NORTH SAILS BLOG

"INSIDE NS CH" - ZOOM SUR JONAS SCHAGEN Après Arnaud 'Psaro' qui a ouvert cette nouvelle rubrique au coeur du Team North Sails Suisse, c'est avec Jonas Schagen, marin et maître-voilier que nous vous proposons de poursuivre l'immersion... Prénom / Nom - Surnom : Jonas Schagen - "Joe" Année d'entrée dans le groupe North Sails : Septembre 2010 à Cape Town en Afrique du Sud En 140 caractères, comment décrire votre job avec des mots simples ? Je suis le Karl Lagerfeld de la voile ! J’effectue des réparations et je finalise toutes les voiles de D35 de A à Z. Il m’arrive aussi d’utiliser mes talents d’artiste en peignant des logos. Plutôt croisière ou régate ? Un palmarès ? J’apprécie les deux mais je fais beaucoup plus de régates, notamment en D35 depuis 3 ans. Champion de série en Luthi 8.70 4e de la Red Bull Youth America’s Cup 6e du dernier Vulcain Trophy Une anecdote depuis que vous travaillez chez North Sails ? Vu que nous sommes 4 à faire du D35 au sein de la voilerie, celui qui gagne un Grand Prix doit apporter une forêt noire le lundi. Depuis, Pierre-Yves a une carte de fidelité au rayon gâteaux de la Migros ;-) Et mis à part North Sails, une autre passion dans votre vie ? J’adore le hockey sur glace et je joue au inline hockey (très similaire au hockey sur glace mais avec des patins à roulettes). Après les portes monnaies et les ceintures en voiles recyclées, quel pourrait être le prochain nouveau produit "made by North Sails" Des hamacs, pour ma pause de midi entre autre. Votre plus beau projet professionnel pour 2015 ? Team Tilt. Avec l’arrivée d’Arnaud dans notre équipe, la saison s’annonce belle. READ MORE

North Sails is pleased to announce that world champion sailor and CEO of Melges Europe, Federico Michetti, has joined North Sails as a performance advisor. Michetti will play a key role within North’s Class Sail Development (CSD) team and will be a leader and class expert for the Melges 20, 24 and 32 classes. Based in Milan, Italy, Federico has spent his entire life sailing and has won five Melges 24 World Championships; two Melges 32 World Championships; and two ILC World Championships. He is also a two-time winner of the Farr 40 European Championship and three-time winner of the Melges 24 European Championship just to name a few of his sailing accomplishments. “I have spent my whole life racing with North sails and my mentors and best friends all work with North so it is a natural choice for me to now join the North Sails team. I look forward to bringing my sailing knowledge and experience to the table to help improve sail designs and tuning guides for the Melges 20, 24 and 32 classes to start with,” said Michetti. “I am also excited to work closely with North customers to be sure they understand the superior technology that goes into every North sail built.” “Federico is a well-known sailor among the Melges and one design circuits and has a proven track record, winning multiple world and European championships which makes him a great asset to the North Sails team and to our customers,” said Paul Westlake, head of Global Sales for North Sails. “In addition to working for Melges Europe, Federico has been team manager for many high profile programs and is currently the project manager and trimmer onboard the Maxi 72 Robertissima III. We are thrilled that Fede has decided to join the North team,” concluded Westlake. READ MORE

"INSIDE NS CH" - ZOOM SUR ARNAUD PSAROFAGHIS Nouvelle année, nouvelle rubrique, plongez au coeur du Team North Sails Suisse. Pour lancer la série de portraits "Inside NS CH", zoom sur Arnaud Psarofaghis, navigateur talentueux et dessinateur de voiles. Prénom / Nom - Surnom : Arnaud Psarofaghis - "Junior" Année d'entrée dans le groupe North Sails : Octobre 2005 ( à Cape Town) En 140 caractères, comment décrire votre job avec des mots simples ? Dessinateur de voiles, suivi qualité lors de leur fabrication sur le plancher et en majeure partie sur l'eau pour les tester et régater bien sur. Plutôt croisière ou régate ? (avec 3 lignes de votre palmarès si régatier) Clairement régate ! C'est sur les Grands Prix en multicoques ou sur mon Moth à foil que je prends le maximum de plaisir. Ces cinq dernières années, j'ai d'ailleurs navigué sur les trois circuits majeurs de multi (D35, Extreme 40 et AC 45). Dernier titre remporté ? Pour changer, c'était à terre que l'on m'a décerné le titre de Marin Suisse de l'année 2014. Une anecdote depuis que vous travaillez chez North Sails ? Je suis l’expert des gâteaux type forêt noir !!! Mes collègues sauront de quoi je parle, les curieux n'auront qu'à me demander pourquoi ! Et mis à part North Sails, une autre passion dans votre vie ? Naviguer le plus possible ! Après les porte monnaies et les ceintures en voiles recyclées, quel pourrait être le prochain nouveau produit "made by North Sails" ? Les trampolines de Moth confectionnés par Jonas et moi ! Jonas travaille sur le plancher sur la confection, réparation et finition des voiles. Votre plus beau projet professionnel pour 2015 ? Le projet Team Tilt © Jean-Pierre Baudet READ MORE

