NORTH SAILS BLOG

CHICAGO YACHT CLUB RACE TO MACKINAC Check Off Your Race Preparation List. At North Sails, our mission is to provide you with expert repairs, maintenance, and upgrades in a timely manner. Whether you race or cruise, your sails are a major investment, and we are committed to helping you maximize their performance and lifespan. With the 1110th Chicago Yacht Club's Race To Mackinac approaching, we want to make sure you are covered and your sail care preparation is taken care of. Bring your sails in for that vital tune up and order your race supplies before you cross the start line on July 21st. READ MORE

CHICAGO YACHT CLUB RACE TO MACKINAC Check Off Your Race Preparation List. At North Sails, our mission is to provide you with expert repairs, maintenance, and upgrades in a timely manner. Whether you race or cruise, your sails are a major investment, and we are committed to helping you maximize their performance and lifespan. With the 1110th Chicago Yacht Club's Race To Mackinac approaching, we want to make sure you are covered and your sail care preparation is taken care of. Bring your sails in for that vital tune up and order your race supplies before you cross the start line on July 21st. READ MORE

2018 BELL'S BEER BAYVIEW MACKINAC RACE Check Off Your Race Preparation List. At North Sails, our mission is to provide you with expert repairs, maintenance, and upgrades in a timely manner. Whether you race or cruise, your sails are a major investment, and we are committed to helping you maximize their performance and lifespan. With the 2018 Bell's Beer Bayview Mackinac and CYC's Race To Mackinac approaching, we want to make sure you are covered and your sail care preparation is taken care of. Bring your sails in for that vital tune up and order your race supplies before you cross the start line on July 14th. If you're taking on both Mac races this year, don't hesitate to take advantage of our Concierge Service program. Once you arrive on Mackinac Island after the Bayview Mac Race, drop off your sails with our team by July 17th and they will ensure they are delivered to Chicago for any repairs needed. If you are competing in the Ugotta Regatta, J/105 North Americans or J/35 North Americans, please ask our team about the concierge service from the Chicago Mackinac to these races. READ MORE

LESSONS LEARNED AT THE FLYING SCOT NORTH AMERICANS Expert Zeke Horowitz Shares His Tricks Of The Trade Zeke and Jay Horowitz, 2018 North American Champions © Steve Bill The 2018 Flying Scot North American Championship at Rush Creek Yacht Club in Heath, TX could have been called the “How to Run a Major Championship Clinic.” From the outset of the event, it was obvious that RCYC along with Fleets 209 and 23 had pulled out all the stops to make this regatta stand out as an all-time great in this class’ rich history. We had a super energetic and hard working Regatta Chair in Mike Brown, who was extremely active in helping make sure everyone had what they needed, and felt organized and welcomed. He had ensured that this sentiment was expressed at every turn from registration to measurement to launching and hauling out. There were plenty of cold waters (and other beverages…) and smiles at every turn. But perhaps the biggest shout out needs to go to local legend Bob Gough who recruited an absolutely World class PRO in Mark Foster (a sailing legend in his own right) who, in turn, assembled a brilliant team of volunteers who kept the racing as square and fair as possible in conditions that regularly delivered 30+ degree wind shifts. The RC communication on the radio was perfect and seemingly miraculously, they were always ahead of the big shifts and velocity changes. Kudos to the tremendous team that put together an absolutely flawless event. I don’t think anyone on the racecourse managed to make the sailing look as easy as the RC made the race management look. We were sailing on the Southwest corner of the Lake so it wasn’t always easy to see the breeze before it touched down right off the coast. It was very common for a beat to feature three or four 30-degree wind shifts with the pressure ranging anywhere from eight knots all the way up to the high teens. You could quickly watch a boat go from being in your mainsail window 1,000 yards to leeward of you to all of the sudden being directly on your bow 1,000 yards in front of you! Needless to say, keeping your wits about you was important but not easy. These condition is easy to get frustrated in and nearly impossible to always be in the right place at the right time. But I choose to think of this condition as one of the easiest conditions to make decisions in. Some readers who experienced this first hand might be shutting their computers and decidedly never listening to me again… but first let me explain! When sailing in these conditions on a windward leg that is around a mile long, you are very rarely going to be in the same breeze as your competitors (especially those on the other side of the course). You can’t control what the breeze is doing, and you can’t control the decisions your competitors are making. So, all you can worry about is getting your boat to the weather mark as best you can in the breeze available to you. It’s as simple as: “Am I lifted or headed and am I in the most pressure imminently available to me?” THAT’S IT. We learned time and time again that the breeze was oscillating and it always seemed to come back eventually. Even when it seemed really bleak, the new pressure would drop in, the direction would shift back, and you could tack and be right back in front with leverage. This was not a condition where you could chase shifts or puffs. When we saw the boats on the opposite side of the course go way up in a big lift with breeze that we didn’t have we would try to take a deep breath and come back to, “am I lifted or headed? And am I in the most breeze imminently available to me?” That was the only question we would make decisions on. Never, “we need to go get what they have.” We couldn’t get what they had… It wasn’t available to us. So if we were still in a relative lift and were still heading towards the most breeze imminently available to us, we would hang in there and wait until our moment to go up in a big lift with pressure that the other guys didn’t have. If you tack to try to go get something that other people on the other side of the course have, by the time you get there, it’s going to be gone and the boats you just left on your side are now going to have their shot. That’s called being “out of phase.” There were countless occurrences of this at the NAC’s but 9.9 times out of 10, the team that stayed patient and disciplined and kept sailing on their lift, would win out in the end. So to me, this is simple racing because all you can worry about is yourself and sailing on the best number in the best breeze available to you. Note that in this condition you oftentimes have to value sailing on the right tack over clear air. Staying on the lift in dirty air was usually better than sailing a big header to clear your air. This is tough decision to make but it’s a very important one for staying in phase! When in doubt point your boat at the mark. Having top notch boat speed makes being patient a whole lot easier. The majority of the regatta was sailed in flat water and more than ten knots. This is pretty powered up conditions for the Flying Scot and there were a couple of sail trim items we focused on to make sure our speed was there. Since we were rarely looking for power and the water was so flat, relative to how much breeze there was, we focused on trying to achieve a nice flat sail set up. If we had the same amount of breeze but more waves/chop, we wouldn’t have been so aggressive on the flat sails. We had the jib halyard tension set so the luff of the jib was mostly smooth. We still stuck to having it a touch too loose, but it was a click tighter than it would have been if there was a bit of chop. If there were any wrinkles coming off the snaps, they weren’t longer than about six inches. We rarely used weather jib sheet because we didn’t need any extra power in the foot and we sheeted the leeward sheet a tad harder than usual too. We had the leech tell tale just on the verge of stalling as soon as we were up to speed. This helped us keep the jib nice and flat and achieve adequate pointing. The foot of the jib had a hint of curl when we were fully trimmed. We set the main halyard so that the luff was smooth when sailing downwind. In the breezier conditions this meant that the luff was a bit loose for the upwind portion of the race. So we played the cunningham more often than usual so we could set the “speed wrinkles” coming off the luff. The wrinkles at the bottom of the main came off the luff and made it about half way back towards the leech. The wrinkles above that one got progressively shorter (closer to the luff) as they made their way up the sail. Above the vision window in the luff of the main, the luff was mostly smooth. So in the biggest breeze we had we were pulling the cunningham grommet down by up to about four inches to keep our speed wrinkles where we wanted them. Lastly, we made sure the outhaul was nice and snug to keep the foot of the main flat. There was a noticeable tension wrinkle in the foot when we weren’t trimmed in. I would have called our outhaul tension 90%. After that it was all about playing the vang and main sheet through the puffs and lulls to try to achieve a steady angle of heel. Having a crew counting the puffs and lulls so the skipper can be ready to make the appropriate adjustment was key. I’d like to thank all of the dedicated Flying Scot class members and class officers for all the hard work making it down to Rush Creek Yacht Club and helping to create the type of environment that makes everyone want to keep coming back. This is a special boat and a special fleet and it would be nothing without all of the spectacular personalities that define it. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone again real soon! Randy Pawlowski and Rafael Melendez, winners in the Challenger Division. © Steve Bill READ MORE

  North Sails launched a cruising revolution in June 2017 with the introduction of 3Di NORDAC. The product promised to deliver a better cruising experience for a market that had not seen true product innovation in over 60 years. Today we’re celebrating the team that worked so hard to bring 3Di NORDAC to market, and our customers around the world who provided us with valuable feedback. 3Di Technology, Adapted for Cruising “We envisioned redefining the cruising sail market. We felt the cruising market deserved a sail that would perform better than traditional dacron without sacrificing durability. To deliver that vision we set out to leverage North 3Di technology, which is the sail construction choice of the world’s top ocean racing teams. 3Di NORDAC provides optimal sail shape holding for longer, which ultimately means more value for the cruising sailor.” -Bill Fortenberry, North Sails Global Market Segments Manager 3Di TECHNOLOGY Pittman Innovation Award 3Di NORDAC was awarded SAIL Magazine’s 2018 Pittman Innovation Award in the cruising category. “North has combined the great cost-effectiveness and durability of traditional sails with the 3Di process…a win-win for cruising sailors everywhere.” -Charles J Doane, SAIL Magazine Editor READ MORE It Started As An Idea… “We started exploring ideas for a new product for the cruising market in 2015. We saw an opportunity to create an affordable white sail that would have all the benefits of 3Di. We felt confident that the product would change people’s cruising experience for the better, and a year later, over a thousand boats are sailing with 3Di NORDAC. It’s very rewarding to hear positive feedback from boat owners experiencing the 3Di difference for the first time.” -Dan Neri, CEO of North Sails LEARN MORE Testimonial “Our new 3Di NORDAC mainsail and genoa continue to amaze us. Both sails have a shape and finish that rival the best sails I’ve ever seen or used over my 40 plus years of sailing. Even the roller reefing genoa offers exceptional upwind performance. We are exceptionally pleased with these sails.” -Steve Fredrick, Beneteau First 42, USA 3Di NORDAC REVIEW By The Numbers One year in, 3Di NORDAC has been an undeniable success for both North Sails and its expanding customer base of small to medium size cruising boats. Patented North 3Di technology offers superior performance with traditional polyester materials. READ MORE

NORTH CLIENTS STORM J/70 EUROPEANS Alberto Rossi’s Enfant Terrible Continues Winning Streak in Vigo, Spain Team Enfant Terrible, 2018 J/70 European champions. © Mauro Melandri | Zerogradinord Sixty-nine boats met in Vigo, Spain for the 2018 J/70 European Championship. The heavy North-Westerly Atlantic winds came in full force, making for a beautiful week with exhilarating planing conditions. The title came down to the last leg of the final race. After receiving a black flag (DSQ) in race eight, Enfant Terrible was playing catch up towards the end of the regatta. Their win in the final race gave them a one point lead over second place Relative Obscurity, making Alberto Rossi and his team the new 2018 European Champions! Rounding off the podium in first for corinthian division was Luis Arriola and his team onboard MarNatura. The local Vigo team put in a spectacular performance placing ahead of most the professional teams, showing true local spirit. What is extra special about this team is that the crew members are under 25 years of age, with 22-year old Luis on the helm proving that the J/70 is not just for professional sailors. Second place in the Corinthian division was Paolo Tomsic and team onboard La Femme Terrible, finishing in seventh place overall. The fight at the top was not just between these three boats. A stand-out performance by Gustavo Doreste and his Spanish team onboard FERMAX who scored a hat trick mid-week, with three bullets in a row, matching the number of victories to the first and second placed boats. North Sails has confirmed their abilities to overcome the odds and downright speed, thanks to five of the top 10 all powered by North. Congratulations to our clients on a job well done! Our clients placed 1,3,5,7, and 9 out of 69 boats. Alberto Rossi and team Enfant Terrible used North Sails XCS-1 mainsail, J-2 jib and AP-1 spinnaker. 2018 J/70 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 1 Enfant Terrible / Alberto Rossi 3 MarNatura / Luis Arriola (1st Corinthian) 5 FERMAX / Gustavo Doreste 7 La Femme Terrible / Paolo Tomsic 9 Ewa / Krzysztof Krempec Full Results Team MarNatura, 1st place Corinthian Division. © J70 Class Association | Chris Howell © J70 Class Association | Chris Howell Team Enfant Terrible going fast downwind. © J70 Class Association | Chris Howell © J70 Class Association | Chris Howell READ MORE

ONE DESIGN DEBRIEF: ROAD TO J/70 WORLDS Experts Collaborate in Three-Day Training Session in Newport, RI North Sails one design experts met in Newport, RI for a three-day collaboration featuring North’s exclusive two-boat testing system. Attendees brought a range of expertise, from sail experts to sail designers, augmenting the further development and advancements in sail design, techniques, tuning, and boat speed. This on-the-water convention combined the intellect and talent of the North team from all over the U.S. Strength in design has kept North Sails ahead of the curve, and their commitment to excellence enhances future performance and evolving designs within North’s J/70 product line. From left to right: Will Welles, Max Skelley, Eric Doyle, Jackson Benvenutti, Reed Baldridge, Mike Marshall, Tim Healy, Allan Terhune, Chris Snow “We had an awesome in-house training session last week in Newport. It was great to have our J/70 team working together to learn as much as we could. The amount this group accomplished as a team this last week is incredible. It just goes to show what a strong team can achieve when we all work together. We all got pieces from each other and I am more confident than ever that we are working together to get the most out of the boat for our customers.” – Allan Terhune, Sales Expert, North Sails Annapolis, MD & Chicago, IL “It was an awesome three days of two- boat J/70 testing in Newport, RI in a variety of conditions. Some of our best sail designers and sailors worked together as one to improve sail designs, rig tuning and trim techniques. I was proud to be apart of this long-term recipe of making sure our customers have the fastest sails available and the best possible trim and tuning techniques and information. Just as North Sails dominated the highly competitive J/70 Europeans winning overall, five out of the top ten and top Corinthian, our North team was at home already working to make improvements for the the upcoming World Championship in Marblehead. It’s a recipe for success.” – Max Skelley, Sales Expert, North Sails Annapolis, MD “It was great to get together with the North One Design team in Newport. The energy that the younger guys bring combined with the experience of the veteran sailmakers really makes for a great learning and teaching environment. When we add in the technical expertise of our designer Mike Marshall in the coach boat, we have an incredibly strong team for developing sails. Lots of ideas about sail trim, boat set-up and sail shape were thrown around and tested and we have a much more detailed understanding of our product line and how to help our customers go faster throughout the wind range. I think everyone is looking forward to testing our ideas on the racecourse this summer leading up to the world championships in Marblehead.” – Eric Doyle, Sales Expert, North Sails San Diego, CA “It was excellent working with some of the best J/70 sailors in the world that strive so hard to make the fastest sails in the world go even faster! The two-boat testing system ran by Mike Marshall is simply unmatched providing real time feedback about sail trim, and boat speed, while coordinating this information with real time wind analysis at the same time. The system eliminates any unknown variables and allows us to focus on exactly how the different sail designs are working separately. It’s quite astounding how educational this process is, and how any kind of doubt can be so minimized. Our technology, research, and design efforts are simply unmatched in the sailmaking world. –Jackson Benvenutti, Sales Expert, North Sails New Orleans, LA “It was excellent to bring together a large group of J/70 experts from the North Sails team to evaluate our sail designs. As with any class, you have to try new things in order to improve, but the high level of the team helps to narrow those ideas into the best ones which can then be evaluated on the water with the help of the Two-Boat Testing System. Lucky for us, we had perfect conditions the confirm what is the best sail for our clients for the 2018 Worlds in Marblehead.” –Mike Marshall, Sail Designer, North Sails Portsmouth, RI “We had a great session with our One Design team last week evaluating and testing sails . Using our two-boat testing system was invaluable as it gave us accurate feedback as to what was happening on the water. Sometimes with small differences in boat speed and wind shifts over the course of a test it is hard to tell decisively which boat is performing better. With the two-boat system, the answers are clear. This is really valuable when evaluating what products we have and deciding what to look at in the future.” -Chris Snow, North Sails San Diego, CA “What a productive week of sailing with many of our J/70 gurus, sharing ideas and looking at sails. I had the pleasure of sailing with many of them who have been on the circuit over the last few years sailing with lots of different teams. Having Mike Marshall in the powerboat running our two boat system was invaluable at confirming our current sail line up is easy to tune, trim and go fast in a wide range of conditions that we saw over the week of testing.” -Will Welles, Sales Expert, North Sails Portsmouth, RI READ MORE

