the first one. The main that I have right now, there's nothing wrong with the shape or anything, even thought its 3DL. The strings are fine, it's just the mylar is disappearing. The shape holding ability with all of North's products is terrific. Brian has a new 3Di RAW mainsail for the upcoming 2020 season. READ MORE

PERFECTING 3Di FOR THE MELGES 24 Worlds Success Built On North’s Infinite Goal To Refine Sail Design The popular and competitive Melges 24 Class recently completed their World Championships in Sardinia. North Sails clients were proud to have an unrivaled marketshare and see strong results in the regatta, with eight teams in the top ten, and 21 teams in the top 30, all racing with North inventories. As the world leader in One Design sailmaking, North Sails recently introduced a latest generation M-2 mainsail and J-3 jib. Monsoon, who finished second at the World Championships, used the latest generation M-2 and the J-3. The World Championships illustrated once again that North Sails never stop refining sails and perfecting designs to deliver faster and user-friendly products for One Design racers around the world. Giulio Desiderato, One Design Manager with North Sails Italy “The Melges 24 World Championships was a great event with some really competitive sailing. We were excited to see three boats fighting all the way until the last race to claim the title. Monsoon and Bombarda, who took second and third respectively, are two owner-driver teams racing with North Sails who pushed Maidollis, helmed by a professional sailor, right up to the end of the regatta in a tight battle. This illustrates not only that our sails are fast, but as importantly that they are user-friendly. That is our commitment to One Design classes across the board – we are always looking to push boundaries, improve the sailing experience for our clients, and power them to better results.” “This illustrates not only that our sails are fast, but as importantly that they are user-friendly. That is our commitment to One Design classes across the board – we are always looking to push boundaries, improve the sailing experience for our clients, and power them to better results.” The design for the new generation of M-2 and J-3 sails focused primarily on improved load distribution to deliver enhanced durability and performance. The small layout changes and refinements also ensured a lighter feel and handling experience. The designers also sought cosmetic changes, resulting in a beautiful smooth black sail with less visible wrinkling. The new sails, composed of blended aramid, Dyneema and polyester materials, is testament to the North Sails commitment to One Design classes to deliver continuous improvement and a better product. The design team continues to turn their attention to other popular classes such as the Melges 20 to implement similar developments. Andrea Pozzi, skipper of Bombarda, who secured his best results at the recent World Championships with a podium finish, sees the sails as a critical part of the boat’s preparation and performance “I think that the present and the future is with 3Di technology. We realized this when we tried the full set of 3Di sails in Miami during the Bacardi Cup. I really like the approach that North Sails took to develop the M-2 Mainsail and J-3 jib; I think that the key to success and the reason why so many teams choose North Sails for their campaign is that they are continuously working to improve the sails by listening to the feedback from the sailors directly from the regattas. The new generation of sails that we had onboard for the World Championships were for sure the best we used throughout the whole season; they are fast and all purpose.” The owner and skipper of Monsoon Bruce Ayres, who has been racing with North Sails for close to 18 years, added, “In the hotel business where I work, if a contractor isn’t supplying you with the best product or service you get a new contractor. It’s the same with sailmakers; and simply put, North Sails have been the best. I have been very fortunate to get not only the best products from North Sails but also a first class customer service if we ever have any little issues or changes. North continues to deliver a product that uses the latest technology and designs. They have the professionals there to back it up, especially the likes of Vince Brun, Harry Melges and John Bowden. On the water, I always try to have the best equipment. Whether it’s rigging or boat, North Sails always delivers for me. ” 📸 Zerogradinord READ MORE

VELCRO STUFF BATTEN POCKET Installation Guide North Sails Velcro Stuff batten pockets are simple to use yet require proper installation in order to ensure maximum sail performance. Step 1: Lay out the sail and identify the battens Lay out the sail with the batten pockets facing up. Check the label on the batten to determine the order in which they go into each pocket; #1 is the bottom batten. Note the arrow showing which end should go toward the luff. If there is no arrow label, insert the tapered end first. Step 2: Insert the batten into the pocket With the Velcro tensioner lying flat, insert the batten into the pocket making sure that the arrow on the label is pointing in the correct direction (tapered end goes in first). The batten should be placed between the Velcro tensioning strap and the Velcro top piece (sewn inside the pocket). Insert the batten as far as it will go without forcing it. When properly inserted, the batten should stick out of the sail a little bit. Note: On new sails, the batten pocket reinforcement at the inboard end my be creased, preventing the batten from being fully inserted. Should this occur, smooth out the reinforcement and re-insert the batten until it slides all the way in. Step 3: Insert the tensioner Insert the end of the batten loader (the small “batten” included with your sail) into the capped end of the tensioner, with the removal cord positioned off to the side of the Velcro. Insert the tensioner into the pocket end above the batten. Apply the desired amount of batten tension. Note: When inserting the tensioner, make sure that the batten removal cord (attached to the tensioner) is not lying on top of the Velcro strip. Step 4: Secure the pocket When the batten has been loaded and the desired tension applied, remove the batten loader from the pocket and secure the pocket Velcro by rubbing firmly on the top of the pocket. Important: When removing the batten, first slide the batten loader into the pocket to split the Velcro bond. Pull the removal cord and loader back simultaneously, allowing the Velcro tensioner to come out of the pocket with ease. Always try to align the removal cord over the middle of the pocket before you pull on it. READ MORE

METEOROLOGICAL CONSULTING FOR COMPETITIVE SAILING Chris Bedford’s Sailing Weather Service “Don’t confuse your weather app with a meteorology degree and 30+ years of experience.” Sailing Weather Service is respected world-wide for the experience and expertise in marine and coastal meteorology provided to the world’s most accomplished and successful sailors. Chief meteorologist Chris Bedford and his team are sought out for their straight-forward, honest, and practical approach to using weather knowledge as a competitive advantage. Join our clients – who range from top-end professional teams including America’s Cup and Volvo racers to local weekend racers – and let us help you and your team maximize your chances of success on the race course. Services offered include: Analysis, forecasting and routing for offshore racing Customized forecasts and briefings for day racing Live or recorded weather briefings for races or regattas Bespoke weather training for navigators, decision makers and team members as well as race committees and Organizing Authorities Historical weather analysis and data to help you plan for future events, design a new yacht or optimize your sail inventory Global scope—any sailing venue in the world or the open oceans Contact us at admin@sailwx.com to see how we can help you! READ MORE

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR J/70 JIB North Experts Explain The Advantages of the J-2 and J-6 2019 J/70 World Champions powered by the J-6 jib, F-1 mainsail and AP-1 spinnaker. 📸 Sportographytv One of the common questions we get at North Sails is “Which jib is better, the J-2 or the J-6?” The answer is: Both jibs are great, but they fill different roles. We sail in different venues, have different sailing styles, and have different teams and equipment. So, after a lot of development and testing, we have two amazing jibs in our inventory. Understanding how the sails perform will help you make the right choice on your next order. First, let’s start with what the sails have in common. Both are made out of our exclusive NPC Radian fabric. North NPC Radian makes possible a more sophisticated radial panel construction and offers superior shape holding over all other materials. Both the J-2 and the J-6 have been designed to take advantage of NPC Radian’s benefits. Both jibs are constructed with a high clew, to allow for in-hauling and proper jib trim. The other commonality is the results they produce. These jibs are fast and deliver top performance on the race course. In 2019, the J-2 won the Europeans, while the J-6 was used to win the Worlds and the North Americans. At the NA’s we saw both jibs finishing in the top four and winning races. 2019 European Champions powered by the J-2 jib, XCS-2 mainsail and AP-1 spinnaker. 📸 Zerogradinord   Here’s What Makes Each Jib Special: We repeat: Both jibs are great, but they fill different roles. Which will be right for you depends on where you sail, your team, and your style. We can confidently recommend either, because no matter which jib you choose, the top guys are translating all that development and testing into success on the race course. Read also: Which mainsail is best for your J/70 team? For more info on the world’s fastest J/70 sails, visit the J/70 Inventory page. 2019 J/70 World Corinthian Champions powered by the J-2 jib, XCS-2 mainsail and AP-1 spinnaker. 📸 Sportographytv   Oivind Lorentzen’s Team Nine, 2019 North American Champions powered by the J-6 jib, XCS-2 mainsail and AP-1 spinnaker. 📸 Chris Howell /J/70 Class Association   READ MORE