J/24 FAQs A compilation of questions and answers we have received over the years. What’s the recommended tension for the backstay? With regards to the backstay, we think that having it off to measure would make it easier to get a method where all boats could be tuned the same. With that in mind we suggest (this is in the tuning guide) that the tension on the backstay bridle always be adjusted so the blocks sit about 8″ below the triangle that joins everything together.. So each time you tighten or loosen the shrouds for a change in wind velocity you will need to do the same for the backstay bridle. Can you give me some hints on how to go faster on a J/24? It is really important to sail at max weight 882 lbs. In anything above 10 kts, that extra weight is noticeable in terms of upwind performance. At the top of the fleet, we try really hard to make sure we are max crew weight. Changing gears in the J/24 is huge! The skipper has a lot on his plate. The top guys make the skipper responsible for the backstay, traveler, mainsheet, genoa trim and steering the boat. Let me try to explain how this works. A nice steady breeze makes it a lot easier obviously. In the steady breeze you can kind of get things set up and just rumble. In a puffy breeze, there is a constant adjustment of the controls. You want to start by getting your boom at centerline. You accomplish this with mainsheet tension and traveler. The mainsheet tension controls the amount of twist in the sail and leech tension. In light air or light spots, you want twist (and the top leech tell tale flying) so softer mainsheet tension and a higher traveler to keep boom at centerline. A twisty main is also good for accelerating or for bow down modes. You want nice twist in your main after a tack to help the boat get back up to speed quickly. In medium breeze, you want a tighter mainsheet to close the leech a little for better pointing. You have to ease traveler down to keep boom at centerline if you pull on mainsheet tension. The only time you let the boom go below centerline and go traveler down is when you really need to de-power and keep the boat flat. Even before a lot of traveler down, I am usually putting on some backstay to de-power. The backstay has a few rules of thumb. Take some off for more power and pull some on to de-power. If your main starts to invert and flog, you should ease some backstay to get flow over the sails going again. Backstay is more of a macro adjustment unless it is really puffy, then you are constantly easing it off in the light spots. Also, if you are ever overstood in breeze and need to crack off, put lots of backstay on. If you need to point higher in a short distance like if you understood the windward mark, take backstay off. The genoa trimming by the skipper is key. Basically the skipper sits right next to the winch that has a winch handle in place. In a puff the trimmer, who is hiking out all the way, will ease the genoa in anticipation of the puff, not letting the boat heal over (we’re talking like a foot or more of ease at times), and then the skipper winds the winch handle to crank the sail back in before the boat heals to windward. This takes some practice, but once you get it, it’s huge. Never let the boat heal to leeward. Anytime the boat is healing it is sliding sideways a lot faster than you think. When a 30 knot puff hits, you actually have better VMG if your boat stops dead in the water and remains flat, than if you heal over, go forward but slide sideways. The boat that stopped dead in the water will actually be closer to the windward mark after the exchange. How often do we get new sails? The Genoa obviously takes the biggest beating. After only a couple heavy air regattas you will be able to notice a performance difference between a new and used sail. It’s not only the beating the sail takes against the mast in tacks, but also the crew stuffing it up on the bow during downwind sailing. You might not like to hear this but we make sure we have a new Genoa for every big event. What do I do when a puff huts? Puff hits…crew eases genoa, skipper eases traveler. Puff begins to ease up,skipper pulls traveler back up, cleats it. Then moves quickly to the winch handle and cranks in the genoa. Repeat the above sequence with each new puff. There are different variations of this depending on-strength of the puffs. If the puffs are very strong…vang sheeting-becomes a little more effective. A super tight vang and using the process above, but instead of easing traveler down, you’re easing mainsheet. The backstay should be set as close to a happy-medium as possible, but every now and then it should be adjusted based on the overall trend of the breeze. I like to have it eased in the light spots as much as possible, as long as you can get enough back on before the next big puff hits. It would be nice to have three hands. Trust me it is not easy…it takes a lot of practice. I’ve been told J/24’s roll tack easy enough. Using techniques I adapted from dingy racing and a basic knowledge