J LANCE 12 CROWNED IRC EUROPEAN CHAMPION In The Heat Of Battle, The J/112E Sport-Cruiser Wins Title In Cowes 2018 IRC European Champions © RORC / Paul Wyeth The IRC European Championship was a mixed bag experience for all competitors. The regatta consisted of a combination of short and long inshore races, windward/leeward courses and one Round the Isle of Wight race. The conditions started off with lighter winds, where the local boats used to their advantage. With the strong solent tides, this local knowledge was essential, especially for the shorter inshore races around the Solent. Mid-week, the Round the Isle of Wight race kicked off with winds of around 30+knots clocked at St. Catherine’s lighthouse. The majority of the class one boats finished this race in no time, using the downwind leg and their asymmetric designs to speed around the course and turn the corner before the foul tide turned against them. Round the Island is well-known for being a small boat race, as competitors can tuck in and out of the tide to make gains. Boats like Shaitan and Redshift in class three were challenging the 40-footers in class two with short runs, gybing into the shore to avoid the punching and unforgiving current. Ino XXX, second place class two © RORC / Paul Wyeth Each fleet was a mix of local racing boats with a few that travelled to compete in one of England’s most popular race courses. It was great to be challenged by different boats coming in from across Europe. In the end, the boats that were most consistent throughout the week and the teams who met the challenges of the mixed courses were the ones who came out on top. In Class One Tokoloshe II finished first overall, followed by Ino XXX. In Class Two, Elke came out on top with La Réponse close behind in second. Class Three was dominated by Didier le Moal’s J Lance 12. J Lance 12 coming up to the windward mark © RORC / Paul Wyeth The J/112E is fit for purpose and faired extremely well against other competitors in their division like the JPK 10.80, First 40.7, Sunfast 36, J/109, and X-37. Delivering utmost speed and versatility, her upwind game and downwind speed made her a tough boat to beat. Congratulations to J Lance 12 for your amazing performance, showing true speed while keeping things simple in the highly competitive conditions presented in Cowes. “It is our third season on this type of boat, so we know exactly how it works,” continued le Moal. “We had a very, very good navigator – to be fast is one thing, but to be fast on the right side is perfect. We are not so good reaching, but upwind the boat is so fast, it helps you recover.” – Didier le Moal J Lance 12’s crew consisted of skipper Didier le Moal, navigator/tactician Nicolas Lunven, Frederic Bouvier, Christophe and Cyrille Cremades, Jean Francois Nevo, Jean-Michel Roux, and Cyrille Testonare who are good friends and have been sailing with Didier for years. © RORC / Paul Wyeth J Lance 12 was equipped with North Sails 3Di 780M RAW and 3Di 760S RAW main and headsails. Congratulations to our clients for your excellent results last week, and a special congrats to J Lance 12 on your new European Championship title! Tokoloshe II, first place in class one © RORC / Paul Wyeth © RORC / Paul Wyeth La Réponse , © RORC / Paul Wyeth © RORC / Paul Wyeth © RORC / Paul Wyeth READ MORE

UV SKADER PÅ SEJL: SOLEN ER IKKE DIN VEN Vores sejlpleje information henvender sig til traditionelle duge og laminater. 3Di er komposit teknologi, ikke et laminat. For mere information om 3Di sejl pleje, se afsnittet Sail Maintenance. Her er hvad du skal vide om UV skader på traditionelle duge. Omend vi sejlere nyder det, når solen står på himlen, er vi også helt klar over UV-strålernes kraft og den skadelige virkning de har på sejl, dæk, hud m.m. Hvis dine sejl skal holde længe, så skal du være næste lige så påpasselig med dem, som du er med din hud. Er dugen først nedbrudt, er der kun en løsning - et nyt sejl Dug Nogle enkle fibre er mere modstandsdygtige end andre og tykkelsen på dem er også afgørende. Kædetrådene i et polyestersejl er ofte tyndere end skudtrådene. De tynde tråde nedbrydes derfor først og det er så langs dem, at dugen revner. For at teste fibrenes tilstand kan du tage en ske og skrabe hen over dugen. Er fibrene intakte, vil dugen blive glattere og mere skinnende. Er fibrene derimod beskadiget, vil den dugen “fnugge” og hvis den er helt nedbrudt, knækker de korte fibre af og det er tid til et nyt sejl. Sejlene er mest udsatte, når de ikke er i bevægelseligger/står stille. Storsejlets agterlig er derfor ekstra udsat, når det ligger på bommer og genuaens agterlig er derfor ekstra udsat, når det er rullet ind. Man kan erstatte denne del af sejlet, men det er desværre en rimelig kortsigtet løsning. Syninger Da sytråden ligger oven på dugen, så den er det første, der ryger. En tykkere tråd holder længere, men den laver større huller i dugen og risikoen for at sejlet flækker langs den stiplede linie, når der er tryk på, er derfor større. Dette er overvejende sejlmagerens hovedpine, men hold øje med dem. Tommel-testen Enhver med en tommelfinger kan teste trådene. Hvis du kan trække tråden ud med neglen, er det tid til at få det til service. Tjek hver søm forskellige steder. Særligt vigtigt er det at løbe agterliget og UV-beskyttelsen på rulleforsejl igennem, og hvor tråden ellers sidder ekstra udsat. Stropper og webbing Når du går sejlene igennem, så husk også at tjekke stropper og webbing. Hvis der er antydning af knækkede fibre, så er det en god idé at få dem skiftet med det samme. Det er ærgerligt, hvis de ryger, når man er på langfart eller midt i sejladsen. Skulle du ligge inde med noget maskineri og gøre forsøget på at sy dem selv, så vær opmærksom på, at hjørnerne bliver hårdere med tiden, så det kræver en meget kraftig nål for at den ikke pludseligt knækker. Presenninger En presenning beskytter sejlet, ligeså vel som UV-beskyttelsen på rulleforsejlet gør, så begge dele er vigtige at have! Men også disse fibre nedbrydes og så er sejlet igen udsat, selvom det umiddelbart er beskyttet. Tjek derfor med jævne mellemrum om solens stråler kan trænge igennem presenningsdugen. Det giver en idé om, hvor tiltrængt en udskiftning er. Tommel-testen kan også bruges her – går den igennem, så skulle presenningen have været skiftet for et stykke tid siden… Vælg en kraftigt, mørk dug. Den holder længere. Skal man sydpå, kan flere lag være nødvendige. Den bedste beskyttelse er dog dækket, så læg dem så vidt mulig ned i båden. Benyt dig af vores gratis eftersyn i løbet af vinteren, så evt.slitage og skavanker kan opdages og repareres i tide. READ MORE

MC SCOW MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP Congratulations Vince Driessen, powered by North ZMax Champion Vince Driessen, in his new Melges MC 2701 and his North ZMax mainsail, chasing down Dan Quiram in race 2. © Harbor Pictures Company This week we held one of our class sanctioned major MC Championships of the year at one of our newest fleets. Fleet 103 Indianapolis Sailing Club was our host for the four day event. This club has a rich history of One-Design sailing with large fleets of Y-Flyers, Flying Scots, Highlanders, Snipes, Thistles, Lasers , Lightning’s and many more classes. They also have a great junior program and also own their beautiful 14 acre property on Geist Reservoir. Their history is rich and their future is bright. If you have never been make sure you get with some of the new MC advocates there like Andy McDonald to check it all out. The Regatta Scheduled for six races but a huge high pressure system dominated the whole state of Indiana this week. Day 1 and Day 3 no racing. Our practice day was great and day two we got in three very fair but very light air races. The Sailors Thirty six teams were here for this year’s Master Championship. Lighter than expected but when the Weather Channel gives you a predicted scorcher with light winds these things can happen. Some great sailors were here though. Past national champions from both MC and C Scow classes were present along with some great sailors from other classes just getting into the MC Class. So the sailing was with a tough group but also a fun group. Not the big dance but the warmup to the big dance if you will. The Results Wow, this was really cool to watch. Vince Driessen of Gull Lake with his new Melges MC 2701 won two of three races and probably would have won three of three but in one race had to do a 720 in light air after some contact with another boat in front of the judges on race 2. Vince did not even hesitate and did his 720 with his typical great attitude. However, Ted Keller tied Vince up with his own great sailing performance and just placed second on the tie-breaker . Mike Considine of Pewaukee sailed a very good regatta and survived an unusual judges protest and hearing on kinetics. Eric Hood finished fourth and was top Grand Master. Katie Arvensen really sailed well and was our top Woman for the Masters Championship this year. Commodore Richard Blake was fifth overall and second Grand Master. Lessons Learned Velocity rules over direction (most of the time). This was all about sailing in the dark water for these three light air races. Even though we had tall tree lines what was showing on the water was what was happening. Sometimes in really hot conditions and high tree lines on a narrow lake the wind will not show on the water. So that was the case. You could see the breeze on the course all the time. That was critical because you had to make a choice. Direction or velocity. I think in the case of Ted and Vince they were the only ones who were able to mix both very well. Others of us had moments but those two really put it together. Second was not being out of place on the starting lines. They were very long and in light air this poses a huge risk. Most of the top ten sailors all three races could be found closer to the middle during these starts. Other Regatta News A great group of volunteers including some MC sailors not yet qualified for the Masters helped with this event. Regatta Chairman Dale Katzfey had a great crew for the whole event and were all honored at the awards ceremonies. Also, Andy McDonald thank you for the vision to bring the regatta to Indy and make it all happen. Bill Crawford gave every sailor some incredible framed pictures. Bill’s skills are incredible. Check it out at bill@harborpictures.com . You will Melges.com , MC Scow.org and others posting many of his pictures. In fact he has his own Facebook page and you can see some there now. In closing, great job to all at the Indianapolis Sailing Club. Thank you from all of us who participated this week. It was fun and very well done !!! Lots of great club racing going on now, some more great regional regattas to get you ready for the MC Nationals at Pewaukee August 23-26. You don’t want to miss it . The famous and annual PYC Rib Night is happening during the Nationals as well. It is one of those LifeList regattas you do not want to miss. MC SCOW MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP 1 Vince Driessen 2 Ted Keller 4 Eric Hood (Top Grand Master) 5 Richard Blake 1st Woman Katie Aversen * Denotes Partial North Sails Inventory EHood (Grand Masters Champion) and Vince Driessen Overall and Masters Champion, both used the fast North ZMax. © Harbor Pictures Company © Harbor Pictures Company READ MORE

WALLY CENTO ‘TANGO’ REMPORTÉ DANS LA CLASSE WALLY LE CLASSEMENT OVERALL Avec sa victoire en temps réel lors de la course Offshore de la Giraglia, le Wally 100 ‘Tango' managé par Marc Pajot avec à bord notre dessinateur Laurent Delage en charge du suivi des voiles, a remporté dans la classe wally le classement Overall. A noter que les 3 Wally finissent avec le même nombre de points, preuve de la dureté du championnat. RCA: TP52 Freccia Rossa fait à nouveau Tenant du titre de la précédente édition et fraichement vainqueur overall de la Rolex Capri Sailing Week en ORC il y a moins d’un mois, le TP52 ‘Freccia Rossa’ remporte dans sa classe combiné Inshore + Offshore et conserve sa couronne. A son bord comme régleur de Grand Voile et en charge du projet dans sa globalité, Jean-Philippe Gallois, nous livre ses impressions sur la course : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PQC2LcfO_XE Plus d’infos / more info : https://www.rolexgiraglia.com/fr/news-74/resultats.html READ MORE

ETCHELLS 2018 AUSTRALASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS North Sails were well represented in Mooloolaba this week at the annual Etchells mid- winter regatta both on and off the water. With 7 staff members were racing and Michael Coxon on water coaching and invited by Nic Douglas “Adventures of a Sailor Girl” to join her as co-commenter on the media boat. © AdventuresOfASailorGirl.com The mid winters are always well supported and this year the added interest with 41 boats racing from four countries, numerous past class world champions, all driven by the upcoming Brisbane hosted Etchells World Championships in November. Each of the 7 individual heat winners and the top 15 in the regatta chose North Sails exclusively. North Sails continued their Etchells class support as a regatta sponsor donating a jib that was drawn from a hat at the presentation and won by class stalwart Steve O’Rouke, a popular win. The Cure - Happy in their win on a countback The 3 days offshore racing did not disappoint starting in a challenging left over sea state in medium airs with both the sea and wind backing off over the course of the event. Mooloolaba is renowned for being a challenging tactical coarse and again lived up to expectations with a different winner in each of the 7 races and ended with “The Cure” and “Crue Jane” finishing on top with equal points and Dave Clark and his “The Cure” team taking out the 2018 Australasian Championships on a count back. For these competing crews plus a similar additional number, together with North Sails, the focus shall now be on the upcoming Worlds to be held off Brisbane in a few months. © AdventuresOfASailorGirl.com © AdventuresOfASailorGirl.com © AdventuresOfASailorGirl.com © AdventuresOfASailorGirl.com The Cure - Happy in their win on a countback © AdventuresOfASailorGirl.com The Cure - Happy in their win on a countback © AdventuresOfASailorGirl.com READ MORE

NORTH SAILS SPEED GUIDES In Depth One Design Guides Written by Our Experts Ever wonder what it takes to be competitive in a one design class? North Sails Speed Guides provide you with essential information on tuning, finding the right crew, buying sails, and boat-specific proper technique. Pulling all the pieces together can be challenging, and the North Speed Guides help you leverage our expertise to make the best decisions for your racing program and make the most of your one design sailing. North Speed Guides provide you the knowledge and confidence to focus on the best part of sailing: having fun. READ MORE

LOOK INSIDE A LOFT: PALMA North Sails In The Hub of Superyacht Activity North Sails expanded their presence in Palma, Spain earlier this year to become the largest superyacht service facility in the world hub of superyacht activity. A larger sales and service team, increased capacity and expanded resources offer superyacht owners and crews market-leading customer service unrivaled anywhere in the world. With a combined loft space of 6518m², 42 staff, three vehicles for sail transportation, two with 1.5-ton cranes, as well as storage for 2000 sails, North Sails in Palma is unquestionably the best destination in the world for quality superyacht service, capacity, and turnaround. Well known sailing photographer Ian Roman joined the team in Palma last week to document North’s expanded presence. We shine a spotlight on Palma loft. The combined North Sails Palma loft has three locations providing a range of services from purchasing new sails to Certified Service for the world’s largest yachts. Fiona Bruce is the Palma Site Manager and oversees operations for all three locations. Find a loft. The loft floor at the Llucmajor location in Palma is 45 x 25 meters. It is one of two floors this size at the two-story location. The photo above shows a spinnaker from J Class SVEA. North Sails Palma features modern high powered specialist sewing machines and rotating pits to handle sail repairs. Two giant sail washing facilities are housed in Palma. A superyacht sail can weight up to 1,900 kg. Purpose built trucks outfitted with 1.5-ton cranes help lift superyacht sails on and off the yachts. The newly combined North Sails team features 42 sales and service staff. In addition to superyachts, this team is able to support all clients with boats of all sizes who either live in or are visiting Mallorca. Palma houses a specialized storage to comfortably store 2000 sails. This is the only sail storage facility of its kind in the world. READ MORE

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: DENALI 3 North Sails Expert Skip Dieball on Denali 3 Featuring The Latest 3Di Technology The new Ker 46+, Denali 3, rolled into Northern Michigan on May 31st and the commissioning team has been hard at work everyday since. Built by McConaghy and managed by Wade Morgan of Morgan Yachting, the boat was built to spec and on time. The fit and finish was perfect and after a few days of putting the pieces together, it was time to go sailing. D3 is outfitted with the latest North Sails 3Di. Designed by North Sails New Zealand's Magnus Doole, all the sails showed up ready for install and fit perfectly out of the box. Magnus, myself and Wade had been in communication for nearly nine months making sure that any changes were properly communicated and that all the technological tools were used to ensure that the sails fit the Southern Spars mast perfectly. Bill commented on her sails; "She has a very versatile wardrobe. The boat and sails lived up to my vision and met my goals so I am totally pumped! It's just awesome. Sunday was a real treat..had breeze up and D3 sailed consistently in the high teens. I can’t wait for it to really blow, as she has way more in the tank." Bill McKinley, owner of Denali 3, has been impressed with the entire team in getting the boat from the trailer to sailing within one week. Bill commented, "Super impressive. Couldn't have happened without proper focus and hard work." READ MORE

KASHMIR WINS CHICAGO NOOD REGATTA In Trying Conditions The Best Prevailed The NOOD regatta, as well as the Colors Regatta the weekend before, open up the Chicago racing season. Rain, fog, and cold temperatures accompanied with light, and shifty winds dominated the weather for this years' NOOD regatta, presenting a strong prevailing SW breeze, and SE thermals out on the race course, yet keeping things warm onshore for post-racing festivities. This year we had a prolonged period (10+ days) of cool, overcast, with N-NE breezes, with some fog & rain thrown in the mix, so there wasn’t any usual local knowledge. Rather, the regatta had generally trying conditions for competitors & race committee alike. In the end North Sails clients won five of the nine One-Design classes, some quite close & some a runaway. In what was arguably the most competitive class, J/111 Kashmir won both the North Sails Boat-of-Day award on Saturday & the NOOD Overall champ. Hear it firsthand from Karl Brummel of Kashmir, interviewed by Sailing World regarding their highly successful weekend. READ MORE

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: LAKE CHAMPLAIN Premiere Sailing With Gorgeous Views Around an hour and half South of Montreal sits a hidden gem for sailing with picturesque views and fantastic breeze. Hugh Beaton and Louisa Sonosky from North Sails Toronto visited Montreal based North Sails Expert Miro Balcar for a weekend of sailing and laughs with local North Sails customers. Willsboro Bay Marina sits tucked away from the noise of the city on the US side of New York side of Lake Champlain. My second visit to Willsboro Bay did not disappoint - the facilities are outstanding, and the passion for sailing is alive and well on Lake Champlain. We had scheduled two outings during the afternoon to look at new sails and discuss the addition of a modern furling Code 0s which are great additions for modern cruisers looking for some additional horsepower for reaching in light winds. The evening social completed the day with over 40 guests milling about and sharing sailing stories - a big thank you to Bob Klein and family for providing great facilities for our North Sails Day. - Hugh Beaton, North Sails Saturday featured 6-7 knots of breeze in the middle of the day, allowing for a great afternoon of sailing with dedicated North Sails customer Francois Bertheau onboard his Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 469. Later on Saturday saw a drop in wind speed to around 4-5 knots yet still gorgeous conditions thanks to the mountain views and warm sun. Hugh sailed with Jean Francois Elie onboard Scoot, NED ACK55 with an all carbon rig, for a couple hours as well in these fantastic conditions. One could not ask for better conditions than what we saw all weekend; the right temperature mixed with enough for a leisurely sail around the bay. The views are picturesque - a must visit for all. - Louisa Sonosky, North Sails As a thank you to our local North Sails customers, we toasted to the season ahead filled with as many picturesque weekends as possible. READ MORE

