NORTH SAILS BLOG

CHASE DECKER WINS II SABOT REGIONALS WITH ALL-BULLETS Brand New to North Sails, a Win to be Remembered A mother’s comment needs no editing. ” I thought you would be happy to hear that our brand new Sabot North sail just won the Naples Sabot II Northern regional Championship yesterday at Lido Isle Yacht Club. Chase won with all bullets!” Conditions were 10-12 knots. Congratulations Chase! We are happy that the sail helped you win and improved your performance. Learn more about North’s fast Sabot sails. READ MORE

SUPERMAXI COMANCHE SMASHES TRANSPAC MONOHULL COURSE RECORD Comanche surfs into Transpac history books with a token spinnaker made of North Sails 3Di FORCE Jim and Kristy Clark’s record breaking machine, Comanche, started their 2017 Transpac Race off with a bang. Halfway from Los Angeles to Hawaii, she broke the race’s 24hr distance record, averaging around 20.2 knots and covering 484.1 nautical miles. They didn’t slow down! With a smaller crew and sail inventory than normal, the crew pushed the boat to the finish line in a record time for the race, 12 hours, 40 minutes and 54 seconds faster than Alfa Romeo’s time to beat in 2009. “This was another proof of concept for this boat,” he continued. “We can adapt it to be competitive in any race around the world. We are all just stunned at what this boat can do” said Stan, being his 7th first-to-finish result in the Transpac race, and the 4th time he has assisted in the win for the Elapsed Time Record Trophy as the navigator. “The perfect boat with the perfect crew, we did a lot of work to mode Comanche to the lowest safety limits of stability and to minimize the weight wherever possible,” said Ken Read, skipper of Comanche and President of North Sails Group. A steady 10-20 knot breeze was the perfect conditions for the “fat-bottomed girl”, traveling at full steam (an average of 24 knots) across the Pacific to the big island. With a crew of just 15 onboard, the 2017 Transpac was a new test for Comanche. They also had a limited sail inventory, consisting of one mainsail, one code 0, three headsails, two staysails, and only one A3 spinnaker. The inventory is 100% North Sails 3Di – both upwind and downwind sails. “That A3 has proven to be an extremely versatile and fast sail for us,” said Honey, referring to the newest sail onboard made of 3Di FORCE – a new application of 3Di technology specific to downwind sails. “It’s nice to be in Hawaii, but when you get to sail a boat like this, this is special, this is an honor, this is something that none of us take lightly. We know how privileged we are to sail on this boat. It’s up to us to just let the boat do its thing and then some.” said Read. © Sharon Green READ MORE

HL ENLOE AND MIGHTY MERLOE MAKE TRANSPAC HISTORY Mighty Merloe Sets Transpac Multihull Course Record, finishing three hours ahead of Thornburg’s Phaedo 3 © Sharon Green When HL Enloe brought his Orma 60, Mighty Merloe, to California, he set a new bar for speed that was not only striking but rather inconvenient. “In the beginning, we convinced race committees to let us enter, and not surprisingly we’d reach the finish line days ahead of the fleet. With no witnesses present, we called in our finish time and that was that,” recalled Steve Calder, a long-time crew member on Mighty Merloe and a sail designer at North Sails. Now five years later, the SoCal offshore racing scene is fully onboard. Under yesterday’s afternoon sun, Mighty Merloe sailed the last hundred miles to Hawaii to finish the 2017 Transpac Race first in a class of five maxi trimarans, setting a new elapsed time-to-beat for multihulls: 4 days, 7 hours, 3 minutes and 30 seconds. “The enthusiasm Enloe has put into this program really opened a door to multihull sailing in Southern California,” said Patrick Murray, the North Sails Expert in San Diego, who manages the inventory for Mighty Merloe.” “This is an important record because it will be hard to break, but also because the team has put in so much these past few years. The Transpac Record has been an important goal for everyone.” Together, Patrick and Steve Calder spend time sailing with the crew and then use the North design tools to maximize the Orma 60’s performance potential. A new set of 3Di RAW upwind sails (mainsail and one new headsail) and a 3Di FORCE Gennaker were added to the inventory this year. “Transpac was the goal, so we did quite a few regional offshore races early in the season to prepare,” said Patrick. Enloe and crew broke the Socal 300 record last month and put forth a strong performance in the Newport – Ensenada Race, ceding the win to Lloyd Thornburg’s Phaedo 3 just before the finish. For Transpac, offshore names you may have heard before (Loick Peyron, Jacques Vincent, and Franck Proffit) all brought onboard a lot of multihull expertise. Combined with Enloe’s steadfast team, the well prepared – and optimally tuned – boat scored the most important race win of the season. In true Transpac fashion, the course was brutally rough for the first 24 -36 hours, until the fleet reached the trade winds and could head south. “We had no idea we would get a record – it started as a race against other boats,” Steve explained, referring to tough competition from MOD 70s Phaedo 3 and Maserati. “We knew to push hard against the 70s in those early reaching conditions, and that would leave us in good shape for the tradewinds.” In the end, preparation was key; Steve said their pre-racing planning and weather routing was spot-on. “We sailed very much to our own race, knew what to look for and played our cards as best we could.” The crew kept their heads out of the boat when things got tricky, being selective on maneuvers and jibing when it was appropriate. “We jibed six times. From what we gathered, the other guys jibed double digits we think because they stayed farther south. It was a tough call for us to stay to the North, and in the end, we stuck with our routing and the original plan paid off.” Phaedo 3 finished close behind Mighty Merloe, with Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati in third. Two other multihulls (Gunboat 62 Chim Chim, and the 60’ Jeanneau Trimaran LoeReal) are currently still racing, yet very much in the mix on corrected time. North Sails provided sails for the entire 2017 Transpac Multihull fleet. The majority chose 3Di RAW and 3Di ENDURANCE for their core qualities of performance and durability. Steve and Patrick both expressed appreciation for being part of such an influential program. To learn more about Enloe’s story, check out The Multihull Maverick, an article published by Sailing World in 2014, which quotes project manager Nat Iyengar: “Enloe is a trailblazer. He has put himself out there to experience something significant, which in his case, is extreme speed.” Transpac 2017 winning crew on Mighty Merloe: HL Enloe, Steve Calder (Main Trimmer), Jay Davis (Bowman), Artie Means (Navigator), Loïck Peyron (Helm), Franck Proffit (Helm), Will Suto (Grinder), and Jacques Vincent (Co-Skipper). Loïck Peyron, helm for Mighty Merloe, and Lloyd Thornburg, owner of Phaedo3 celebrating their finish on the big island of Hawaii © Richard & Rachel / Team Phaedo READ MORE

Eivind Melleby and Joshua Revkin take the win at the Star Worlds The 2017 Star World Championships took place in Troense, Denmark last week with 70 boats entered into the regatta. Star World Championships Podium Day 1 started with 15-20 knots, which the race officer Thomas Jørgensen described as ‘perfect Star conditions’. The wind, however, picked up throughout the day to 25 knots which proved too windy for some of the competitors, with several boat breakages due to the wind. With more wind forecasted for day 2, racing was abandoned for the day to keep the sailors and their equipment safe onshore. Coming into day 3 there were strong winds again. Racing was again postponed for the day for a couple of hours, allowing the wind to drop down to manageable conditions which meant the second race of the series could take place. Day 4 the wind settled down to 15-20 knots allowing the race committee to fit 2 more races into the series. The morning of the final day of racing, there was little wind in the harbor, meaning racing was again postponed, however as the day went on the wind filled into 8-9 knots fitting in the final race of the series in comfortable sailing conditions. If you are interested in updating your sail inventory get in touch with our Star Experts! Get more info on the fastest sails in the Star Class Hubert Merkelbach & Brian Fatih Stefan Myralf & Magnus Elvström Myralf Facundo Olezza Bazan & Juan Pablo Engelhard READ MORE

33rd ANNUAL NEWPORT REGATTA Narragansett Bay delivers mixed conditions for the 33rd annual Newport Regatta, with North Sails clients finishing strong across the board Another action-packed weekend took place on the docks at Sail Newport, as 177 boats flocked to this local sailing hub to take part in the annual Newport Regatta. Sailors from 24 U.S. states and three countries made for tough competition across the board, and the event was full of surprises as the weather served up new conditions each day-keeping fleets on their toes and ready for anything. North Sails is a proud sponsor of the Newport Regatta, offering on the water support through North U Regatta Services, post-race debriefs and a dedicated clinic for the J/24 fleet – a popular class among local sailors. The clinic featured a panel discussion with North U coach and J/24 skipper, Mike Ingham, North Sails designer, Mike Marshall, President of North Sails One Design, Tim Healy, and prior NA Champion, Travis Odenbach. The group answered questions about their different preferences in rig tuning and setup, offering ideas about would work well and what wouldn’t in the expected conditions. Insightful questions from fellow fleet members focused around sail trim, and the big question of the day was when to make the decision to switch from the Genoa to the blade. Ultimately the deciding factor was your sailing area. Sailors were advised to keep the genoa when breeze is up and waves are bigger; even though you would be using it at the top of its wind range, the sail will provide more punch through the waves and maintain boat speed. The blade should be used in shifty, flatter water where you expect to tack more often, and/or when you need to make quick maneuvers in the heavier air. The J/24s were not able to go out as a fleet for the clinic due to inclement weather, but much was observed and retained from the class experts panel discussion. The Melges 20, J/70s, RS Aero, 110, and M32 fleets started racing Friday in very challenging conditions. Hard rain fell consistently with shifty winds, and large puffs streaming down the race course, making things interesting for sailors and race committee alike. The wind was shifted 30-90 degrees throughout the day, keeping the competitors and committee on their toes and ready for changes to incur. Saturday was a completely different day, where fog off Block Island sound greeted sailors on the outside circle, but slowly dissipated and brought a lovely 10-12 knot breeze. With another fog line that moved in, the wind was shifty, but cleared and settled, building to a beautiful 15-17 knots and two additional races were completed in great sailing conditions. On Sunday the sea breeze was tricky to settle, but when it did, it was a full on 18-20 knots, with some larger gusts keeping things exciting and fun, proving that Newport in the summertime can really offer fantastic sailing. Sailors went home tired and happy. Awards set up and ready! Pacific Yankee, Melges 20 Winners 110 Winners, Team Retrad Ensign Winners, Team Chowder READ MORE

NORTH SAILS WILL BE AT THE 2017 THISTLE NATIONALS Join Mike Ingham and Paul Abdullah at Chautauqua Yacht Club ON-THE-WATER CLINIC WITH MIKE INGHAM Join Mike Ingham on Friday July 21st at 1:00pm for an on-the-water clinic followed by a debrief. COFFEE WITH NORTH & TIP OF THE DAY Join us Monday-Friday between 7:00 and 8:00 am for your morning coffee under the North tent. Also, at 7:30 every morning we will be presenting the “Tip of the Day” where Mike, Paul and other Thistle experts share their thoughts on what they expect for the day’s racing. POST-RACING DEBRIEFS Mike and Paul will moderate several debriefs throughout the regatta. Stay tuned for dates/times. This is your chance to hear from the days top performers and learn their secrets to success as well as ask questions from the successful teams that day. Learn more about North Sails’ fast Thistle sails 2017 Thistle Nationals website READ MORE

A TRIPLE HEADER WEEKEND, NORTH SAILS TAKES THREE CLASS WINS IN THE ETCHELLS, SNIPES, AND LIGHTNING GREAT LAKES CHAMPIONSHIPS In Detroit at the Bayview Yacht Club, 10 Etchells teams competed in the Great Lakes Champs with North Sails client Bruce Burton and his team on Firing Line took the overall win after eight races. Bruce and team used the PC-F, LM-2L, LM-2H, AUS VMG, and Full Runner spinnaker. Congrats to our clients for finishing 1, 2*, 3, and 4, and winning 7 out of 8 races. At the North Cape Yacht Club, the Lightning Class also had their Great Lakes Champs, with Ernie Dieball’s team with Jacqueline Dieball and Amy Simonson taking home the 1st place trophy. North Sails clients finished 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 overall. Ernie’s weapon of choice was the M5, 5A+, and R2. Also at the NCYC, the Snipe fleet had their Championships, with Jno and Karen Disch took the win using North’s SW-4 main and R3 jib. Congrats to our clients for winning all three Great Lakes Championships Titles! Lightning Great Lakes Champions! Skipper Ernie Dieball with his team Etchells Great Lakes Champions! Team Firing Line all smiles READ MORE

AMY & JEFF LINTON WIN THE 2017 FLYING SCOT NORTH AMERICANS The Flying Scot North Americans were jammed packed with great sailing and fun for all! Sailors using North Sails dominated the results placing 1,2,3,4,5,7,8*, and 9th overall! A trip to the midwest in the summer typically means sailors prepare for warm temperatures and light breezes however Sandusky Bay had something else in mind for the last week of June this year. Lake Erie and northern Ohio reared back and threw the 68 teams at the 2017 Flying Scot North American Championships quite a curveball as, it seemed, someone turned on the wind machine and forgot to turn it off! Westerly breezes dominated all 5 days of the event with breezes ranging mostly between 14 and 20 mph (with a few exceptions) and while the breeze created a challenge for some of the lighter teams the regatta was flawlessly organized with plenty of opportunities to enjoy camaraderie, win some fun prizes and even pick up a few tips from some of the class experts throughout the week. Brian Hayes and Zeke Horowitz hosted a morning coffee talk each day affording competitors a chance to pick up a tip and to to chat about techniques that work well, sail trim, and maneuvers that prove to achieve race wins. Friday night and Saturday were spent measuring boats, practicing, and tuning rigs for competitors. Zeke and Brian did a presentation for the club on sail shape and trimming on Saturday night, which was informative for all who attended. Sunday there was more wind than anyone had asked for which led to the Women’s and Juniors events being cancelled and kept all the boats on their trailers, so the fine tuning tricks continued onshore, and sailors prepared for the racing that would begin the next day. Monday, the North Sails team hosted “Coffee with North”, which included a tip of the day. The majority of the fleet attended, and found it helpful to hear the guys talk about their techniques in big breeze. How to make a Flying Scot “go” in big breeze and chop was the most valued tip of the day-Spoiler alert! It’s tricky! The first two days of the event was the qualifying round where fresh breeze greeted competitors, allowing for 2 races to be completed. After racing, North Sails Expert Zeke Horowitz hosted a debrief for the fleet where sailors asked questions and learned some new tricks to better their performance for the remainder of the week. The Championship races held in much more temperate wind conditions until Thursday’s finale where a ‘wall of wind’ filled in, deeming conditions unsafe for sailing. All in all a great week spent in Sandusky, with challenging conditions raising the bar for the Flying Scot sailors. Overall sailors seemed happy with their performances and word in the parking lot was that the coffee with North morning briefings and afternoon debriefs helped them learn a lot from the class experts. Certainly, at a minimum, everyone had a great time enjoying the hospitality, catching up with old friends and making new connections. Congratulations to the Ohio District, Sandusky Sailing Club and the bevy of volunteers for running and organizing one of the finest NACs in years. Also, congratulations to our clients for upping the competition and sailing to the top of the leaderboard this week! Learn more about the fastest sails for the Flying Scot Full Results READ MORE