KEYS TO FINDING YOUR UPWIND GROOVE What To Look For How wide is your groove? Sounds like a question from the ‘60s, doesn’t it? In this story, North expert Skip Dieball explains the upwind groove and tells us what to look for. Earlier this year, as part of a story called Achieving Balance in Your Sailplan, we discussed refining your boat’s upwind angle of attack. That’s another term we use to describe your upwind groove—the point of sail in which you sail against the wind most efficiently, at a consistent angle of heel. In practice, the groove covers a range of a few degrees angle to the wind in which you are able to steer consistently at a steady speed. How your rig and sails are set will change the width of your steering groove at the start and upwind. Depending on your set-up, the groove on your boat may be narrow, with a tolerance of only a couple degrees, or wide, in which you can head up or down several degrees. If the groove is wide, you can handle gusty winds and steer around waves better, but you won’t point as close to the wind. If it’s narrow, you must maintain a precise course, which can be a challenge in variable winds but can be very fast in flat water. Sometimes I call finding the groove finding the “happy spot,” because that’s where, for a given condition, our blend of forward speed and pointing are as good or better than boats around us. The term also applies to how you’re feeling if your groove is too wide or too tight. Visual cues are also useful: if your telltales react too fast on both sides of the sail, the entry angle is super narrow; if the sail will actually luff before the telltales react, the entry angle is too wide. Adjust the forestay length If you think your groove is too wide or narrow, try changing the length of your forestay. Here’s why: All sails are cut for a certain amount of curvature, known as luff curve. The more material in the front of the sail, the deeper it will be. Your forestay needs to be long enough to match this depth, and the way to tell is by studying how your telltales react from top to bottom when you’re sailing upwind. If they react in unison—all luffing at the same time as you head up—your forestay length (and halyard tension) is about right. But if the tell-tales in the mid-section of the sail are reacting differently from those at the top and bottom, then the forestay is not set up for the way your sail is cut. The shorter your headstay relative to your luff curve, the flatter the luff or entry angle will be in the middle of the sail and the quicker the middle telltales will react on both windward and leeward sides. If the headstay is too long relative to your luff round, the telltales in the middle will tend to be slower to react than those at top and bottom. In most one-design classes, you need to set the headstay length before the race and leave it. On some boats with deck-stepped masts, you will tension up the rig at the dock, such as the Thistle, Highlander or Interlake. On these boats, the sailmaker will cut sails for a static headstay sag and you’ll need to adjust the groove by means of halyard tension. This tension is spelled out in the sailmaker’s Tuning Guide. (For more on this topic, read “Why is Headstay Sag Fast Upwind in Light Air?”) On boats like the J/70 and Tartan Ten, with swept spreaders and a wide shroud base, you’ll set the headstay and then use shroud tension and backstay to tighten the forestay underway. On boats with keel-stepped masts, you can chock the mast forward at the deck to create more headstay sag and add power to the sailplan. If your mast butt is movable (like the Etchells), then you can move it aft to induce more sag or forward to tighten the forestay. Keep in mind, however, when you adjust the mast butt, you are affecting the mast pre-bend too. You can also tighten the forestay with the permanent backstay and through rig tune. The Lightning, Etchells and Star fall in this category. Change headstay tension I think of the forestay length as the gross tune for the groove and the halyard tension on each sail as the fine tune. Once you find a nice spot for the forestay, then you can fine-tune with halyard tension. Simply put, the more tension you add with the halyard, the rounder the shape forward and the wider the groove will be. Loosen up the halyard for a softer, finer entry and the groove will get narrower. Again, on different boats, the dynamics are a bit different. Jib-halyard tension is actually a key component on boats with deck-stepped masts and some boats like the J/70 have a fine tune on the jib halyard for this purpose. When I want a finer entry, I ease the halyard until I have wrinkles at the snaps along the luff of the jib. When sails are newer with a harder finish or a more true shape, it’s easier to set them up. I find the range of halyard adjustment on a new sail may be only an inch or two (depending on purchase system), while it’s five inches on an older sail. Either way, it’s good to have marks on your halyards for quick reference; we color code them too—red for tighter and more forgiving, black for less tension and a finer entry. Leech adjustment on the main Mainsail trim changes the width of your groove, too. If you sail with an open, twisted leech, the groove will be wider and more forgiving to sail in at speed. However, you’re not likely to point as high. If you sail with a straighter, firmer leech, the groove will be narrower. You’ll be able to point higher but both helmsman and main trimmer will need to be able to react quickly to changes or you may be slow at times. Depending on the style of boat, use of the backstay or vang-sheeting can contribute to the shape of your leech as well. Tightening the permanent backstay, if you have one, will open the leech; easing will add “hook” to it. With a deck-stepped mast or on any boat that can induce mast bend through use of the boom vang, vang-sheeting can be a powerful tool to help create a more open leech. Taken together, the forestay length, halyard tension, and mainsail leech shape can have a large impact on the width of your groove when sailing upwind. If you’re sailing upwind and feeling grumpy, try making some adjustments until you find a happier spot. All these need to work in harmony to find the ideal upwind groove. Connect with North Expert Skip Dieball for more information. READ MORE

WANT TO JOIN OUR CREW? Toronto Is Hiring North Sails Toronto is looking for an energetic, hard working, dedicated individual to join their sales and service team. The ideal candidate would be computer savvy and enjoys a challenge. They are personable and customer focused with close attention to detail. Sailing skills are an asset and the ability to work on weekends is required. Being a self-starter and excellent communicator are strong assets for the ideal candidate to have. The Toronto team of North Sails is eager to have a reliable, determined individual come aboard to help grow the market. Required: Minimum G2 license Sailing experience Computer literate High school diploma Ability to travel Good time management Assets: Strong communicator Team oriented Organized Strong interpersonal skills Bi-lingual Familiarity with Microsoft Dynamic AX If you are interested in applying for the position, please email a letter of application and a current CV to Louisa.Bobyk@northsails.com. READ MORE

AN EVENING WITH NORTH SAILS EXPERT HUGH BEATON Join Us On November 27th at Mimico Cruising Club Learn all about sail trim techniques, the science of sailmaking and more! Local North Sails expert Hugh Beaton will delve into North 3Di technology and the latest trends at Mimico Cruising Club on November 27th at 7pm. READ MORE

GET READY FOR OPTIORANGE VALENCIA The Entry List Is Growing! Save The Date. 📸 Denis Razumovich / OptiOrange Regatta OptiOrange Valencia 2020: the first 130 entries from 16 nations are in! With less than five months before the start of the OptiOrange Valencia 2020, the entry number has been climbing with 130 young Optimist sailors representing 16 nations signed up and ready to sail! St.Petersburg Yacht Club and the Real Club Náutico de Valencia are expecting even more entries to join in the upcoming months as new event features are announced. Conceived around three main principles – competition, fun and easy access – the OptiOrange Valencia inaugurated in 2018 with 60+ entries. For the second edition in 2019, the entry list had grown dramatically, with 316 entries from 16 nations. This led to some fine-tuning of the regatta program to make this following year even more fun and competitive. 📸 Denis Razumovich / OptiOrange Regatta As announced, there will be two race courses for junior and cadet sailors, so all competitors will be racing in their designated division, according to experience level. Just as it was this year in March 2019, the clinics will be a great learning experience as world-famous coaches will be provided for those who want to be better prepared for the 2020 season. For those traveling from far away, the organizing committee will be providing charter boats. The event also has the lowest entry fee, only 90 Euros (Early bird until February 5th, 2020) and meals will be provided during the regatta. The OptiOrange Valencia Regatta will also provide a free regatta shuttle for those who are staying in downtown Valencia. There will be on the water spectating opportunities for parents and guests wishing to witness the action. Daily prizes will be given, and of course everyone gets unlimited orange juice! OptiOrange Valencia is taking place March 5th-8th, 2020. There are teams planning to come on March 1st to train ahead of the races. Get your team ready and sign up today! Event documents and the entry form are now available. Please visit the homepage for more information. 📸 Denis Razumovich / OptiOrange Regatta 📸 Denis Razumovich / OptiOrange Regatta 📸 Denis Razumovich / OptiOrange Regatta 📸 Denis Razumovich / OptiOrange Regatta READ MORE