North Sails expert Mike Marshall answers your J22 speed and boat handling questions.  Who sails the J22? The J22 class is simultaneously both international and “grassroots.” Make no mistake. The top J22 sailors are extremely talented, but at the same time, the class has a culture that’s quite approachable and down to earth. In addition to the United States and Canada, fleets are active in France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica. Sailing a J22 upwind in a good breeze, hiking hard and sailing flat is fast. J22 sailors are friendly and want to help each other sail better. On the water, people are definitely competitive, but if you ask someone on the dock what they were doing to perform so well in a certain situation, they’ll tell you. And quite a few of the people you may be asking, especially at North American regattas, have won world championships. What’s also special about the J22 is that getting to regattas and out on the racecourse can be easier compared with many other keelboats. You only need a couple buddies to sail with you; the boat is simple to trail; and the cost of getting into the class is relatively low. Your big decision each year is which one or two new sails to buy. Put all these things together and you have a class of very friendly and likeable people enjoying an affordable game with their friends, and that creates a special vibe. What kind of sailors do best in the J22 class? The boats are often called “a dinghy with a piece of lead hanging off the bottom.” You need to roll tack them, and boat handling is critical to sailing fast, so dinghy sailors naturally do well. The class encourages young dinghy sailor participation with a grant program that loans a boat each season to a youth team, and these teams always do well. Of course, you still have all the technical aspects of a keelboat, so teams also need to develop the skills required to tune the rig and make sure the sail shape is right. What is the ideal J22 crew size? You can sail with three people or four. The weight limit is 605 pounds, and it pays to be right on the limit. Ideally, you’ll sail with your biggest person in the middle. How physical is the crew work? While the crew work involved in taking a J22 through maneuvers is only moderately physical, racing this boat competitively is a workout. As my friend Jeff Eiber says, “I don’t like sailing boats unless I’m working hard to do it,” and the J22meets this criterion. Jeff is happy to be a middle crew on these boats where he’ll be hiking out like you would on an Etchells. The bow person is also hiking. And the harder you hike, the faster you go. What are your top J22 speed tips? Sail the boat like a dinghy. Focus on tuning and forestay length. Keep the boat as flat as possible. Upwind, sail as fast as nearby boats; don’t try to out-point them. What’s involved in crewing on a J22? When sailing with three, the helm drives and handles the mainsheet, backstay, and traveler. The middle person trims the jib and spinnaker, and also douses the chute. The bow person manages halyards, spinnaker pole, and sail controls at the mast. Sometimes the bow person is the tactician; sometimes the middle person is. When sailing with four, the bow person’s job gets split. On sets, the second person aft may feed the spinnaker out of the companionway or manage the controls for the bow person. What should you know when buying a J22? The first J22 was built in 1983, so many of them have been built over the years. New boats are not currently available in the U.S., but you can pick up a competitive boat for $8,000, add a couple new pieces of gear, and, with practice, compete at the top-20 level in a world championship. If you’re aiming for the top 10, you should buy a boat in the $15,000 range. Boats with numbers above 1460 were built by U.S. Watercraft as opposed to TPI, which built the earlier boats. The newer boats have no wood in the interior and therefore need less maintenance. However, older boats can certainly compete. Boat number 677 finished in the top five at the last two world championships in the United States. Most people who join the class buy a used boat, purchase a new jib, and get on the water for $10,000 or less. If you’re on a tight budget, you can do it for half that much. Beyond the basics, what kind of prep is needed to make a boat competitive? If you have aspirations to be in the top 10 at the worlds, you need to prep the bottom and make sure your chainplates, mast step, and jib tracks are in exactly the right place. If that’s not your initial goal, just prep the bottom and go sailing. Bottom paint is not a problem either, but make sure it’s sanded nice and smooth. If you bought a $5,000 boat, take a close look at all the blocks. You’ll probably want to replace a few of them. How do you transport the boat? Although this boat has a fixed keel, it draws slightly less than four feet, so it doesn’t stand too tall on its trailer. Combining a displacement of 1,790 pounds with the weight of sails, equipment, and trailer, gives a total weight of 4,000 pounds. This means that you can haul the boat with a minivan or light SUV. One of the Canadian teams tows long distances with a Honda Odyssey. I’ve also seen European teams tow the boat with a Volkswagen Passat, but this seems a bit small to me. What's involved in rigging and de-rigging a J22? What I love about the J22 is that everything needed for the boat always stays on the boat. No outboard engine is required. I usually leave the shrouds attached and tuck them in. So when I pull my J22 out in the spring, I just take off the tarp, put sails in the boat, remove a bin of cleaning supplies, and put the rudder in the van. The mast is still tied down from the last time I raced, so I simply tighten the straps and drive away. My routine at a regatta is equally straightforward. The deck-stepped mast can be put up or taken down with help from just one other person. Before launching, I usually wash the bottom and put some polish on it, and we’re ready to go. One or two of us can do all the prep work in well under two hours—or even in one hour if we’re in a rush. What kind of inventory does North recommend and how long do sails last? The J22 has three sails—a main, a jib and a spinnaker—and there are no restrictions on sail purchases. Jibs get tired every year from beating against the mast. Spinnakers can last two seasons if not abused. Mains might last a little longer. Most people buy a set of racing sails for major regattas, and for other racing they use their second set. When a new set is purchased, the previous new set becomes the practice set, and the cycle continues. Our results prove that the North Sails J/22 inventory is outstanding. We’ve tested many new shapes, but have confidence that our standard designs are best across a range of conditions. Two pins hold the J22’s mast in place. J22 Tuning What are the keys to setting up the rig? First, make sure your mast is straight and centered in the boat athwartships, and then, as described in the North Sails J22 Tuning Guide, set your forestay measurement at 4’11.75”. There are two sets of numbers in the Tuning Guide, depending on the age of your boat and the type of mast step, but this position is a good starting point from which you may make further adjustments after you go sailing and get a feel for how much helm the boat generates in light and medium winds. The J22 keel position can vary by as much as 30mm fore and aft. If the keel is farther aft, you’ll likely lengthen your headstay by up to three-quarters of an inch. If the keel is farther forward, you may shorten the headstay up to three-eighths of an inch. Be aware that you needn’t start tuning from scratch at each regatta. Once I know my mast is straight, I can leave the uppers and lowers tensioned when I unstep the mast; I just pull out the forward of the two mast pins and have someone pull out the forestay pin while I hold the mast. Because of the aft-swept spreaders, the tension on the uppers eases almost immediately. When I put the rig back up, the upper shrouds are already tuned, provided that they didn’t move when I trailed the boat to the regatta. Upwind, whether sailing with three or four crew everyone shifts forward; even the helmsman moves ahead of the traveler. J22 Upwind Sailing Where does each person sit when sailing a J22 upwind? Crew positions center around the jib trimmer, who is usually the biggest person and tends to sit just aft of the cabin house. The driver sits as far forward as possible. On our boat, I’m far enough forward so that I can touch the winch on the cabin top. In very light air, our bow person sits right up next to the aft side of the shrouds. In big breeze, our jib trimmer moves aft half a body width, and the bow person slides back close to the jib trimmer. Having the weight together on the rail is key. The backstay controls on our boat have been moved forward so they are between my legs in light air. When it’s windy, I’ll move back half a body width so I can play the mainsheet effectively. Our jib trimmer hikes with legs in and butt just over the rail, while the bow person hikes with legs out over the rail. The bow person hikes off the vang, so when hiking, that person pulls the vang on, and when coming back in, they let the vang off. This is in line with how you want the vang played in breeze. In lighter air, say 7 knots, the jib trimmer will be the first to move to leeward. We don’t move the bow person if we can help it, in order to keep the rig quiet. The jib trimmer can move more smoothly and is therefore more active What do you focus on when trimming the main and jib? Two key things we watch on the J22 are the upper leech telltales on the main and minimizing heel. Our jib trimmer also keeps an eye on jib halyard tension, lead-car position, and the jib’s upper leech telltale. At our lightest setting, we set jib halyard tension so we have only slight “crow’s feet” wrinkles at the headstay snaps. We position the lead car so that the foot of the jib intersects the toe rail 18 inches back from the bow. We want the foot inside the toe rail but pressed up against it. In most conditions, the jib’s top leech telltale should be flying, with just a quarter of an inch of trim needed to stall it. As the wind strength increases, these reference points remain the same, so we use more halyard to maintain little to no “crow’s feet” and move the car back because the jib is more eased. In the biggest breeze, the jib halyard is as tight as possible. In light air, the top main telltale should always be flying. In medium air, we trim the sheet until the top telltale stalls 50 percent of the time. With increased wind, the telltale will stall less and less as we increase tension on the backstay and open up the top of the sail. This crew is working hard to keep the boat flat even while ensuring the spinnaker is not twisted for the next set. What are the key gear shifts to make when wind and sea state change? The backstay and vang are hugely important controls. With a big velocity change, we’ll adjust the jib halyard. As the wind picks up, I’ll start putting more backstay on, then more mainsheet, then more backstay again, always taking slack out of the vang until I get to maximum backstay. If the wind continues to build, I’ll start to play the traveler a little, but if the traveler car ends up at the leeward seat, that’s my cue to center the traveler and start playing the mainsheet with full vang on. The bow person is already holding the vang tail because that person is hiking off the vang. The bow person tightens the vang in the puffs, and then in a lull, leans in and eases it, adding depth to the bottom of sail. Who is in the dialogue loop and what's a typical conversation? Our bow person calls the major waves, flat spots, puffs, and lulls. That allows me to decide whether to bear off around a wave or ride high over it, sailing with telltales up. It also allows me to be ready on the controls if I know a puff or lull is coming. Our middle person talks about relative boat speed and our positioning with other boats. Besides that, I’ll ask for more vang or cunningham, or I’ll say things like “We need to ease the jib sheet a little bit,” or “Big hike here.” Any special considerations upwind? As a standard rule, “Flat is fast.” Also, in big breeze, there’s a point when you can have the jib too tight. You’ll know this because, when you ease the main, you’ll see the sail start to luff due to the jib’s backwind. That’s when we’ll sometimes ease the jib sheet as much as 6 inches. In most conditions, the J22 will be sailed at deep angles with some weather heel. J22 Downwind Sailing Where does each person sit when sailing downwind? As the driver, I sit to leeward when sailing downwind, up against or in front of the traveler bar. I have four parts of the mainsheet in my hand to pump the sail. My trimmer stands to windward, weight centered over the guy block, with the leeward sheet in his leeward hand. The bow person when sailing downwind manages heel with weight movement, sitting behind the mast and generally to leeward and watching out for the boom when I pump the main. In lighter air, the trimmer will walk in from the windward rail to add heel when needed, and the bow person will likely stay to leeward. In big breeze, our trimmer steps in and the bow person moves back a little but stays on the cabin top to hold the guy for the trimmer, often with feet in the companionway sitting on the cabin top’s leeward side. It’s important in any breeze to keep the weight as much as possible to the edges of the boat. This helps to stabilize the rocking. What is your main focus downwind on a J22? The main focus downwind is to make sure you’re going fast all the time. Match your speed with others before you match angle. On the J22, it’s all about momentum. As soon as your momentum starts to fade, turn up and get the boat going again. Then the middle person can move to windward and press the rail to help you bear off. What are the keys to downwind trim for the main and spinnaker? In light air, I trim the mainsheet and also focus on how the vang is controlling upper leech twist. In trimming the chute, we try to get the pole back as far as possible but keep the foot of the spinnaker two feet away from the forestay. Also, when the pole is fully squared, we don’t ease the clew past the forestay. In surfing conditions, the helmsman pumps the main as the trimmer leans to windward, trimming the sheet and helping to turn the boat down the wave. How do you shift gears on a J22 when wind and sea state change? The boats will plane near the top of the wind range, but most of the time our mode is to drive low and, if possible, pump to surf the waves. Whether that’s possible depends on the wave state. I think of it in much the same way as I think of sailing a Laser. The more you can surf the waves, the faster you’ll go. Who is in the dialogue loop downwind and what's a typical conversation? My trimmer always pushes me to go lower when feeling pressure in the sheet. I also listen to the sound the boat makes going through the water, using this sound to help gauge our speed. Sometimes my trimmer says the sheet is light and we need to come up, but listening to the bow wave, I know that the boat is still moving, so I’ll hold it down for a couple more seconds. J22 Boathandling What's a typical start like in this class? At the start, all the boats are set up on the line with sails luffing. It’s like going back to college sailing. Good maneuvering skills are key. Heel the boat to leeward; then flatten the boat to get going. Your goal is to open up the hole on your leeward side. Before the start, a J22 fleet lines up with jibs luffing, each team attempting to keep way on and leave a hole to leeward for acceleration just before the gun. Top 3 tips to starting a J22 well? Set up far enough back from the line to avoid being early. When sailing up to the line, over-trim the main to keep flow over the keel so you don’t slide sideways when you trim in to go. Don’t pull the trigger too soon and sail down on top of boats to leeward of you. After the gun, some boats accelerate ahead of others. What tips can you offer for down speed boat handling? The J22 is very much like a dinghy. The mainsail turns the boats up, and the jib pulls the bow back down. Also practice heeling the boat to turn it up (heeling to leeward) and down (heeling to windward). What mistake slows this boat down most in a tack? What slows you down most is the wrong rate of turn—too fast or too slow—plus not roll tacking every time. What does each crew member do in a J22 tack? As the driver, I stand up holding the mainsheet, hopefully with the traveler cleated on both sides. As on most smaller boats, I swap the tiller from one hand to the other behind my back, sit down on the rail, and adjust the traveler (also easing the main about an inch). Roll tack the J22 like a dinghy, although the forward crew waits until after the tack to cross (through the slot and around the mast). Our jib trimmer waits until the jib backwinds halfway and then releases it off one winch while holding the lazy sheet in the other hand. As the jib blows through, the excess sheet is collected either directly from the block or on the winch, depending on wind strength. No pressure should be felt on the sheet if this job is done fast enough. When the sheet is within 2 inches of final trim, the trimmer hikes out and drops the winch handle in place, ready to trim when we’re at speed. About 60 percent of the top boats use 2:1 sheeting, with blocks on the jib’s clew. The advantage of using 2:1 is being able to sail without winch handles. The disadvantage is having a lot more sheet to get caught on things. The bow person’s job on the tack is to avoid stepping on the jib sheets while helping to roll the boat using the handrails with butt in the air. Then, when needed, the bow person crosses the boat, sliding between the leech of the jib and the mast. When sailing with four, the second person back can either follow the bow person around the mast or slide across the cabin top. Any special tips for good light- or heavy-air tacks? In light air, roll tack as hard as you possibly can. In heavy air, you need to decide when to turn fully onto a close-hauled course and when to hesitate at the end of your turn to regulate the amount of power the boat has when coming out of the tack. If you turn the boat too quickly, it will fall over. If you turn too slowly, you’ll hit a wave and slow down. Practice before the race to decide what’s best for the day’s conditions. What mistake slows down a J22 most in a jibe? As the driver, you have to learn the exit angle for the jibe, or your spinnaker trimmer may have difficulty flying the kite. It never hurts to practice your jibes. What does each crew member do on a J22 jibe? In light and heavy air, everyone rolls the boat in a jibe. As the driver, I stand up in the cockpit and grab all parts of the mainsheet along with the twing that will need to come on. Then, closing my hand tightly, I pull the twing on as I throw the boom over. In light air, I’ll roll the boat more, moving from my position on the old leeward side across to the new leeward side. On a jibe, our trimmer is standing to windward, with a hand on the guy. Then the trimmer kneels down and uses that hand to pop the twing out of the cleat near the guy block while at the same time ducking below the boom that’s coming over. Next, the trimmer stands up or stays kneeling until ready to move to the windward rail and help flatten the boat. Our bow person during a jibe moves across the boat to help roll it before the main comes across. Then, as the main is coming over, the bow person jibes the spinnaker pole. In big breeze, jibing the pole can be done simply standing by the mast. What is the key to a fast spinnaker set? When the kite goes up, make sure the clews are separated. Get the tack of the spinnaker out past the shrouds and make sure the leeward sheet is cleated, so when the tack goes forward, the clew stays aft. The pole can be "dangled" before the mark rounding; the forward crew won’t move to snap it on the mast ring until standing up to set the chute. Who does what in a J22 crew on a bear-away set? The bow person keeps hiking and raises the pole from the rail. The pole is inside the shrouds and clipped to the guy up forward, so the bow person raises the pole, eases the vang, and then stands up and clips the pole on, pulling up the spinnaker halyard as fast as possible. The middle person, who has pre-cleated the spinnaker sheet to a mark, eases the jib sheet a foot while feeding the spinnaker out. When the spinnaker is halfway out, this person pulls it around with the guy as rapidly as possible until it fills. Meantime, the bow person un-cleats the jib halyard, reaches around to leeward of the mast, and gives the jib leech one good yank down. The trimmer then picks the spinnaker sheet up out of the cleat as the sail fills. What is the key to a good J22 spinnaker takedown? The most important tip I can offer is “Don’t wait too long.” Raise the jib and take off the pole (this spinnaker is easy to free fly). As the pole comes off the mast, the bow person remains standing, un-cleats the topping lift, and drops the pole to the deck inside the shrouds on the starboard side. Then the bow person takes the halyard in both hands waiting for the trimmer to gather half of the foot of the spinnaker on the takedown side, at which point the bow person lets go of the halyard. Quite a few lines lead to the same area at the base of the mast, so it’s important for the bow person to make sure that all these lines are cleaned up in advance. How easily does a J22 broach? Downwind, a broach can happen pretty easily. It typically occurs when you come out of a jibe too high or too low. So if you broach, just make sure that everyone is OK, let the spinnaker halyard down, and get the chute out of the water really fast. The boat will soon be on its feet and going again. Any suggestions for drills to improve boat handling? Find a buoy and do 50 circles around it in each direction. Then do 30 tacks upwind and 30 jibes downwind. What is the coolest thing about the J22? The class itself is the coolest thing. People who sail J22s are all extremely friendly and helpful. Everyone wants to see others succeed. READ MORE