North Sails Kunden auf dem Podium Fotos: Sven Jürgensen Die J/70 Internationale Deutsche Meisterschaft am vergangenen Wochenende in Glücksburg (FSC) hat alles geboten. Die 38 Teilnehmer haben sich an vier Tagen bei Leichtwindrennen, Flaute, viel Wind und stark drehenden Winden in acht Wettfahrten gemessen. Carsten Kemmling mit North Sails Miklas Meyer und Crew konnten sich am ersten Tag an die Spitze setzen und mit einer konstanten Serie von Top-5-Platzierungen (11. als „Streicher“) den Titel des Deutschen Meisters sichern. Auf Platz 2 und damit Vize-Meister segelte Michael Grau, gefolgt von Florian Haufe auf Platz 3 (alle drei Hamburg, NRV). Aufgrund der abwechslungsreichen Bedingungen mischte sich das Feld oft durch und es blieb bis zum letzten Rennen spannend, besonders am letzten Tag im vorderen Drittel. Unsere Kunden sicherten sich mit den Plätzen eins bis acht nahezu alle Top 10 Platzierungen. Die meisten von Ihnen setzten Segelwahl auf das XCS-1 Großsegel, J-2 Fock sowie den AP-1 Gennaker. Das nächste große Event und für viele das Saisonhighlight ist die WM im September vor Porto Cervo. Meldungen jenseits der 150 Teilnehmer aus aller Welt, lassen jetzt schon erahnen dass es sich um ein hochkarätiges Event handeln wird. Wir beglückwünschen unsere Kunden zum Erfolg am Wochenende und bedanken uns für das Vertrauen. Alle Ergebnisse: J-70 IDM Die GER-958 Eberhard aus Hamburg auf einem der vielen schnellen Vorwindgänge am Samstag. Deutsche Meister 2017: Carsten Kemmling, Mitja Meyer, Miklas Meyer und David Heitzig (v.l.) - alle NRV Hamburg Die Vize-Meister: Michael Grau und Crew auf Painted Black Bereits nach dem ersten Tag in Führung: GER-958! READ MORE

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE TIPS FOR RACING ON NARRAGANSETT BAY Catch your racing tips from J/22 World Champion and North Sails Designer, Mike Marshall When sailing in Newport, the wind will either blow from the North, or we’ll get the trademark Southwest sea breeze. The other wind directions, East and West, are far less common. If you are sailing on an offshore circle in the sea breeze, the typical wind direction is between 215-255 degrees. The general rule of thumb is if it blows left of that, you end up going to the left, and likewise, if it trends to the right side of that range, you’ll end up hitting the right side of the course. As the sea breeze builds, it tends to fill from the ocean. On the first beat of a race in filling sea breeze, you’ll want to be on the tack that leads you farther into the ocean. The current will either be coming in or leaving the bay. As it leaves the bay, it will either curve to the left and into Block Island Sound, or curve right. It’s always smart to get out there early and look at the lobster pots around the course – the further you sail up the course, the more thorough your understanding will be of the tide on that day. Racing on the inshore circles will be more current sensitive. The ebb and flow will switch close to the times posted, but keep in mind we had a lot of rain on Friday. As a general rule of thumb, the current tends to switch on the Jamestown side first, close to the shore, and then move across the bay. Probably the last area to completely switch is the channel. Again, lobster traps and boys are plentiful and offer a great read on what is happening with the current. Whoever catches that current switch first, and makes the most of it, are going to be the boats leading the race. There are a couple of places you can hide from the current – shallow areas and beneath Rose and Gould Island (depending on your racing area) are examples. Pressure south of Rose and Goat Islands will be shifty in the Northerly direction and fairly steady in the sea breeze. The current will largely dictate your decisions. Courses North of the bridge can be a little tricky. In Potters Cove, the southerly breeze will partially funnel over the land and drop in on the south side of the course. You can end up with two breezes – one that is coming down the bay and under the bridge (this tends to be a little bit more left), and one that fills over Jamestown and into Potters Cove (this tends to be a little more right). A good rule of thumb is to figure out which breeze the windward mark sits in and, depending on how much the current is helping our hindering you, working the same breeze the windward mark is in will get you that last shift to cross in. © Chris Howell © Chuck Allen/ North Sails READ MORE

AROUND THE ISLAND IN RECORD TIME! North-powered clients top the leaderboard in 50-mile race around the Isle of Wight The Round the Island Race in Cowes, UK is a fun and exciting distance race where sailors from all over the world test their racing skills around the Isle of Wight. This year, 1,342 boats started the counterclockwise race around the island, totaling just over 50 miles. The racing divisions were split into eleven starting groups which rendezvoused off of Yarmouth. With nine observation points, it was easy for spectators to catch the racing action. For many boats in the fleet, this would be their first race against such a large number of overall competitors. Plenty of wind and a nice ebbing tide made for a quick race for those who had earlier start times and lighter hulls. Congratulations to our clients for a steadfast performance, including a record-breaking course time for MOD70 Concise (2 hours, 22 minutes, and 23 seconds), who took 1st in line honors and raised the benchmark for speed in this iconic offshore race. This year 95% of the boats that entered the race were able to complete it before the time limit. Highland Fling XI with owner Irvine Laidlaw took 1st in the Monohull Division, winning the Observer Trophy & Decanter. Highland Fling XI also took the Silver Roman Bowl Trophy for placing 2nd in O/A IRC. Yes! with Adam Gosling took 1st Place in O/A IRC, and the Gold Roman Bowl & Cloudy Bay Decanter. Fast 40+ winner on corrected time was Sir Keith Mills’ Invictus, winning the Cloudy Bay Trophy for 1st place overall. In the IRC division, more classic boat designs were racing for the best corrected time. Some sailors in the IRC divisions had already done this race before this year, so things played out as usual. The dying pressure after the start impeded on some expectations, but IRC sailors that had later start times still enjoyed their race, which for some was nearly 9 hours or so. Mandarin, an International Folkboat who ended up taking the overall win in Class 3, slowly pulled away enough to secure the race win. MOD70 ‘Concise’ takes 1st in Line Honors, breaking the record around the island in just over 2 hours and 22 minutes! © Sportgraphy.tv READ MORE

FLASHBACK TO 1920: THE AMERICA’S CUP First sailed in 1891, the America’s Cup has gone on to become not just the oldest trophy in international sport but potentially the most difficult to win. The Cup has a strong tradition of bringing the best of the marine industry together. From designers and engineers, to boat builders and the sailors who push the boats to the edge of breaking, each team shows up at the start line with their A-game. Ready to sail, ready to win and knowing that “there is no second.” 2017 begins another new era in America’s Cup history; the Cup is now New Zealand’s to defend. The North Sails corporate office sits in an old building in Newport, Rhode Island. Across the hall is a library filled with sailing history and artifacts, dating as far back as the late 19th century. One of the items housed in the library is the log book from Resolute, the American Defender of the America’s Cup in 1920. With a few America’s Cup veterans in the Newport office (notably Ken Read and Kimo Worthington) you can bet we took pause for a few hours to dig through the handwritten log. A step back in time to see how far this race and the yachting industry has come. From the beginning, the America’s Cup has always been a race of technology and innovation. In the 35th edition, we saw foiling catamarans, wing sailors, computer generated graphics and the army of cyclers on Emirates Team New Zealand. We’ll soon turn the page to the 36th edition of the America’s Cup. And the rest is history. READ MORE

NORTH SAILS TEAM AT YOUR SERVICE IN MALCESINE - 13TH, 14TH & 15TH OF JULY We would like to inform you that Julien & Michel (North Sails team members) will be available next Thursday 13th, Friday 14th and Saturday 15th of July in Malcesine for the opening of the Esse European Open 2017. On Thursday, the 13th : > From 8am until 3pm : mast & rig tuning, advises, questions on trim, boat set up and batten tension etc. Please contact Julien to schedule your most convenient time (julien.monnier@northsails.com / +41 79 574 11 15) > From 3pm : on water coaching and observations during the practice race, followed by individual debrief on request at the dock. > After sailing, on the Yacht Club terrace : North Sails invites all competitors for a personal debrief with fresh drinks ! On Friday, the 14th and Saturday, the 15th : > From 8am until noon : mast & rig tuning, advises, questions on trim, boat set up and batten tension etc. Please contact Julien to schedule your most convenient time (julien.monnier@northsails.com / +41 79 574 11 15) From 12:30 : on water coaching and observations during racing, followed by individual debrief on request at the dock. > After sailing, on the Yacht Club terrace : North Sails invites all competitors for a personal debrief with fresh drinks ! If you need anything, all the common supplies will be provided by our team. But if you have any special requests, please contact Julien (julien.monnier@northsails.com / +41 79 574 11 15), he’ll be happy to help you. See you there ! For North Sails Schweiz and North Sails Suisse Daniel, Michel and Julien Esse 850 website : http://www.esse850.org READ MORE

North Sailsin kehittämä 3Di teknologia on dominoinut maailman kilparatoja lanseeraamisestaan asti, niin ratapurjehduksessa kuin maailmanympärikilpailuissakin. Kolmiulotteisessa muotissa tehtyjen komposiittipurjeiden edut ovat nyt myös matkapurjehtijan saatavilla. Heinäkuun ajan on mahdollisuus hankkia maailman edistyksellisin matkapurje – perinteisen panelipurjeen hinnalla. READ MORE

VOS VOILES AU MEILLEUR PRIX C’EST MAINTENANT ! Bénéficiez de prix très attractifs en planifiant l’achat de vos voiles cet été. Contactez sans tarder un membre de l’équipe North Sails Suisse pour obtenir une offre à petit prix pour votre future garde-robe. Cliquez ici pour obtenir un devis Excellent été à tous ! READ MORE