PLANNING YOUR BEST PERFORMANCE North Sails Hosts Two Seminars To Prep for 2020 Newport Bermuda Race 120 sailors attended a two-day Performance Seminar ahead of the 2020 Newport to Bermuda Race, which starts next June. Hosted by North Sails, with special guests Peter Isler and Chris Bedford, topics included weather, sail selection, and setting up your team for both safety and success. The presentations helped sailors make a plan, set realistic goals, and start thinking about preparations for boat, sails, and crew. Two locations The seminar began in Rhode Island with our Portsmouth loft team on Friday evening and continued Saturday morning in Milford, Connecticut. Peter Isler served as master of ceremonies, sharing his own vast offshore experience and fielded questions to the North Sails experts about how to optimize a sail inventory for the 635-mile blue water classic. Historical weather Weather guru Chris Bedford ran polars for five different boats, based on eight years of weather data and 248 race simulations, for the two weeks before and after the start date (June 19). Understanding the weather helps determine what sails to take on the race, but because different boats have different polars, optimizing your boat requires a unique sail combination. Sail selection While the sail allowance for the Bermuda race is generous, optimizing performance by taking only the sails that you know you’lll need is an important aspect of the race. Historical weather and a thorough review of your current inventory will help you identify the best fit for the 2020 race, and also look at what additions you’d want to make with plenty of advance time. Besides understanding the special sail requirements for the race, the big takeaway for sailors was that a Tweener can definitely help performance because a Tweener is a more efficient sail compared to a 75% mid girth sail. What’s a Tweener? Also known as a large roach headsail, a tweener is an off the wind sail that has a mid-girth of less than 75% and fits in between a jib and a traditional 75% mid girth Code sail. Tweeners do impact ratings, though generally lightly in ORR. The latest advancement to this multi-purpose sail is the North Helix Luff structure, which relies on Load Sharing Technology and eliminates the need for a heavy anti-torsion cable. For more details, talk to your North Sails expert to learn how to optimize your boat and team. Team preparation A 635-mile race requires several overnights, and with half the crew off-watch it’s important to optimize human performance. That means making a solid plan with a watch system, as well as food and clothing. Navigation is also very important because crossing the Gulf Stream complicates the race track. What you can do right now Seven months before the start, you should already be making preparations. For sails, make sure to have them serviced before they go into storage for the winter, and also check your inventory for any possible holes. It’s also a great time to put together your sail repair kit; ask your local North Sails expert what should be included. Thanks to this Performance Seminar, over a hundred sailors are now better prepared for a race that starts next June. Let us know how we can help you get your boat, sails, and crew ready for next year’s bluewater classic. Download Presentation Download Presentation Download Button Interstitial First Name * Last Name * Email * By entering your email address, you agree to receive emails from North Sails as well as promotional offers and announcements from North Sails. Collected information will not be shared with any third party. Privacy Policy Opt-In * I have read and understand North Sails privacy policy Age Consent Opt-In * I am 16 years or older Continue READ MORE

Surf Prvenstvo Hrvatske za 2019. Na Jadriji se odjedrilo surfersko Prvenstvo Hrvatske od 2. do 3. studenog, a jedrio se slalom, foil i free style wave. Regata je organizirana u suradnji s klubom iz Podstrane, jer u terminu koji su oni imali rezerviran u službenom kalendaru, uvjeti nisu bili zadovoljavajući. Inače je praksa surferskih regata da za važnije regate imaju klizne termine, odnosno kad se vidi da je prognoza povoljna u kratkom roku se sve organizira i akcija kreće. Ovaj vikend su uvjeti bili izvrsni za svaku klasu, a kako je u subotu bilo izrazito manje vjetra nego što ga je vremenska prognoza najavila za nedjelju, foileri su svoj dio regate odradili prvi. Tu subotu je puhalo desetak čvorova, a od šest prijavljenih sudionika jedrilo je njih pet. Ukupno su odjedrili 5 plovova u kojima je dominirao Luka Mratović (JK Labud) s idealnim učinkom. S druge strane zanimljiviji dio regate, bar bodovno gledajući, bila je borba za drugo mjesto između slovenskog jedriličara Stojana Vidakoviča (JK Sidro, Maribor) i hrvatskog predstavnika Ante Berlengija (JK Podstrana). Na početku, nakon dva plova, izgledalo je da srebro odlazi u Antine ruke, ali Stojan do kraja osvaja tri druga mjesta, a Ante u posljednjem plovu knjiži DNF. I s obzirom da na surf regatama dva odbacivanja idu nakon pet odjedrenih plovova finalna matematika je vrlo jednostavna. Nedjeljno jugo s prosjekom jačim od 20 čvorova je bilo savršeno za slalom i free style wave. Na početku je najviše posla imao dio regatnog odbora koji je bio zadužen za postavljanje regatnog polja jer je vjetar išao desno i morali su nekoliko puta presidravati bove. Srećom, more ispred Jadrijske plaže je relativno plitko i presidravanje dosta brzo ide. Takva konfiguracija morskog dna je također vrlo dobar preduvjet za održavanje free style wavea. Kako je pozicija dosta otvorena na jugo i dubina mora je dosta mala stotinjak metara od plaže, na pojedinim mjestima se stvara izvrstan val za atraktivne free style figure. Na dijelu plažu rezerviranom za free style wave jedrilo je 15-20 jedriličara, ali službeno, natjecateljski njih osmero. Prvak Hrvatske je postao Mladen Belamarić Grozni, a u ukupnom, overall poretku pobijedilo je dvoje juniora iz Slovenije. Inače su to klinci, brat i sestra, od 12 i 14 godina. Oni su bili bolji od svih ostalih za 6 klasa! U subotu, koja je bila u skladu s prognozom, puhao je lagani vjetar, pa su se surferi međusobno dogovorili da se odjedri samo foil. A u nedjelju je na kraju bilo prilično jako po pitanju vjetra i od svih 15 prijavljenih u grupi A na kraju se pojavilo samo njih 8 koji su jedrili slalom. Jednostavno, ljudima je bilo previše vjetra. Puhalo je preko 30 čvorova! E sad, nije stvar u tom da oni ne bi mogli to odvoziti, već je stvar u tome da oni nose sa sobom race opremu u kojima su jedra koja su za slalom su bila u graničnoj zoni za uvjete koji su taj dan vladali na Jadriji. Tako da su svi imali velikih problema za odjedriti polje u kojem su imali četiri bove oko kojih su se morali okretati. Prva tri slaloma je po pet surfera stizalo u cilj, a kasnije poslijepodne, kad je vjetar malo pao onda je do cilja stizalo i po njih 7-8. Wind surf je sam po sebi prilično skup, a foil je još skuplji, tako da ne može baš svatko sebi priuštiti da ima tri seta slalom opreme i foil i sve ostalo. Generalno gledajući na kraju smo prezadovoljni vremenom koje je bilo taj vikend i još je bolje što smo napravili praktički dvije odvojene regate, jer foil možemo smatrati jednom totalno drugačijom disciplinom. Petar Stošić, KJD Jadrija U slalomu je flota bila podijeljena u dvije skupine. Divizija A je rezervirana za fizički najspremnije, a takvima se ovog puta smatralo njih 14, dok su juniori, masteri i djevojke u diviziji B. Prejak vjetar bio je razlogom zašto je na kraju samo 8 natjecatelja podijelilo bodove u skupini A, od čega su dvojica uspješno kontrolirala svoje kvadrate tek u posljednja dva plova. Inače je odjedreno pet jedrenja od kojih su također dva najlošija odbacivana. Subotnji uspjeh je ponovio Luka Mratović i s identičnim rezultatom ponio doma još jednu titulu Prvaka Hrvatske. Na drugom i trećem mjestu su završili Vladan Desnica iz KJD Zagreb, dok je Jadrijaš Tonko Ivić ovjenčan broncom. Divizija B je morala pokazati puno koncentriranije jedrenje, jer su na kraju imali samo tri odjedrena plova i svaki bod je bio vrlo vrijedan jer je bilo samo jedno odbacivanje. Samo Ian Anić je odjedrio sva tri jedrenja i nakon što je odbacio drugo mjesto u trećem plovu odnosi doma titulu najboljeg sa samo dva negativna boda. Na drugom mjestu, a ujedno i kao najbolja u ženskoj konkurenciji, završava Lara Bulić. Zajednička večera u subotu navečer je iskorištena za održavanje sastanka klase na kojem je jedna od tema bila i promocija jedrenja na dasci, odnosno privlačenje mladih u ovaj vrlo atraktivan vid jedrenja. Među svim prijedlozima možda se najviše ističe prijedlog da se u program nastoji što više uvrštavati i BIC, odnosno surfovi za najmlađe, poput onih koji su se mogli vidjeti na ovogodišnjem Prvenstvu Hrvatske za neolimpijske klase koje je odjedreno u Kaštelima. A da surf mogu jedriti i oni malo stariji još jednom je dokazao g.Ivica Podrug koji je jedan od doajena ovog sporta u Hrvatskoj! Fotogaleriju drugog dana PH na Jadriji možete pronaći na ovom linku. READ MORE