ITALIANS TAKE THE MELGES 24 WORLDS Congratulations Team Altea and Team Full Circle, Winners in the Open and Corinthian Divisions Andrea Racchelli’s Team Altea, 2018 Melges 24 World Champions. ©IM24CA/Zerogradinord Great breeze and blue skies welcomed forty-one teams from five different nations for the 2018 Melges 24 World Championship held at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in Victoria, BC, Canada. Tough competition with a total of ten races made for some very close results. The Italian team Altea, skippered by Andrea Raccelli with crew of Filippo Togni, Gaudenzio Bomni, Matteo Ramian, Michele Gregoratto claimed their first Melges 24 World Championship title finishing the event with only 30 points. We caught up with Andrea Racchelli to get his impressions and emotions on his big win: How did you and the team prepare for the Worlds? This year we sailed two events in Italy (Punta Ala and Malcesine) and had one training in Malcesine. We are quite experienced on the Melges 24 as we have been sailing since 2001, so usually we don’t do a lot of training. We arrived late in Victoria for the World Championship as most of our crew members were busy in a Melges 32 regatta in Italy. We had just one day of training on the racing area of the event, while other teams spent there more time to learn about difficult current and wind conditions. What were the 3 main factors contributing for the winning? The three main factors were: We used a charter boat that was really perfect and super-fast. We had a new set of North sails fast as well (we used the AP-3K main, J-7K jib and P-3 Runner) Of course the crew! We have been sailing together from many years and we are a group of friends first of all. What was the most exciting moment of the event? Winning two races in day 2 in light and shifty wind conditions we nice, and of course the last day: We had two points to recover, it was a perfect day with strong wind and huge current. After the first two races we were leading and we had just to control the last one. We didn’t have a very good start in the last race but we had very good speed and a fast upwind leg, and… we crossed the finish line as the 2018 World Champions! What’s next for Team Altea? In the end of June we are going to an event of European Sailing Series in Torbole, followed by the European Championship in August. Congratulations again to the Team Altea! Learn more about North’s fast Melges 24 sails. 2018 MELGES 24 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1 ITA 722 – Altea / Andrea Racchelli 2 USA A829 – WTF / Alan Field 3 USA 851 – Monsoon / Bruce Ayres 4 USA 849 – Full Throttle / Brian Porter 5 CAN 838 – Mikey / Richard Clarke 6 USA 825 – Was Canoe / Michale Goldfarb 7 CAN 835 – Mikey / Welches/Rhodes 9 USA 675 – 12happythoughts / David Brede 10 CAN 415 – Full Circle / Robert Britten – 1st Place Corinthian Full results Andrea Racchelli, Filippo Togni, Gaudenzio Bomni, Matteo Ramian, Michele Gregoratto win their firts Melges 24 World title. ©IM24CA/Zerogradinord 2018 Corinthian World champions, Robert Britten’s Team Full Circle. ©IM24CA/Zerogradinord 90% of the boats at the Worlds were powered by North. ©IM24CA/Zerogradinord ©IM24CA/Zerogradinord Team War Canoe going fast downwind. ©IM24CA/Zerogradinord READ MORE

GET FAST AND STAY FAST Important factors that affect your Flying Scot boat speed © Art Petrosemolo We’ve all read it a million times from all of the sport’s top performers – “boat speed is king,” “the key to winning consistently is boat speed,” “you have to have top boat speed to win”…. There’s a lot of ways to say it… But how do we achieve it? THAT is the question. In the Flying Scot, one of the most important factors for boat speed both upwind and downwind is the center board engagement. When sailing upwind we need to accurately trim the sails, put the boat on the right heading, and get the body weight in the right spot so that the boat can get going fast enough to allow the centerboard to start working and achieving maximum lift. If any one of those three trims are off, the boat will experience some sort of stall which will decrease lift of the board and increase the distance between us and the fast guys! The generic tip is “speed before height”. This is a simple concept that most of us understand – but it’s the execution of this technique that can be difficult. It all starts with positioning. The boat has to be in a place where you are able to ease the sails a bit, put the bow down, and let it rumble. If you are sailing with someone to leeward, you aren’t able to make this move and instead you are stuck trying to live in high mode which can be very unforgiving. It’s crucial to make every effort to make tactical decisions that keep people away from your leeward hole. Make sure that you have a big hole to leeward of you right after the start. A couple keys to achieve that are: 1. Use a “high kill” in the last minute where you get the boat to coast at head to wind (without losing flow/steerage). If the boat to leeward of you isn’t matching, then that hole is getting bigger. 2. Accelerate the boat in the last 10-15 so that you can ultimately “pull the trigger” at 2 or 3 seconds which allows the boat to be already close-hauled at full speed at the gun. Of course this requires accurate knowledge of where the line is, but if you can already be full upwind with the center board working when the gun goes off, you are going to have plenty of room to leeward of you to let the boat rumble. Another opportunity to give yourself a bigger hole to leeward of you on the racecourse is in a situation where you know you are likely to get lee-bowed by a competitor. This can happen if you are out on the edge of the course near a layline most likely. If you know you are likely to get lee-bowed by a competitor coming across on the other tack, put your bow down at them. Make it clear from 5-10 boat lengths away that it is your intention to duck them by aiming your bow at their transom. This will force them to either take the cross – which you are fine with in this tactical situation – or tack early. As soon as you see them start their tack, you trim the sails back in and put the bow back up to your close hauled course which leaves them an extra boat length or two to leeward of you which should be enough for you to comfortably hold your lane. Plus, you will be coming at them with a click more boat speed since you are bow down, which should have you with an even better lane after their tack Developing the feel on the helm and in the hull so that you can sense when the center board is fully engaged is the hard part. It can only come from time on the tiller, and sailing in a straight line while experimenting with the edges of performance. But that’s where the fast guys really get away – they are constantly making very slight adjustments to heel angle, sail trim, and their course so that they can get the board to maximum lift and then try to take that lift as high as they can before the boat stalls. When they feel the boat is on the brink of a stall, they adjust again to re-engage the board and repeat the process. You can think of it like executing very gradual “S-Turns” all the way up the beat – bow down and sails eased with body weight pressing on the rail to get the boat rumbling, and then bow slightly up with sails trimmed hard to turn that speed into height. That’s the magic! Remember, a fully engaged center board will give you height without forcing you to actually point the boat higher. In fact, the boats gaining height might have their bows further from the true wind angle – but since the board is providing lift, they are still climbing to windward! Practice makes perfect, so get out on the water and sail upwind (maybe even with your eyes closed) and really try to hone in on this feel. Boat speed turns into good tactics, and the combination is what will put you at the top of the podium! Contact Zeke Horowitz for additional questions on making your Flying Scot sail faster. Learn more about North’s fast Flying Scot sails. READ MORE

CEDAR POINT ONE DESIGN REGATTA North Clients Dominate Growing Event With over 100 boats and 560 sailors registered, the 2018 Cedar Point One Design Regatta provided great competition for many one design classes in the Long Island Sound waters. Connecticut sailors were joined by teams from Canada and other states along the East Coast. “The CPYC One Design Regatta is growing every year and we are proud to be part of it. “ said Tim Healy, President of North Sails One Design. At the end, North-powered clients had exceptional results dominating most of the classes, taking the full podium on the J/30, J/70, Beneteau 36.7, Atlantic and Thistle class. North is proud to sponsor the Cedar Point OD Regatta. 2018 CEDAR POINT ONE DESIGN REGATTA J/30 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 USA 41230 Wildcat / Russ Atkinson J/70 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 USA 96 Savasana / Brian Keane J/70 Corinthian 1 USA 501 Button Fly / Andrew & Melissa Fisher J/88 1 USA 80 Wings / Mike Bruno Beneteau 36.7 1, 2, 3, 4 USA 51898 Blazn’ Star / Peter Hurley Atlantic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 129 Elan / Rodrigo Meireles Thistle 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 3839 Pepper / David Dellenbaugh * Denotes Partial North Sails Inventory Full Results Brian Keane and Team Savasana, winners of the J/70 class Vento Solare sporting the new J/109 A2-3 spinnaker Rodrigo Meireles and Team Élan, Atlantic class winners Russ Atkinson and Team Wildcat, J/30 class North American Champions READ MORE

J/24 DISTRICT ONE CHAMPIONSHIP Clients Shine at Worlds Qualifier in Portsmouth, NH © SA Follansbee 2018 For those of you who have never been to Kittery Point Yacht Club in New Hampshire, it is one-of-a-kind. On the border of Maine and New Hampshire, sitting on the edge of the Piscataqua River, this quaint club put forth some big expectations in hosting this event-which they pulled off without a hitch. KPYC volunteers and club members were on-point, on and off the water, and the fleet had a very successful weekend of racing with a fun social atmosphere ashore. Big thanks to J/24 Fleet 139, the Portsmouth Yacht Club, the Piscataqua Sailing Association, and the Kittery Point Yacht Club for your hospitality, hosting the J/24 D1 Championship. © Boats N Stuff / Brittany Anania On Saturday, a dry front approached the Portsmouth area, and high pressure sat over the fleet creating shifty light-air, which was challenging in many ways. Sailors and RC volunteers stuck it out to the end- giving the fleet two races to kick-off the regatta. That evening a front moved in and the high pressure lifted. The temperature dropped 10 degrees, and the breeze welcomed the fleet to the racecourse Sunday morning, providing great racing conditions that would last throughout the day. Swells and current made things interesting, mostly for the skippers, as the puffs, waves, and current created a constant battle uphill to keep the boat powered up and on track. © SA Follansbee 2018 The breeze oscillated, favoring the left side of the course a bit more often giving teams leverage coming out of the bottom mark if they tacked right away and got left of the fleet when the pin was favored. Racing was tight so every point was important. Overall boat speed was key to being able to extend and solidify positioning. Downwind was exciting with surfing conditions, testing the power of teamwork and boat handling skills to stay in the most pressure, especially when it came to maneuvers, setting up for lay lines, and jibe angles with the waves. The RC ran two races on Saturday in the light air, and six races on Sunday, giving competitors some great racing- exactly what they came to NH for. Congratulations to our clients for sailing a great regatta, finishing 1*,3,4,5. Big thanks to on the water photographers, Susan Follansbee, and Brittany Annania / Boats N Stuff for supporting the J/24 fleet at the D1 Championship. Clients Carter and Molly White, with team YouRegatta, were unstoppable, claiming five bullets out of eight races, giving them the overall win with a total of 11 points. Congrats! © SA Follansbee 2018 Third place was a battle, as teams that had not already qualified were fighting for the one World Championship berth available. The berth would go to the top skipper, and the Seabags Women’s Sailing Team with skipper Erica Beck Spencer won the battle, after a good fight, rounding off the podium and securing their spot for the 2019 Worlds in Miami. Finn Hadlock’s team Boreas had a great comeback on Sunday, moving up to fourth overall, and Andrew Carey’s Mr. Hankey was right behind in fifth. © SA Follansbee 2018 “Each event is a learning experience”, commented trimmer Katie Drake. “We take notes, listen to the experts, and make adjustments. All of our hard work and fresh/new insights are starting to pay off on the water”. © SA Follansbee 2018 “This will be the second World Championship in which our team will compete, which is a big deal for us”, commented Hillary Noble. “This is something we’ve always wanted and we worked hard this weekend to achieve that goal. It’s a great feeling to be able to accomplish it on the water too, which will encourage more all-women’s teams to compete at the 2019 worlds.” “The team rocked it this weekend. The driving was exceptionally tough on Sunday with bigger waves than I am used to sailing in. The waves were affected by the direction of the wind, and the groove where you had to sail was very narrow. With six races on Sunday, it became challenging to keep track of how we were doing against the other boats that also were trying to qualify. We didn’t find out until we arrived at the awards ceremony that we had done it! It was thrilling to know we had met our goal. I am exceptionally proud of my team!” -Erica Beck Spencer Full Results *denotes partial inventory © Boats N Stuff / Brittany Anania © SA Follansbee 2018 © Boats N Stuff / Brittany Anania © Boats N Stuff / Brittany Anania READ MORE

FIVE DOWNWIND MODES Simplified To Optimize Your Downwind Performance © Mauro Melandri / Zerogradinord The J/70 is a relatively new class and the learning curve is still very steep for all involved. Here are a few basic tips that can help when trying to optimize performance downwind. PLANING Crew Weight Aft. Keeping the bow out of the water and rudder in the water. Backstay remains at 75% to 100% on. This will make keep the mast back, the luff of the spin tight and the draft of the spin forward. Traveler down all the way. This will make each pump more effective as the traveler will pull the boom both in and down each time you pump. Play Vang. When the boat is ripping and under control, try a bit more vang to power up the main; you will go the same speed at a lower angle. Remember to ease some off before next jibe! Consistent Heel. Keep the angle consistent – this will keep the helm loading consistent to help the helmsman find the fastest apparent wind angles. MARGINAL/LAZY PLANING Crew extremely active with fore and aft weight. Keep weight forward until boat starts to surf down waves and bow wants to crash into next wave, then move weight back quickly, turn bow up and move weight forward again to catch the next wave. Drive boat with side-to-side weight. Move weight in slightly to help the boat turn up and power up in order to maintain the plane. Full hike in puffs to turn down and flatten the boat and accelerate. Backstay 50%-75% on. This will keep the luff of spin tight enough for planing with apparent wind forward, but still keep a powerful shape for both main and spin. Vang on. For max power when pumping, keep the main leech firm and under control by tightening the vang. Consistent heel. Same as above. See also: Tim Healy’s tips for marginal planing conditions in flat water DISPLACEMENT SOAK-MODE Weight forward. Keep knuckle of bow in water and transom just in water. You want maximum water line with minimum drag. Drive boat with side to side weight. Use weight to steer the boat and use as little rudder (which creates drag) as possible. Backstay off. This allows the mast to move forward as much as possible, making the luff of the spinnaker rounder and deeper, which is better as the apparent wind moves aft. Play Vang. Ease vang to get good twist without inverting the compression battens. Tighten for jibes or if surfing conditions are present and pumping becomes legal. Tack-up soak mode. This only works in over 9 knots or when the apparent is max aft. Letting a few inches off the tack line allows the spin to get deeper and rotate to weather more to maintain a lower course heading. If spin gets unstable, pull tack down and head up slightly. DISPLACEMENT WING-ON-WING Weight forward. Same as above Maintain consistent weather heel need more as breeze gets lighter. Weather heel helps the spin stay full and stable. Play Vang. Vang on in jibes to pop battens. Vang on also helps to keep rocking to a minimum. Backstay off. Same as above Watch your masthead fly. The wind should be coming from dead astern or slightly from the weather stern quarter. Sailing by the lee only creates disturbed air for the spin interfering with the air coming off the main. Trimer and tactician should direct driver by saying “turn right” or “turn left” not “up” or “down” Vang on for maneuvers. To help pop the compression battens when it comes time to jibe. DISPLACEMENT VMG-MODE Weight forward. Same as above. Maintain slight leeward heel. This will help keep the spinnaker full and air flow attached. In puffs slightly flatten the boat and turn down. In lulls slightly more heel to turn up to keep spin full and speed up. Vang off. Let main leech twist- vang on slightly in chop to control flapping. Pull the vang on for jibes to help battens pop over. Backstay off. Only pull on to control rig from becoming unstable in chop. READ MORE

A RACE TO REMEMBER Susan Hood Trophy Race 2018 The weather gods aligned for the 2018 Susan Hood Trophy Race presented by DriveHG at Port Credit Yacht Club this past weekend. After a short period of rain before the Skipper's Meeting, the sun came out and the wind picked up, creating one of the most beautiful starts racers have seen in the past couple of years. As exclusive sailmaker sponsor of the #SusanHoodTR and the Lake Ontario 300/600, the team from North Sails Toronto were onsite assisting racers with last minute prep including onsite repair, drop-offs and tuning. Local North Sails expert, Hugh Beaton, was onboard Afterburn, a Soto 40 out of Port Credit Yacht Club, skippered by Craig Pirie and Darren Gornall. The crew tested out their new 3Di RAW Square Top Mainsail and A2 Asymmetric Airx throughout the race; finishing on June 2 at 5:43 am with a corrected time of 12:00:01. Sailing the Soto 40 Afterburn in the Susan Hood was a real pleasure. She lived up to her billing as a downwind flyer, hitting 15-16 knots pretty easily during the first half of the leg to Niagara. We started with the Masthead Code 0, and then peeled to the A2 about 90 minutes into the race as the wind swung aft. True wind speed 17-18 and a true wind angle of 145 is a great combination for this boat. - Hugh Beaton, North Sails Bryan Sim's took his new Perry 57, Suspect, out for her first race during the Hood, which was complete with a new inventory of North Sails, delivered earlier in the week by Hugh Beaton. The new inventory included a 3Di ENDURANCE Full Batten Mainsail, 3Di Endurance Furling Genoa, A0 Asymmetric and A2 Asymmetric. North Sails expert Doug Folsetter and summer intern Kyann Rentzelos crewed with Bryan for the race. Not only was it first racing this beautifully refitted Perry 57, it was the first time sailing it for the owner and crew. As the boat is true racer / cruiser that will be extensively cruised and occasionally raced, the sail inventory was kept simple with a 3Di ENDURANCE main and 135% furling jib along with an A0 on a furler and A2 in a snuffer for downwind work. Despite the limited inventory, these versatile sails worked wonderfully through the wind range that we experienced, and we never felt that we were missing the “perfect” sail for any given condition. "We found the sail-plan extremely easy to handle which will bode well for the owner when they set off on extended cruises shorthanded. The easily driven hull was really in it’s element, close-reaching at 11-12 knots of boat speed in 20 knots TWS with a reefed main and full jib. The furling A0 could be the most versatile sail on the boat. It’s absolutely necessary for long distances such as the Susan Hood but will also be a fantastic sail for fast passage making. Every modern cruising boat should really have one." -Doug Folsetter, North Sails Blast from Mimico Cruising Club took her new suit of sails for a whirl this weekend. Chris Bobyk, Owner, added a new 3Di RAW Mainsail and A2 Asymmetric to his collection for 2018. Bobyk was pleased with the sails performance and overall race saying, The 2018 Susan hood race was a thriller, with 18 knot winds and preferred port tack Spinnaker start to kick things off towards the first mark at Niagara. The thrill being some competitors started on starboard with majority on port- well that made things interesting especially with those on port with kites up or being hoisted- us for one. It was a great test for both our new 3DI North Main and A2 Asymmetrical kite. Both these new sails have proven their performance in design and construction early this season, most particularly in Blast’s enhanced speed performance during the Susan hood at different points of sail. In addition to enhanced speed performance the 3DI Main is one of the easiest main sails to get set with reduced adjustments for the trimmer- simplifying main trimming and allowing both helmsman and main trimmer to get into their respective grooves quicker in and out of tacks and upon establishing course. This new addition to Blasts sail inventory as a recommended addition by North has proven itself. "The new A2 kite design was based on an analysis of the existing Kite inventory being more traditional asymmetrical in design- the new A2 with larger shoulders gets us to deeper downwind angles and with the strong winds behind our backs for the majority of leg 1 proved a considerable benefit in closer matching wind angles of the symmetrical kite boats. Overall could not be more pleased with these sails and the support from the Team at the North Toronto Loft", commented Chris Bobyk, Owner of Blast, First 10R The Toronto team saw a number of new clients flying new sails for the season during the race including: Chris Bobyk, Beneteau 10R, Blast Craig Pirie & Darren Gornall, Soto 40, Afterburn Bryan Sim, Perry 57, Suspect Bruce Pierce, J122, Hooligan II Will French, Olson 911SE, Entourage William Morland, Beneteau 10R, Rum Kist Brian Mitchell, Quest 33, Areion For the complete results list from the race, see here. READ MORE