of hydrodynamics, I tested this theory and couldn’t get it to roll over. Is there a better technique for fixed keels that i don’t know about? Roll facing out and push down on the windward life line. Start from the middle of the boat and do it all together. With four people rolling you should be able to get the windward rail all the way down to the water, once it is flatten the boat slowly and you will get a nice squirt forward. What is your opinion about having multi color sails. I read somewhere that it was better to have one color due to the stretch in the panels over time. Is this a big issue? We highly suggest having the head and clews of the sail each a solid color. Also I would try to have these areas lighter colored if possible. This way the top and bottom of the sail is made from the same lot of cloth and it will stretch relatively evenly over the life of the sail. Also making the sail with lighter cloth in the top and bottom will insure that you are getting a sail made with Grade A woven cloth. With darker colors flaws can be hidden and even though all the cloth is tested by the maker and us this generally seems a safer bet. The tuning guides tell me about which ring to fly the pole from but as the wind builds I find that the floating tack sometimes wants to fly quite high. The question is, once you have got the pole to horizontal, do you keep raising the pole to keep the kite level or do you use the barber hauler (twinning lines) to keep the floating tack down to the pole tack. Does water conditions affect your thinking on this? Generally the J/24 likes the pole on the low side so while we try to keep the clews level we also work on keeping the pole end a little lower than the free flying end. We generally twing the pole side down enough that the pole will sit right up at the tack of the spinnaker at all times. Generally do not use the leeward twing on a J/24. The boom acts as plently of a twing when needed. When to move the mast butt position? There is no real reason to have to change the mast butt position once you find the proper location. Here we use a Loos Model B tension gauge and with the lowers on 21 and the uppers on 24 we measure the headstay tension with the backstay completely disconnected. The headstay will be loose and the tip of the gauge should be about 30 mm from the headstay if you have everything set up right. You will also have about 3 to 4 cm of prebend at this point. The only time I have seen adjusting the butt while racing work is when it is really blowing hard (25 knots plus) and then moving it forward just a bit MIGHT help. How to ease and trim the main and jib together smoothly? Well..easing isn’t hard but since I grind the winch for the jib/genoa and pull in the main they don’t come in together, it’s always one or the other first. Both together is obviously better but I’m not sure how to do it. Do you have the cockpit guy grind in the jib himself and only worry about the main when both are eased or do I just try to do both myself. How do you do it? You are talking about when you are cross sheeting the genoa and jib. Basically I think the best thing to do is if you just ease the jib a inch or two, you need to grind the sail back in a keep the cockpit guy hiking out. Yes the sail will not be trimmed in exactly the same but I think this is less disruptive. If you have the ease the jib a lot (like when ducking) have the cockpit guy turn around and grind and tail the sheet him/herself. This way you can concentrate on the mainsail. The balance between the two sails on a boat like a J with the a small keel is important. Keep playing the sails in concert with one another. How can I get my J/24 to point higher? Generally the reason a J/24 does not point (or sail as close to the wind as the boats around it is because the boat is not developing enough weather helm. The boat needs a small amount of weather helm to be able to always sail as close to the wind as possible. The first thing to do is to recheck your boat against the tuning guide to make sure you have followed everything correctly. If this is so then I like to go out sailing with the rig tuned properly for the wind and take a close look at the mainsail set up. Usually what you will find in these cases is that the lower part of the main to too flat relative to the top of the sail. In general the sail should have a nice smooth shape from top to bottom, often in cases where the boat is not pointing well the bottom of the main will be very flat right off of the mast indicating that we need to move the mast butt forward. Start by moving it ¼” and see if that makes a difference, it should make the lower part of the mast a lot straighter and give you more helm and height! My J/24 sails nice and high but I can’t get it to go as fast as the other boats through the water. What can I do? You basically have the opposite problem of the folks in the question above. There are times in race where tactically you want to ” put the bow down” and just go fast regardless of height. If your boat won’t do this you are