Thank you for choosing a North Sails P Class Sail. Your North Sails P Class sail has been designed to be easy to use and fast in a full range of conditions. If you look after your sail and set it up correctly, it will give you good boat speed for all conditions. We have done a lot of work to develop a full range of sails to suit all mast types and the size and weight of the skippers. Some of our base designs have the option of two luff curves depending on which type of spar you are using so if you are ordering a sail be sure to specify which type of mast you have. The difference between the curves is small so either luff curve will work well but for optimum performance it is best to have the correct luff curve for your spar. P Class Sail Care Your Sail is made from a fabric called Contender 2.6oz Polykote. This is a very high tech cloth in the way that it has been woven together. Do the best you can to make sure that the sail does not get unnecessarily creased. Creases are sail killers and are the primary reason for sails not lasting as long as they should. The worst time for getting creases is during hoisting and lowering your sail as the sail catches on sidestays and other fittings. – Always roll your sail and keep it in its bag when not in use. – Ideally remove the battens after use. If you don’t want to do this, then release the battens from the pocket elastic and roll the sail parallel to the pockets. If you are rolling onto a tube, tie the clew first and roll the sail a couple of turns before attaching the tack. This will allow you to roll the sail parallel to the batten pockets on the tube. – Wash the salt from the sail every 3-6 weeks depending on how often it gets wet. Do this on a light day by hosing the sail while rigged, and leaving to dry. Setting Up HOIST Make sure the sail is right up to the top black band when hoisted. TACK Sails are fitted with a tack strap and an eyelet so you can have a choice of how you wish to set the tack of your sail up. Remember you aren’t allowed to adjust this while racing. When you have your sail hoisted and fitted along the boom, adjust the strap or whatever method you are using to fix this area in place, so that the tack area is smooth. The idea of this area is that the strap around the mast takes the outhaul load and the cunningham takes any up / down load. You may wish to have a separate piece of rope (or shockcord) tied loosely around the gooseneck area just to prevent the tack riding up the mast when the cunningham is released. FOOT Check that the black band is in exactly the right position on the boom, as you will need every millimeter of outhaul in the breeze. For really heavy conditions when the tack setting up smoothly is less important as you will be using quite a bit of cunningham load, you may want to use the strap to pull the tack forward toward the mast and give you more outhaul travel. BATTENS Your sail will come with a 2 top battens and four shorter battens. The four lower battens are interchangeable and are numbered 1 to 4. 1 is the softest and 4 the stiffest. We suggest using (from bottom to top) 3, 2, 1 for light to moderate airs and 4,3,2 for heavier airs. Use the lighter top batten up to 15-18 knots and then begin using the stiffer one. While these options will give you a full range of performance, we don’t want to discourage you from trying other options. Experiment yourself. To test batten stiffness, use a set of kitchen scales and holding the batten vertically, push down. You will see that after a while the scale doesn’t change any more- even if you push harder. This is the ‘stiffness’ of the batten. You can write this on each batten along with it’s draft position as a reference if you are testing various options. E.g. one batten might have 0.75kg @ 45% on it and another 0.75kg @ 50% Once you are used to looking at the shape of your sail and the feel of it over a range of conditions, try experimenting with different batten options and see what happens. Remember….. The stiff end of the batten is the back. Bendy end forward!!! OUTHAUL Hopefully you will have an outhaul fitted to your boat. Make sure that this works. There is no point having all the fancy bits, if when you let off the outhaul, nothing moves!. We suggest 4:1 purchase inside the boom, so you can make small repeatable adjustments. Make sure you have a system of marks so you can repeat you fast settings from upwind to downwind- or when the breeze changes. Don’t ease the foot too much. If you are getting vertical wrinkles off the boom, then you have gone too far. As a basic rule, easing the outhaul will help you point higher- but may make you a little slower sometimes. Tightening the foot will help the boat go forward easier, but over- tightening may hurt you height or power. Use the other boats around you as a guide as to what you should try. While training, try a few variations so you get the feel for how the outhaul really affects your performance. RAKE The correct rake for your weight and the conditions is one of the primary factors in good performance. Because there is a variation in the hulls, there is no correct rake to suit all boats so we cannot provide a standard rake to work from in this guide. There is a correct rake for your individual boat and you should have a record of this and of the rakes you try. At the back of this tuning guide is a formula for working out the correct mast. Another way to find a starting rake is to level your hull alongside a top boat with a skipper of similar weight. Then sight the masts and set your mast up to the same angle. Measure this from a mark permanently etched on your mast to a mark on the stern. This is your rake. Generally as you get bigger and better you will be able to increase that measurement. ie. rake it further forward. Note: we now measure up the mast 2.8m, and then back to the center of the transom to aft deck join. Remember – you don’t learn if you don’t try so use the rakes suggested as a starting point, and try experimenting with different rakes. Keep a good record of what works and what doesn’t. You may find that you come up with something that works better than what we suggest. Use our suggested rake as a point to start from!!! SAIL SHAPE Your sail comes with 3 camber stripes. It is a good idea to glance up at your sail occasionally especially when you are going fast- (or really slow) to see what your rig looks like and therefore be able to eventually memorise these shapes and settings. The concept of the sail is that it is very easy to trim. To do this it is made with a very open leech. This means that you don’t have to be so careful not to over-sheet in the light, and should be able to sail with a more constant sheet tension through the range. Compared to other sails you have used, you may find you need to use a little more sheet tension with your North sail. RIG TENSION Tight v’s loose. I prefer a firm rig. The tension should be so that by pulling forward on the mast you can just do up a shackle on the forestay. Any tighter than this is unnecessary. My reasoning is purely practical. There are pro’s and con’s for the 2 extremes. If you have a loose rig, it will give you more optimal fore and aft rake upwind and downwind, whereas a tight rig can’t move. However a loose rig also means it falls away sideways which isn’t desirable. I think that this is why the 2 styles ultimately perform equally. Of course what the top skipper is using will always appear fastest!!- but look carefully at what else he/she is doing. My practical reasoning is simple. A loose rig is more susceptible to wear and therefore failure. The movement also makes it more prone to shackles etc working their way loose. If you are a methodical type of person and check your gear often, then by all means go for a loose rig if you believe it to be the way to go. Remember: The class rules say that you can’t change anything on the masts. Don’t drill any  holes, change any fittings or do any painting without contacting the manufacturer to make sure it is allowed. BOOMS A small amount of boom bend is desirable. This should be mostly in the back part of the boom and should be in unison with the mast. As a gust hits, the boom should help the lower leech flick open and flatten just the same way the top of the mast works. For heavier skippers, it may be impractical to find a boom section which is stiff and strong enough for everyday sailing and which also bends as desired. For skippers under 55kg, we recommend the triangular extruded section. For heavier skippers the StarlingF4 section is better. VANG Your vang is there to control leech tension once you run out of width on your traveler. If the breeze is light and you aren’t having to ease the main in gusts, then you don’t need any vang. In these conditions you should have it just eased, so that it isn’t taking any load. However, you don’t really want it too loose or else it will take too long to pull on should the breeze increase. In the lighter breezes you are quite often sheeting quite loosely, so make sure there is no tension on the vang. As soon as you find yourself easing the main in the gusts, you should have vang on. This should mean that as you ease the main in the gust, the boom moves outwards only- not upwards. This is a similar motion as in a keelboat, where the mainsheet is cleated and the traveller is moved in and out in the gusts. Remember vang bends the mast and flattens the sail a lot, so if you are hunting for power, make sure you don’t have too much vang on. Be sure your rig and fittings are strong enough, so that you aren’t afraid to use a lot of vang when the wind increases. Reaching is similar in trim to upwind. In the light you will have to be careful not to close the leech too much, however as the breeze increases, you will need to slowly increase the amount of vang to keep the leech under control and keep powered up. Again too much vang will bend the mast too much and lose power. Downwind you will need less tension than you have had upwind or on the reach. Ease vang as you go around the mark. If you can imagine looking along the boom, the ‘twist’ or amount the leech opens, should be nearly the same on all points of sail, in all conditions. For this reason it is a good idea to get used to looking up at how open the top batten is and try to adjust the vang to keep it looking the same as the wind changes. CUNNINGHAM Cunningham does two things. It moves the shape forward in the sail, and then as you use more, it bends the top of the mast and opens the leech in the head. Use very little cunningham until you are very overpowered. You may want to use up to 25mm or so to remove wrinkles. (the sail is cut about 25mm longer than the mast to add extra depth downwind) When you are over powered start using more and more. When it is really windy, pull on as much as you can. CENTREBOARD Your centerboard is another very important control to how the boat sails. The rake and positioning of the centerboard changes the balance of the boat and makes it easier or harder to sail. Test this in moderate conditions to learn for yourself how important it is. You should feel a big difference in how heavy the helm is if you test the extremes of board forward and then board aft in your case. Basically the further forward and further down the board is, the more power you will have. You may even try raking it forward a little in the light. As the breeze increases you will begin getting overpowered and the helm will start getting heavier. A heavy helm is slow, as you are holding the rudder against the water flow and creating drag just like a big brake. Therefore as it starts getting noticeably heavier, it is time to start moving the board back. Firstly do this by raking the board. Leave the top at the front of the case, and let the bottom move as far aft as possible. You will probably find it faster if you begin doing this a little earlier in choppy conditions. As it gets windier still, you can begin moving the whole board aft in the case, until you are hard up against the back of the case. If you are still overpowered, you can now start lifting the board. Don’t be afraid to sail around with 150mm of board up if it is windy. This will allow the boat to sail flatter, especially through the gusts, and to move faster through the water. Be aware to begin putting it down again if it lightens, or else you will find yourself not pointing. RUDDER The rudder is one of the more important items to get right in the P Class. This is because of the angle it is on and how heavy this makes the helm. A heavy helm is slow, so anything you can do to help this is good. Make sure your rudder is as vertical as possible within the rules. Ask the measurer to check it, and watch carefully to see if there is any way you can rake it further forward- even another 5mm is very important. P Class Mast Rake Formula and Mast Bend Measurement INSTRUCTIONS Mast Rakes We don’t give fixed mast rake numbers in our tuning guide. This is because hulls vary so much that the current way of measuring the rake is only accurate to around 30mm!! We have come up with the following method which will eliminate the hull variable, and hopefully create a standard metric rake system. 1) Measure up 2.8m from the deck and mark the back of the mast -(not the back of the track)- this is the new rake measuring point. 2) Measure up 100mm from the deck on the back face of the mast. Measure from this point to the stern and mark the stern point. The distance is ‘deck’ in the formula. 3) Calculate the correct rake for your hull using the Fctr that corresponds closest to your body weight. Use the table or graph below to get the correct factor (Fctr) for your weight. Use metres in the formula. Formula = The square root of (7.29 + deck + (Fctr x deck)) READ MORE

North Sails On the Water Tuning Guide. READ MORE

Streakers are relatively easy boats to set up. There are 3 dimensions which position the mast for the correct rake and give you a repeatable setting. See the below points to guide you through our Streaker Tuning Guide. 1. This set up is best done on a windless day. 2. Find the ‘Transom datum point’ on your Streaker as shown. 3. Set the boat level. 4. Initially put the mast in the boat, don’t bother attaching shrouds or forestay at this stage. The back of the mast should be touching the aft edge of the deck mast gate. 5. Measure the distance from back of mast at the heel along the hull centreline, over the top of the board- case and aft tank to the Transom datum point. Dimension ‘A’ should be 2885mm +/- 5mm. 6. Adjust the pins/stops on the mast step track as required to get dimension ‘A’. 7. You can now attach the forestay. Do not tension, just enough to take out the slack. The mast should still be touching the aft edge of the mast gate. 8. Hoist your tape measure on the main halyard to the top of the mast. Measure back down the mast to the top of the bottom black sail band. Adjust and cleat the halyard so Dimension ‘B’ is 5095mm and cleat the halyard. 9. With the halyard cleated still as in 8, swing the tape to the transom and measure Dimension ‘C’, top of mast to Transom datum point. 6130mm +/- 20mm. Be careful not to bend the mast when pulling the tape taught. 10. You may have to adjust Dimension ‘A’ to achieve the desired rake of 6130mm but within 40mm of this rake is acceptable. These setting should cover all Streakers, Butler and Beer/Rooster FRP boats and Wood/Composite boats. All Streaker’s will vary slightly with regard to the height of False Floor, height of deck and position of the mast gate. These variables will affect the given rake from one Streaker to another. So you may have to adjust to suit your type of Streaker. The type of mast for these settings, Selden Lambda / Superspar Rigel there is no difference. Streaker Shroud and Forestay Tension We recommend you use the multi-stay adjusters by Allen Bros. for both shrouds and forestay. Once you are happy with the mast rake you can then attach the shrouds. Streaker Superspar Rigel Take the slack out of the Shroud and put the shroud pin into the stay adjuster that you alone can get the pin in easily. (Don’t apply tension or push the mast sideways to get in a certain hole). Streaker Selden Lambda Same as the Rigel but then let the shroud even slacker (up) by one full hole. Assuming that your shrouds are the same length, you may find on some Streakers that the shrouds do not go in the same hole in the shroud adjusters. It is not the rig that is at fault but the hull, which may be as much as 10mm higher on one side to the other. The forestay is set in the same way, pull to take out the slack and put the pin into the hole that is easiest. These shroud and forestay settings are good for most conditions, except you may want to ease the forestay by half a hole in a blow. Check measure the rake Dimension ‘C’ once the shrouds and forestay have been connected. READ MORE

79th ANNUAL QUEEN’S CUP Sailors in the Midwest race across Lake Michigan in the 79th Annual Queen’s Cup Distance Race, where North Sails clients proved to be fastest, finishing as dawn struck and on top of the leaderboard! With ideal sailing conditions, the 79th Queen’s Cup was smooth sailing for 140 competitors. An annual distance race from South Shore YC in Milwaukee across Lake Michigan, North Sails Clients finished in the top three in 12 classes. A North U weather briefing was hosted by program director Bill Gladstone at 11:00 am on the morning of the race. In his presentation Bill suggested the bigger boats could pretty much stop paying attention after the midnight forecast, as the great majority of the fleet were expected to finish after racing 76.3 miles by sunrise. Well, Bill’s prediction was spot-on! The winds were nearly dead aft with an average around 15 knots; the ORMA 60 made it across the lake in just over 5 hours, and VO70 il mostro completed her crossing in just over 6 ½ hours. North U’s Expedition and Routing Weather Briefing with Bill Gladstone Using the Sailing Weather Service forecast, Bill Gladstone ran a number of Expedition tracks for boats of various sizes and performance levels, to give sailors an idea of what to expect during the course of the race. Bill, who sailed on Dave Bohl’s Odyssey as navigator, has been briefing the Queens Cup fleet on weather and routing for three years and it is always extremely well received because he really knows his stuff! Expedition routing had nearly identical tracks for all classes; head South on starboard gybe until you were nearly on the same latitude as the finish, gybe onto port and in. Winds held at the predicted 15 knots with the occasional rain cloud causing velocity changes. “As we hit the starting line in full flight with our spinnaker up, we knew the weather had lined up perfectly for us. I felt like if we didn’t do something special it was probably operator error. There would be absolutely no errors on the part of the humans on this night,” said Dave Bohl, skipper of Tartan 34 Odyssey, who took 1st on PHRF overall. “To average 6.4 knots of VMG on a 34-foot boat manufactured in 1972 is evidence of some pretty favorable conditions for her. There was enough wind for us to hit her hull speed, while the big boys would have benefitted from more. My little boat now can brag winning both the Chicago Mac and Queens Cup! “I really feel like we are just hitting our stride, and I take great pride in the team that has come to surround her.” Dave and the team on Odyssey race in PHRF with North 3Di upwind sails, and credit no special tricks to their success. “Practice helps a ton. Attending the North U. Race Week in Captiva made a huge difference this year. It knocks all the rust off and I always learn something important that I can use later down the line at regattas. We put Odyssey on the starting line exactly twice a year: for the Queen’s Cup and the Chicago-Mac (they are all my wife lets me do!), so to be able to say she has won both races is both great and extremely hard to believe. I recognize that far better sailors than me in far bigger and fancier boats spend their sailing lives trying to win one of these races and most never do.” “An overall fleet victory in a big mixed fleet such as the Queen’s Cup requires many elements: A properly prepared and well sailed boat combined with sailing conditions that favor the particular size and type of boat. There are elements you can control and those that you can’t. The challenge is to do your part and hope the other elements fall into place. For Dave Bohl and the crew of Odyssey, this year it did.”- Bill Gladstone, Navigator onboard Odyssey A very special congratulations to North clients at the Queen’s Cup: PHRF Overall Queen’s Cup winner, Dave Bohl, and his team on Tartan 34C Odyssey sailed well, and fast! ORR Silver Jubilee Trophy Winner, Mike Schoendorf, on his Riptide 41 Blue was also very fast, and his crew did an excellent job keeping him in the lead. 1st Overall PHRF, Odyssey! Onboard Tartan 34 Odyssey The navigator takes a breather onboard Odyssey! READ MORE

Introduction The purpose of this Platu 25 tuning guide is to give our clients in the Platu 25 class some guidelines on how to get the most out of their North Sails. Follow the guidelines, but always experiment and try finding your own trim. The weight of the crew, the balance of the boat, the stiffness of the mast together with specific local wind and sea conditions all have influence on the fastest and final trim. Rig set-up The North Sails TB-2 Main and LM-4 Jib are “state of the art” sails which did very well throughout the 1999 season. The main is quite powerful and needs some “prebend” (i.e. mastbend in non sailing conditions) in rig set-up. The pre-bend should be something like 50 mm. The best way to check this is tie the main halyard at the gooseneck, pull the halyard very tight and check the distance between the halyard and the back of the mast. This should be 50mm or close to that. The uppershrouds must be very tight and as tight as possible in hvy. air conditions in order to tension the headstay. In lighter air you should slacken the upper shrouds at least 3 360 degree turns in order to get some headstay sag to make the front of the LM-4 jib as full as possible. In heavy air you should use the GH-2 jib (which is a bit smaller and Flatter as the LM-4 and better in a breeze). The lowershrouds should be adjusted according to the pre-bend as described before. The mast should not bend more as 130-150 mm’s. Check the intermediates (shroud from the lower spreader to the upper spreader) in all settings (tight and less tight) so the mast is straight up untill the hounds (this is where the forestay comes into the mast). Some sideways mastbend must be accepted, because this cannot be influenced by any adjustment. Mainsail Trim Never pull the backstay. Sheeting the mainsheet does all you need to flatten the mainsail sufficiently. Adjust the foot of the sail (along the boom) enough the reduce the helm (pressure). Never pull the mainsail very flat on the boom, specially not when the waves are choppy and short. The boat needs enough “drive” to power through the waves, since it is very short and starts “hobby-horsing” i.e. bow up&down quite easy. Traveller should be played all the time in every gust, so the boat is feathered and not heeling, because that is really slow. If the traveller is not enough, ease the mainsheet a bit to keep the boat on its feet. The cunningham should be used with care, never pull too much, it moves the draft (deepest point of the main) too far forward. Pull enough to remove some wrinkles, BUT NOT ALL WRINKLES !!Try to accelerate, and NOT to heel!! The boats are very sensitive, and must be sailed with a lot of concentration and dedication, specially from the mainsail trimmer. Keep the crew on the rail ALL the time. Use 400 Kgs of crew weight which is allowed since 1999. Jib Trim First thing you have to do is make marks at the upper spreader. Make a mark every 5 cmtrs. from the outboard end going towards the mast. The last mark should be at 25 cmtrs. NEVER sheet the sail harder as to this last (most inboard) mark, so this mark should be a bit fatter or another colour, so it’s easy to see through the window in the main. The lead (trackposition of the jib) should be very close to the most forward end of this track. This makes the jib look a bit crazy, but believe me, that’s fast. The barberhauler MUST be pulled INBOARD all the time. In smooth water (no waves) up to 10 cmtrs. In waves no more as 5 cmtrs. Look at your boatspeed, and work the jib barberhauler, just as you must do with the mainsail traveller. More wind -> outboard, less wind ->inboard. The best way to do this is lead the barberhauler across the boat. This means the barberhauler from starboard is led to the port cleat, and vice versa. That way you can adjust the barberhauler without leaving the rail, remember, the crew must hike HARD! Length of Headstay In light air you should use the longest headstay possible in order to create more weather helm.Remember to adjust the shrouds as described above. In heavy air go 1 hole shorter on the adjuster, and again, adjust the shrouds. Tips & Tricks Put a device on the bow of the boat which prevents the spinnaker sheet from falling in the water. You will drive over the spinnaker sheet, and that’s slow, and difficult to get back on the boat as long as the boat moves forward.Put a sailbatten on the top of the mast to prevent the mainsail leech from hooking behind the backstay. This is nasty, especially gybing in light air, which must be done frequently. Crew weight & position Move forward with 3 crew in light air, at least around the mast. This must be done with less boatspeed as 3 knots. Above 3 knots move backwards, but not a lot. Above 6 knots the crew can be in “normal” position.Wind angles downwind (Spinnaker) The Platu 25 is very sensitive to apparent wind speed. Smaller wind angles make the boat go a lot faster. My experience is to keep the wind angles as small as 95 to 100 degrees in light air. Look at the boat speed, and check the win dspeed at all times. More wind, steer deeper (more downwind), less wind, steer higher (closer to the wind). Keep concentrated downwind, you can gain a lot of distance, but you can also loose a lot of distance. Check the truewind angle. If neccesary gybe as soon as the wind shifts in your favour i.e. the app. windangle is getting greater. Talk with the crew trimming the spinnaker, let him decide if there is “pressure” or “less pressure”. He feels most, having the sheet in his hands.Running in more breeze “work” the boat. Point the bow of the boat down the waves at all possible times and “rock” the boat, i.e. pull hard on the mainsheet and pull hard on both spinnakersheets. Your crew must be very tired after this leg. If not, they did not “work” enough! Good luck on the water! READ MORE