GRAND PRIX STATION Production Profile: Auckland, NZL Auckland holds a special place in the heart of sailing. Known as New Zealand’s yachting hub, this urban city’s affinity for the waterfront has welcomed premier sailing events to its shores time and time again. Thanks to deep roots in the America’s Cup, local sailing fans may be the most devout in the world and the team at North Sails New Zealand is no exception; the loft has found itself at the heart of the action with each Kiwi Challenge. By drawing from this experience, and spending many hours on the water, this tight-knit group has developed a knack for Grand Prix sailmaking and is now the go-to loft for professional teams from around the globe. Loft manager Guy Hewson has a wealth of top-level sailmaking experience. After working as a sailmaker for Team Germany in the 2007 America’s Cup, Guy took professional sailing and boat captain roles all over Europe. This led him to the Louis Vuitton World Series, where he worked for Mascalzone Latino and Team New Zealand. He moved permanently to New Zealand in 2011 and soon took a position with North Sails as a senior sailmaker. In 2016, Guy began managing the North team out of a new location in Glenfield. The Glenfield loft offered more space and the opportunity to design a workflow from scratch. Guy led the optimization of the new facility by accommodating the needs of each department – from upwind finishing to one design to downwind production. The result is a smart space boasting new efficiencies and flexible systems. “We often need to operate service jobs alongside production,” said Guy, “and generally need options for managing multiple projects in the same space. One solution is we set up an A-frame furling system that accommodates luff lengths up to 60 meters, which is especially helpful when the Superyachts are in town and need service.” The team is also equipped with North’s signature rotating sewing pits and a few must-haves such as a plotter and cutter. The strongest asset of the loft, Guy says, is the staff. “Our loft is unique due to a long history of producing Grand Prix sails for teams in the Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup, TP52, and top competing one design classes. The majority of our sailmakers are great sailors, which gives them an expertise that bridges on-the-water performance with the work they do in the loft.” Guy’s lead sailmakers in the upwind and downwind departments each have 15 – 20 years of experience making sails. The total group is best represented by their top-quality work and enthusiasm for sailing. “We like to have fun, whether it’s in the loft or on the race course,” Guy continued.“This is the best bunch of people I’ve ever worked with. There is good camaraderie among the staff, healthy banter on the floor, and we all like to socialize together.” Over the din of ten TP52 sails in production, Guy explained they were on a tight timeline to finish a number of custom jobs for the fleet. “We work fairly closely with all the other North lofts. Often we take on this type of work because of our relationship with the Grand Prix teams and the amount of time we’ve spent in this area of the market.” While North Sails lofts in Minden and Sri Lanka provide a steady supply of molded sail “blanks,” specialty lofts like Guy’s have the client relationships and handle finishing and order fulfillment. North Sails schedules production based on specialty skills, as well as capacity and a loft’s proximity to the client. Operating on an island does make things more difficult. “We would love to have a 3Di plant in New Zealand!” Guy laughed. “Since we are a ways away from Sri Lanka and Minden we factor shipping time into pretty much everything we do. A lot of our suppliers for parts and hardware are also overseas, so we keep a close eye on inventory and make sure our stock levels are well maintained.” The cool thing about sailing is that even the most remote places in the world can become central at the height of the season. And with the America’s Cup coming to town in a few years, Auckland is already experiencing a resurgence in the local market. “The global North team has great collective knowledge,” Guy added. “It’s nice to know our clients will have the support of North Sails no matter where they decide to travel. Capacity-wise, we take comfort in knowing that everyone’s peak season is different and by working together we can keep the workflow more consistent.” Looking ahead, Guy’s priority is to maintain steady growth by staying true to what New Zealand does best. “Our priority is quality of work, while keeping things efficient and economic. North Sails 3Di is setting us ahead of the game and we are all proud of the finished sails coming out of our loft. I’m equally proud of the team behind them.” READ MORE

Sieg der Rundum 2018! Interview mit Sammy Smith, Miteigner des Ventilo M2 Katamarans ‚Green Horny‘, powered by North Sails: „Wie üblich starteten die Kat‘s in einem schmalen Bereich vor Lindau. Wir sind dabei gut weg gekommen und Richtung Romanshorn gefahren. Schon bei den Vorbereitungen zur Rundum war uns bewusst, dass es wohl wieder ein Gewitter geben würde. Die Tage zuvor kam immer eines über St. Gallen und Rorschach. Somit waren wir gut vorbereitet, wechselten von der Genua auf die Fock und warteten auf den Dreher, den es geben würde. Unklar war, in welche Richtung dieser gehen würde. So ‚hat es dann mit uns gewendet‘ und wir fuhren einen Bogen Richtung Staad. Max. Speed waren 20 Knoten. Vor Romanshorn sahen wir dann unser Begleitboot nicht mehr – es dauerte ein wenig, bis wir realisierten, dass es nicht mehr nachkam. Dann kam die Böe… Die war so stark, dass mir die Grobverstellung des Grossschotes vom Knie fiel – zum Glück sah sie ein anderes Crewmitglied und konnte das Grosssegel noch öffnen, kurz bevor wir umfielen. Hinter ‚Skinfit‘ und ‚Orange Utan‘ rundeten wir die Boje in Romanshorn als drittes Boot. Mit gutem Druck (14 – 15 kn Speed) ging es zur Boje Eichhorn, wo dann der Wind zusammenfiel und wir als Scheibenwischer Richtung Überlingen fuhren. Mal ging es Richtung Pfahlbauten, mal Richtung Birnau, … Da haben wir viel verloren, hangelten uns immerhin noch als 5. um die Boje vor Überlingen. Vor Meersburg parkierten wir dann- zum Glück ohne zu wissen, dass ‚Skinfit‘ und ‚Orange Utan‘ da bereits vor Langenargen waren, wir also einen lächerlichen Rückstand von ca. 20 km hatten… Wir segelten mehr oder weniger ohne Instrumente (und ohne Tracker), da man sie im Dunkeln nicht sah und der eigene Po einem eh zuverlässig sagt, ob man mehr Druck braucht. Alle auf dem Boot waren sehr entspannt, es fielen (wie immer) viele Sprüche- von Verbissenheit keine Spur. Wir wollten (und wollen!) das Segeln geniessen und sind so auch nach unserem Parkieren sehr relaxt weitergesegelt. Vor Arbon bekamen wir dann nochmals richtig Druck und mussten nochmals auf die Fock wechseln. Damit ging es mit SW Wind und 14 – 15 kn Speed weiter ans Schweizer Ufer und dann Richtung Lindau. Was wir zu der zu der Zeit auch nicht wussten: Alle Schiffe vor uns (‚Skinfit‘, ‚Orange Utan‘ und ‚Holy Smoke‘) standen vor Nonnenhorn in der Flaute und sahen uns vorbeiflitzen. Erst wurde vermutet, wir hätten aufgegeben und fuhren unter Motor nach Lindau, dann aber merkten sie das fehlende Dampferlicht.;) Kurz vor der Ziellinie, wir waren noch mit ca. 10 kn unterwegs, dachte ich, es kommt nochmals ein Gewitter, weil es plötzlich ständig blitzte. Ich brauchte einen Moment, um zu realisieren, dass diese Blitze nicht vom Himmel, sondern von Kameras kamen… Beim Glockenschlag fiel dann der Wind nochmals zusammen und wir mussten vor dem Ziel noch einen Schlag machen. Was danach passierte, weiss ich nicht mehr so genau… Wir konnten es erst nicht glauben, dass wir gewonnen hatten, dann hatte ich plötzlich Kameras und Mikrofone vor dem Gesicht,… Im Nachhinein ist es einfach ein einmaliges und cooles Gefühl – absolut horny!‘ Anmerkung der Redaktion: Der Ventilo M2 'Green Horny' ist mit einem 3Di Grosssegel und einer 3DL Genua von North Sails ausgestattet. Sammy ist mit beiden Segeln sehr zufrieden und sagt, man spüre damit das Schiff unglaublich gut. Danke Sammy für dein Vertrauen und HERZLICHEN GLÜCKWUNSCH an das ganze Team!! Eigner: Sammy Smith und Marcel Simon Crew: Ueli Näf und Urs Gonzenbach Natürlich gratulieren wir auch allen anderen Siegern und allen, die durchgehalten haben! Rangliste nach Zieleinlauf Rangliste nach Klassen Claudia Böhm READ MORE

A SAILMAKING FAIRYTALE New Sails for Darragh McCormack Help Him Win the Mermaid Nationals Nigel Young, One Design expert and founder of North Sails Ireland, talks about the development of the Mermaid class: On the 19th June 2018 an email landed into my inbox from Darragh McCormack making an enquiry about Mermaid sails. I have been corresponding with Darragh since 2014 but in most cases, we talked about the J/24 rather than the Mermaid. This time things were going to change. North Sails have been involved in the Mermaid for a number of years now and have enjoyed Nationals winning success with Paddy Dillon and several other teams have done well with our sails but we never really took much market share even after those Nationals win. When Darragh got it touch, my initial feeling was he would just be checking out prices and getting a feel for what we might be doing in the class. Not for one moment did I think he wanted to order and do a total re-design on the Mainsail and Jib and take delivery in advance of the Nationals that were only 5-6 weeks away! After a chat on the phone I quickly got the impression that Darragh was keen to try North Sails, so I jumped in the van the very next evening and drove to Foynes YC to go for a sail. Darragh had some very strong feelings about the changes he wanted to make to the standard North Sails and of course specifically to fit his mast set up. On arriving in FYC that night, we looked at several sails on Darragh’s mast on shore and then took to the water. We flew more sails, took pictures of the sails in flight and I got a feel for the boat and the sail shapes. It has always been an eye-opener to sail with a new team and in the sport of sailing there are many ways to make a boat go fast! Armed with about 50 pictures, notes, measurements and my own thoughts about the project, I headed home with an order for twelve sails… yes, twelve and they were all wanted for the Nationals! July is one of the busiest months in the sail making world and we had to re-design the sails, make sure everything was perfect and then have the sails built in our Sri Lanka facility and shipped to Ireland! Quite a tall order but the enthusiasm from Darragh was infectious so I decided to give it our best shot. Fortunately, I was able work with Ruairidh Scott our One Design sail design expert in the UK, and very quickly and he worked his magic on the designs and we got everything boxed off in record time. The delivery dates were set and in theory with no shipping hold ups Darragh’s new sails would arrive just in time for the warm-up regatta the weekend before in Skerries and the rest of the order would arrive on a just in time basis for the main event, fingers crossed! Like all the best-laid plans they do not always pan out perfectly! A slight shipping delay meant the sails for Darragh arrived a day late and he missed his chance to use the sails in Skerries. I was away at the time racing in the Dragon Gold Cup which was only adding to the stress of the sails being late! As it turned out, that was a windy regatta so I am not sure the sails would have been used anyway. I landed home on the Monday and drove half-way to Foynes to meet Darragh and hand over the sails. I was off again the following day to Lake Garda for the Melges 24 Europeans so I could not even check out the sails with Darragh. Thank goodness for his confidence in us! He took the sails and spent the next two evenings ahead of the Nationals making sure everything was OK, sorting out the new Jib lead locations and wire heights. I was phoning from Lake Garda every second minute like an expectant Father waiting to hear about the new-born Mermaid sails! Like all good Fairy tales this one also has a very happy ending! The sails fitted well and more importantly proved to be very quick on their first outing. Oh, I almost forgot to say…. The other nine sails arrived the day of the practice race as well. Too tight for comfort especially as I was not about to help fit them all, which is something we always try to do here at North with a brand-new design. Fortunately, all was well and everyone got their new sails on time but only just. From conception to water in only thirty-three working days after taking the order! I think I might have lost a bit more hair during those days! Darragh went on to sail an amazing series at his home yacht club and took the overall Nationals to win in fine style, including winning the very first race the new sails were used in. I have to say, a wave of relief came over me when I heard the news after day one of the Nationals, the sails are FAST, that was all I wanted to hear! Congratulations to Darragh and his crew of Mark McCormack and Johnny Dillon, a helm is only ever as good as his crew on this occasion the teamwork was exceptional to lift the Nationals trophy for the first time. North Sails Ireland were delighted to play a small part in this success and we wish Darragh and his crew and all the other North clients in the Mermaid class all the best for 2019. For more information about the sails please do not hesitate to contact us. Darragh and his Team power to Victory with 100% North Sails Mark Boyland flies downwind with his new North MS-1 Spinnaker to finish 3rd overall Jim Carthy and his team finish 4th overall with a full new set of North Sails READ MORE

TIPS FROM THE BOATYARD Volvo Ocean Race Sailmakers on 3Di Maintenance © Jesus Renedo / Volvo Ocean Race Within the Volvo Ocean Race Boatyard sits a communal sail loft which provides service and repairs for all seven teams sailing in the 2017-18 edition of the race. The sail loft employs only five sailmakers who look after 56 sails in each stopover. If you’re thinking, “wow, these guys are slammed,” the answer is yes and no. “We could not have managed this race with only five sailmakers for seven teams ten years ago,” remarks Nathan Quirk, Boatyard sail loft manager. “We would not have even tried because it was impossible. That reflects how good the 3Di product is.” Since 2009, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet has evolved from open rule yachts and string sails to one design VO65’s with a 100% North 3Di inventory. With that, the teams have also changed from each having two to three sailmakers on staff to trusting the five-person shared loft for all their sail maintenance. The ability to manage the sail repairs is a testament to Nathan’s team and North 3Di. Introducing the one design rule has also driven the teams to test the limits of their equipment. With an equal playing field, the only edge teams have is who can push themselves and their equipment harder than the next boat; far more than anyone ever thought or expected when the VO65 was introduced in 2012. “Everyone has a lot of confidence in the boat and equipment. They are now racing hard through the Southern Ocean in 40-45 knots, where in the past you’d back off around 35 knots,” says Richard “Scoob” Kiff, Boatyard sailmaker. “The boats are strong, and the 3Di sails are on another level now. You can just keep pushing until something breaks.” Nathan, Scoob and the Boatyard sailmakers take care of the most abused 3Di sails in the world, and can provide expert insight in sail damage control. The guys stopped by the North Sails HQ in during the Newport (Rhode Island) stopover, and we sat down with them to grab some tips on preventive maintenance for 3Di sails. Teamwork (or lack of) Contributes to the Health of Your Sails Scoob: The format of the Volvo allows for teams to join late and with very little pre-race sailing. The teams with more sailing time tend to have better sail shape, kind of the opposite of what you’d expect. With experience comes better boat handling which also results in better sail handling. © Martin Keruzore / Volvo Ocean Race Back To Basics Nathan: 3Di sails last longer than anything we have seen before, but you still want to minimize flogging. A lot of the damage we see on these boats is just from flogging. Pre-start in a club race or a smaller regatta is the same thing. A lot of people put their sails up long before they need to, and sit their flogging or sailing around unnecessarily. Sails have a lifespan, with 3Di it is longer than you’d expect, but the better you look after them, the longer they’re going to last. Scoob: When the sails are set up, and in use, we rarely see a problem. It’s the flogging that causes problems. © Jesus Renedo / Volvo Ocean Race Thinking Ahead Saves Your Sails Nathan: Most of the repairs we see are because the teams did not have the right sails up in the right conditions. Maybe they couldn’t make the sail change or just getting the sail down was a struggle. And the competition is so tight in this edition of the race the guys are pushing everything until the last possible minute. Compared to an IMOCA, who are solo and more cautious, the Volvo teams are influenced by the boat next to them. © Jesus Renedo / Volvo Ocean Race Is ALL Your Gear In Good Condition? Nathan: Most sail breakages or damage occurs due to another area of the boat failing. Making sure the rest of the boat and especially the rig and rigging is well maintained, and functions correctly is a big thing for sail care. Work With Your Service Team Nathan: After every leg, the sail coordinator from each boat will come into the loft and have a chat with us and tell us what happened, what went wrong during the leg, what went right. They give us guidance for the repairs. The discussion provides us with the team’s priority and also helps to save time because we have a worklist. © Jesus Renedo / Volvo Ocean Race Prepare for 3Di to (pleasantly) Surprise You Nathan: By far the Southern Ocean Leg this edition is one of the hardest in recent races. And yet, there was no major damage. The leg was three weeks of sailing in 35-40 knots or more. Some of the teams saw 60+ at times during squalls. Historically, we have seen a lot more damage. With 3Di you see cuts and chafe, normal wear and tear, but the sails all stayed in one piece, which was amazing. Scoob: We see chafe here and there, but not major repairs. We used to see sails arriving into port in two pieces, but we have not see that this race. There was the issue with MAPFRE, but the sail damage was a symptom of something else. READ MORE