handicapped a bit. The problem is that your lower mast is too straight which makes the main too full and causes you too develop an excess amount of weather helm. Every time you try to sail the boat low and fast the boat heels too much and develops more weather helm. Move the mast butt back ¼” to put in more lower bend, recheck your shroud tensions and you should be all set. Should I use the upper or lower ring on the mast for the spinnaker pole? With the Slant Nose+ spinnaker we use the lower ring until about 15 knots of wind. For the FR-2 spinnaker use the lower ring until about 10 knots. When I sail in heavy air with the jib I can’t get the jib halyard tight enough to remove all the wrinkles in the luff of the sail? Above 20 knots you want the luff of the class jib smooth with no wrinkles. To get the halyard tight enough sail downwind before the start with the backstay off and have two crew pull up the halyard. This should get it tight enough. Be sure to get the jib up BEFORE you tighten the backstay at the leeward mark. How important is the J/24 spreader angle adjustment? This seems to be hard to get right. The spreader angle is hard to get right but it is worth the effort. The spreader angle affects how “stiff” the mast will be in the boat. Angle the spreaders forward and the mast gets stiffer, sweep back and the mast gets more flexible. This is important because as we tighten the backstay we need a certain amount of stiffness in the mast so the headstay will get tighter and flatten the genoa as the breeze builds. If you have a older mast with “male” stainless steel fittings coming off the mast we suggest either retrofitting to a thrubar set up or using the Allis Racing style spreader adjusters. With a newer mast you may need to bend your thru bar to get the right angle (see your local machine shop). Have a Question? Ask the J/24 Experts READ MORE

HOW TO PREPARE FOR A BIG J/24 REGATTA A Basic Check List A basic check list that the North Sails J/24 team and two-time World Champion Will Welles uses when preparing for a big J/24 regatta. Let’s start at the top…first you need a boat! BOAT PREPARATION Hull Proper keel shape Keel max forward Keel max depth Faired: keel, rudder and bottom Rudder hung at minimum depth Plumb boat to make sure keel, mast, mast step, mast partner, chain plates, jib and genoa tracks are symmetrical. Wet sand and buff hull, bottom and foils prior to event. Equipment Sails! (Try to show up at the event with fresh sails) Proper deck layout with upgraded fittings (make sure your gear isn’t going to break at the event!) Newer Anodized Mast (if you have an old mast, don’t let this keep you from competing!) Thru bar and spreader sweep set at 160 to 165 mm (tight fit!!) Check over your boom for wear and make sure the outhaul is updated. A good working spinnaker pole with ends that work properly. (Tapered pole at class minimum weight is nice.) Check shrouds, backstay and head stay terminals for corrosion. Newer halyards Newer running rigging Proper tiller and tiller extension that won’t break in a breeze. Check all clevis pins, ring dings, bolts, screws etc… NOTES: Try to show up at the event with some time on the halyards and running rigging..this way the splices have had a chance to settle in and the sheets to wear so they’re not soapy and slippery. We recommend a shackle on the main halyard, Genoa/Jib halyard and topping lift. None needed on the spinnaker halyard…tie a bowline! Think about bringing a spare tiller extension and spinnaker pole as part of your optional equipment. Measure Your boat will be fully measured at the Worlds, we strongly suggest if the boat hasn’t been measured before you should get your local measurer to check the boat over. The last thing you want to deal with at the event is needing to change something in the parking lot…no matter how big or small a job it is! **Leave plenty of time for this so act now! Here are some things that they will measure: Builders weight Keel measurements Rudder measurements Spin pole length and weight Boom tip weight Black bands on mast and boom Mast height Forestay length Lifeline deflection and tension J dimension Sails Transport Proper tow vehicle Serviced trailer Working running lights Proper padding for your mast, boat etc.. Proper ratchet tie down straps Spare tire Tire iron Proper jack (probably not your car jack if you can help it) I like to take a can or two of “fix a flat” North Sails travel covers! Paperwork Class membership/ Sticker Depending on the type of the event, you will have to be a class member to sail class sanctioned events. Registration is yearly for $65 or you can sign up for 2 years for $125. Register online.. You will receive your class card and a yearly sticker that needs to be on the stern of your boat. Measurement Cert (required for the Worlds) You need a valid measurement certificate. Measurement form Change of ownership form Note that the all up dry weight + optional equipment is 1330Kg now, that is less than it used to be so you may have to re-weight. One trick we use is that we write