A POWERFUL COLLABORATION Thomas Coville On Working With North Sails 📸 © Fred Morin / Team Sodebo Four Ultim trimarans set off today in the Brest Atlantiques Race, a 14,000-mile Atlantic Ocean loop beginning and ending in Brittany, France. Amongst the fleet is Thomas Coville who is sailing on Sodebo Ultim 3. Coville, a multi-record holder who has logged more offshore mile than we can count, sat down with us in advance of this offshore challenge to chat about why he only trusts North Sails to help him bring the seemingly unimaginable to life. READ MORE

UNE BREST ATLANTIQUES DE HAUT VOL ET 100 % NORTH SAILS 📸 Alexis Courcoux / Brest Atlantiques Ils sont 4 Ultims engagés dans la première édition de la Brest Atlantiques dont le départ a été donné ce matin à 11 heures à Brest devant la Chaussée de Sein. Ils sont aussi 4 trimarans à naviguer sous voiles North (jeu complet 3Di) et à s’affronter à très grande échelle dans ce format inédit, une boucle atlantique de 14 000 milles, soit un demi-tour du monde. Actual Leader, le maxi Edmond de Rothschild, MACIF et Sodebo Ultim 3 se sont élancés à plus de 30 nœuds de vitesse dans des conditions déjà bien musclées, mer formée de 4,50 mètres et vent de nord-nord-ouest d’une trentaine de nœuds. À bord de chaque Ultim se trouve un binôme de skippers, accompagné d’un mediaman, qui tentera de franchir le premier la ligne d’arrivée d’un parcours triangulaire sans escale allant du sud au nord de l’Atlantique en passant par Rio de Janeiro et Cape Town. L’enjeu est de taille pour ces multicoques géants dont les manœuvres et les réglages des voiles comme des appendices nécessitent concentration et précision ainsi qu'un engagement physique extrême. La prudence est de rigueur. Tous savent que cette première confrontation de vol au large ne sera pas facile. Le parcours sera tactique et les conditions intenses pour ces compétiteurs talentueux et acharnés : François Gabart/Gwénolé Gahinet (MACIF), Yves Le Blevec/Alex Pella (Actual Leader), Franck Cammas/Charles Caudrelier (Edmond de Rothschild) et Thomas Coville/Jean-Luc Nélias (Sodebo Ultim 3). À ce premier rendez-vous entre Ultims, il manque à l'appel deux autres principaux acteurs : Banque Populaire dont le nouveau bateau en construction devrait être mis à l'eau début 2021, et IDEC, mené par Francis Joyon, qui s’attaque à un record en solitaire de Port Louis dans le Morbihan à Port Louis sur l’île Maurice : « La Mauricienne ». Le retour à Brest pour les concurrents de la Brest Atlantiques est prévu début décembre. 📸 Alexis Courcoux / Brest Atlantiques 📸 Alexis Courcoux / Brest Atlantiques 📸 Alexis Courcoux / Brest Atlantiques 📸 Alexis Courcoux / Brest Atlantiques READ MORE

VIANA DO CASTELO - VIGO Between Viana do Castelo and Vigo, with a fleet of over 200 Optimists, the North Sails sailors performed a brilliant rentrée. CONGRATULATIONS! Augusto Castelo-Branco (North Sails R-2) Photo Credits: Luís Fráguas Augusto Castelo-Branco, Semana do Atlântico 2019 WINNER, sailing with R-2. Francisco Uva (North Sails R-2) Photo Credits: Luís Fráguas Francisco Uva, Troféu Cidade de Viana do Castelo WINNER, sailing with R-2. Constança P. Melo (North Sails R-2) Photo Credits: Luís Fráguas Constança Pinheiro de Melo, Troféu Cidade de Viana do Castelo 2nd Place at INFANTIS fleet, sailing with R-2. Contact us to get more info for Optimist sails and have a look at Class Victory here ! Dont´forget to use our Speed Guide Sail Fast and Go Beyond! READ MORE

FROM FLOUR SACKS TO NORTH SAILS Dave Courtney's Journey To Sailing There are few men in this world who are as genuine and as hard working as Dave Courtney. From humble beginnings, Dave has never forgotten where he comes from or meaning of hard work or the importance of giving back. Growing up on Woody Island, Newfoundland, Dave was the son of a lumberjack and homemaker who believed in using everything – nothing went to waste. His mom sewed his first set of sails out of flour sacks and the rudder was a piece of wood from the forest. Dave began sailing at the young age of 4 with his earliest memory being the wooden boats hand-made by his father out of pine from the lumber yard. They were "probably 30, 35 inch models and they were generally schooner models. " Dave shares. His father hand carved each boat – nothing fancy – just enough to have some room to sit, put in a mast or a rudder. He recalls, "He would get a piece of pine and he'd carve it out, then he'd carve out the center of it and everything. He made it as light as possible, and then he'd put on deck on it, and he'd make some masts and everything." From there, they'd sail it across the pond and in the open bay. "The other kids in my generation that lived in cities, were playing with little dinky toys and building roads and cars and trucks. We didn't have any of that, so what we would play with was just a piece of wood chopped out in shape of a boat." His first boat was a punt, as they are called in Newfoundland, which he bought for $10 and was similar to a rowboat. "It was built out of just timbers, timbers and plank. Almost everybody in Newfoundland had at least two or three." He spent that entire winter in his parent's basement cleaning it up, smoothing it down and painting it. In his younger years, no one really taught tactics or strategies or general basics of sailing to Dave and his friends.; "Nobody showed us how to not tip it over or not rip the sail and the mast, and everything straight out of it, so we used to put the sail up and kind of drift downwind." Many people assumed they were just kids on the beach having fun, it wasn't like today when it comes to teaching kids sailing. He recalls, "I had an outboard motor, I had a boat, I had sails. So I would motor upwind, and sail downwind....I didn't know I could sail upwind." © Parker Media Management After moving to Toronto in 1979, Dave still had a desire to be on the water and explore. Not one to sit around or stay still for long, Dave has always been one to seek adventure and grow his skills. He was driving down Steeles Ave. one morning and saw people windsurfing, thinking to himself he can’t afford a sailboat, but he can afford that Dave stopped by on his way to work the next morning. He took lessons, which were around $5 at the time and took to it like it was second nature; he was a natural. That entire summer he spent going up to Wasaga beach and windsurfing. From there, every chance Dave could get on the water he did. Renting boats and windsurfers at cottages up North to exploring the local sailing scene in the city, he was always seeking a way to be on the water. Fast forward a couple years, Dave and his wife Kristin got married and his mindset shifted to owning some form of a boat, "I was willing to buy a 16-foot anything, just to get out on the water." They met neighbours Herb and Beth who were members of Mississauga Sailing Club and took them out sailing. From there, they kept sailing with Herb and Beth who moved up to a 26ft C&C and after Kristin gave birth to their youngest, they decided they could make a family thing out of sailing. Enter the C&C 27, Dave's first real keelboat. After about three or four years, they moved up to the Elite sailboat, Better Still, which is how Dave got into solo sailing. "The kids would want to go over to Port Dalhousie, and they'd want to go over Saturday morning and I wanted to go over Friday night, so I would stay over on Friday night by myself." His first solo race was out of Lakeshore Yacht Club years ago with Better Still. It was 22 miles to the middle of the lake and back, requiring him to use navigation skills, of which he'd never taken any formal lessons for. Dave shares "We didn't have any electronics, there was no chart plotters or any of that stuff, so I had to learn how to read... All the chart stuff, I kind of figured that out by myself." His first Lake Ontario 300 and Susan Hood Trophy Race wasn't until 2004 with his Wednesday night crew; " My Wednesday night crew started to get pretty good and we were starting to win some races, and we were flying the spinnaker and we were getting good at that." They learned how to rig a spinnaker at the dock by fellow LSYC member Sharon Nielsen. The crew honed their skills and put them to the test on their first Lake Ontario 300, where they flew the spinnaker all night because they didn't know any better to take it down. the dumb luck paid off for their first race and they finished top of the pack behind veteran racers. Fast forward to 2008 and Dave discovered the Halifax to Saint-Pierre race and applied to enter. He spent the better part of 2009 better it ready to pass safety regulations and then took the boat out there to race. Once there, he found a new love affair: the Archambault 40. © Parker Media Management It needed some TLC however Dave being Dave was up for the task. With some wise words from his wife – “Just buy the boat Dave”, he purchased the twin wheel boat and thus began the long road home for Aarrow. I remember being a committee meeting with Dave hearing how he had just bought the boat – he said it so casually like he was picking up the morning paper. My mind was blown, thinking he was one-part crazy and one-part genius, all I could think was “Only Dave”. I had no goal that I was going to be 60 years old sailing an Archer boat, it was nothing like that, I just wanted to go sailing. When Dave arrived with the sail inventory that came with Aarrow at the loft, Hugh and Joel began a thorough inspection of what was usable and what needed some TLC. From this, Hugh and Dave began working on the sail plan for the boat – what were his goals, where he want to sail, etc... The North Sails mainsail that came with the boat was well loved however we a good face lift from Kid and Joel, she was good to go for another season. This lead to a new Profurl furler and 3Di Raw furling jib with battens. Dave had an amazing season on the water with the new jib, finishing 4th in the single handed division for the Lake Ontario 300 and 2nd in the LOSHRS series to name a few. Reflecting on how he got into sailing Dave shares, "In hindsight, I didn't know it then when it was happening, but in hindsight, I made efforts and did things and went places to look at boats and to stick myself in a place where I could go sailing even when I didn't know what sailing was going to do for me." Now a 15 year participant of the Lake Ontario 300, Susan Hood Trophy Race and LOSHRS series, Dave has given back to sailing in a way most people couldn't imagine. He focuses on the Great lakes Single Handed Society which helps solo sailors on the lake, his company Access Abilities sponsors the sail give-away for the LOSHRS series every year, which the North Sails Toronto teamed up with them to do this year; not to mention the countless hours he puts in to helping those on the dock or race committee. Here’s what I, along with most of the people who know Dave, love about him: his spirit. One who is always laughing, sharing the latest story from sailing that weekend, seeing how you’re doing and inquiring how your latest boat project is going. He’s the first to offer his help and the last to leave an event. His mind is always tinkering, thinking of ways to bring more people into sailing, to give back to the community or gain that extra knot of speed. His desire for adventure and to be better is infectious. © Parker Media Management © Parker Media Management READ MORE