SUPERYACHT CUP, TERRITORIO NORTH SAILS La Superyacht Cup (Palma, 21-24 de junio) reunió a una decena de superyates con esloras comprendidas entre los 27,5 y los 46 metros (entre 90 y 151 pies) para tres jornadas de competición de gran calibre. © Stuart Pearce North Sails propulsó a nueve de los diez barcos participantes, incluyendo a los tres primeros clasificados de ambas categorías. En Clase A ganó el Baltic de 33 metros WinWin diseñado por Javier Jáudenes (con velas 3Di ENDURANCE) y en Clase B el Farocean de 32 metros Bolero (equipado con 3DL). Las velas más utilizadas por la flota fueron las North Sails 3Di Endurance (cuatro barcos), 3Di RAW (dos) y 3DL (dos). READ MORE

Introduction These are the current settings for the North Sail range of Merlin Rocket sails. This information will give the ability to pre-bend the mast when required and control the rig over the full range of conditions. With the ability of the modern Merlin to be able to make almost infinite adjustment whilst afloat this tuning guide will walk through setting up the standing rigging and then the control of the rig whilst sailing. Spreader settings The settings shown below for the Jackson/Chipstow mast are also a good starting point for all other masts. The focus being around 38mm of pre-bend, see below. MERLIN ROCKET JACKSON/CHIPSTOW MAST • Mast track to shroud wire – 365mm • Tip of track to straight edge between shrouds – 140mm • Shroud to shroud – 677mm MERLIN ROCKET SELDEN SKINNY MAST • Mast track to shroud wire – 365mm • Tip of track to straight edge between shrouds – 137mm • Shroud to shroud – 685mm Standing Rigging Assumptions The ‘jib hook’ position is crucial to maximize your mast rake. • Jib halyard hook at ‘most upright’ setting – Shrouds and lowers loose, just able to get jib halyard onto hook (this is another crucial element, the shrouds should be adjusted so that there is only just enough slack to place the jib halyard on the hook) .• Set the bow of the boat to perpendicular. • The mast should now be perpendicular. Adjust the jib strop/halyard until this is achieved and this should be done before proceeding further. Base Settings Apply some rig tension 200kg (28-29 on Loose gauge PT-1) which equates to helm and crew sitting on the side deck and snugging up the leeward shroud plus a little bit.With the lowers fully released this should give you about 38mm of pre-bend at the spreaders. To measure this, the main halyard should be tied to the gooseneck and touching the mast at that point. Note: Be careful that you don’t pull it so tight as to bend the mast further!Once this has been achieved pull on the lowers until the mast just starts to invert. The lowers need to have sufficient range to go from this base setting to totally free.Make a careful note of jib, shroud and lower settings. These are essential to enable easy replication when on the water.Apply more rig tension and possibly lowers as the wind increases to keep the leeward shroud snugged up. Rake when the top batten starts to invert or when the boom is off the centre line more than 50% of the time. Fig. 1: shows the rig without lowers. You can see the little gauge at the spreaders which is used to measure the pre-bend, the thicker cloth ends 25mm from the mast track therefore 38mm pre-bend. Fig 2: shows the slight inversion in the lower section (deck to spreaders) and the pre-bend reduces to 15 mm. Basic principles Why do we want all of this adjustment? The fundamental is to match the luff round to the mast bend and optimise the two. It also means that we can adjust the shape of the rig to maximize performance for the given conditions, flat mainsail in calm and windy, full in mid range to power up. Good luck on the water! READ MORE

SÚPER VELAS PARA SUPERYATES En el extremo superior del sector de los barcos a vela se encuentran los superyates, auténticos gigantes flotantes en los que todo adquiere proporciones colosales. También las velas. En su condición de velería líder mundial, North Sails ofrece una respuesta a cada necesidad con un rendimiento superior. Analizamos qué tienen de especial estas súper velas para superyates. El muestrario North Sails abarca todo el espectro de embarcaciones a vela, desde los pequeños Optimist de 2,3 metros de eslora (con velas de aparejo tarquina de 3,5 metros cuadrados) hasta los colosales superyates, cuyas dimensiones adquieren nuevos límites cada año en función de la evolución tecnológica y los gustos de sus armadores. Las velas para los superyates se hacen a medida en función de las características de cada barco. No hay dos iguales. “Nuestro muestrario para superyates está indicado para barcos con esloras entre 100 y 300 pies (30,5 a 91,5 metros) con grátil de hasta 85 metros”, explica Scott Zebny, especialista de North Sails para el segmento de los superyates. “Pero en realidad no hay límite en dimensiones, porque fabricamos las velas en secciones y podemos adaptarlas a las particularidades de cada proyecto”. Las nuevas instalaciones de North Sails en Gosport (Reino Unido) están adaptadas específicamente para fabricación de velas para superyates, aunque otras como la de Cuntis (Pontevedra) también producen estas piezas únicas. Un ejemplo es el Código 1 que North Sails fabricó para el Aglaia, un 66 metros de eslora diseñado por Dubois y arbolado con un palo de carbono 83 metros de altura, el equivalente a un edificio de 27 plantas. “Para mí es la vela más espectacular que hemos fabricado, ya no sólo por sus dimensiones, sino por sus gráficos”. Se trata de una vela de 3.600 metros cuadrados (el equivalente a 13 pistas de tenis) decorada por un gráfico del artista noruego Magne Furuholmen, que ostenta el récord como la obra de pintura sobre lienzo más grande del mundo. El proceso de diseño y fabricación de velas de superyates es totalmente individualizado. Cada barco es montado virtualmente en el ordenador, y gracias al software exclusivo North Design Suite y a los programas de diseño CFD (Computer Fluid Dynamics), los expertos de North Sails conocen cómo se van a comportar vela y aparejo en navegación real antes de iniciar su producción. Esos programas tienen en cuenta las cargas que se generan en la vela, y en qué direcciones y en qué densidad se tienen que disponer las fibras que las componen. Según Zebny, “las cargas que soportan las velas en un superyate pueden alcanzar las 20 toneladas”, por lo que el material tiene que estar preparado para semejante presión, lo que implica fabricar velas de hasta 1,5 toneladas de peso. Regata y crucero Los superyates suelen tener una doble personalidad: auténticas mansiones flotantes para disfrutar del lujo en navegación de crucero, y purasangres de competición para regatear contra otros colosos a vela; es el caso de los elegantes J-Class, que han elegido a North Sails como velería oficial para disputar su circuito mundial, una suerte de segunda juventud que reunió en Bermuda a siete unidades para la regata más multitudinaria de la historia de la clase. Cada una de estas facetas implican velas diferentes, como si cambiáramos los neumáticos a nuestro coche dependiendo de si circulamos tranquilamente por carretera o entramos en circuito para competir. “Las velas de los superyates dependerán del uso que se les vaya a dar: las de crucero están más enfocadas a la durabilidad, mientras que en las de regata se anteponen las prestaciones”, indica Zebny. El muestrario North Sails ofrece respuestas para cada necesidad, destacando las gamas 3Di Endurance para crucero y 3Di RAW para competición. Ambas comparten las mismas características asociadas a la tecnología 3Di, pero las Endurance añaden capas exteriores para incrementar su durabilidad; la ausencia de esas capas en las 3Di RAW implica una mayor ligereza, lo que redunda en mejores prestaciones. Valor añadido North Sails vende anualmente alrededor de 150 velas para superyates. Su principal mercado es Palma, auténtico centro mundial de estos titanes del mar. “Nuestro valor añadido es una combinación de producto y servicio”, explica Zebny, quien precisamente opera desde el centro de North Sails en Mallorca. “En North Sails disponemos de 170 puntos de servicio en todo el mundo, 13 de ellos específicos para superyates”. La firma dispone de la red de servicio más amplia del mercado, con instalaciones específicas para superyates en Nueva Zelanda, Palma, Rhode Island, San Diego, Singapur y Antigua. “Esto supone un valor añadido especialmente apreciado por los armadores, que saben que a través de nuestra red pueden disponer del servicio de nuestros expertos prácticamente en cualquier rincón del planeta donde naveguen, tanto de crucero como en regata”. READ MORE

RETOUR D'EXPÉRIENCE Depuis le début de l’année, North Sails Suisse accompagne un équipage tiré au sort lors des épreuves du Championnat du Petit-Lac. Cette fois-ci, c’est Black Swan, un Luthi 36 Classic, qui a bénéficié du coaching personnalisé de Patrick Mazuay et de sa présence à bord lors de la Genève-Rolle-Genève et du Bol d’Or Mirabaud. Philippe de Weck, skipper de Black Swan « Nous avons eu la chance d’avoir Patrick à bord lors des deux plus grandes régates de l’année. Comme il y avait beaucoup de vent lors du Bol, nous avons même pu garder l’équipage au complet sans être pénalisé ! Il est dynamique en tant que régleur de grand-voile, et c’était intéressant d’écouter ses conseils sur la conduite au près par exemple. Nous avons même fait le meilleur temps en réel au Bol ! Deux de mes fils ont fait chacun une régate avec nous, Alexander sur la Genève-Rolle et Micha lors du Bol d’Or. J’étais très heureux de pouvoir partager ces moments avec eux et continuer à leur transmettre ma passion. C’était clairement l’un de mes objectifs principaux en passant du Tofinou à Black Swan. Pour en revenir à Patrick, il nous a également bien aidé à maximiser le rendement de toutes nos voiles. C’est lui qui les a dessinées et il nous aura bien aidé tout le long du process ! Je pense particulièrement au nouveau foc 3Di raw reçu à l’automne dernier. Il est très efficace pour le petit temps. Tout comme le nouveau spi qui nous permet de bien descendre au portant. Depuis l’arrivée de ces voiles à bord, le bateau est plus compétitif, malgré son poids assez conséquent car je souhaitais également avoir un bateau rassurant pour les sorties en famille, hors du cadre des régates. En tous cas, toute l’équipe était ravie de l’avoir à bord, nous n’avons plus qu’à continuer sur cette lancée et bien prendre en compte toutes ses recommandations afin de viser le podium des prochaines régates ! » Pour mémo – Le concept de coaching personnalisé avec North Sails Suisse Un équipage sera tiré au sort pour un accompagnement de type coaching personnalisé durant une semaine, sur les épreuves du Championnat 2017. Un équipage gagnant ne pourra pas être sélectionné une deuxième fois. Dans une atmosphère conviviale et avec pour objectif de partager notre passion commune, ce coaching personnalisé comprend les actions suivantes : J-5 avant l’épreuve : Briefing par téléphone ou à la voilerie avec le skipper et/ou l’équipage (tendance météo pour l’épreuve, passage en revue de la check list performance (carène, voiles à bord, électronique, etc.), point sur la liste d’équipage) J-4 : Entraînement du mardi soir à bord, avec si possible l’équipage au complet (à la SNG ou à Nyon) : briefing, réglages du mât et des voiles, point tactique, session de manœuvres. Puis débriefing au retour à terre et établissement d’une “to do list” d’ici à la course J-1: Briefing météo, réglage du gréement affiné selon les conditions météo, lecture des instructions de course, préparation finale du bateau H-3 : Dernier point sur la météo, stratégie générale, check list des priorités H : Selon votre configuration d’équipage, navigation à bord ou suivi de la régate par un membre de North Sails Suisse, photos techniques, vidéos et prise de notes en vue du débriefing J+3 : Synthèse avec l’ensemble de l’équipage à la voilerie, analyse et transmission des photos et vidéos, établissement de la liste des pistes d’amélioration pour les prochaines navigations. Avec nous, les pros, c’est vous ! Nous partagerons les trucs & astuces pour booster les performances de votre speedo, améliorer vos manœuvres en toute sécurité, affiner vos réglages et tactiques sur des bases simples mais efficaces. Loris von Siebenthal READ MORE

BLOCK ISLAND RACE WEEK Sail, power or ferry yourself to Block Island for a great week of racing and the best mudslides, where North Sails clients topped 11 fleets in the 26th annual Block Island Race Week For the third year in a row, North Sails is proud to sponsor Block Island Race Week. A local favorite to kick-off the summer, one-hundred forty-three boats convened for a week of racing around the buoys, and around the island, in one of New England’s most unique sailing venues. Sailors enjoyed the sights, sounds, and tastes of the island with old and new faces connecting, all with the passion for sailing matched with fantastic social events after racing. There were highlights all across the board, from the J/105 class to the ORC Club division. North U was on site to host dock talks, evening clinic debriefs, and on the water coaching with the J/109, J/105, and J/88 classes. Sailors got the most out of collaborating with North Sails experts and reviewing video and photos after sailing, where they could engage with their fellow competitors. Points of focus included hiking techniques, weight placement, sail trim, and mainsail twist. For those that needed repairs, North Sails loft was onsite and provided overnight repair services, making sure sailors were able to get back on the water everyday. We enjoyed our time “on island” and would like to extend our congratulations to North-powered clients for sailing well, topping no less than 11 fleets. Recap from the J/88 fleet In a small but competitive fleet, Doug McKeige and Mike Bruno showed up with 3Di sails and blew the competition out of the ballpark. As always, it came down to starts, speed, boat handling, and tactics. Starting was easy in the J/88 (particularly at this event) because it was a very spacious line, making for little to no excuse for a bad start. Speed favored the North customers, Jazz and Wings in particular, who seemed to have better speed all week with their new North 3Di. The tactician on Wings was hiking hard and keeping his team very motivated not only in speed but also in determination. At the North U debrief on Tuesday, the key takeaway was that rig tension matters a lot. The new North tuning guide is out and quite accurate, with the caveat that more tension on the lowers can be used as soon as the bottom third of the main starts to look too flat. In the big breeze, dropping the in-hauler to open up the slot helps make the steering easier. Lastly, if you have a long drag race, the main trimmer should hike as much as possible. Hiking in the J/88 matters almost as much as it does in a Laser. Make sure you’ve got good lifeline covers for your crew! Iris Vogel, skipper of Deviation generously hosted a fleet party at her house on Tuesday. All J/88 competitors enjoyed the fact that the skies parted and we had the opportunity to share a meal and a few cocktails with friends with a great view overlooking the ocean. The talk of the evening turned to the North American’s in Youngstown which everyone in attendance is fired up to attend. Morris 42, Ranger, sailing beautifully with North 3Di sails in PHRF 2 Gossip, 3rd Place J/109 Team Jazz, J/88 First Place Winner ‘Spookie’ on North Sails Wednesday’s race around the island with their Fractional Code 0 2nd Place Corinthian, J/109 Emoticon J/105 winner, Good Trade TP52 winner, Spookie, IRC 1 3rd Place PHRF 3, Cymothoe J/111 Partnership, winner of PHRF 1 Ker 50 Temptation, winner of IRC 2 Swan 42 The Cat Came Back, winner of Club ORC J/122, Teamwork, winner of IRC 3 Gunboat 55 winner, Jammy North U on the water coaching and support with expert, Chuck Allen READ MORE