the weights of everything on each piece of equipment with a sharpie. That helps a lot! Note that the optional and required equipment list needs to be filled out. Make sure you have it on the boat in case you are inspected. Tuning SAILS Make sure you have a practice set a and a “Game Day” set of sails. Do a couple of test runs on the new sails though to make proper marks on the boat A basic sail repair kit is mandatory, this should include: tell tales, 4” sticky back-fixes all sails, hand stitching items with palm and small can of McLube. Mclubing the tell tales on the genoa as well as the leech area hitting the mast is helpful. If the weather gets down below 40 degrees, bring the spinnaker home to prevent seams from becoming unglued. If it is really windy out: put Dacron tape over the mainsail battens to prevent from flying out. MAST Straight mast in boat over keel No bends, etc… Polish before hoisting Inspect all fitting, bolts, ring dings, etc… Install Teflon Tape at the spreader tips, bottom 2 meters of the upper shrouds and the front of the mast where the clew hits during tacks. Mark all shrouds so they always go back into the same side of the mast to ensure a good tuning matrix. Defer back to Equipment Section for more overlapping ideas. SHROUDS Look for rust in the swedge fittings on all shrouds, replace when needed. At the beginning of the event (during the practice days), it is good to wind the rig up hard overnight to stretch the shrouds out, helping to settle in. Always have a fast way to tune the rig: two adjustable wrenches tied together, turnbuckle handles, and proper screw driver, etc… make sure the system is in place. CHARTS Rig Matrix is a must have, written down in a water proof book on board at all times. This is accomplished up on land or at the dock at the beginning of the event, checking throughout the regatta. Nautical charts of the area are very helpful. Tide charts of the area are key as well. Team SKILLS There are 5 pretty defined roles on the boat, Bow, mast/twing, middle/tactician, cockpit/trim and helm. One of the cool things about the J24 is it really is a team boat, you’re as good as your weakest link and it is hard to win unless you have a team that understands these roles. PERSONALITY Let’s face it you spend a lot of time with your team, and the worlds is a solid week of on the boat, in the car and sharing housing. It is important to get along with your team and most importantly enjoy their company and have fun! Fill your team with solid sailors. It is important that they understand each role on the boat; this really helps the team run like a fine tuned machine. It is always nice if you have some crew that understands boat work, rigging, and general sail repair is good too! There is always a ton of items to get the boat to the regatta and back again, it’s nice to have team members that are willing to pitch in and take on certain tasks, this makes it a team effort and doesn’t put the sole burden on one person. Left for one person it can be a big task and takes a lot of the fun out of the regatta.Know your crews strengths. Try to divide jobs/tasks up to members based on this. Don’t assign the best chief on the team the boat work tasks or vice versa…..you’re liable to end up eating sawdust sandos or worse! Try to tackle the big tough jobs (like polishing the bottom with Teflon) as a team, it goes faster too! SIZE The max crew weight is 882lbs. We suggest sailing right at weight. Typically a team will have a set driver, trimmer, tactician and bow. Then crews tend to round out the weight with the mast position. The simple answer is, build around your key members and sail at max weight! Logistics Logistics are number one in our book! Some folks fly by the seat of their pants on this but it’s always a little less stressful to have things planned out well in advance! HOUSING Stay in a place where everyone has a bed, the days are long at any regatta and this is a week of straight sailing! Try to stay as close to the regatta site as possible, walking distance in nice if you can swing it! FOOD We suggest to bring a simple snack on the boat, energy bars, peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, diet coke, and lots of water! Eat a good breakfast and lunch too! SHIPPING If you are shipping your boat to the event, remember: You can’t ship a boat last minute. Find a good shipping broker that you trust and hold on! There are plenty of good charter boats in the states so please let us know if you need any help locating one. You may bring some of your favorite Genoa blocks, sheets, tiller, spare parts or whatever, make sure you check your airline’s weight restrictions and bear in mind there are many good places here in the states to get items if you need them! Sails, you may choose to fly with your sails, check the airline box restrictions and get the appropriate box. This will save you lots of extra $$ and if you’d prefer, let one of the North Sails One Design J24 gurus know and we will bring you a set in the van delivered at the event! TRAILERING Make