EINLADUNG ZUM 30 JÄHRIGEN JUBILÄUM VON NORTH SAILS SCHWEIZ Einladung 30 Jahre Segelmacher Daniel Schroff Gerne laden wir Sie an unseren Jubiläums-Apéro ein: Samstag, 09. November 2019 ab 14.00h Ort: Promenadenstrasse 39, 8280 Kreuzlingen (SVK Clubhaus am Hafen Kreuzlingen) Im Laufe des Nachmittags werden auch die Sieger unseres Wettbewerbs gezogen. Kommen Sie vorbei und stossen Sie mit uns an! READ MORE

NORTH SAILS SIEG AN TAG UND NACHT ALTNAU Bericht von Patrick Sievi, Eigner der 'princip-esse' Das Siegerschiff 'Falcon', eine Psaros 33 von Stefan Süss Na ja,....mit dieser Veranstaltung haben wir ja noch eine (...oder besser gesagt: einige!!!) Rechnung offen. Gelang es uns doch bei unserer aller ersten Teilnahme vor 11 Jahren (schon damals mit Markus in der Crew), damals noch mit der Esse 850, bei Starkwind bei den Sportbooten zu gewinnen..... Doch danach....nichts mehr....nur noch Pleiten, Pech und Pannen und diverse frustrierte (kein Wind!!!) Aufgaben. Nachtsegeln ist zwar stimmungsmässig (.....für Romantiker??) cool, aber Regatten in der Nacht??? Nachdem wir einmal sogar nicht teilgenommen hatten, hat sich Dani im letzten Jahr anerboten, den beiden nachtblinden Oldies (....Markus ist zwar auch nachtblind...aber noch kein Oldie...) zu helfen, die princip-esse endlich mal wieder vernünftig durch das Dunkle zu steuern. Der dabei resultierende 4. Rang (2 ½ Minuten fehlten zum Sieg!!!) sollte in diesem Jahr klar übertroffen werden....na ja, eigentlich wäre nach 10 mageren Jahren wieder einmal ein Sieg schon fast Pflicht!!!!.....zumal wir jetzt ja ein Jahr Erfahrung mit unserer neuen Wunderwaffe, einem Code 0 mit 53 m2 Segelfläche, haben. Am Start die Rekordzahl von 21 Booten in der ORC 1 Klasse und praktisch gar kein Wind. Dani manövriert (noch mit Hilfe des Motors!!!) die princip-esse in die Nähe der landseitigen Startboje. Motor aus.....ein Häuchchen (höchstens 0.5 Knoten) Südwind. Code 0 ausrollen und ganz langsam Fahrt aufnehmen. 1 Min vor dem Startschuss irgendwie halsen und auf Steuerbordbug (zum Glück stehen alle anderen Boote ganz still!!!) sich ganz langsam der Linie annähern.... Beim Startschuss sind wir noch 1 Meter hinter der Linie und 1 Meter vor der auf Backborbug herankriechenden Ballyhoo.......also alles perfekt!!!!...mehr braucht es ja nicht und so überqueren wir wohl mit dem besten Start des Feldes die Startlinie. Aehnlich gut kommt nur unser Lieblingsgegner (...die Falcon...) am anderen Ende der Linie weg.... Mit Code 0 geht’s nun Richtung Altnauer Ufer. Nachdem wir ca. 50 m Vorsprung auf die umliegenden Boote herausgefahren haben möchte Dani den Geni haben....der ist aber auf der falschen Bootsseite!!!...na ja, ...irgendwie bringen wir ihn hoch....und irgendwann steht er auch (...schon bemerkenswert wie gut ein neuer Geni auch bei absolutem Leichtwind noch stehen kann...irgendwie fast magisch????.....Dani erklärt uns etwas von besonderer Beschichtung????) und wir können Richtung See heraushalsen. Nur die Falcon (ganz weit draussen) und die Nanook (in der Mitte)...also zwei Boote mit viel schnellerem Rating sind vor uns!!!......nicht schlecht!!! So langsam (etwa Höhe Landschlacht) verstärkt sich der Südwind ein wenig (2-3 Koten) und wir können uns weiter vom Feld absetzten.....nur die Falcon zieht unwiderstehlich davon!!! Ab Münsterlingen (...es ist mittlerweile schon fast Nacht!!!) beginnen wir die Boje vor dem Eichhorn zu suchen.....Irgendwie täuscht der Kurs der vorausfahrenden Katamarane???.....und auch die Falcon scheint Richtung Kreuzlingen abzubiegen???....wo ist die Boje???...seht ihr die Boje????.....ist die neue, selbstfahrende Boje etwa eins Konstanzer Seebecken abgetrieben???.....Dani verzweifelt fast!!! Der Skipper rät ihm dorthin zu halten, wo die Boje früher immer war ...... Etwas später schläft der Wind dann ganz ein und dreht....also Geni runter (natürlich auf der falschen Seite!!!) und Code 0 wieder rauf. Kurz vor der Boje (...sie war wirklich dort wo sie immer war....also alles nur optische Täuschung!!!!...Nachtsegeln halt!!!!) überholt uns leider die Svenja!!!!......und die hat nun einen ähnlichen Rennwert wie wir....somit sollten wir sie schlagen, wenn wir gewinnen wollen!!! Auf dem Weg Richtung Hagnau frischt es wieder ein bisschen auf und die Windrichtung passt so perfekt für unseren Code 0, dass selbst die eigentlich viel schnellere Ballyhoo nicht vorbeikommt!!! Kurz vor Hagnau dreht es wieder einmal (...wie hier eigentlich immer!!!)....also wieder Code0 runter und Geni rauf...nochmals Halsen und ein kurzer Schlag in den See hinaus (...Dani will so spät wie möglich unter Land in Hagnau....“da ist immer Flaute!!!!“). Nach einem weiteren Winddreher (...natürlich verbunden mit Segelwechsel....also wieder auf Code0!!!) nähern wir uns Hagnau und freuen uns über die vielen Boote, die Nahe unter Land stehen (...Dani hatte Recht behalten mit seiner Flautenprognose!!!) Nach der Bojenrundung frischt es langsam wieder auf...zuerst wieder perfekter Code0 Wind (....so oft hatten wir dieses Segel noch nie im Einsatz!!!) später nach einem weiteren Dreher, dann wieder den Geni. Zur Ueberraschung (...und Freude!!!) Aller, hält der Wind bis Güttingen durch!!! Nach der letzten Bojenrundung geht’s nun Amwind (und mit der Genua....damit dieses Segel auch noch zum Einsatz kommt???....ob das am Segelmacher an Bord lag, dass wir so oft Segel wechseln mussten???) bei schönen 8 Knoten nach Altnau ins Ziel. Um uns herum (...soweit man es in der Nacht sehen konnte???) nur vom Rennwert her viel schnellere Boote....doch wo ist die Svenja???? Etwa 5 Minuten nach uns überquert auch sie die Ziellinie (...musste wohl bei Hagnau unter Land hängen geblieben sein???).Somit dürften wir ein wirklich gutes Resultat erreicht haben. Beim Einlaufen in den Altnauer Hafen sehen wir Stefan (von der Falcon) mit breitestem Grinsen im Gesicht!!!!....schon wieder auslaufbereit zu seinem Heimathafen (wie lange ist der wohl schon hier.....hatte der wohl kein Flautenloch in Hagnau???). Leider sehen wir auch die Lisbeth (...das Boot mit dem tiefsten Rennwert!!!) gerade einlaufen....... Na ja, mit dem Sieg (...es fehlten 4 ½ Minuten!!!) müssen wir uns wohl auf das nächste Jahr vertrösten...Trotzdem, Rang 3 ist OK und Stefan gratulieren wir gerne!!!! Rangliste READ MORE