LA SUPERBA-MARINA MILITARE TRA I FAVORITI PER L'ITALIANO J/24 E' iniziato a Riva del Garda il Campionato Italiano J/24, evento che raduna trentacinque equipaggi e che anticipa di alcune settimane l'attesissimo Campionato del Mondo, in programma sempre sull'alto Benaco verso fine agosto con l'organizzazione della Fraglia Vela Riva. Invelando circa il cinquanta per cento della flotta nostrana, North Sails è tra i sicuri protagonisti dell'evento che vede favoriti due equipaggi su tutti: La Superba-Marina Militare (foto) di Ignazio Bonanno, forte pretendente al titolo nazionale, e gli americani di Furio di Keith Whittemore, che punteranno al successo overall. A Riva del Garda si è trattenuto qualche giorno lo Specialist North Sails, nonché già campione iridato J/24, Andrea Casale che, oltre a consegnare una quindicina di vele nuove, prima di trasferirsi a Pisa per la 151 Miglia che affronterà sul Farr 400 Freccia del Chienti di Piero Paniccia, ha assistito diversi equipaggi nel corso dei preparativi pre evento. READ MORE

POST CLINIC GIJÓN Finalizamos el Clinic North Sails en Gijón con una participación inmejorable. Damos las gracias al Real Club Astur de Regatas y a todos los asistentes al Clinic por la buena organización y el entusiasmo que mostraron durante todo el fin de semana. Durante las jornadas del Sábado y Domingo realizamos una serie de charlas de trimado y dos sesiones de agua, donde pusimos en práctica todos los conceptos explicados en las charlas. Seguimos con nuestro programa. Desde North Sails, te animamos a inscribirte en el próximo Clinic, donde te ayudaremos a sacar el mejor rendimiento a tus velas. READ MORE

TOGETHER WITH MACIF Three Questions With North Sails © Vincent Curutchet Note: article was originally published by MACIF in French and republished in English with their permission. www.macifcourseaularge.com Whether they are partners or suppliers, many people work in the shadows alongside the MACIF trimaran team to provide their expertise and contribute fully to the development of the project. This month’s spotlight partner is North Sails. North Sails is a key player in French and international offshore racing, and have worked closely with François Gabart’s technical team since 2011. The Brittany-based design team contributed to the development of the sails on the IMOCA MACIF 60', winner of the Vendée Globe 2012-13; and this year again, the sailmaker is part of the close working unit for the MACIF trimaran alongside VPLP (naval architects) and GSea Design (composite specialists). Gautier Sergent, North’s Head of Research & Development, explains the importance of North Sails' involvement with François Gabart's multihull success. What is the scope of North Sails involvement with the MACIF trimaran? Gautier Sergent: "When the boat was built in 2014-15, the goal was to design a multihull helmed by François Gabart and to focus on the efforts at stake to what he can achieve alone. That's why we came out with a boat that was a little less powerful than what was being done at the time to allow François to make the most of its maximum potential. To address this challenge, we created a sail plan that met the specifications for power, weight and functionality. We then modeled all the sail configurations against real conditions to anticipate boat performance at all speeds. Today, we are also working on the aerodynamics of the platform and its interaction with the sails in order to optimize the operation of the sails and reduce the drag of the boat. " We modeled all the sail configurations against real conditions to anticipate boat performance at all speeds. What is the impact of the addition of foils on the sail plan? GS: "After the solo record around the world, we debriefed in detail with François and all the technical team to identify the good points, the bad points and to define areas of improvement on the boat. For this, we work on modeling the aerodynamics of the platform to minimize drag. We are reaching a new milestone with the new foils, so we are in a phase where every small gain starts to be important. The way the MACIF trimaran sails will change; it will fly higher in the air and faster, which results in a modified sail plan. The challenge today is to succeed in making this boat fly in a stable and reliable way." We are reaching a new milestone with the new foils, so we are in a phase where every small gain starts to be important What are the new technologies on the MACIF trimaran sails? GS: "3Di! For several years there’s really been a big evolution in terms of the balance of deformation and weight. For the record around the world, François had a mainsail that had already sailed 50,000 miles before the start. Today, we are confident that a mainsail can perform up to 80,000 miles, the equivalent of three to four years of sailing on these boats. We could never have imagined old technology doing the equivalent of three circumnavigations around the world. On the MACIF trimaran, we have been able to create 100% composite sails which are molded precisely to the desired shape and which are durable. Designing a durable sail that stays in one piece for a long time is one thing but also so that the shape remains unchanged, that is a huge factor in performance!" ©Jean Marie Liot READ MORE

2018 J70 NORTH AMERICANS Challenging Conditions, Fantastic Times! North 1,2,3*,5!!!!!! Sailing on a lake at nearly 6,000 feet of elevation in the middle of Mexico is not the normal kind of venue that comes to mind when racing a J/70 North American Championship. However, the location, the weather, the sailing, and the people in Valle de Bravo were all top notch. Valle provided picturesque scenery with days reminiscent of the movie Ground Hog Day. In the mornings the temperature was cool and the wind was completely absent. As the day went on and the heat built, the thermal breeze would arrive like clockwork around noon, and the glassy lake would instantly be filled with a shifty and puffy 8-14 knot breeze. The breeze often arrived so quickly and seemingly out of nowhere that it could easily catch you off guard. The pressure and angle variances in the wind across the course made the sailing quite interesting and even comical at times. It was not uncommon to see boats sailing upwind on opposite tacks with nearly the same heading, mearly boatlengths apart. This made my job as tactician tough, to say the least! Patience paid huge dividends and it was important to remember that sometimes when you might look the worst in a given moment, you could quickly go from zero to hero in the next shift, which was usually just moments away. It was also crucial to keep your head out of the boat, as there didn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to the puffs and shifts. Being proactive with your crew weight and gear changes through the pressure changes were also key elements to the puzzle. Downwind in the flat water provided excellent conditions for very fast wing-on-wing sailing. The trick here was to make sure you had enough pressure in the spinnaker to switch to the wing. Good communication from the spinnaker trimmer to the driver was essential and we also found that you want the boat to be going around 5.8 knots before deciding to wing. Teams also experimented with transitioning to the wing by jibing the boom, but also by jibing the kite. In the past, most teams have primarily been jibing the boom, but if pulled off correctly, jibing the spinnaker seemed to work a little bit better as you don’t have to swing the mainsail through the air which can throw some turbulent air in the direction of the spinnaker at a time when it is the least stable. Javier Navarro led his team on Bandoola (powered by North Sails jib and spinnaker) to a solid third place finish with Ander Belausteguigoitia (and I thought my last name was hard to pronounce!) on the helm and Javier Patron and Maria Jose Porter crewing. This team also shined in the Mexican Nationals just days before where they won the event with style even though the breeze was influenced by thunderstorms, causing it to switch 180 degrees, twice in each day. Oivind Lorentzen, with Mike Buckley calling tactics along with Jeff Reynolds and George Peet crewing, took second place with all North Sails. The J70 2018 North American Champions won the event going away and didn’t even need to sail the final race (quite the accomplishment given the tempermental wind conditions). Congratulations to Thom Bowen and his team Reach Around with Bill Hardesty calling tactics, Alec Anderson and Jacolyn Wetmore crewing. Reach Around was also powered by full North Sails inventory. Enough good things can’t be said about the incredibly hospitable people in the Valle de Bravo sailing community that made the North Americans happen (and the Mexican Nationals just days before). Roberto “Pollo” Escalante, skippering his boat Lampuga, organized one heckuva regatta that provided some downright delicious meals each evening that included some fantastic tequila and Optimist dinghies filled with free beer every day after sailing. “Pollo” also treated the regatta to some of his live music playing abilities the last night of regatta that I may or may not have been a part of… Erik Brockman, sailing on Vincitore with Ricardo Brockman skippering to a commendable 8th place finish, organized a remote control Laser racing tournament that was a blast for both the racers and the spectators (thanks again, Chip Till, for calling me over – twice!). Special thanks go out to Sean and Tanya O’Keefe for setting us up with their J70 Mexigenics and also Kenneth Porter for hosting Chris Snow and myself at his house and for sailing with us along with Danny Banos on Mexigenics. All in all, if you ever get the chance to sail a regatta in Valle de Bravo, jump on it! This place is definitely one to add to your bucket list. I know I personally can’t wait to get back down there. 2018 J/70 NORTH AMERICANS 1 USA 151 Reach Around / Thomas Bowen 2 USA 819 Nine / Oivind Lorentzen 3* MEX 407 Bandoola / Ander Belausteguigoitia 5 USA 369 Mexigenics / Chris Snow * Denotes Partial North Sails Inventory Chris Snow, Jackson Bevenutti, Danny Banos and Kenneth Porter READ MORE

SUMMER INTERNS Who We Are: Kyann Rentzelos Tell us about yourself. I’m from Toronto, but I’m always looking for an excuse to get out of the city, either going camping or getting out on the water. I graduated from the University of Toronto this past June, finishing my Bachelor of Science in biology. Since graduating I’ve been pouring myself into sailing as much as I can, racing in beautiful places like Malta and Antigua and getting out into the open ocean for the first time. When I get some down time, I like to spend it reading or cooking. How long have you been sailing and/or involved in the marine world? I’ve been sailing since I was 11 years old, and racing since 13. What are you most looking forward to about working at North Sails? I’m most looking forward to taking every opportunity to go sailing, learning more about sail construction and how to tell if a sail is properly cut. What’s your favourite part about Summer? Now that I sail year-round, I’d say exploring Canada is my favourite part of summer. Long road trips and camping are definitely a highlight. What’s your earliest memory of being on the water? Being a little kid at the cottage with my cousins, hopping in a tube on the back of my uncle’s speedboat. Somehow the tube got up on its side and stayed completely vertical as we got pulled around the lake. Eventually we slowed down, and it flipped right over, bailing us all out. Who We Are: Kaleb Aberle Tell us about yourself. I am currently studying Commerce at the University for Guelph. I have just completed my second year in Economics and Finance. My goal is to get my CFA after university and begin a career in finance. I have always loved be on the water, my parents have a Beneteau that they keep in St Petersburg Florida where I go to escape winter whenever I can. How long have you been sailing and/or involved in the marine world? I have been boating for my whole life starting at a very young age at my cottage. I attended South Muskoka Sailing School for most of my childhood where I finished my Bronze sail 5. I have also spent the two summers teaching wakeboarding in Muskoka. What are you most looking forward to about working at North Sails? I am looking forward to helping people who share the same love for sailing as I do. I am also very excited to get back to racing and am looking forward to crewing and working on boats. What’s your favourite part about Summer? I have always loved summer for the boating and outdoor activities I am a huge water sports fan and love getting out behind the boat at the cottage or racing on Lake Ontario. What’s your earliest memory of being on the water? One of my earliest memory’s is taking a nap in the bunk beds below deck in my aunts sail boat in newfound Land as we were sailing. I also clearly remember that when I was young at the cottage we had a big yellow Larson bow rider. My brother and I used to beg my Dad to torpedo the bow of the boat sending water all over the place and filling the bow like a bath tub. Who We Are: Julia Sommers Tell us about yourself. My name is Julia and I just finished my third year at Western University studying Consumer Behaviour under the DAN Management and Organizational studies program. I was on exchange this past semester in the Netherlands at the Nijmegen School of Management. I am very interested in marketing and communications and am glad to be able to learn more from North Sails! How long have you been sailing and/or involved in the marine world? I don’t have any sailing experience but am very interested in the sport and love being on the water. My family has always been very involved in rowing so I am familiar with the marine world and the environment of Regatta’s and racing on the water. What are you most looking forward to about working at North Sails? I am really excited to be working at North Sails so I can learn more about sailing and also get more experience in terms of marketing and operations. What’s your favourite part about Summer? I love being outside and spending time at the cottage in the summer. The beach is my favourite place! Hopefully I can spend some time learning how to sail this summer as well. What’s your earliest memory of being on the water? Ever since I was little I’ve always loved to swim or go boating, whether it’s a canoe, kayak, or motorboat. One of my earliest memories on the water is tubing and always begging my parents to let me go at the cottage! READ MORE

CONSEJO NORTH SAILS ¿Tienes velas North Sails 3Di o 3DL? Te explicamos cómo cuidarlas. © Michael Egan Aunque el moho no se adhiere con facilidad al 3DL ni al 3Di, todavía supone una amenaza si guardamos nuestras velas húmedas. Una buena manera de evitarlo es rociar ambas caras de la vela con agua dulce y esperar a que se sequen totalmente antes de guardarlas. No olvides enjuagar también herrajes y cabos. En barcos de gran eslora, es conveniente izar o desenrollar las velas en puerto en días secos y con poca brisa para que se sequen al aire. Para minimizar el daño por UV, es recomendable evitar la luz directa del sol o las horas en las que éste calienta con mayor intensidad. READ MORE

LA VOLVO OCEAN RACE SE DECIDIRÁ EN EUROPA El final de la Etapa 9 ha dejado totalmente abierta la lucha por la victoria final en la Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18. © Ugo Fonolla / Volvo Ocean Race La victoria de Team Brunel, unida a la tercera posición de DongFeng Race Team y la quinta de MAPFRE aprieta la clasificación a falta de dos únicos asaltos, que llevarán a la flota desde Cardiff (Gales) hasta Gotemburgo (Suecia) y finalmente hasta La Haya (Holanda). El equipo chino lidera la provisional con un punto de ventaja sobre el español y tres sobre el holandés, por lo que el nombre del campeón de la VOR se decidirá en Europa. North Sails es la velería oficial de la Volvo Ocean Race. READ MORE

VELA FLEXIBLE, EL REVOLUCIONARIO CONCEPTO PARA LA AMERICA’S CUP Burns Fallow y Michael Richelsen lideran el equipo de trabajo de North Sails, Emirates Team New Zealand y Luna Rossa para desarrollar el concepto de vela flexible con el que se competirá por la 36 America’s Cup. © Emirates Team New Zealand North Technology Group cuenta con una larga y productiva historia en la America’s Cup. Tanto la velería North Sails como la firma de aparejos Southern Spars han sido fundamentales en el desarrollo de barcos de Copa durante años, más recientemente con la introducción de la revolucionaria tecnología 3Di y los innovadores catamaranes foileadores de ala rígida. El anuncio del nuevo concepto de barco con el que se competirá por la 36 America’s Cup debe mucho del trabajo, los recursos, la experiencia y la creatividad al corazón del Grupo North. North Sails y sus herramientas de diseño han vuelto a ser parte clave para el desarrollo de los monocascos que volarán en Nueva Zelanda en 2021. El Defender Emirates Team New Zealand y el Challenge of Record Luna Rossa tenían claro que querían crear algo nuevo, emocionante y diferente cuando sugirieron las primeras pinceladas de cómo sería la defensa en Auckland. Para ello, no dudaron en recurrir a North Sails, el indiscutible líder mundial de diseño y fabricación de velas. Desde el inicio de la colaboración, en septiembre de 2017, los expertos de North Sails Burns Fallow y Michael Richelsen fueron conscientes de que debían implicar el North Design Suite, la serie de programas informáticos utilizados por arquitectos navales, diseñadores y regatistas de todo el mundo. Entre los componentes del Suite, iba a ser determinante para el desarrollo del nuevo concepto el software Membrain©, que equilibra presión de viento, forma de la vela y fuerzas del aparejo. Según Fallow: “Iniciamos este proyecto en septiembre y no tuvimos mucho tiempo para valorar si esta idea iba a ser viable o no, así que había muchas preguntas esenciales que requerían respuesta. Preguntas como cuál será la diferencia de cargas entre la superficie de barlovento y de sotavento de la vela, cómo trabajará la interacción entre sables y mástil, o cuál será el beneficio aerodinámico de todo esto. Informé a Michael (Richelsen) sobre lo que tratábamos de lograr, y apenas dos meses más tarde logramos una versión del Membrain que nos ayudó a responder esas preguntas. Desde entonces, hemos añadido más y más funciones para lograr modelos más perfeccionados. Es uno de los proyectos más emocionantes y progresivos en los que he estado involucrado en mis 30 años con North Sails”. Membrain se utiliza en paralelo con Flow©, que inicialmente aplica presión de viento al conjunto de velas y aparejo, y devuelve un mapa de presiones, fuerzas y momentos generados sobre los mismos. Membrain utiliza estos resultados de Flow para calcular la deformación virtual de la combinación aparejo/vela como estructura unificada. Este proceso se repite hasta que se consigue un equilibrio estable. Rígida, flexible o convencional El sistema de doble elemento de vela rígida utilizado en las ediciones 34 y 35 de la America’s Cup (2013 y 2017) dio lugar a un nivel inédito de trimado. Un ala dividida en segmentos puede ser configurada con una profundidad mayor que una vela convencional, logrando así una fuerza de sustentación mayor cuando se necesite. En segundo lugar, los brazos de control rígidos pueden forzar la inversión de las secciones superiores, lo que crea un momento de adrizamiento, requerido en condiciones de exceso de potencia, al invertir la fuerza de sustentación. Pero un ala rígida es complicada, cara y poco práctica para la navegación en general. La vela flexible es un híbrido entre una vela convencional y una rígida. Los pares de sables (uno en cada sección) controlan activamente el twist en el área superior. El control de estos sables puede cambiar la forma de la vela y consecuentemente las prestaciones. Aunque la inversión de sección de una vela flexible no puede ser tan dramática como lo sería en un ala rígida, si es mucho mayor que la de una mayor convencional. A diferencia de una mayor convencional, un ala rígida no se desventa. La vela flexible conserva esta característica gracias a los pares de sables, por lo que puede liberar potencia mejor que una vela convencional, algo muy beneficioso y aprovechable. Por su parte, la superficie 3Di actúa como esencial receptor de cargas, colaborando con los pares de sables para lograr una vela flexible efectiva. JB Braun, jefe de diseño e ingeniería en North Sails, explica que las consecuencias de esta investigación trascenderá el nicho de la America’s Cup: “Como ya comprobamos desde el nacimiento de la tecnología 3Di con Alinghi, que hoy es utilizada tanto en competición como en crucero, los beneficios de este trabajo para el deporte de la vela son enormes”. Para más información sobre el Servicio Certificado North Sails, visita www.northsails.com o contacta con nosotros en info@es.northsails.com READ MORE