sure you service your trailer, check the lights, brakes, etc… Make sure you have proper padding for your trailer keel, pads, mast, rudder, etc… Make sure to have proper tie down straps. You will want a proper spare tire, lug wrench, jack, jumper cables, can of “fix a flat”, you get the picture! Practice – Well, practice is key! TUNE You want to find a good tuning partner that is as fast or faster and wants to get the same things out of the tuning…has the same goals etc….Is willing to put the same amount of time towards the tuning and to share the data found openly between the two boats. The goal should be to make both boats fast and not just one! Think about hiring a coach to help, a good coach can help with drills but also with the rig and sail set up. A good coach is always money well spent! BOAT HANDLING Boat handling is what it’s all about! If you think about it the corners are the one time in every race that you can pass boats quickly! Of course wind shifts and things too but those don’t always happen in every race…most times you are rounding a mark at least one time in a race! Set a windward mark and a leeward mark. Start with them spread apart so you have plenty of time to get the kite up and then jibe a few times and round the bottom mark. Go around and around until you’re so tired you can’t do another lap! Take a break from time to time and move the marks closer and closer so at some point they’re so close you barley have enough time to get the spin up and then back down before rounding the marks…this will expose any weakness in your boat handling quite quickly! Then stop and break the items down and start over. The goal is to grow as a team and by the end be the best boat handling team on the course! The other item that works well is some match racing with your tuning partner. We do this all the time, you’ll need three marks for this. Racing Go to as many regattas as you can leading up to the Worlds! What this will give you is confidence getting off the starting line and show you how you line up with some other teams. THE EVENT Check in Make sure to have all your documents ready to go. Insurance, crew waivers, entry fees, class membership card, US sailing card (or the like) etc….you get the idea! Remember, all of the people at check in are volunteering their time so please be nice to them! Measurement Your boat will go through the complete measurement process at the Worlds. Boat weighing, keel and rudder measurements, mast measurements, sail measurements, Equipment list, etc… I’d suggest trying to confirm these items before you show up at the event. You will still need to get all the measurements done again at the regatta but you may expose any potential problems prior to showing up at the worlds which will be less stressful to deal with ahead of time! I’d suggest going through your required and optional equipment list and confirm the weights of things. Write the weight on the items so to save time later weighing the items. They should have a scale at the event for you to use as well but I strongly suggest showing up ready to go! Most events have measurement sign up for all these stations, sails, crew weight, boat weighing, mast and boom etc….make sure you are proactive and get yourself on the list! The more prepared you are ahead of time the less time you will have to spend at the event on these items to get passed in measurement. This way you can spend more time on the water! Take some tools and spare parts…some etc. lead etc…all the scales seem to weigh differently, try and have items to fix and potential problems without having to run to West marine 20 times! Have your rule book on hand just to clarify any items that may come up. Docking Bring tons of fenders and long dock lines. Find out if the boats will be on the dock or on a mooring. Sometimes having a dock box is nice to store extra gear, tools, fuel etc…Dehumidifier is nice too! Cleaning the Bottom Bring a mask and a wetsuit to clean the bottom of your boat each morning! SAILING A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Big Lines Figure out which end of the line is favored and then try and stick around that area. Don’t get caught too far away from where you want to be on the line! Continue to track the wind shifts so you don’t get caught on the wrong side of the line. If the wind is all over the place I suggest hanging in the middle so you can make a last minute decision. Lots of Boats Remember the same basic rules apply with 20 boats or 100 boats…you want to get off on the favored side of the line with a good hole to leeward to you don’t have to tack for a while….carving a good hole on the starting line is what it’s all about…. With more boats and longer lines it is even more important to start on the favored end of the line. Make sure you get out to the race course early and do your homework! Lots of boats = lots of traffic. Make sure all crew are looking for boats to prevent any collisions. Protests Try and sail clean and stay out of the protest room! If you find yourself in a protest make sure you have your rule book and a witness or two. Remember the protest room is always a 50/50 thing….if you fouled do your penalty and if you’re the protestor make sure it is really a valid protest. On the Water Etiquette Try and represent your country well in a proper seaman like fashion. READ MORE