WINNER’S DEBRIEF: KEITH WHITTEMORE Skipper Interview With North Expert Mike Ingham 📸 Chris Howell North Sails Expert Mike Ingham spoke with the 2019 J/24 World Champion skipper about what it took to win. Team Furio had an impressive win at the J/24 Worlds. The class is going strong, and with 79 boats from 20 countries, they averaged 5.5 points! I trained with Keith’s team leading up to the Worlds, and we were both pretty quick, so a few days after his win I called to ask him how they posted such a consistently impressive scoreline over conditions that ranged from go-below light air to sailing with the small jib. He called out three key factors: team (the right balance of skill and attitude); preparation (a well prepared boat, and a solid training plan); and speed (he is a fanatic about sails, rig tune, and trim). Winning Team Keith spoke highly of his team’s skills and attitude, beginning with tactician Brian Thomas. “Brian and I have been sailing together for 40 years. We get along great, and I totally trust him.” Trimmer Willem van Waay is a newer addition to the team, and Keith says he brought some big regatta winning experience and a great attitude. Shelby Milne is on mast. “She has been with the team for two years and is great at her job, reliable, hardworking, and a ton of fun.” Mark Rodgers mans the bow; “He is damn fun to be with, 100% reliable up there, and salt of the earth.” Winning Speed Here’s what Team Furio used for sails: Fat Head Main SD/TH Genoa (San Diego) Super Rocket Blade + Jib FR-2 Spinnaker Keith has high confidence in the consistency of materials and workmanship of his North sails. “Perfect out of the bag—every time.” Curious why he chose the San Diego genoa instead of the Newport model (DX-7TT), I asked him for his thoughts. He feels there is no speed difference between the two genoas and advises picking one and getting to know it well; “don’t switch between the two.” One of the models has won every single Worlds since 2013 when the designs were refined, so his advice seems sound. Genoa Details While training with Keith, we spent a lot of time looking at the genoa. As the driving factor on the J/24, getting it set up and trimmed just right is huge. The San Diego Genoa is a little flatter, so you have to be spot-on powering it up. The Newport is a little fuller, so at the top end you have to focus on getting that power out and make sure not to over-trim. Keith Whittemore and Team Furio, 2019 World Champions 📸Chris Howell Keith offered a few additional speed tips: New Genoa for Major Events “Unroll a brand new genoa for the first race of the first day of racing. It’s good to break in the main, jib, spin for a day or so, but there is nothing like a nice crisp genny for race one!” Set Up for the Lulls “If you tune up with your rig at 24/21 and you are always off on your backstay, wishing you had a bit more power, ease off your rig. Even with a front row start, the wind goes over that picket fence of 80 boats and we start in lighter wind, always—so err on powering up.” Live Through the Puffs “In the bigger puffs, or if the wind increases during the race, you need to get good at depowering the boat. The idea of setting up the rig for the lulls is to excel in the lulls (big gains), But that means you have to learn to hang in there for the puffs with a soft rig. Play backstay, cunningham, boom vang, genoa halyard, and pinch as much as you can (less in waves). Last resort is to ease the genny sheet. No matter what, keep the boat mostly flat and the helm balanced.” Jib Luff Tension “To help make the genny work from 1 to 20 knots through flat water and waves, be super aggressive with the halyard and jib cunningham. If it is light, sail with scallops between the hanks. But if you make the halyard too loose, the scallops bunch in the middle -that is not good. As the wind increases, the halyard gets tighter and tighter and eventually at the top end it is stretched. The halyard has to be right for the trends, then fine-tune with the jib cunningham.” Jib Leads “In flat water, we set the leads to touch-touch“ (when over-trimmed, the genoa touches the chain plate and the spreader simultaneously). “In the chop we moved it forward a hole to round out the bottom and power it up. That may not seem like a lot, but since the lead is so close to the clew, it makes a big difference. When the waves were on the side on one tack and on the bow for the other, we would only power up on one tack.” Team Furio have been sailing the J/24 for a long time, and they plan to keep it up. They have a 25-boat local fleet in Seattle, and they’ve made friends all over the world. “That is something really special about the class,” Keith points out. “There’s a sense of community and friendship. Of course we want to do well, but really we do this because we sail with people we like to spend time with.” Congratulations Team Furio! For more info about the J/24, visit the class page. Mike Ingham, 4th place at the 2019 J/24 Worlds. 📸Chris Howell READ MORE

Overall race winner Elusive 2 leads the fleet out of the harbor. 📸 Kurt Arrigo / Rolex The annual Middle Sea Race starts and ends in Malta, and this year 23 nations were represented by 113 yachts. North clients took home first place trophies in nine classes and swept the podium in two (IRC Class 2 and ORC Overall). Perhaps most impressive was George David and the team on Rambler, the first monohull to cross the finish line, taking just 2 days 19 hours and 43 minutes to sail 606 nautical miles. It was the fifth time they’ve received line honours for this race. On Thursday October 24th, just five days after the race start, the Beneteau First 45 Elusive 2 representing Royal Malta Yacht Club was announced as the overall winner. Siblings Maya, Aaron, and Christoph Podesta have been part of this race since it began in 1968, when their father Arthur and six crew won the inaugural event. In the 51-year history of Middle Sea Race, a Maltese yacht has won overall eight times, and Arthur Podesta was onboard for three of those wins. It’s great to see our client not only win their division, but win overall—while continuing the legacy of their father. “2019 is for Elusive and Arthur ,” said RMYC Commodore Godwin Zammit at the awards ceremony, calling the 40th edition a success for all involved. Elusive 2, Overall winners of the 40th edition. 📸 Kurt Arrigo / ROLEX Skipper Chris Podesta was elated about the family victory on a boat that has been part of the clan for ten years. Modifications have focused on improving offshore racing capabilities and minimizing light air weaknesses, and new 3Di North sails definitely helped. “Over the past four years we have put a lot of energy into developing and optimizing the boat and sails,” Chris explains. “Our North sails are key to our performance. We have felt strong improvements with our downwind sails and also feel our J4 (2018) and J3 (2019) give the boat a powerful forward drive. We wanted to be so well prepared for this year’s race that we also built both a new trysail and a windseeker!” 2019 marks the eighteenth year Chris Podesta has sailed the RMSR, and he says the downwind start this year was not favorable for Elusive 2. “We had to work very hard to keep up with the lighter boats. Our goal was to hold onto the pack until Fabignana, northwest of Sicily. This took a serious amount of concentration and hard work from the crew.” The first night was the hardest part of the race—and the most important, because “that’s when you need to be going fast so you can extend. The fickle breeze made it hard for us. Getting past Etna and through Messina was also difficult, because any type of tactical error can cost many miles.” 📸 Rolex Middle Sea Race 2019 The tides and localized winds in Messina are always exciting, he continues. “Sicily is highly influential on the breeze, making local knowledge an asset. Having two active volcanoes as marks of your course is also a special sight. The RMSR is far from straightforward–and possibly a tactical nightmare!” Once they rounded the islands of Levanzo and Favignana at the western end of Sicily, the breeze began to build into the high teens– and then into the mid 20s, mostly on the nose. “Apart from being tough with very uncomfortable seas, this breeze suited us well,” Christoph says. “The race is a 4-5 day sprint and you’ve got to give your everything until the finish.” The Podesta family loves the challenge of such a unique course, Christoph adds. “October can be dicey in terms of weather here in the Med, so you know it will be a variety of conditions, and it will be extreme.” Winning overall was fantastic, Chris admits, but for this family team the results have never been their primary motivation. “For me the most special part is enjoying time with my family and the crew, who are all great friends. Thank you to my crew, and all involved.” His brother Aaron helped helm the boat. Sister Maya was the team strategist, and her boyfriend David Anastasi assisted with navigation. Cousin Ben Pace did mast, Gareth Grech was in the pit, Tom Zammit Tabona and Andrea Crocela trimmed, Adrian Stone was on the bow, and Magnus Everskog helped forward of the mast. “After our father passed away in 2015,” says Chris, “there was no question we’d keep doing this. We love it and want to keep our family tradition alive. We used to think it was all about the race, but we know now that it was our father’s purpose to bring our family together to share experiences and great adventures.” “This race will continue to be a special experience for our family,” adds Maya. “Since 1968 there has been a Podesta on the starting line of the Middle Sea Race, and we intend to keep it that way!” She also agrees that their father’s spirit was onboard with them once again. “What we’ve done this year– it’s all thanks to him.” READ MORE