J/70 ALCATEL CUP-ACT 3 73 boats met in Riva del Garda for one of the biggest European J/70 events of the season with North-powered teams finishing at the top! With perfect sailing conditions, amazing competition, and one of the most competitive J/70 fleets in the world, the 3rd Act of the J/70 Alcatel Cup on Lake Garda was an all- around success for all sailors. Claudia Rossi’s Petite Terrible topped the seventy-three boat fleet with two race wins and a total of only 18 points. In second place was Carlo Alberini’s Calvi Network, followed by Mauro Roversi with his team J Curve. Petite Terrible sailed with North Sails XCS-1 mainsail, J-2 Jib and AP-1 Spinnaker. Learn more about our winning J/70 products. Congratulations to our clients on yet again another perfect performance. We’ll see you in Scarlino for the 4th act of the series! © Mauro Melandri / Zerogradinord © Mauro Melandri / Zerogradinord © Mauro Melandri / Zerogradinord © Mauro Melandri / Zerogradinord © Mauro Melandri / Zerogradinord © Mauro Melandri / Zerogradinord READ MORE

YACHTING WORLD DAYBOAT RACE WEEK 2017 Father and son duo takes the #1 spot, continuing their family legacy North Sails Ireland’s Nigel Young and his youngest son James, aged 11, raced at this year’s YW Dayboat Week in a boat built by Nigel’s father, Don Young. The regatta was hosted by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club in Falmouth. James succeeded in winning the Cadet Race and his name will now appear alongside his father, who won the trophy back in 1980 and his older brother Jack, who won in 2016. The Young Family have a long association with the YWDB Class, as Don built his first boat back in the 60’s and since that time has built about six more boats. They are all cold molded smooth skin boats and all varnished, no painting allowed! Nigel’s current boat PaPa 2 has now won the Championship three times and the family look forward to defending the title again in 2018. Fully powered by North Sails, the NY-4 Jib and the M-4 Mainsail, these designs now also have the three Championship titles under their belt. For more information on North Sails products for Dayboat sailing, visit our class page! Nigel and his son James, share the family passion of Dayboat sailing YW Dayboat winners! Father/son duo, Nigel and James! READ MORE

SOCAL SAILING AT LONG BEACH RACE WEEK North Sails teams sweep J/70, Viper 640, Sportboat, Farr 40, and the newest class at Race Week, the Pac 52 Long Beach Race Week 2017 was an absolute success with amazing breeze, comfortable warm temperatures, and lots of fun and exciting racing. Winds ranged between 10-24 knots all three days, keeping things interesting on all three race courses. Fourteen fleets raced either inside the breakwater or just outside the harbor. The kelp was a major factor for those racing inside, while those outside battled the swell, especially on Sunday. The weekend was full of fun, competition, carnage, parties, and a water taxi between Alamitos YC and Long Beach YC made sure no social gatherings were missed. West Coast sailors always look forward to LBRW. The close proximity of the open ocean and a large bay behind what has to be one of the world’s largest breakwaters makes for some prime sailing conditions for boats of all sizes. This year’s edition added extra excitement with four brand-new Pac 52s racing one design. The Pac 52 class is growing, and six boats are expected on the start line in September for San Francisco’s Big Boat Series. J/70 sailors had 28 boats, close to the same number at the World’s last September. Winning crew on ‘Cool Story Bro’, led by North Sails Chris Snow, won the class and three 1st place finishes also earned them One Design Boat of the Week. The top Corinthian boat, Pat Toole’s ‘3 Big Dogs’, also used a full North Sails inventory. Conditions were very typical for Long Beach this time of year, with moderate southwest breeze each morning that increased and clocked right through late afternoon. The J/70 course inside the breakwall had a ‘washing machine’ effect that kept things challenging. With three days of racing, and no throw-outs, winning teams had to be on their game and completely focused. Chris Snow’s J/70 takeaways: Don’t foul Don’t be over early Start in an non-congested area of line and keep the bow down through the chop Downwind, sail in your own water and work the boat aggressively “We sailed with 745 pounds of crew weight. 720 is a good all around number so I was worried about being too heavy. The practice days last week were on the lighter side and so I was pleased to see we were OK going downwind, which is where being too heavy would typically show up.” We set our forestay at 4’7″ of rake, 1/2″ longer than our tuning guide suggests. I was happy with this setting especially as the breeze came on. In general the J/70 has neutral helm due to its high aspect rudder. As the breeze builds and you drop the traveller and ease the mainsheet to keep the boat from heeling too much, the tendency is for the helm to get very light; so light that when you ease the main a lot in a puff, the bow of the boat will go away from the wind rather than towards it. Adding more rake helps the boat to luff up slightly in the puffs, which is much better for performance and VMG upwind. Below is the tuning guide we follow. Our base is 16 on the uppers and two full turns off the lowers after they are set to 15 on the PT-2 gauge. Remember that as you tighten your shrouds, you must also tighten the backstay. When it is breezy, the backstay bridle should be VERY tight so you can get extra leverage with the backstay adjuster. You can also shorten your backstay 2-3 feet to bring the apex of the bridle higher and get even more leverage. We had good speed upwind and downwind. Here are some things we worked on for each part of the course: Upwind: Keep the boat on an even angle of heel all the time Traveler in the middle to two car widths above the middle Play the backstay almost constantly, the skipper can do this Play mainsheet constantly, tactician Outhaul tight but not max tight Cunningham to smooth luff in over 14 knots Downwind: Pump kite and main together to help get the boat on a plane Trim vang when pumping main. Ease quickly after pump, then pull back on Once on wave steer down aggressively to better VMG downwind Head up before bow buries into wave ahead Win-on-Wing does work when it is windy and is a great way to get away from bad air or wave train Practice this first Sails: For sails we used the standard North XCS main, J2H jib and AP-1 spinnaker. These same sails were used by the team who won the Corinthian fleet. Other tips: Install Auto-Ratchet blocks for both the spinnaker and jib sheets (On the jib it makes furling the jib a breeze) On the jib sheets don’t scrimp on line diameter-Larger is easier on the hands Learn to use the Velocitek if you have one and have one crew constantly call in distance to the line Remember the Velocitek reads distance 90 degrees to you from the line (not the distance straight ahead to the line) Thanks to Jim Murrell and the J/70 West Coast class for rallying for a great event. Congratulations to our clients! 1st Place J/70 team ‘Cool Story Bro’ © Joy Sailing © Joy Sailing © Joy Sailing © Cynthia Sinclair © Cynthia Sinclair © Cynthia Sinclair © Cynthia Sinclair © Cynthia Sinclair © Cynthia Sinclair © Cynthia Sinclair © Cynthia Sinclair © Cynthia Sinclair READ MORE

NORTH U HOSTS MONDAY NIGHT THISTLE CLINIC IN NEWPORT WITH EXPERT MIKE INGHAM Local Thistle fleet sailors joined Mike Ingham for a clinic and some fun weeknight racing – A solid start to a beautiful week in Newport, RI Thanks to the new and growing Newport Thistle fleet and IYAC for hosting. We spent some time in the parking lot getting boats ready then headed on the water to help out while the fleet sailed 3 races. It could not have been a nicer night with 10-13 knots SW breeze. There were a couple of themes that came out of the on the water coaching as well as the follow up discussion prompted by Chuck displaying the photos on the big screen at IYAC. Keep the boat flat. Really flat. It’s easy to think you are sailing flat, but really you have a little heel. As a sanity check, the helm should be really neutral. It’s almost uncomfortably flat. It does not “feel” fast, but a flat hull and neutral helm IS fast. A good example of a reasonably flat boat. If it’s windy, keep the boat flat by feathering and easing the sails. The right amount of each is a bit of a “hunt and peck” thing. But you can feather quite a bit without losing too much speed –especially in flat water. Either way, you need to be aggressive about each – heeling is slow! If you get a lull and you are fully hiked, keep hiking and keep it flat with main trim and feathering less. What you do NOT want to do is stop hiking if you have things you can do to get power back (trim in, bear off). Sure you have to lean in to balance the boat if the lull is big enough, but until then, keep hiking and keep the flat by powering up. The mast bend on these boats is critical. Since the mast is deck stepped and there are no swept spreaders or lowers, not chocks, and no backstay the bend comes from compression of the mast on the mast step and from vang / mainsheet. Getting that right is the magic part of tuning a Thistle. When you look at the main, it will likely have overbend wrinkles. If they go more than halfway back, your mast is too bent. If you can barely see them, you are not bent enough. You can fix this by experimenting with shims behind (or even in front –but this would be to fix an unusually flexible mast). A good example of overbend wrinkles going just a bit too far back on the main because they go past the middle of the window. Heel to windward downwind and get the spin out from behind the main by squaring the pole all the way back and flying the clew about at the forestay. This is an example of nice heel and trim. It’s a fun group with the right Monday racing attitude. Thanks to IYAC and the fleet for making it happen! Get involved with Local Thistle Fleet 169 ! We were lucky to have the tuning session, on the water coaching, and video debrief with Mike and Chuck. These guys know how to make Thistles go fast and they did a great job raising the bar for the whole fleet. NorthU is something I would suggest for every fleet. We call ourselves the fastest growing fleet in North America, so grab a boat and come join us! – Ervin Grove, 626 The Monday night clinic with Mike and Chuck was fantastic, and very thorough. From tuning tips and advice on land before, to on the water coaching, to pictures and video afterward is incredibly helpful. In only a few hours on Monday night after work, it made our entire fleet better. – Patrick O’Connor, 1021 Will Bomar handling the bow. READ MORE

ROAD TO NA’S AND WORLDS: ETCHELLS PACIFIC COAST CHAMPS North Powered Teams Finish on Top in San Diego! San Diego delivered excellent and challenging conditions for the 2017 Etchells Pacific Coast Championship. Winds from 3-16+ knots were seen over the two-day event sailed on the Coronado Roads. The head of the class this weekend was Argyle Campbell and his crew of Victor Diaz, Alec Anderson and Jeremy Wilmot on ‘Rock n’ Roll’. They never finished a race out of top three and won the regatta with a race to spare. Nice work guys! Second overall was the Corinthian team ‘Blonde Antelope’ led by Keith Whittemore. Keith’s crew consisted of Brian Thomas, Kevin Dow, and local rockstar Sabot sailor, Peter Busch. Keith’s team sailed a consistent series with only one race out of the top ten and had a very strong second day scoring 3,4,4,1, on Sunday. It is great to see these guys performing so well! Most teams are using the PC-F main, LM2-H and L jib, and full Radial/VMG spinnaker combinations. Most are opting for the LM-2H when is doubt as to how the conditions light play out in a particular race. The combination of double snaps on the luff and the different batten combinations to round up or straighten the leech of the LM-2H make it a very versatile sail for this classic designed boat. Congratulations to our clients for placing in the top 10 at the PCC’s! Next up for the West Coast Etchells fleet is the Orca Bowl at SDYC May 20-21. August 16-19th SDYC will host the 2017 North Americans. The big event of the year is the 2017 Worlds which will be hosted by San Francisco Yacht Club September 23rd to 30th. For any help with your Etchells program do not hesitate to contact Skip Dieball, Chris Snow, Eric Doyle or any member of the North One Design North America team. Our team is standing by to help your team get the most from your sailing! Full results 1st Place Corinthian ‘Blond Antelope’ 1st Place Overall ‘Rock n’ Roll’ READ MORE

ETCHELLS ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 Boats powered by North place 1, 2, 4, 5,6, 7,9 at Etchells ACC’s in Shelter Island, NY The Atlantic Coast Etchells Championship was hosted by the Shelter Island Yacht Club and the Shelter Island Etchells Fleet. Saturday was an epic day; the fleet stayed ashore until a line of thunderstorms passed through, then hit the water for five great races. Unique to racing at Shelter Island, the Race Committee has a choice of three different racing areas to use. Both days they chose the closest one, located in Orient Harbor. The wind filled from the North West (290 degrees) in post-frontal conditions. Since the forecast for Sunday was for very light to no wind, the RC gave us five, four leg windward-leeward races. The 5th race was a five leg course. The bay is just big enough to set 1-mile legs with reasonable distance from the shore. The effects of strong current circulating in the bay, plus the short course and tight fleet, made for interesting racing. There is much discussion about which way the “toilet bowl is circulating today” in this area, always keeping things interesting on the race course. Saturday’s breeze blew up as hard as 23 knots for the first three races of the day. For the last race, it dropped down around 8-10 knots. This called for a lot of rig adjustment, for the condition changes. At the end of Saturday’s five races, local Shelter Island fleet member Scott Kauffman with his team of Austen Anderson, Victor Diaz, and Evan Aras, held a one-point lead over Steve Benjamin’s team with Michael Menninger, Dave Hughes, and Ian Liberty. The top fully amateur team of Mark Jacobi and Taylor Walker, steered by Steve Girling, held down fourth. Sunday there was a delay onshore as the very light West wind petered out which eventually would allow the thermal Southerly wind to fill in. Getting two races completed, the west wind held for the first race before shifting. The axis for Sunday’s first race was 270 degrees, with the wind shifting left as the race progressed. Scott Kaufman started at the weather end of the starting line and tacked immediately to port. Steve Benjamin started near the pin and went to the left side. The two came together in the lead at the weather mark rounding 1-2. Scott jibed to port and found some nice breeze to take the lead, which he held to the finish to gain a three-point advantage going into the last race of the regatta. The start of the last race was delayed as the westerly petered and the wind filled more from the South requiring the race committee to move the starting line to a different corner of the bay. The final race of the regatta was a three leg course Windward Leeward Windward. The wind picked up to 10 knots and built to 12 by the end of the race, the fleet bunched toward the leeward end of the starting line. Everyone seemed to think getting close to the beach on the left side of the course would be the fast route to the weather mark. This eventually proved to be the case. After one general recall and a slight adjustment to the starting line the fleet got off to a clean start. Steve Benjamin’s and Peter Duncan’s teams popped out to nice positions. Scott Kaufman’s team wasn’t able to hold the front row to the port tack layline and tacked out to the right early. This proved to be their downfall as Benjamin’s team held the leeward advantage all the way to the port tack layline and eventually came into the weather mark, traveler down, full tilt to take the lead. The fleet was very closely bunched on the run. This made boat placement and getting a clean rounding of the right, facing downwind, gate mark and fast line to the left, the ticket to a quick upwind leg to the finish. Benjamin held the lead over the junior team steered by Conor Needham. As the Kaufman team sailed to an 11th place finish for their drop race, this gave Benjamin the regatta win. Notable to the regatta was the participation of junior teams sponsored by class members. Steve Benjamin provided one of his many Etchells for the team to use, steered by Conor Needham, who sailed to a fifth place finish. Michael Gavin kindly provided his Etchells 1305 to the other junior team, helmed by recent Yale Grad, Marly Isler. He was also kind enough to offer his second boat for team White Boat to use, making for yet another competitor on the starting line. Shout out to Fleet 15 and the Race Committee and volunteers this past weekend for helping make the ACC’s a success. A statement throughout the fleet, 19 of 25 boats competing were all equipped with North Sails. Congrats to our clients for sailing fast! Full Results READ MORE