TIPS ON J/24 HEAVY AIR SAILING By Chris Snow Heavy air is one of those things that makes a lump grow on your throat and a little sweat start building up on your palms. It need not be and in fact the J/24 is a great boat to sail in a breeze. It is one of those unique boats that can be sailed in quite a lot of wind and is very rewarding to sail in strong breeze. At the end of the day you will be tired, a little beat up but you will be grinning from ear to ear. The following tips apply when sailing at the very top end of the genoa and towards the top end of the jib: 17-19 knots with genoa, and 22-27 knots with the jib. 1 Set shrouds to 31 on lowers and 30 on uppers. Leave overnight and recheck and then re-tighten if needed. Number are for a LOOS Model A tension gauge. 2 Get jib halyard as tight as you can get it. Sail dead downwind, release back stay and get two people pulling on jib halyard. It will be quite tight. 3 Move jib lead back 2-3 holes. No more than that, if you more more than that when you ease the sheet in a puff the lower part of the genoa/jib will be too flat and not have enough power 4 Sail with vang quite tight upwind. Make sure to ease before weather mark or boom could break. Vang will be way too tight for downwind sailing. 5 Sail boat as flat as you can upwind. Feather into puffs. At times you will be sailing on just the back of the genoa/jib and back of main. 6 If whole main is flogging, ease genoa or jib 1-2″.. 7 If the boat has too much helm the main is too tight or the genoa is not tight enough. 8 Play the traveler until you have the car just below centerline. Then play the mainsheet. 9 Downwind it is fast to carve down the front of waves and at times sail quite by the lee. To minimize the tendency of the boat to roll to windward and “death roll”, have the tactician (person trimming the spinnaker guy, mast man and bowman to leeward. This will allow you to carve quite deep without feeling like the boat is going to roll over on top of you. 10 Practice, practice, practice….oh yes and then practice. READ MORE

TUNING BEYOND THE J/24 TUNING GUIDE Video Clinics presented by Mike Ingham. 1. LOOKING AT SAILS: 2. APPARENT WIND: 3.MAST SETUP: 4.RIG CONTROLS: 5.JIB HOLLOW: 6.SIDE BEND AND RIG: READ MORE

JULIEN MONNIER, NOUVEAU COLLABORATEUR NORTH SAILS SUISSE Julien à la technique au commercial et au sportif ! Julien, tu possèdes une solide expérience vélique sur à peu près tous les voiliers de compétition. Issu du club nautique de Cully, tu fais tes classes en Optimist et en 470 en passant par le 420 – tu découvres le Surprise au milieu des années 90 et remporte tous les titres nationaux possibles. En 2000, tu rejoins le CER et participe à six éditions du Tour de France à la Voile, les deux dernières en tant que navigateur-tacticien. Maître voilier de métier, tu rejoins aujourd 'hui North Sails Suisse à Genève. Quel poste vas tu occuper chez North Sails ? "J'ai un joli et ambitieux cahier des charges, composé de 3 volets : technique, commercial et sportif. Je vais notamment m’occuper de gérer les voiles monotypes telles que Surprise, Esse 850, M2…et le contrôle de qualité de toutes les voiles neuves. Je serai présent sur les plans d'eau pour régater et assister la clientèle et être au plus près des besoins spécifiques de chacun." Fort de ton expérience à l'internationale et sur les rives lémaniques, tu viens compléter une équipe polyvalente et compétente. Quelles sont les objectifs que tu t'es fixés au sein de North Sails Suisse ? "North Sails est une voilerie proche de sa clientèle, accordant beaucoup d'attention aux besoins et aux suivis des équipages. Mon but est de découvrir la manière de travailler au sein du groupe North Sails et de continuer à promouvoir et faire évoluer les voiles de monotype et renforcer mon expérience dans ce domaine. Pour atteindre ces objectifs ambitieux, je vais partager mon temps entre le bureau (technique, commerciale, design), le plancher et les plans d'eau." Parlons bateau..., quels sont tes projets de navigation pour la suite de la saison et la saison 2012 ? "A vrai dire je n’ai pas encore fixé mes objectifs pour la saison prochaine, mais je termine une saison passée sur des supports monotypes différent tels que surprise, esse 850 et ventilo 28 sur lesquelles nous nous sommes bien illustré avec mes coéquipiers. On a gagné le championnat suisse de surprise, le championnat d’europe en esse 850 et nous somme actuellement en tête du classement général des ventilo 28. Je ne sais pas encore de quoi 2012 sera fait mais j’espère que cette année sera aussi fructueuse niveau résultat que l’est actuellement 2011." Merci Julien, nous te souhaitons la bienvenue au sein de notre équipe. Tu es maintenant atteignable au 022 782 32 22 ou julien@ch.northsails.com. READ MORE