J/24 WORLDS: EXPERTS TAKEAWAYS North Sails Experts Share Key Tips Keith Whittemore and Team Furio, 2019 World Champions 📸Chris Howell An incredible and talented fleet of 79 teams competed in the 2019 J/24 World Championship held in Miami, Florida for the first time ever. Such a bucket list venue attracted teams from nineteen different countries, and Miami delivered a variety of conditions. After the windy days, the sail care team from North Sails Fort Lauderdale jumped right on repairs to make sure no team was held back. North Sails clients swept the podium, and eight out of the top ten boats used full North inventories. Congratulations to 2019 World champions Keith Whittemore, Shelby Milne, Willem Van Waay, Mark Rodgers and Brian Thomas on Team Furio, powered by the North Fat Head mainsail, SD-TH genoa, SRB jib and the FR-2 spinnaker. North Sails experts raced on several boats. Here are some of their takeaways. Find the Favored End and Start There Sailing in a large fleet, the starting line is much longer than it would be with a typical 20-40 boat fleet. That means starting at the favored end gives you a big head start against boats that start at the non-favored end. In a smaller fleet there’s less leverage on the starting line, so giving up the favored end in exchange for low density can be a smart play. But Miami featured two distinct starting lines connected by a mid-line boat, and it was imperative to know which end of the line was favored and then try to start near it. There are several ways to check which end of the line is favored, but the simplest is to use your compass. North expert Zeke Horowitz walks us through his approach: Compare the wind direction the RC has posted to your own head-to-wind shots and make sure they are similar. Start at one end of the line with your boat right on the line, and sail straight at the other end of the line. Triple check to make sure you are perfectly parallel with the line, then note your compass heading. On starboard, your compass heading should be 90 degrees less than the course axis. (On port, this heading should be 90 degrees more than the course axis.) On starboard tack, if your line heading is only 80 degrees less than the course axis, the pin end is 10 degrees favored. That might not sound like much, but when the starting line is almost a quarter of a mile long, that head start is often insurmountable. 80-boat starting line at the 2019 J/24 Worlds in Miami. 📸Chris Howell Work to a Side In an 80-boat fleet, it is next to impossible to get clear air if you have a bad start or end up on the wrong side of the course. So when that happens, how do you get clear as fast as possible? Mike Marshall, who helped Velocidad finish 3rd overall, advises staying out of the middle and letting your boat speed work for you. “With such a huge fleet of boats there is little to no wind in the middle of the course, so you have to get yourself out to a side (without ending up in the corner). If you are in the top group on your side, chances are you will be in the top 20 at the first mark. From there, you can pass boats on the next four legs.” Too Much Backstay The J/24 likes a very tightly sheeted main to balance the lee helm from the genoa. If you use too much backstay in big breeze, you can’t get the leech of the main tight enough because the main is too flat. The boat goes faster forward, but loses height in the process. Unfortunately, once up to speed, the J24 doesn’t gain by going faster—all the gains are with height. “We paid particular attention to backstay tension and how flat it was making the main,” Mike explains. “We were aiming to have just the start of overbend wrinkles coming off the mast, going back to the clew. By doing this, we were able to hold our lane while maintaining speed. We found that easing or trimming the backstay just an inch made a huge difference in the mode that the boat was in.” 2nd place Rossi Milev and Team Clean Air 📸Chris Howell Push the Tiller Bonus tip from Mike: “I can’t say this one enough—the J/24 genoa wants to pull the bow down all the time, especially when the main is eased in a puff. That means the driver must push the bow up with the tiller. Bow-down mode isn’t any faster, it’s just a loss in height. Push the boat upwind, all the time.” For lots more expert tips, visit the J/24 Class page. Tight competition, race day 5. 📸Chris Howell Congratulations World Champs 📸Chris Howell READ MORE

NORTH SAILS POWERS ZER°EMISSION PROJECT Proud Supporters Of A Team Set On Protecting Our Planet Baltic Offshore Week 2019 North Sails are proud supporters of the Zer°emission project; a project aiming to use the sailing world to influence the cleanliness of the Earth with a particular focus on sea pollution. The Finnish team began marketing this project in 2018, spurred into action by the realization that we need to start making real actions if we want the next generation to be able to enjoy the planet and climate. Making up the team is a combination of World Champion one design keelboat sailors and those who sailed onboard the 100ft Maxi Leopard which set the new ARC Atlantic Crossing Record in 2014. In November 2018, the group acquired a modern TP52 which had a complete refit to become ready for the 2019 racing season. The sailing world is a relevant way to push their sustainable message, not only because everyone in the team is an avid sailor, but because communicating climate and marine emissions through a sport that is powered naturally by the wind seems fitting. As explained by C.E.O. Samuli Leisti, the project chose to partner with North Sails because “it is one of the world’s strongest companies in sailing and we need strong partners to be able to deliver the message and create actions against emissions globally. It soon became clear that we shared the same ideology as North Sails, helped by the fact we have friends at North Sails Finland and Sweden.’’ Working with a diverse range of host cities including Palma, Sydney and St Tropez, Samuli explains that being involved with the biggest events and regattas in the world enhances their visibility: “It was very natural to start from our ‘home’ sea which also happens to be one of the most polluted seas in the world, The Baltic. Working with these cities, we clean up trash onshore and use the Seabin to clean the harbor. These actions alone are not enough, but they are enough to get people’s attention. This year we have met a huge number of people through events, as well as reaching millions through various media channels.’’ The Seabin is a hugely effective way of capturing debris, in fact, the team’s Seabin captures a mind blowing 1.4 tons of trash per year! This is facilitated by the catch bag which can hold up to 20kg before it needs to be emptied. Made from recyclable materials, the bin has a running cost of three dollars per day. When asked what the highlight of their season was, it could not be whittled down to just one. A very memorable moment for the team was meeting Greta Thunberg who stopped to take a photo with the boat during the ÅF Runt race in Stockholm. Another highlight was after the Hanko Regatta in Finland when the team left the harbour the cleanest they had ever seen it. But their best sailing achievement of the season was finishing second at the ORC Europeans in August. “We arrived a week before the regatta started and worked for over ten hours each day on the boat refit which made the performance of our sails even more crucial. After so many hours of getting the boat in shape, using worn sails just doesn’t make sense. Our North sails have kept us competitive, and we will invest in new North sails to prepare us for next season.’’ Baltic Offshore Week 2019 The team sail with a full North inventory including four mainsails, J0, J4, and storm jib, an A0 and A4 kite and staysail. Their most recent purchase was a 3Di offshore mainsail which fueled them through 50 knots at the ÅF Runt in Sweden where the team finished with an impressive third place. Sail designer Dave Lenz explains how the design of this offshore mainsail was developed using knowledge from North Sails’ involvement in the TP52 fleet around the world: “Because the boat is an older generation hull racing under the ORC handicap rule, we ran various in-depth size configurations through our TP52 velocity prediction program (VPP) model to stimulate performance in different wind speeds. Using our experience of the TP52 fleet in which we are very developed, we tailored this knowledge to the needs of the Zer°emission project.’’ The boat will move to storage for maintenance over the winter and in February she goes to the Helsinki Boat Show, the biggest show in the Nordics. After this, the 2020 season begins. “Next year,” says Samuli, “we are aiming for even bigger and look forward to racing in the biggest regattas in the Mediterranean, finishing the year sailing the legendary Sydney – Hobart Race in 2020.’’ Karvalakki 2019 Light downwind sailing during Baltic Offshore Week Bowman, Janne Westerlund READ MORE