PAT HUGHES’S MELVIN WINS THE A SCOW NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP North-powered boats finish 1-2-3-4-5! Minnetonka, Minn. (June 23-25, 2017) — Pat Hughes and the Melvin team were crowned A Scow National Champions. Hughes put up an impressive 13 points over six races at the championship hosted by the Minnetonka Yacht Club. Sailing on the Melvin (M-21) alongside Hughes was Harry Melges, Coye Harrett, Tony Jewett, Chris Jewett, Matt Ripkey and Mark ‘Doctor’ Christensen. Vincent Porter and the Eagle (I-1) finished the regatta on a high note, winning both races on the final day. His two race wins squeezed him a notch higher on the leaderboard, landing the Eagle team in second place overall with 21 points. With 22 points, Tom Whowell’s G Force (I-12) helmed by the young R.J. Porter took third place. Rounding out the top five were Mike Keefe’s Ajax and Tom Freytag’s MadCap. “We had a great three days with unbelievable conditions and a great group of people. This win is really good for our youth program here. It’s a big deal to win the championship on your own lake at your own yacht club; it’s very encouraging to these young local sailors.”, said Hughes. Minnetonka Yacht Club pulled out all the stops for the national championship. Lighthouse Island and the surrounding waters of Lake Minnetonka proved to be the perfect battleground. Spectators came from all around to watch the mighty A Scows duke it out. Twenty of these 38-foot yachts raced in the event. Melges A Scows are built by Melges Performance Sailboats in Zenda, Wisconsin USA. With six or seven crew, the A Scow is the fastest and largest of the Melges Scow family. Nothing compares to its century of heritage, delivering a combination of raw power, speed and performance unmatched in one-design sailing. A true classic, the A Scow is monumental to watch, not to mention powerful to race. READ MORE

Kiel Week 2017 North Sails powers leaders in the J/24, J/70, Melges 24, 470 Men’s and Women’s Classes at Kiel Week One of the largest sailing events of the year, Kiel Week is an annual regatta held in the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The event attracts 5,000 sailors on roughly 2,000 ships, and estimates a total of three million visitors each year. A competitive event, especially for Olympic Classes, Kieler Woche is organized in a team effort between the Yacht Club of Kiel, the Norddeutscher Regattaverein, the Hamburger Sailing Club, and the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee. North clients performed well in the men’s and women’s 470. Men’s Team Mat Belcher and Will Ryan claimed the gold medal, 20 points ahead of 2nd place finishers from Russia, Pavel Sozykin and Denis Gribanov. In the Women’s 470, Frederike Loewe and Anna Markfort finished 2nd in the medal race, won the tie-breaker overall against Poland’s Agnieszka Skrqypulec and Irmina Gliszczynska, taking home the 1st Place Victory. In the competitive J/70 and Melges 24 fleets, North-powered boats took the win with German sailors, Jens Marten, topping the J/70 and Lennart Burke winning the Melges 24. Congratulations to our clients for a fantastic week of sailing! North U’s Mike Ingham Leads J/24 Fleet in Race Clinic A clinic hosted by the local J/24 class was opened to all competitors during the week. Coach Mike Ingham of North U stepped in to host the off-the-water presentation on the evening before the final race day, where he focused on the stark contrast in conditions between day 1 and 2. Mike was sailing on Nautalytics Following is a synopsis of what the class learned and discussed, written by Mike. Day 1 and 2: Rig Tuning in Big Waves and Breeze Day 1 was windy with sharp confused waves, especially difficult on port tack. We tuned one level down on the shrouds for power and soon realized, with the waves, we needed more power than so we eased off to one step below maximum tensions. I twisted the main on port, by pulling up the traveler and easing the mainsheet – neither of which I would do if the water was flat. This eased the helm and allowed me to bear off easily and power through the worst chop without stalling my rudder. Max, our genoa trimmer, kept a sharp eye out for waves and was constantly easing the sheet maybe an inch or two for the bad wave sets, then immediately bringing it right back in after the waves. It was windy and my backstay was on as much as I dared without distorting the main. Main distortion happens by over bending the mast past the mainsail luff curve.This kept the forestay reasonably tight, though still less than if we had the rig set to the tightest settings. Day two was a totally different kind of day. Light wind with small waves were the main setting here. We kept our rig loose enough that our headstay sagged a little. Even though the waves were small, it was so light that even some of the smallest waves pitched the mast-disturbing the flow over the sails. I needed some power in the rig to get back up to speed. It was too light to point, so I concentrated on keeping the boat moving. The rest of my focus was dedicated to the top main telltale. I adjusted the mainsheet often because even a small change in wind speed changed how that telltale flew. I was looking to keep it flowing 90% of the time for optimum flow. Once the rig was set to the conditions, we figured out what the right combination of height vs punch was, then on how to trim specifically for that angle. There is a ton of support within the J/24 class in Germany. It was great to see so much support go to the younger sailors in such an established fleet. An all-in-all great experience for J/24 competitors this year at Kiel Week. Congratulations to our clients for winning performance in Kiel! North Sails Mike Ingham provides insights to J/24 fleet competitors © www.segel-bilder.de © www.segel-bilder.de © www.segel-bilder.de © www.segel-bilder.de © www.segel-bilder.de Podium shot for the J/24 fleet. 1st Place team Nautalytics with helmsman Mike Ingham READ MORE

As the Official Sailmaker to the 35th America’s Cup, North Sails is proud to be an exclusive supplier to a historic generation of America’s Cup sailing. Congratulations Emirates Team New Zealand! A world-class victory for the Kiwis and a new era for the oldest trophy in international sport. READ MORE

North’s relationship with the 35th America’s Cup winner Team New Zealand runs deep. Named Official Sail Supplier in this edition of the Cup (and the first time in history!), North Sails were exclusive on all the boats, Defender and Challengers. All teams entered racing with a one-design set of North Sails 3Di jibs, used in tandem with a fixed wing. With the ever-changing landscape of our sport, North Sails has remained the technological leader in sailmaking. Today, North Sails supports Cup teams with crucial aerodynamic design support, producing sails that are consistently flatter, faster, and more durable. Our North Technology Group sister company, Southern Spars built the Emirates Team New Zealand winning boat; from hulls to foils and all the parts in between. The last few weeks have been a spectacle to watch and we’re already looking forward to the 36th edition of the oldest trophy in all of sport. Race Nine. The score was set at 6-1 (ETNZ – ORACLE TEAM USA) as the teams docked off amidst a sea of fans for day five of the finals. It was “match point” with just one more point required of Team New Zealand before winning the Cup. While fans of ETNZ called for the team to bring the Cup home some 9,000 miles to New Zealand, Oracle fans cheered the defenders to repeat their legendary comeback of 2013, when the Americans fought back against the Kiwis in what may have been the greatest comeback in history. Not this time. Not with steadfast Glen Ashby as skipper and ever cool Peter Burling at the helm. After a strong start, ETNZ wasted no time catching Oracle’s heels, scraping past after a gybe on the second leg and maintaining a strong lead for the remainder of the race. Team New Zealand celebrated, a smiling Peter Burling exclaiming, “It’s unreal, this is exactly what we came here to do, I’m just on top of the world.” With today’s historic win, ETNZ will bring the Cup back to New Zealand. In addition, Peter Burling becomes the youngest skipper to win the America’s Cup at age 26. “It’s been three years of hard work, probably 100 people working together toward this goal. We are just on top of the world. We’ve just been blown away by the support we’ve been getting on shore and back home, we’re just really excited to share it with everyone now.” For Skipper Glenn Ashby, who was part of the 2013 ETNZ squad, today’s victory was especially sweet (possibly sweet revenge?). “It’s been an amazing journey for Emirates Team New Zealand, one of those rocky roads that encompassed much more than just the past four years. The guys behind me and our entire team have fought tool and nail to win this trophy!” “We’d also like to pass on our heartiest congratulations to ORACLE TEAM USA. They set the bar for the racing and were fantastic competitors. Thanks for sharing it (the America’s Cup) around!” Congratulations to ENTZ, who we’re sure won’t be hi-fiving each other at tonight’s celebrations. READ MORE

TAG MED TIL MINDEN, NEVADA OG SE, HVORDAN ET 3DI-SEJL BLIVER TIL. I år er det 25 år siden, at North Sails lancerede 3DL-sejlene. Vi tog skridtet fra håndværk til industri, da vi begyndte at støbe laminerede sejl. I 2010 gik vi niveauet højere, da vi introducerede 3Di, udviklet for undgå problemet med delaminering. Fabrikken i Minden er udviklet til at producere 3DL-sejl, men er sidenhen blevet tilpasset 3Di-teknologien. I princippet er det eneste, der er tilbage de store justérbare forme og symaskinerne, der bruges til at lave finish på - forligsbånd, gjorde, mm. Set med danske øjne, så var 1992 også et stort år. Tre ud af de otte både, der kæmpede om en plads i America’s Cup, havde en diamant i alle sejlene. D’herrrer Søderlund, Christensen og Ussing Andersen fornemmede dog hurtigt, at 3DL kunne noget helt specielt! Det var grunden til, at de besluttede sig for, at diamanten måtte lade livet til fordel for den teknologiske udvikling. De har ikke set tilbage siden. De har kun set frem og været en væsentlig del af udviklingen siden 1995. De husker dog tydeligt, at det spredtes som en steppebrand gennem hele branchen, da 3DL blev introduceret. Det var ikke blot et unikt og banebrydende produkt, hvor man kunne støbe et helt sejl, i lige præcis den facon, der passede til båd og vejrforhold, i én samlet proces. Al anden teknologi blev med ét gammeldags. Det fremtvang også en gennemgribende omstrukturering af resten af en branche, der mere eller mindre havde arbejdet ud fra samme princip i 1000 år. Design på computer, og generel videnskabelig tilgang, var ikke noget nyt i den forstand - også her var North Sails pionerer – men inden 3DL kom ind i billedet, blev de fleste sejl lavet lokalt af sejlmagere, som kravlede rundt på gulvet for at skære panelerne, hvorefter de satte sig i huller og bukkede sig over symaskinen for at samle dem. Pludselig var sejlloftet blevet en avanceret fabrik med robotter. For at følge udviklingen skulle man ikke længere blot have knowhow. Man skulle bygge et helt produktionsanlæg, som ingen tidligere havde været i nærheden af. Det tog nogle år, men så begyndte resten af branchen at tilbyde et lignende produkt. Ingen har dog til dato udviklet en proces, der bygger et sejl fuldstændig uden sammensyninger, som North Sails har. Med konkurrenterne i hælene, måtte North Sails holde egen udvikling i højeste gear. Det resulterede i lanceringen af 3Di i 2010. Her lagde vi barren et hak højere. Det teknologiske niveau i 3Di-processen satte endnu en gang større krav til knowhow og maskinpark. Vi inviterer hermed indenfor på vores fabrik i Minden, Nevada – langt fra havet, for at vise, hvordan et 3Di-sejl bliver støbt i ét helt komposit. Som du kan se, minder den ikke særligt meget om et klassisk sejlloft, som for bare 25 år siden var symbolet på vores branche. READ MORE

35TH AMERICA’S CUP FINALS An update from North Sails President, Ken Read Bermuda has not disappointed! After a leisurely superyacht event and J-Class regatta, sailors, fans, and event organizers had a bit of time to take in the previous four America’s Cup races. The Kiwis on Emirates Team New Zealand enter this weekend’s finals with a four point lead ahead of Cup defenders ORACLE TEAM USA. No telling what the next few days hold for these two teams, but we can promise to be watching every single minute! READ MORE

SEGEL-BUNDESLIGA North Sails powers leading J/70 teams in Act 3 of German Sailing Series Eighteen J/70 teams arrived in Germany to compete in Act 3 of the class’s Sailing Series. The event overlapped with Kiel Week (Kieler Woche), held in front of the Olympic harbor in Kiel-Schilksee. The sailors got the most out of their visit to Kieler Yacht Club, completing 45 exciting races in difficult sailing conditions on Kiel Fjord. Lots of races to keep the sailors happy all weekend long, with most finishing positions coming down to less than a meter! “Even though we have made too many mistakes at the start, we were able to make good use of our chances on the race course,” explains Tobias Schadewaldt. The team Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, from Hamburg won in front of Segelkameradschaft Das Wappen von Bremen and the Berlin Yacht Club. The two-time “German Sailing League Masters” from Hamburg were happy to take the trophy home in the first event of this season. North Sails, partner of Kiel Week and the German Segel-Bundesliga, has equipped all the Bundesliga J-70s with North Sails One Design sails. A set consists of the world champion XCS-1 Mainsail and J-2 Jib, as well as the asymmetric race spinnaker in the AP-1 layout made from Norlon 75. The team from Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV), with former Olympic sailor Tobias Schadewaldt onboard, managed to keep their leadership position over a number of days. With the southern winds declining on Monday, the team finished the third event with 37 points. A major contribution to their team work, Tobias Schadewaldt, Daniel Reichart, Florian Weser, and Klaas Höpcke had the goal of sailing consistently, knowing they could be out in front of the fleet in the changing wind conditions. Not always the easiest task in tricky conditions, teams were in a thick battle for the top three podium positions. “We are more than content with this victory. The conditions have been a bit more difficult at the beginning, but with the continuous performance of the last days, we could keep the lead. We are very happy.” Second place in Kiel was team Das Wappen von Bremen with team members Gordon Nickel, Thomas Dehler, Klaas Simon, and Morten Nickel with 39.6 points. “We had hoped for a lot of wind on the Kiel Fjord and with that for podium spot. It is a big surprise for us to achieve it even with light winds on the second racing day,” said Morten Nickel. Team Berlin Yacht Club, with Philipp Bruhns, Valentin Gebhardt, Maximilian Nickel, and Max Wohlfeil finished third with 41 points. “After a weak result on Sunday, we have completely turned it around. The change in wind conditions proved to be very helpful for us,” said Nickel. The three top finishers from the North agreed: “The Kiel Fjord is our area – we do not give the Southern Clubs any breaks,” said Gordon Nickel on team Das Wappen von Bremen. READ MORE