Success All Round for the May Bank Holiday Weekend A busy and successful weekend for North Sails clients racing on the south coast The three day weekend is always a busy one for sailing in and around the Solent and this year’s May Bank holiday was no different. On the South coast alone there were four major events, spreading from Poole to Cowes, with everything from Etchells for their UK Nationals, to the second event in the Fast 40+ Series as part of the Poole regatta. The J Cup, also happening in Cowes, had a spectacular entrance of 66 boats, covering all types of J boats including the popular J/70 fleet and a strong IRC fleet With a bad weather forecast looming at the beginning of the week for the South coast, everyone was pleasantly surprised to have the sunshine turn up for the whole weekend. Despite the lack of wind on Friday, Saturday gave near perfect conditions and the rest of the weekend followed in that path. The North Sails UK team were spread amongst these events, offering regatta support at Poole regatta with our travelling Certified Service team and North U debrief’s in Cowes for the annual J Cup. The J/24’s had their National Championship as part of the Poole regatta. This fleet has been making a come back in the UK over the past years, and for the weekend they saw twenty-one boats entered. Sam Richmond, UK Sales Manager “Weekend’s like this make us really proud of what we have achieved working with teams in the Solent, with wins in everything from Etchells through Quarter Tonners and on to Fast 40+’s. It was great to see our team out sailing with their clients and helping them make the most of their sails" Do not hesitate to get in touch with the team for feedback from the weekend, we are here to help! Congratulations to all of our clients out on the water, here is a list of our clients wins. J Cup 2018, Cowes J/111 1 Sweeny / Paul van Driel & Hans Zwijnenburg J/92 1 Upstart / Robin Stevenson J/97 1 Jaywalker / Bob & Jon Baker J/88 1 J-Dream / David & Kirsty Apthorpe IRC 1 Davanti Tyres / Chaz Ilvill Fast 40+, Poole 1 RAN / Niklas Zennstrom J/24 UK Nationals, Poole 1 Chaotic / Nick Phillips Etchells UK Nationals, Cowes 1 Alfie / Lawrie Smith Etchells UK National Champions ©Sportography.tv J/97's at the annual J Cup Fast 40+ RAN © Ian Roman READ MORE

THE CUTTING EDGE OF OFFSHORE Production Profile: Vannes, Brittany, FRA. The French offshore market was as fervent as ever when the North Sails loft in Vannes opened its doors in 2004; the Vendée Globe was in full swing, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede soon set the record for “the wrong way around” on Adrien, and Dame Ellen MacArthur soon broke the eastabout, singlehanded circumnavigation record on B&Q. Extensive sailing know-how combined with an innovative marine trade, makes France unlike any other in the sailing world. True to form, the North Sails team in Vannes specializes in offshore sailmaking, especially those jobs fit for breaking records. The Vannes loft is led by Eric Gallais-Hamonno, who found his way there through a love of sailing. “Our dedication to the product, especially in offshore sailing, makes us unique,” said Eric. “As long as there is a market in France, we will be here.” Perhaps this dedication is what keeps sailing heroes like Armel Le Cleach, Francois Gabart, and Jean Le Cam returning to North Sails, whether it’s to alter a used inventory or to conceptualize sails for their next ocean racing craft. “It’s easier to love your job when your product is used to do incredible things,” Eric continued. “We work in a community that pushes the boundaries; our team is always talking with skippers about how to make the sails lighter, faster, more sexy, and we are proud to see our clients make headlines for performance.” A signed poster of BT, Sebastien Josse’s 2008 Vendée Globe entry, hangs in the loft. A typical day in Vannes will see new sails for professional programs (Multi 50, Ultime, or Figaro) finished alongside service jobs for cruising clients or local racers. The loft boasts diverse experience within a staff of 10, the majority with 10 – 15 years in the game. “Our sales team has a powerful casein the experience of our sailmakers and designers,” Eric said. “The team is tight-knight, positive and hard working.” A wealth of expertise and proximity to sailing’s most demanding projects, makes Vannes a source of knowledge for North Sails and the loft’s experience grows with each new project. North Sails recently formed a global Research and Development team in Vannes. The group is headed up by lead designer, Gautier Sergent, who’s experience spans multiple record breaking campaigns; most recently Francois Gabart’s MACIF Ultime, Thomas Coville’s Sodebo Ultime, and Francis Joyon’s Trimaran IDEC Sport. It’s hard to overstate the importance of a skipper’s relationship with their sailmaker for these projects. The North team in France works hard to support the sailors in their pursuit of extreme challenges, and repeatedly earn their trust with each new venture. The North Sails team in Vannes is one of the most experienced; most workers have 10-15 years in the business, with a few approaching 25 years. The French offshore sailing market is as competitive off the water as it is on the ocean. Eric says the biggest difference in winning orders came with the introduction of North Sails 3Di. “There are many reputable sailmakers in France – six or seven making IMOCA sails, which are one of our specialties. We have a strong position with North Sails 3Di. Since the product was introduced our market share in the IMOCA has risen from 35% to 60%, with five of the first six Vendée Globe finishers carrying North Sails in 2016.” Also, all of the Ultime Trimarans are racing with North Sails 3Di, and the product has an unprecedented track record when it comes to powering offshore records. Vannes is one of seven production facilities worldwide wholly owned by North Sails. Minden and Sri Lanka are the only lofts with 3D sail technology and are a vital component to Eric’s operation. These lofts are responsible for production of all 3Di sail membranes. These membranes, or “blanks” are they’re call by the North lofts are finished by Eric’s team who add extra reinforcements, leech/luff tape, and hardware – before delivering them to the client. With the offshore market paramount, Eric’s team also taps Minden and Sri Lanka for help with cruising orders. Since we are a global company now, we work with a central scheduler to liaise with all the lofts and distribute jobs, keeping the workflow steady for everyone. Sri Lanka especially is very good, and the North Sails Blue Book has implemented standards across all sites, to the point where we don’t need to manage the orders as closely.” Today in Vannes, a single sailmaker can work independently on a new IMOCA 60 sail. Ten years ago the same job required two or three staff to maneuver the material smoothly through a sewing machine. North Sails 3Di also requires less finishing work. Finishing an IMOCA 3Di mainsail used to take 95 working hours; now it takes 85. (A traditional paneled main required 120 hours.) “The 3Di manufacturing process takes care of many parts and pieces simultaneously, by building things like batten pockets directly into the sail,” Eric said. “The result is a more durable, seamless construction that requires less manual labor. “ “My priority is to have happy customers – which means you deliver the sails on time, with all the requests completed fully. I have to say I am the most proud of my team. I wish I could spend more time with them on the floor! The people are really motivated. They are flexible and hard working – smiling through extra hours and having to share space with many projects happening simultaneously.” When he does find the time to work alongside his team, Eric understands the roles reverse. “When I join them on the floor I begin by saying – Okay, what do you need me to do?” READ MORE

MELGES 20 WORLD LEAGUE, SCARLINO Pacific Yankee Takes the European Fleet by storm The second event in the Melges 20 European Circuit took place in Scarlino, Italy. With light to medium winds across the weekend the thirty-one boat fleet completed seven races. For this event, American sailor Drew Freides and his team onboard Pacific Yankee came over to Europe, using the event as a test event before the World Championship later in the year in Cagliari, Italy. With a 14-point clearance in the race series, Pacific Yankee took the win. In second place was Polish team Mag Tiny skippered by Krzysztof Krempec, whose consistency on the first day of racing secured their position at the top end of the fleet. Both top finishers were using full North Sails inventories. “With the fleet getting stronger and stronger every regatta it’s great to see the fleet improving along with the series. We are pleased to see more of our North 3Di sails amongst the fleet with each regatta, 3Di is the sail of the future!” – Giulio Desiderado, North Sails One Design Expert The next event is in Lerici at the end of June, watch this space to see how this exciting fleet gets on! Learn more about North Melges 20 products. Full results READ MORE

A Chance To Qualify Bayview Yacht Club Spring Match Race Invitational Chair of the BYC Spring Match Race Invitational, Lance Smotherman, shares his advice for racers and the opportunity that lays in the qualifying event. Lance is also the chair of the Detroit Cup and the Richardson Cup (Great Lakes Match Race Championship). Tell us about the BYC Spring Match Race Invitational. The best way to describe it is we have a couple of major match race events and this is a qualifier where the local people can get an invitation to one of the bigger events that they might normally not get to be in. How about if I start with the, we'll start with the Detroit Cup, which is our second event. Now the Detroit Cup is one of four match races in a series around the country. International people come to participate in. For our race, it's going to take place in August. We're about halfway subscribed so far, maybe two thirds of the way subscribed. The countries represented in this event for match racing is two teams from New Zealand, one from Australia, one from Poland, one from Japan, two from the U.S. There's a pretty wide assortment there of skill from all over the world. Right. So, those are the caliber of teams that are coming in for that event and then the Spring Invitational is an opportunity where more local people, if they win this event, can then participate in the next stage, which is quite a bit bigger. Would you say that a lot of locals are participating and trying to get to that qualifying stage? Yes, we're trying to get as many locals as we can. We're trying to get eight teams. And in that light, the Spring Invitational qualifies you for four different events, actually five. So, one of the events, it gets them to race in the international match race, the Detroit Cup, which is what I just described. The second thing that they get is they also qualify to be in the Thompson Cup, which is Seawanhaka Corinthia Yacht Club in New York, which is also part of that four race series. So if they win the Spring Invitational they can go participate in two of the four events that are taking place in the Grand Slam series. They also get to participate in the Great Lakes Match Race Championship; which is the Richardson Cup and Bayview Yacht Club is the sponsor for this year. Then the last thing is that it also qualifies them to get into the Match Race, U.S. Match Race Championship, being held at Chicago Yacht Club. What are conditions historically like at this event? Detroit, we race right in front of the club. We have ultimate 20s that we race in. And we race right in front of the club, so it's grandstand seating to watch them. The Detroit river, although it's very tricky to race in because of the current, typically fairly light winds. So it really creates a complete different match racing dynamic than in a lot of the other venues where they're in open areas so it gets really tricky. How do racers typically prepare for something like that if it's, it sounds like it's very tactically different than what they're going to be used to. They have to come in and practice. There is a home field advantage for the people who are familiar with racing in Detroit. Very similar to if you race in Charleston, South Carolina. They race a lot in the rivers there which is kind of the same thing. It's very tricky and the people who are familiar with racing in those waters have a slight advantage. Although, for the last several years it's been the international teams that have won those big events. Harry Price from Australia, his won the Detroit Cup two years in a row now. So although there's a home field advantage, the best match racers in the world are still smart enough to figure it out. What's your best advice for racers attending these events? We are having a practice day the day before the event and they should take full advantage of the practice day so they can re-familiarize themselves with those currents and waters. And we're one of the few match race venues that use sport boats. You know, with sprints and asymmetrical. But most of the match racing is done in boats like Sonars and Catalina 37s and boats of that nature and we use a 20 foot sport boat with a extendable pole and asymmetrical spinnakers. So a lot of the times we have match racers, believe it or not, who aren't that familiar with sprint boats. North Sails Detroit is a proud sponsor of all three match racing events held at Bayview Yacht Club. READ MORE

SUCCESSFUL SEASON FOR PAPER TIGER FLEET The North Sails clients in the Paper Tiger fleet have had an extremely successful season, dominating most podium positions, lead by Hayden Percy The North Sails S-4 Stealth Paper Tiger Mainsail has dominated almost every event in the Paper Tiger Grand Prix Regattas in the 2017/2018 season in New Zealand. The wins also branched out to the recent Internationals in Melbourne, Australia, when the New Zealand team filled the podium, taking 1,2,3,4 using North Sails products Hayden Percy is a name to follow in this class. He has won every regatta he has entered since moving to the North S-4 mainsail. Out of 48 starts, he has won 35 of those races, a fantastic scoreboard for any sailor. Here is what Hayden had to say about his North Mainsail “North’s sails are amazing. Their laminate sails are easy to use, its just like sailing with a Dacron again. It’s my 4th generation laminate and the easiest by far. If you buy a North you know what you’re getting, the same shape as everyone else and a sail that fits perfect first time. Used with the carbon battens is a winner.” Over the 2017/18 season the S-4 has increased in popularity due to its winning results. Going from 18% of the fleet in the 2017 Nationals, to 33% in the 2018 Nationals, and this is still continuing to grow. The S-4 mainsail was developed with the help of Mark Orams back in 2015. Mark was one of the instigators for stiffeners in the rigs. This is what North have used to match their sails to. The S-4 has been designed to be an easy sail to trim. Most laminate sails are quite firm and “locked in” which with most boats is fast, but with the Paper Tiger and its soft bendy mast you need a sail that works with that. The S-4 is built from a cross cut mylar that allows the sail to mould more easily to the mast shape but also have the ability to be powerful when needed. North Sails Australia now have the S-4 Stealth Mainsail in stock, get in contact with the Australian team, Andrew Gavenlock, Ian Johnson & Vaughan Prentice. For more details and information on the Paper Tiger sails, get in touch with class expert Derek Scott. READ MORE

NORTH-POWERED TEAMS DOMINATE 470 EUROPEANS Six Teams On The Podium, One Sailmaker Teams from Slovenia and Sweden secured the 470 European gold medals in Bougas, Bulgaria this past week. In the Men’s division, Anton Dahlberg and Fredrik Bergstrom dominated the event only having to complete the medal race to guarantee the gold medal. In the women’s division, Slovenia’s Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol prevailed over the German team, Loew and Markfort. “We are very proud of our teams and their performances. The 470 being a Olympic class, is one of the most competitive one-design racing classes in the world. Getting our designs tested by all six teams on the podium (Open Europeans) is a true testimonial of our efforts to make the best and fastest one-design sails.” said Kei Takakuwa from North Sails Japan. 2018 470 EUROPEANS MEN’S DIVISION 1 SWE – DAHLBERG / BERGSTRÖM 2 USA – MCNAY / HUGHES 3 GRE – MANTIS / KAGIALIS 5 FRA – MACHETTI / DANTES 6 RUS – SOZYKIN / GRIBANOV* 7 ESP – XAMMAR / RODRIGUEZ 9 ISR – HASSON / HARARI Women’s Division 1 SLO – MRAK / MACAROL 2 GER – LOEWE / MARKFORT 3 GER – BOEHM / GOLIASS 4 ITA – BERTA / CARUSO 5 IRR – COHEN / LASRY 6 SUI – FAHRNI / SIEGENTHALER 7 ESP – MAS DEPARES / CANTERO REINA 8 GRE – BOZI / KLONARIDOU 9 GBR – SEABRIGHT / CARPENTER* 10 GER – OSTER / WINKEL * Denotes Partial North Sails Inventory Complete information on the winning North 470 sails. Race Day 6 at 470 Open European Championship 2018 Race track action from #470Euros podium deciding medal race with gold medals going to Dahlberg/Bergström and Tina Mrak-Veronika Macarol Sailing Team. Follow at http://2018europeans.470.org #470Class #470Sailing #470Life #470in2024 Bianca Caruso Elena Berta Tina Mrak Veronika Macarol Anton Dahlberg Fredrik Bergström MantisKagialis mcnay/hughes GER 24- Nadi & Ann-Christin Frederike Loewe Anna Markfort Malte Winkel Matti Cipra Posted by 470 Olympic Sailing on Thursday, May 24, 2018 READ MORE

Ainda está a tempo de usufruir do Certified Service da North Sails!Se durante o Inverno não teve oportunidade de fazer a inspecção às suas velas, aproveite agora para o fazer. O Certified Service oferece-lhe o melhor cuidado na manutenção das suas velas. Para Cruzeiro ou Regata este é o serviço mais qualificado para estender o tempo de vida do seu inventário e manter a sua performance. Os nossos especialistas vão ajudá-lo a manter as suas velas nas melhores condições para que tire delas o maior rendimento. Com a dedicação da nossa equipa pode garantir que as suas velas se encontram em boas mãos. Os sailmakers da North Sails estão qualificados para fazer manutenção, reparações e recuts. Os nossos 10 Pontos de Inspecção permitem assegurar que a sua vela está em forma. Para realizar uma inspecção gratuita pode trazer as suas velas à North Sails Cascais ou deixá-las num dos nossos pontos de recolha. Faça já a sua marcação e garanta que nada o fará parar este Verão! Pontos de Entrega/ Recolha: North Sails Cascais Marina de Cascais, Loja 27B | T: 214 827 561/ TLM: 916 830 166 (08h00-12h00 | 13h00-17h00) Francisco Ramada Doca de Belém, Lisboa | T: 213 641 587 / TLM: 916 168 134 (09h00-12h30 | 14h00-18h00) Afonso Domingos Local a combinar | T: 962 565 322 (Horário a combinar) Facebook Twitter Marina de Cascais, Loja 27B, 2750-800 Cascais, Portugal Unsubscribe | View this email in your browser READ MORE