LA JOB-LISTE DE PRÉ-DÉPART Partir dans les meilleures conditions pour les marins nécessite une inspection méticuleuse de leurs équipements, voiles incluses. © Amory Ross / 11th Hour Racing Être en mode régate pour les équipes est souvent synonyme de concentration, rythme effréné et vérifications minutieuses. Pour la dernière ligne droite avant le départ d’une compétition et afin de partir dans les meilleures conditions possibles, les navigants se focalisent sur l’aspect technique, inspectent leur bateau, passent au peigne fin tous les équipements dont les voiles qui peuvent faire l’objet de modifications, de réparations ou d’une maintenance. Après cet inventaire, ils passent à la météo, un aspect crucial d’une bonne préparation afin d’anticiper le choix des voiles et d’options tactiques judicieuses dans l'espoir de figurer parmi les meilleurs au classement final. Enfin, si le temps le permet, ils profitent d’un peu de repos avant le jour J. Dans le cadre d’une grande course comme la Transat Jacques Vabre, la pression peut donc être au maximum au sein des teams, elle l’est aussi sur le plancher de la voilerie North Sails à Vannes où tout le personnel s’organise pour assister au mieux les navigants. Sur les 60 duos engagés dans cette 14e édition de la Transat Jacques Vabre, partis dimanche 27 octobre du Havre - direction Salvador de Bahia au Brésil, 31 bateaux sont munis de voiles North (jeu complet ou partiel) dont 20 Imoca, 8 Class 40 et 3 Multi 50, les Ultims faisant course à part dans un tout nouveau format : la Brest Atlantiques dont le départ est prévu début novembre. 4 350 milles, soit 7 000 km, est la distance à parcourir sur cette route du café, et c’est aussi la plus longue pour une transatlantique. Une inspection minutieuse des voiles s’impose. « Nous assurons toujours un service sur place au moins une semaine avant le départ afin de répondre aux besoins de chaque équipe, commente Alan Pennaneach, technico-commercial à North Sails Vannes. Nous procédons à une visite de tous nos clients et vérifions les voiles sous toutes les coutures en présence des skippers ou de l’équipe technique, inspectons le kit de réparation et expliquons également comment réparer les voiles en cas d’avarie lors de la compétition. « Nous avons fait de nombreux allers-retours entre Le Havre et Vannes pour des retouches et finitions de dernière minute », poursuit Alan. Dans les locaux de la volerie North Sails à Vannes « Il arrive que certaines équipes nous renvoient leurs voiles quelques jours seulement avant le départ, et même la veille, ce dernier cas restant assez rare, ajoute Thibaut Agaugue, responsable service chez North Sails. La période de pré-départ est toujours très intense pour nous. Le timing peut donc être très serré. » Au préalable, le travail de préparation des voiles consiste à engranger un maximum de milles pour les tester dans tous les ranges possibles. Les marins passent ainsi de nombreuses heures à naviguer avec les dessinateurs dans le but d’optimiser leurs voiles. « Il y a donc deux démarches en fonction de l’objectif, précise Thibaut. Les équipes dont le budget est conséquent vont prendre le temps de fignoler, miser sur l’optimisation et même s’attaquer à de grosses modifications peu de temps avant le départ si elles sont convaincues que ces initiatives contribueront à grapiller des milles. Leur objectif est de gagner. La plupart du temps, les voiles sont en très bon état, voire neuves. « Pour d’autres, il s’agit surtout de finir la course en raison d’un budget restreint ou parce que celui-ci a été bouclé à la dernière minute, poursuit Thibaut. Peu de temps avant le départ, ils récupèrent des voiles d’occasion ou réutilisent d’anciennes voiles à bout de souffle. Leur objectif est de franchir la ligne d’arrivée avec les voiles en un seul morceau. Nous prenons toujours le temps d’inspecter les voiles et de les réparer au mieux pour qu’elles tiennent la course jusqu’au bout. Et si on estime que l’état est préoccupant, on en fait part aux marins. Cela n’empêche pas les aléas de la course au large et les impondérables. Nous restons en contact avec les équipes pour les assister en cas de besoin. « Cette année, la particularité est que nous avons beaucoup de bateaux neufs récemment mis à l’eau comme Apivia, 11th Hour, DMG Mori, Advens, Banque du Leman, et par conséquent un jeu de voiles neuves, explique Thibaut. On a dû effectuer le service de voiles plus anciennes en même temps que le développement pour ces nouveaux voiliers, d’où une charge de travail importante. C’était le cas par exemple fin septembre au moment du Trophée Azimut, première confrontation entre les IMOCA.» « Ces visites sur place, conclut Alan, sont aussi l’occasion d’anticiper l’après course. Nos réunions avec les teams concernent également la performance des voiles pendant la course, l’état des lieux en fin de parcours, les réparations et ou les nouvelles modifications en vue de préparer la prochaine régate. » Les premiers bateaux sont attendus à Salvador de Bahia au Brésil vers le 7 novembre 2019. READ MORE

J/24 WORLDS: SEABAGS WOMEN’S SAILING TEAM REPORT Making Each Experience Count 📸 Chris Howell The J/24 Worlds was the ultimate test for our team, an all-women’s group of six led by Erica Spencer and sponsored by Sea Bags Maine. We worked hard all season long to prepare for this week long adventure, knowing it would be harder than any other regatta we’ve been to, but also knowing that we’d gain invaluable experience and become better sailors- regardless of the outcome. Meet the team The majority of the team is based in Maine, while the rest of us reside in Rhode Island and New York. I’ve been sailing with this team for four years, and I am so proud of all the amazing things we’ve been able to do together. On the helm is Erica Beck Spencer, who is an educator and also has two amazing kids. Upwind trimmer Katie Drake is a finance professional in her regular life, and enjoys cruising her J/24 on the coast of Maine. Emily Carville, marketing guru for LLBean, is our trimmer/mast and sails with her husband and kids when she’s not racing with us. Joy Martin is a retired teacher and devoted Thistle sailor, and our downwind trimmer. Karen Renzulli Fallon, therapist, super-mom, and talented match racer, commands the bow. Jessica Harris, co-captain, who didn’t race this event, but was with us in sprit. Jess has made our team possible. We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for her. : Hillary Noble, Katie Drake, Emily Carville, Karen Fallon, Erica Spencer, and Joy Martin. Thanks to #Waterlust for creating a product we wanted to test out, leggings made from recycled plastic water bottles to support our commitment to the environment. FYI they are also SPF 50! Key takeaways from our experience: Starting at the end of the line with lower density doesn’t always work. There may be less traffic, but starting farther from the favored end will make it hard to catch a break or get to the favored side of the course. Sometimes having a good start and not being able to tack is almost worse than having a 2nd or 3rd row start and being able to tack and duck immediately. Boat speed upwind has to be good. J/24s all go the same speed, and when everyone is sailing fast, you have to match that or you get left in the dust. Constant communication with the trimmer and skipper is key to making sure each puff is accounted for. Should we duck or tack? If you duck, you’ve just let a boat get by. If you tack and lead them back, you might catch them on the next shift. Each crossing situation meant a big decision had to be made, and it all came down to thinking ahead to the next move. Sometimes the ‘wrong’ gate was the best choice. Less boats to deal with in the rounding, and once you round you will be on the lifted tack and able to get out of there quick. Cross when you can. In shifty conditions, its important to get ahead of any boats each opportunity. The edges paid off big- but ideally you were on the correct side! By working one side and staying in phase, you’d probably end up OK at the top mark. The middle was full of bad air and chop that killed your boat speed. Hopefully you’d end up on the favored side though because an 80-boat fleet is unforgiving. Clear lanes are limited. Don’t pass up any clear lanes, especially one that will take you where you want to go! Getting to the line too early was costly. A few times, we had to stop inside 30 seconds to avoid being over early. That’s when we needed to be building speed! One out of two team goals, met. We were the top finishing all-women’s team, the second time we were crowned as women’s world champions. But because we did not accomplish our other goal of finishing in the top 30 it’s a bittersweet victory that makes us even hungrier to keep improving. Despite our overall result, the positive energy that radiated from each of my teammates was something I’ll never forget. Although during our worst finishes we were all glad when those races were over, right now I am missing last week and this team, and so excited to sail with them again. Sea Bags Maine has been incredibly supportive and we look forward to working with them next year. I also want to give a big thanks to North Sails, not only for engineering the best sails for the J/24, but also for their support and expertise both on and off the water. See you in 2020! 📸 Chris Howell https://www.northsails.com/sailing/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/seabags_WEB.mp4 READ MORE