LAND ROVER BAR ACADEMY STEAL VICTORY IN RBYAC The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup came down to the final race in a climactic day on Bermuda’s Great Sound Great Britain’s Land Rover BAR Academy pulled a dramatic victory in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup following a fantastic final day of racing on Bermuda’s Great Sound. Top youth teams from New Zealand and Switzerland rounded out the podium. North Sails is proud to be the Official Sail Supplier of the America’s Cup, and to have supplied sails to every team competing in the Red Bull Youth AC. Sail graphics were applied by North Graphics to all 26 sails (the AC45s sail with a soft jib and furling code zero) that were team-specific and seamlessly coordinated from sail to wing, to hull. Developed by Sport Directors and Olympic sailing legends Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup was introduced in 2013 as a launching pad to a professional career for the world’s sailing talent aged 18-24. Nine previous members of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup are now on senior America’s Cup teams. Helmsman of Cup challenger Emirates Team New Zealand, Peter Burling, in fact drove the winning boat in the 2013 youth regatta. “These young talents are the superstars of the future, and after seeing the level of skill and competitiveness they’ve shown here in Bermuda, there’s no doubt they’re going to take the sport to the next level,” said Hagara. READ MORE

CLEVELAND RACE WEEK 2017 North Sails clients top One Design weekend in Ohio for Race Week! It was a nice weekend for sailing in Cleveland with 11 classes participating in One Design weekend, which also served as the Star Western Hemispheres, T-10 Lake Erie Championships, and the J70 Great Lakes Championships. North-powered clients took the top positions in seven divisions, taking the top five in the Interlake and Jet 14 classes. The Interlakes had a big turnout, much bigger than normally expected with 19 boats on the line. In this fleet alone there were five previous National Champions, making for a very competitive event for the division. The Tartan 10 fleet also had great numbers and excellent competition. Congratulations to our clients for finishing 1st through 5th in the Interlake Class, 1st overall in the J/22’s, 1st in J/24’s, 1st in J/70’s, 1st through 5th in the Jet 14 Class, 1st in the Melges 32 division, and 1st overall in the T-10 division. North Sails is a proud sponsor of Cleveland Race Week. We are happy to see the event be such a success and for our clients to do well in the standings! © DAVE MATHIAS © DAVE MATHIAS © DAVE MATHIAS © DAVE MATHIAS © DAVE MATHIAS © DAVE MATHIAS READ MORE

North 3Di RACE helps Swedish Fareast 28R team prepare for the Worlds RödeOrm sailing with a new North Sails 3Di RACE jib at the North Sails Trim Cup, May 2017 This August, Malmö, Sweden will welcome thirty teams from ten countries for the first-ever Fareast 28R World Championship. Göran Wiking is hoping to place in the top half of the event, which takes place at his home club in Malmö. He sails with good friends who “find sailing and racing very fun,” and together they cruised and raced an X-119 until moving to the 28R almost a year ago. In preparation for such a big regatta, Göran invested in new North 3Di RACE sails. Designed for boats under 40 feet, 3Di RACE delivers optimized performance through wide wind ranges. “We had a 3Di genoa on our X-119,” Göran explains. “I found it excellent, both in form and in endurance, so when we needed new sails for the Fareast 28R it was an easy choice.” “So far we have used the new 3Di for four days of racing,” Göran continues. “The form is excellent.” North Sails 3Di RACE is built with super-thin structural fibers that are laid out along the load path direction in multiple orientations and layers and then molded into a single balanced membrane. This construction method spreads the loads more evenly than a “string” sail, which means each sail maintains a consistent design shape up the wind range. Or as Göran puts it, “It keeps the form up in the wind register and is easy to trim.” The other advantages of 3Di RACE are easier handling and flaking and a longer competitive lifespan. “We are very satisfied with them,” Göran says. For more about the Fareast 28R World Championship, visit the event website. http://fareast28r.com/world-championship-2017/entrylist/ Wiking’s Fareast 28R RödeOrm heats up for a leeward end start at the North Sails Trim Cup, May 2017 READ MORE

Kieler Woche 2017 - ORC Nach drei ereignisreichen Segeltagen ging am 21. Juni der Kiel-Cup Alpha der ORCi Yachten zu Ende. Acht Wettfahrten wurden unter der gewohnt souveränen Führung von Stefan Kunstmann gesegelt. In Gruppe A setzte sich die X-41 Halbtrocken 4.0 von Michael Berghorn durch. Sie verwies die Dockenhuden, ebenso eine X-41, um North Sails Händler Thomas Jungblut auf den zweiten Rang. Beide X-41 setzen auf North Sails 3Di und 3DL am-Wind Segel. Mit Rang vier sicherten die Tutima um Steuerfrau Kirsten Harmstorf und die XP-44 X-Day auf Rang sechs um Steuermann Max Gurgel North Sails weitere hervorragende Resultate. Mit North Sails zum Sieg: X-41 Halbtrocken 4.0 Foto: okpress Topas durchbricht Italia 9.98 Phalanx Die Gruppe B sah einen langen drei Kampf der Italia 9.98 Yachten. Am Ende durchbrach die Farr 30 Topas von Harald Brüning die Phalanx sicherte sich den zweiten Rang. Mit 3Di Raw, 3Di Race und 3DL Segeln verwies die Topas die Italia 9.98 One Group um Steuermann Niels Gauter auf den dritten Rang. Auch die One Group ist aus gestattet mit North Sails 3Di Segeln sowie einer 3DL Race Leichtwind Fock. Schließlich gratulieren wir unseren Kunden und beglückwünschen Sie zu Ihren Ergebnissen. READ MORE

SÅ LYKKEDES DET! Vi har fundet de lokaler, der passer perfekt til North Sails Danmarks nye forhold. Eller det kommer de til! Vi er i fuld gang med en gennemgribende modernisering og tilpasning til de særlige krav, der stilles til et sejlloft i 2017. Der bygges et bord på 400m2, som vores sejlmagere kan stå og gå rundt om, så knæene får et velfortjent hvil. Indbygget i bordet er der en roterende pit, der gør det væsentlig lettere at håndtere det tunge sejl, når det skal igennem symaskinen. De lyse kontorer bliver spækket med det ypperste design-software, vores erfarne designere og habile sælgere, når de ikke er på vandet. Vi flytter ind 1. juli, men venter med åbningsfesten til alle er tilbage fra ferie og vi har fået det hele på plads. Vi ser frem til at byde alle velkommen på Lyskær 10 i Herlev. I hører nærmere om indvielsen, når tiden er inden. På gensyn og god sommer til jer alle. READ MORE

TEAMS POWERED BY NORTH SAILS WIN EVERY RACE AT THE C SCOW NATIONALS Congratulations Paul Reilly, Matt Pistay & Austin Jaessing! Paul Reilly from Cedar Lake, Wisconsin dominated this year’s C Scow National Championship held in Okoboji, Iowa June 16-18, 2017 . Reilly with crew Matt Pistay and Austin Jaessing showed superior speed and tactics through the six race series. Okoboji Yacht Club hosted the fleet and put on quite a show with 50 boats in attendance. Paul Reilly is already a two-time Inland Champion in the Melges C Scow. Winning the National Championship will now allow him to fly the prestigious Gold C on this mainsail. Congratulations Paul and Team A-14! Learn more about the fast North C Scow sails. Photo David Thoreson Photo David Thoreson PhotoTom Gustafson READ MORE

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this tuning guide is to provide our clients with standardized guidelines on how to get the most out of their new North Sails Folkboat sails. This guide was written by Soren Kæstel, Per Jørgensen and Theis Palm. Follow these instructions as closely as possible. However, it is always a good idea to experiment. Your boat, the weight of the crew, the boat’s balance as well as local conditions will also affect the optimal trim. MAST TRIM The mast on a Folkboat is probably the most critical component of the boat’s trim, especially with the introduction of the class-legal aluminum mast. The aluminum mast has the proper stiffness. Therefore, it is important that these trim instructions are followed carefully in terms of how much pressure the mast applies to the aft edge of the mast hole. 1 Verify that the mast is vertical. This is best done by moving each shroud along the mast and make a mark on the shroud that matches the top of the gooseneck mark. Reattach the shrouds to the chainplates and measure from the mark to where the turnbuckles enter the deck – the distance should be the same on both sides. 2 Set the mast rake. Detach the forestay from the deck and place it along the mast. Stretch the wire as much as possible and make a mark that matches the top of the gooseneck mark. Reattach the forestay. The mark should be 1.31 m from the deck along the forestay. 3 Position the foot of the mast. Move the foot of the mast aft until the mast just touches the aft edge of the mast hole. In light winds (0-8 knots) the mast should be relatively hard on the aft edge and pressed 22 mm aft along the mast foot rail for the mast to bend smoothly. In the wind 9-14 knots of wind, press the foot of the mast 16 mm astern and in strong winds 10 mm astern. 4 Adjust the jumpers. Pull-on the backstay. Look up the sail track and make sure that the mast is straight and the jumpers are equally tight. If not, adjust the jumpers until the mast is straight. Jumpers are set relatively loose in light winds and strong winds. In medium winds, tighten the common turnbuckle 2-3 turns. The maximum draft in the top of the mainsail should be 47% aft along the chord. The most important thing is that the mast curve is even from deck to top. If the jumpers are too tight, the mast will curve too much in the bottom and be too straight in the top. If the jumpers are too loose, the bottom will be straight and the top will curve if the jumpers are set to loose. A consistent curvature gives the leech a nice, even twist. 5 Set the forestay tension. Initially, the mast hole helps to push the mast forward and thus get the forestay loose. In light wind the forestay should sag about 8 cm. Tighten the shrouds while sailing until the 8 cm sag is obtained. In medium wind, tighten the shroud turnbuckles 1½ turns and a further 1½ turns in strong wind, thus tightening the forestay under increased wind pressure. MAINSAIL TRIM The mainsheet is critical in setting the shape of the sail and small adjustments can have a big effect on speed and pointing. If the mainsheet is sheeted tight, the leech will close and put more pressure on the rudder – on the other hand pointing ability is improved. This can be used in medium winds and flat water, where the boat can be kept flat by hiking. In light winds the mainsheet is eased so that the top tell-tale flies straight. In heavy winds, sheet tight and pull the backstay until the rudder feels light again (but without losing pointing). In large waves, let the leech twist a little more to have a wider steering angle. This increases speed, and therefore pointing, at the same time. As a thumb rule the top batten is trimmed parallel to the boom in almost all wind strengths. 1 Outhaul. The outhaul is also an important factor when trimming as it controls the draft in the bottom of the sail. In very light winds (0-5 knots) the sail should be 3 cm from the mark. In medium winds (5-12 knots) about 1.5 cm from the mark andin more wind than this pull the sail all the way to the mark. 2 Cunningham. Do not set the cunningham in light winds. In medium winds set the cunningham so that the wrinkles in the luff disappear. When the wind exceeds 15 knots it is pulled hard to open the leech and keep the draft forward in the sail. 3 Traveller. It is a good idea to have two cars on your traveller. They are then connected by two wires of about 40 cm leading to a mainsheet block. This facilitates sailing in light and medium winds. In light winds (0-6 knots) pull the traveller cars 15-20cm to windward. In medium winds (6-14 knots) set them in the middle. In higher wind the cars are eased to leeward to decrease heel and thus rudder pressure. 4 Backstay. The backstay has two functions: To control draft in the mainsail and to control forestay sag. When the backstay is tightened, the mainsail flattens, the leech opens, and there is less forestay sag and, therefore, a jib with less draft. It is agood idea to put marks on the backstay, e.g., every 20 cm, to facilitate finding the right trim after mark roundings, etc. 5 Kickingstrap / Boom Vang. The kickingstrap is used when sailing upwind in strong wind and also downwind. Upwind, the kickingstrap pulls on the mast and opens the leech in the bottom part of the mainsail and keeps the boom down when easing in the gusts. Never use the kickingstrap upwind in less than 18 knots and use caution. Remember always to ease the kickingstrap for downwind sailing when bearing off, otherwise the boom might break. Downwind the kickingstrap is trimmed so that the top batten is parallel to the boom – on all sailing angles and in all conditions. JIB TRIM North Sails jibs are made for sheeting points both on deck and cabin top. However, we recommend sheeting from the cabin top to make the jib-leech twist more freely and thus allowing the gap between main and jib to be as wide as possible. Furthermore, the control of the jib is improved (particularly in heavy winds) because of the shorter distance from clew to block. The jib-lead track is placed with its centre 58 cm from the boat’s centreline. When sheeting from the cabin top, we recommend using a swivel block on the deck, so that the jib sheet does not create an overwrap on the winch. 1 Sheeting Point. The position of the jib lead is crucial for the jib trim. As a reference point measure 2.65 m from the pin in the forestay to the centre of the block (if the lead is on the cabin top). The jib shall luff evenly, i.e. tell-tales must fly at the same time intop and bottom. 2 Jib Sheet. As a general rule sheet the jib so that the middle batten is parallel to the centreline in most conditions, but in light winds (0-5 knots) leave 2-3 degrees of twist. If the sea is lumpy, move the jib lead two to three “holes” forward to getmore draft and power in the jib (the middle batten shall still be parallel to the boat’s centreline). In heavy winds move the lead on to two “holes” back without letting the foot of the sail become loose and flutter. 3 Halyard Tension. Never pull the halyard too tight. This will cause the draft of the jib to move too far forward. Pull it until the wrinkles in the luff disappear. In light wind the best shape is obtained when leaving small wrinkles in the luff. Please get in touch with Theis Palm for any more information. READ MORE

This Kestrel tuning guide is meant to be a starting point from which you can experiment and find the setting that work best for your boat crew weight and sailing technique. If you have any specific questions please contact Tim Rush – tim.rush@northsails.com. Mast Rake 23′ 6″ Tip of mast to top of transom 23′ 6″ Light to Moderate 23′ 0″ – 23′ 3″ Heavy Rig Tension 250 – 300 lbs on forestay Spreaders and Pre-bend LIGHT CREWS Spreaders 425mm long Sweepback 200mm Pre-bend 45mm HEAVY CREWS Spreaders 435mm long Sweepback 190mm Pre-bend 40mm Jib Sheet Extension of jib sheet to intersect luff 2110mm above the tack Transom to front of mast 3175mm Transom to Centreboard bolt 2550mm READ MORE

Introduction North Sails tuning guide is written to help you get the best performance from your International Folkboat sails. The measurements and settings included in this guide are the ones that we have found to be the fastest settings for the IF-Boat. Since crew, wind and sailing conditions vary, you may find slightly different settings are better for you. However, by following these instructions, you can be confident that you are well set up to win at any level. We believe this guide will make your sailing experience simpler, more successful and most of all more fun. The tuning guide was written by Björn Österberg at North Sails One Design. Preparation This chapter explains rig tuning and the trim control systems required to be able to get full potential from your North Sails. Always consult the Class Rules while working with your boat and equipment. MAST RAKE The IF-Boat has relatively little helm and is, unlike most boats, even more neutral when heeled. To get enough helm for good pointing ability upwind the mast is raked aft. The length of the headstay determines the amount of rake. We recommend a total headstay length of 8400mm. You will most likely need to add one or two toggles to the original headstay to bring it up to this length. A popular alternative is to get a new headstay without turnbuckle made to the total length of 8400mm. While measuring the rig you can also check other measurements including J-measurement an spinnaker pole length to make sure they are on maximum and according to the class rule. RIG TENSION IF-boats are typically 20 –30 years old and therefore checking points that effects rig tension can be worth while. The cabin top underneath the mast step and the hull around the chainplates are the most critical areas. A ”knee”, which strengthens the hull and deck at the chainplates, is allowed. This procedure is described in the class rules. The settings for rig tension and prebend should me taken with no load on the backstay. Using a tension gauge helps finding and repeating a desired rig trim. We use the Loos Tension Gauge mod. B rig. The base setting is 22 (220kg) headstay tension. To achieve that the values for the upper and lower shrouds are 37 and 20. In certain conditions, when the boat needs a lot of power, a looser rig set-up with a headstay tension of 18, can be worth trying. A looser headstay adds power to the genoa, making it easier to build and maintain botspped. PREBEND The tension of the lowers affects two things. Adding tension to the lowers increases tension in the forstay. It also affects the amount of prebend in the mast. The amount of prebend determines the amount of camber in the mainsail. Your North manisail is designed to a prebend of 20 mm. Setting your rig with a greater prebend will flatten your mainsail. Setting the mast with less prebend, a straight mast, will add more power to the mainsail. SPREADER SWEEP According to the class rule the spreaders has to be able to move for and aft in the spreader brackets. Reducing the aft movement of the spreaders creates a better support for the mast. Using a string, tie the shrouds to pull the spreaders back as far as they will go. Then measure 280 mm from the string to the aft face of the mast to get the recommended sweep. TRIM DECALS Your sail is delivered with 4 small and 6 large trim decals. The small decals can be used for outhaul and other small range adjustments. We use the large decals for genoa halyard, genoa cunningham, genoa- and main tracks. Cutting the decals into “loose” numbers allows you to match the numbers to positions on genoa track. MAINSHEET TRAVELER The main traveler has to be easy adjustable. A low friction traveler car with a 2:1 purchase will ensure that adjustments can be made even in heavy conditions. OUTHAUL With eased outhaul the elliptical foot panel gives the mainsail a deep and smooth shape. When tensioned for upwind sailing the lower half of the mainsail is flattened. The purchase of the outhaul should be at least 6:1. The tailing end can either stop underneath the boom (as shown) or be lead to the cabin top. CUNNINGHAM Cunningham adjustment affects draft position. With loose cunningham the draft will be further aft. When the cunningham is tensioned the draft will move forward and open the leech of the mainsail. A 3:1 purchase lead back to a cleat on the cabin top ensures easy adjustment. VANG We use the vang mainly to adjust mainsail twist on downwind legs. The vang can also be used to help the mast bend in the lower sections on a heavy air beat. Using a tight vang while manoeuvring in the pre-start will make the boat accelerate faster. An 8:1 purchase with an easy to reach cleat is recommended. BACKSTAY The backstay is the key to balance and speed in medium and heavy air. It has to be easy adjustable even when the crew is hiking from the windward side of the cockpit. The backstay can either be lead to both sides of the cockpit or to a center cleat with the line lead underneath the hatch (as shown). We recommend minimum 16:1 purchase. INNER GENOA TRACKS The genoa has a flat leech section that allows us to sheet the genoa on an inner track in all conditions. The position of the track is 100 to 150 mm inboard of the standard track. The aft end of the track is 600 mm forward of the cut-out in the gunwale. The track is 500 mm long. Because of the low clew of the genoa it is important to have the spacing of the trim positions tight enough. Drilling an extra hole between factory holes, bringing the spacing down to about 50 mm will do the job. GENOA SHEET WINCHES Sheeting the genoa from winches on the cabin top gives the trimmer a better position. Further forward and facing in to the slot between genoa and main it is easier to get the right genoa trim. With low handle winches, such as Andersen, the handle can be left in the winch while tacking. GENOA HALYARD Put a mark on the genoa halyard in front of the cleat. A “North Sails Trim Decal” underneath the mark helps keeping track of the hoist. Adjusting luff tension can be done with either halyard tension or a genoa cunningham. The cunningham alternative has the advantage of not affecting the head of the sail and therefore leaving the sheeting position unaffected. It is easy to underestimate the force in the cunningham and use a too stretchy rope. We use a 6mm spectra core with a 6:1 purchase arrangement on the aft starbord side of the cabin. Since the tack of the genoa is about 200 mm above deck it is important to keep the sail forward towards the forstay. If this is not done properly the sheet tension will pull the tack of the genoa aft, causing a wrinkle from the firs luff hank. If you use a rigging screw at the lower end of the forstay, just tie a 4mm spectra loop twice around the rigging screw and the trough the tack ring. If you are using a cunningham you might want to put a thin aluminium pipe around the rigging screw to reduce friction. Having a full-length forstay use the extra luff hank right close to the tack ring. TWEEKERS Tweekers (twing lines) serve many purposes: they keep the after guy out of the way of the crew on reaches. They reduce the need a forguy and keep the spinnaker more stable in manoeuvres making it easier for the bowman. We put the tweeker blocks at the forward end of the standard genoa tracks where the boat is at maximum width.Sailtrim The IF sails well unreefed even in heavy air. Using the jib in winds above 18 knots will make both manoeuvres and keeping boatspeed easier. Because the centre of effort moves forward with the jib, pointing is the critical thing with the jib. The confident crew will therefore use the genoa in all windstrenghs because of the importance of good pointing, especially in bigger fleets. We recommend using the inner genoa track in all conditions. A good way to move quickly up the learning curve is to mark all trim control lines and positions. This will enable you to copy a trim you have found fast in the past, giving you confidence in boatspeed and allowing you to concentrate more fully on tactics. MAINSAIL In very light air the mainsail should be trimmed with an open leech to allow the wind flow to follow the sail. The traveler is kept about 300 mm to windward of the centerline with the sheet tensioned to position the boom about 200 mm to leeward of the centerling. Check that the top telltales flow to make sure the leech has enough twist. Keeping the crew weight to leeward in these conditiond helps opening the leeches of the sails. The outhaul is set at #3 on the small trim decal on the boom. When the breeze builds to about 6 knots the sail can take more sheeting while still maintaing good windflow. The traveler is dropped to about 100 mm to windward and the sheet is pulled to centre the boom. In light air when the mast is straight the cunningham should be slack and small horisontal “sped wrinkles” should bee seen in the luff of the sail. LIGHT AIR In the 6 to 12 knots wind range the mainsail can be sheeted tight, letting the top telltale stall at about 50% of the time. A closed leech puts priority on pointing whereas a more open leech gives extra speed. In choppy conditions it pays to ease a few inches in the sheet after tacking to help acceleration. When the boat is up to speed the sheet is pulled tight and the focus is back on pointing. At 10 knots you can start flattening the main by pulling the slack out of the backstay and tightening the outhaul. MEDIUM AIR In about 14 knots of wind the boat will start to heel with the trim described above. The solution is to tighten the backstay. This will depower the main and twist its upper part. The boom can still be held on the centreline to match the overlap of the genoa. To keep the draft position in the middle when bending the mast you need to pull the cunningham. A new sail needs only little cunningham tension whereas an older sail requires relatively more luff tension. HEAVY AIR In winds above 16 knots the mainsail is depowerd and used mainly for controlling helm. Controlling the power with backstay works well in steady wind conditions. In gusty conditions this method is too slow and we have to work the traveler instead. Make sure the boat is well-balanced in heavy seas. With the right trim the boat should flow naturally through the waves. If the boat feels “sluggish” it can be a sign that the main is giving too much power. With the right, open-leech, trim the boat will be easy to steer and accelerate quickly after big waves. GENOA To get the right clew height you need to set the tack about 150 to 200 mm above deck. Regardless if you use cunningham or not, it is important to make sure the tack does not move aft with increased sheet tension. If you use a rigging screw at the lower end of the forstay, tie a 4mm spectra loop twice around the rigging screw and the trough the tack ring. With a full-length forstay use the extra luff hank right close to the tack ring. The best reference for genoa trim is the distance between the leech and the spreader tip. The following measurements refer to spreaders with reduced sweep (as described earlier). For standard sweept spreaders add 50 mm to the measurements below. LIGHT AND MEDIUM AIR The right genoa lead for light and medium wind is set when the luff of the genoa breaks evenly from top to bottom. If the top luff breaks earlier the lead is too far aft. In light air the luff should be tensioned so that a few wrinkles remain. Under 6 knots the distance between the leech and spreader tip is 100 mm. When the breeze builds to 8 knots the luff is tightened to remove wrinkles and the genoa is sheeted to 20-30 mm from the spreader tip. In flat water the sail can be sheeted all the way in to the spreader. With tighter sheeting the car has to be moved aft about 50 mm to ensure an even break in the luff. HEAVY AIR As with the mainsail the genoa should be flattened and twisted in heavy air. The luff is tensioned and the lead is moved another 50 – 100 mm aft. The upper part of the luff will now break earlier than the bottom part. The foot of the sail is sheeted tight around the chainplates and the leech is further away from the spreader. In 14 knots the distance is 100 mm. With winds above 20 knots the lead is moved further aft and the distance from leech to spreader is 250 mm. This allows the mainsail traveler to be dropped without closing the slot too much. The harmony between main and genoa is important. An adjustment in the genoa is normally followed by a matching adjustment in the main. In stronger winds the amount of backwind in the main will give a hint about the relative trim of the sails. Compared to other boats the IF can be sailed very close to the wind (with a considerable break in the genoa luff) in strong breeze and flat water. DOWNWIND TRIM Because we no longer sail reaching legs this part only describes downwind (VMG) sailing. The rule-of-thumb for spinnaker trim is to keep both clews on the same height and the spinnaker boom in right angle to the apparent wind. In light winds this will mean a lower boom and for heavy air the boom can be carried higher. If the spinnaker boom is on an adjustable track on the mast, keep the boom horizontal to get maximum effect. The afterguy (brace) should be set with a tight tweeker. The exception is when the boat is sailed on very deep angles where the tweeker should be eased 500 mm to avoid a sharp bend at the tweeker block. The spinnaker sheet is eased just to get a slight curl in the luff of the spinnaker. In light airs sailing higher angles even on downwind legs can use the effect of the apparent wind. The angle determines by the spinnaker sheet pressure. Communication between spinnaker trimmer and helmsman is the key. When the pressure builds the trimmer tells the helmsman to bear off and when pressure drops the trimmer tells the helmsman to luff up. In winds above 10 knots the main is eased all the way to the shrouds. In lighter winds when steering higher angles she main is sheeted tighter to provide a slot between spinnaker and main. To give the mainsail powerful and even camber, make sure the outhaul is eased to #5 and the cunningham and backstay is slack. The vang should be tensioned just enough to keep the top batten parallel with the boom. Spinnaker sailing is easier if you get rid of the genoa. Roll the genoa parallel to the headstay. Start with the clew and roll the sail vertical behind the headstay. Have a 500 mm rope and tie it around the sail and headstay. When the genoa is not furled make sure the genoa sheet is loose. An overtrimmed genoa will create turbulent air for the spinnaker, making it unstable and hard to trim.Crew WorkThe IF is normally raced with 3 persons. It is not possible to describe the “perfect” crew organisation for all boats. The knowledge, experience and the ambitions of the crew should determine who does what. The idea with the following chart is to present a proposal and an inspiration to make your own chart for your boat. By making a chart you have to think and talk trough the crew work. By assigning a job description to each position, a new crew member can be easily integrated into your boat handling team. In organising the crew of your boat your goals should be to:· Involve all crew members in each manoeuvre· Avoid having crew members cross paths with each other· Talk about and decide tactical matters to involve the whole crew SPINNAKER HANDLING We hoist and retrieve the spinnaker trough the fordeck hatch. We like this method because the spinnaker has a shorter distance to get from stored to set, especially at gybe sets. With the traditional way of hoisting from the cabin hatch the spinnaker has to be led past the boom, vang and shrouds before getting in position. Another advantage is to have the bowman work from a position around the mast. This will make the cockpit less crowded and keep the crew weight well forward.A short description: To allow the spinnaker to be hoisted from the mast, exit the spinnaker halyard 2000 mm above deck on starboard side. Mount a cleat 400 mm underneath the exit. The forward closing fittings of the fordeck hatch can be removed while racing. The hatch is heavy enough to keep the water out even in rough conditions. Store the spinnaker in the fordeck hatch. Have the head and clews sticking out a few inches. The halyard is led forward to the forstay to keep it out of the way of the genoa. Use the gunwhale fairlead or a hook mounted close to the headstay. 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TESTIMONIOS 3Di NORDAC Paco Alarcón, armador del First 33.7 “Silke” Mayor 3Di NORDAC “Estoy muy satisfecho con la vela que he recibido. El material parece muy robusto, y su forma no tiene nada que ver con una vela de Dacron. La verdad es que es muy interesante pensar que tenemos una vela de crucero fabricada con la misma tecnología de los foques de La Copa América”. READ MORE

TESTIMONIOS 3Di NORDAC Enrique González, armador del First 34.7 “Vikingo” Mayor 3Di NORDAC “Me ha gustado mucho la vela, incluso ha superado mis expectativas. Mirando a las bandas de trimado, la forma de la vela es perfecta. Además, el material parece muy duradero, por lo que supongo que este ‘shape’ se mantendrá mucho tiempo. Salí a navegar junto a otros barcos con los que navego habitualmente y sentí el barco realmente rápido”. READ MORE

Boats representing 18 countries battled in one of the toughest regattas of the year, with North Sails powering clients to place 1,3,4,5,9, and 10th overall The Dragon World Championships, which happens every two years, was an all-around success this year with nine beautiful days of racing in Cascais. Twenty four teams, representing 18 nations, brought their best performance to races held out of the Clube Naval de Cascais in breeze ranging from 15-22 knots. North Sails clients found great speed on the water, placing 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10th overall. Also powered by North was 1st place Corinthian Rosie, with skipper Benjamin Morgen. Vicente and Joana Pinheiro worked tirelessly with their team at North Sails Cascais, offering overnight repairs to competitors throughout the week. Big thanks to the Cascais team for being there on site for the competitors. Happy sailors make for successful events! Congratulations to Andy Beadsworth and his team on Provezza Dragon for winning the 2017 Dragon World Championships! 1st Place Dragon World Championships! Congrats team Provezza, job well done! © Neuza Aires Pereira © Elena Razina North Sails Cascais Team © Neuza Aires Pereira © Neuza Aires Pereira © Elena Razina © Elena Razina © Elena Razina © Elena Razina © Elena Razina © Elena Razina READ MORE