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT: MICKEY ICKERT In Search Of The Holy Grail Of Sail Design © Nico Martinez Mickey Ickert has been involved with 3Di for over a decade. “I think it must have been 2007 when I first saw a 3Di sail. We’d been fighting for years to reduce the dead weight in sails; mylar doesn’t do anything but keep the yarns in place. We always thought that if we can take that out and put more carbon in, we would have a lighter, higher modulus sail.” What Mickey didn’t anticipate about 3Di was the adjustment designers would have to make to existing patterns. “The string sails would stretch, so we’d counter that by putting extra curvature in the sails.” With 3Di sails, he explains, “The mold is closer to the flying shape so they are much more true to the design.” As a result, the first 3Di sails were almost too stable. Trimmers (and designers) were used to sails distorting every time a puff hit. “The mainsails in the beginning were beautiful,” Mickey says, “and everybody liked them, but the sail wouldn’t twist naturally. So we re-evaluated the structure and what makes the sail fly downwind, and ultimately the 3Di sails got lighter and lighter. Also the layouts changed to promote a little bit more active response.” © Nico Martinez 3Di technology provides both repeatability and customization. The power of the North Design Suite allows designers to create shapes that will exactly match the finished sail. “Our tools are very, very accurate in terms of the shape we’re predicting and the shape we have on the water,” Mickey says. That gives designers the confidence to pursue a sail with a wider range of application. “One jib and one mainsail that deform themselves into the optimum as you go along. That’s the holy grail, not the reality, but you can push the envelope to it.” To move toward this holy grail of sail design, Mickey becomes the conduit between sailors and the North Design Suite. Using Flow and Membrain, he can see the predicted flying shape. Then he climbs onboard and talks to the trimmers. “Say for example the feedback has been that the sail is a little bit weak up the range. You use your experience, the VPP, and feedback from the boat to figure out it’s a little bit full, a little bit round in the back. Then you design a sail to take care of these performance shifts.” He uses the computer to answer questions that come up on the water. “Would the boat be going faster if the jib was flatter? How might we expand the range of the sail? The tools can help in making these decisions. The higher end flow predictions give an idea of what direction the combined system of the boat, the hydro, the aero, and the sailing team want to go.” Mickey came to the North design team straight from the loft floor, not from an engineering background. “I’m a sailmaker by trade,” he says. But when he first joined North Germany in the early 1980s, Michael Richelsen was “inventing all the tools” so Mickey was able to “jump on the first wave of sail design.” “It’s good to have different perspectives. Over the years, you get enough experience and you work with good people and you absorb a lot. It’s about working together and the innovation you can underpin with the tools and designs that pushes the envelope.” Based in Auckland, Mickey is currently active in the TP52 class, while keeping a very close eye on America’s Cup design developments. From November to April, he can generally be found tweaking designs from the previous season in order to improve them for the next. “You design the sail, you use Spiral to put the 3Di layouts over it, and you have a certain set of flow conversions to check. Then you pressurize the sail: ‘Okay, that is a flying shape.’ And you can rotate the sail around; ‘Okay, that’s roughly the look I’m after, I can visual the whole thing.’ And then you drill down, into the details.” © Nico Martinez From April to October, Mickey is on the TP52 circuit, talking to trimmers and also taking a lot of photos from off the boat, “because that is one view the trimmers don’t have.” Only by seeing the sails “in the wild” can he figure out how best to help teams get faster. There’s also a lot of information coming off the boat every day that needs processing ahead of the next morning’s briefing. “Performance data, sail shape data… it’s quite an involved process.” Mickey says that, ironically, class sail limitations make updates and redesigns even more important. “If you have endless amount of sails, you wouldn’t need the analysis tools; you would just build more sails. But that’s an expensive way to go, so we use our tools to analyze performance and speed differences.” Auckland is on the other side of the world from most Med-centric TP52 events, but Mickey says having a design team spread across time zones has its advantages. “If you wanna solve a problem quickly and you’ve got collaboration between JB , Juan Messeguer , and me in New Zealand, you’re spinning the wheel 24/7 without anybody actually working 24/7. In addition to the huge experience, you also have this real quick turnaround. So that’s very powerful.” Worldwide design team collaboration has become even more of a priority under JB’s leadership. “We had a meeting in November and created work groups to focus on certain boundaries we want to push. There’s nothing quite like a difficult project and you say, ‘This is what I’ve been working on.’ If four or five think that’s a good way to proceed, that’s a pretty strong endorsement.” Asked about his own sailing, Mickey says he sold his Farr 38 but still enjoys windsurfing. “We have to keep that connection going. You start to tell trimmers what to do without any sailing background, and that’s a tricky scenario that can very well go wrong for you.” As for another holy grail, predicting the America’s Cup future, Mickey says the current TP52 fleet is a good place to start. “The sailors need to keep on using their skills before the new boats come online. Everybody needs to keep on the forefront of what is important. Design sails and make them faster with the communication available. Make them faster with the technology available. Optimize for whatever their target is. Those skills will be needed for the new boat. The top end optimization will step up as we go towards the next America’s Cup.” From a designer’s point of view, he’s sure there will be plenty of challenges—like the double surface soft wing. “But at the end of the day it’s two surfaces and we model them as we’ve always done and find a solution on making better and faster sails. Some of the parts will be different, but the whole concept of what we’re trying to achieve will be very similar.” Meanwhile, he says “it’s important to stay in top end pro racing . You could argue that the boats are so different but the technology, the drive, the communication, will all be the same.” © Nico Martinez READ MORE

JACK OF ALL TRADES Production Profile: Milford, CT, USA The North Sails loft in Milford, CT is one of two major production sites in the United States. Milford has deep roots in the company’s history and covers a diverse range of skills, often taking on niche projects that require increased attention and extra working hours. Milford’s early success can be attributed to their support of sailors competing at the highest level. Like Vannes supports skippers in the Vendée Globe, and Auckland every Kiwi Cup challenge, production in Milford began in the 1980s in support of American-based Cup teams. When North Sails moved its headquarters from San Diego to Milford in 2001, the sail loft expanded to a multi-faceted hub, encompassing everything from sail production and service to large-scale production of North Cloth (North’s in-house sailcloth division). It also included a parts warehouse, worldwide shipping department and corporate office complex. North Sails is now a global organization with seven manufacturing hubs spread around the world. While many of these lofts have a specialty, Milford’s wide range of capabilities is what sets it apart. “We are one of the few North Sails lofts that still do a little bit of everything,” said Steve Gruver, who manages the floor, as well as service and one design distribution for North America. “We do not have 3D molding capabilities, but pretty much can take on anything else; finishing molded sails of all sizes, as well as producing a fair amount from scratch.” Steve’s production team is versatile. Manufacturing one design sails requires error-free repetition, careful attention to detail, and keen organization skills. On the main floor, the team is often presented with large, complex jobs that require flexibility, problem solving, and a well-rehearsed bank of skills (including physical strength). Milford is always up for the challenge of an oddball request, which often turns into a success story. “We are most proud of the special projects,” Steve explained. “The bigger jobs require a lot of planning and deliberate work, like right now we have a mainsail in progress for a Hoek 52 meter sloop that has a 54.5m luff and 21m foot. I’m up to my eyes in Spectra Carbon!” In 2016, the team surpassed all expectations when they constructed a 17,222 square meter spinnaker in 4.5 days for superyacht Seahawk. Today, a framed thank-you portrait of the sail hangs proudly in the loft. Steve makes note: “It’s important to celebrate the team’s hard work and their positivity when faced with challenging projects and timelines. “ Veteran sailmakers are supported by a few apprentices. The core group emigrated to America 20 years ago and, due to their work ethic and dedication to the company, they have become expert sailmakers as well as friends. “Regina, Margaret and Basha are part of the Polish community in Milford and came to us as young mothers ready to re-enter the workforce,” said Steve. “Regina was the first to start as a sewing machine operator and soon the word spread. Today she does all of our pre-fabrication work. Basha does impeccable finishing, assembly, and seaming work. Margaret runs a lot of the big projects on the main floor.” When the 3D facility in Minden built a finishing floor, the company asked Margaret to relocate for a few years to work alongside the new staff. She was both a source of knowledge to the young sailmakers and a representative of the Milford loft’s experience. Looking ahead, Steve acknowledges that the industry is changing. “Clearly we are moving more and more toward 3D sail production, but I think there will always be a place for traditional paneled sails. I predict the bigger sails will keep getting bigger as long as technology allows it.” His management priorities remain the same. “First and foremost is quality, and of course we have to deliver on time. I also remember to respect the staff and appreciate that they have lives outside of work, and we cannot achieve the quality we need without an excellent staff.” READ MORE

ROLEX CAPRI SAILING WEEK Yacht Club Capri Host Prestigious Yachts At Sailing Week, North-powered Clients Lead In Four Class Divisions Rolex Capri Sailing Week is one of the most historic sailing events in Europe. Some would say it is the most important race ever in this area of the World. This years’ edition had roughly 80 boats registered. Clients competed in the Maxi, Mylius, and ORC divisions, having outstanding results across the board. Each year the wind holds up to its promise providing beautiful racing conditions for sailors and allowing the race committee to complete their scheduled races without a hitch. Two windward-leeward races and coastal races made for much excitement as teams sailed around the Bay of Naples, keeping tacticians on their toes as the finishes were close. North-powered clients sailed to win four divisions, sweeping the podium in Maxi R and Maxi RC. In the Mylius Cup Division, clients finished 1st and 2nd, and in ORC-A clients took home the win with a first overall. The famous offshore race, Regatta dei Tre Golfi was won by Maxi 72 Caol Ila R. Congratulations to our clients for your hard work and great camaraderie this year at Sailing Week. 2018 Rolex Capri Sailing Week Mylius Cup 1. ITA17001 Ars Una Biscarini-Rocchi 2. ITA17230 Oscar 3 Aldo Parisotto Maxi RC 1. ITA77773 Supernikka Roberto LaCorte 2. FRA1895 Lorina 1895* Jean Pierre Barjon 3. GBR60X Spectre Peter Dubens Maxi R 1. ITA42200 Pepe Canonball Dario Ferrari 2. GBR8728R Caol Ila R Alex Schaerer ORC A 1. ITA29141 Freccia Rossa Vadim Yakimenko IRC Overall/ Regata Dei Tre Golfi 1. GBR8728R Caol Ila R Alex Schaerer Alex Schaerer’s Caol Ila R at the 64th Regata dei Tre Golfi, after racing for 18 hrs, 49 min, and 24 seconds, took line honors. Caol Ila R is an English Maxi 72 who blew her competition away in 10 knots of breeze, showing true speed and perfection in crew work, finishing 2nd in the Maxi Division. © Fabio Taccola Coming down to the final moments before the gun, with Pepe Canonball (bow #3) and Supernikka (bow #10) within one boat length of the line, ready for the gun. In the Maxi Division, Pepe Canonball excelled with flying colors, improving each day being able to steal first position in the Maxi division, giving second place finishers Caol Ila R and third place Jethou and run for their money. “Our owner wants this – ultimately the class is very strong and will come back strongly in the future, like the TP52 did,” says Vascotto, tactician for Pepe Cannonball. Client Supernikka also had a great week, taking first overall in the Maxi RC division. Special congrats to Peter Dubens’ Spectre, taking 3rd in Maxi RC Division. “Starting is all-important and today we had a nice gap and managed that well and we were off – that created all of the opportunities up the first beat,” commented Spectre’s navigator, Wouter Verbraak. © Fabio Taccola Roberto Lacorte, owner and helmsman of SuperNikka had a well prepared crew, taking first in Maxi RC Division. “We had strong competitors this year, like Peter Dubens Spectre, Nick Rogers calling Tactics and the Swan 601, Lorina* from France. Supernikka’s winning factor was essentially the result of sheer boat speed, our boat handling, and crew work. We had two new gennakers for this race, and we noticed immediately a huge improvement in speed and our sailing angles which was one of the main contributions to our first place finish,” commented Alessio Razeto, headsail trimmer and team manager of SuperNikka. ©Fabio Taccola READ MORE

FROM SMALL TOWN SALES EXPERT TO VOLVO OCEAN RACE TEAM DIRECTOR Bruno Dubois Shares His Transition From Sailing To Team Director For Dongfeng Race Team A humble man whose passion for sailing is clear the moment you start talking with him. With an impressive list of sailing titles to his name, Bruno Dubois is one of Canada’s great sailing legends. Currently he is Team Director for Dongfeng Race Team in the 2017/2018 Edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, a title he’s held since the 2014/2015 edition with the team. That wasn’t his first rumble with the race though, he was Skipper of Rucanor Sport in the 1989/1990 edition of the Whitbread Round the World Race. He is also a two times Transat Jacques Vabre participant and Farr 45 European and World Champion – not that he would tell you, as he is most humble about his accomplishments. Previously to Team Director for Dongfeng, he was team director for Groupama Team France in the 2015-2017 America’s Cup and 14 years before that as Manager of North Sails Europe/France. Prior to heading North Sails Europe, Bruno was a familiar face at North Sails Toronto, previously North Sails Fogh Ltd. when Hans Fogh was involved, and Larry MacDonald was sales manager. His roots with the Toronto sailing circuit, as well as Quebec, run deep and highlight how the sailing world can take you just about anywhere. A cold, windy afternoon in the Race Village at Fort Adams State Park, Bruno took some time to speak with me about his sailing path, from North Sails Toronto, that has led him to where he is currently, team director for Dongfeng Race Team in the Volvo Ocean Race. https://youtu.be/CONKZWWrF0A READ MORE

NORTH TECHNOLOGY GROUP PARTNERS WITH 52 SUPER SERIES North Sails And Southern Spars Cement Their Position At The Pinnacle Of Grand Prix Monohull Racing © Martinez Studio 2018 marks the seventh season of the hugely successful 52 SUPER SERIES which is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet. As the world leader in grand prix racing technology for the ‘engine above deck’, North Technology Group has today partnered with the exciting multi-regatta tournament. As Official Partners, the 2018 series will be supported by the world leaders in sailmaking technology (North Sails), bespoke carbon masts and booms (Southern Spars), and composite rigging (Future Fibres). With the TP52 Class attracting the attention of teams with aspirations to win the America’s Cup in 2021, the 52 SUPER SERIES will see 12 boats from nine countries line up to compete across five week-long regattas this summer. With the entire fleet using Southern Spars and Future Fibres, and ten boats selecting North Sails 3Di, it was a natural progression for North Technology Group to offer its world class technologies, knowledge and services across the events as the only company in the world capable of designing and delivering all elements of the engine above deck. Commenting on the partnership, Paul Westlake, Executive Vice President and Grand Prix Expert at North Sails concluded, “North Sails has built its reputation amongst the TP52 Class over a number of years now to the point where we are recognized not only for designing and producing the best sails for their high performance needs, but for also offering our wider expertise and services through our global network of lofts and in-house Grand Prix sail designers. As the America’s Cup returns to monohull racing, the 52 SUPER SERIES continues to attract some of the best sailors in the world, and we are proud to be part of such a prestigious international circuit that will continue to grow the sport and deliver exciting racing on the water.” Commenting on the partnership, Mark Hauser, founder and Sales Director of Southern Spars said, “As a long time supplier to the 52 SUPER SERIES fleet, Southern Spars is proud to once again work with not only such a respected and innovative class but also one of the most challenging. We have a long and positive relationship with the series, delivering the finest and most innovative rigs to suit these exciting high speed grand prix monohulls. With all of the fleet sporting Southern Spars rigs, and nine with the latest generation of mast, it made perfect sense for us to become a Technical Partner. We are excited to be able to offer our world-class technology, expertise and service beyond our rigs across all of the events.” The races in the 52 SUPER SERIES are scored simply on the order of finishing the real time racing with no post-race time compensation. Each of the five regattas consists of a schedule of ten races, with a mixture of windward-leeward and coastal courses depending on the venue. Over the course of the season all results stand – there are no discards – and typically that means around 45 to 50 races in the season before the overall Champion is crowned at the end of the year. The current Champions Azzurra, racing with a North Sails 3Di inventory, have won the Championship three times (2012, 2015 and 2017), and are the only team alongside Quantum Racing to have taken the top spot. The TP52 has become the de-facto top monohull inshore race class in the world, appealing to the very top level professional sailors, discerning owners and teams. The all carbon fibre boats with powerful sail areas and deep slender keels remain very close in performance. 2018 has seen the launch of eight new TP52 hulls, many developed in partnership with North Sails Design Services and all using Southern Spars and Future Fibres for their rigging above deck. The 52 SUPER SERIES covers five trophies in Europe from May to September: 52 SUPER SERIES Sibenik Sailing Week: May 23rd – 27th, Sibenik, Croatia 52 SUPER SERIES Zadar Royal Cup: June 20th – 24th, Zadar, Croatia ROLEX TP52 World Championship 2018, July 17th – 21st, Cascais, Portugal 52 SUPER SERIES Sailing Week Puerto Portals, August 21st – 25th, Mallorca, Spain 52 SUPER SERIES Valencia Sailing Week: September 18th – 22nd, Valencia, Spain READ MORE

CHAMPAGNE SAILING AT THE VICE ADMIRAL'S CUP Catch up with the North Sails experts who were in and amongst the action © Rick Tomlinson The three day event took place in the Solent over the weekend with eight close races in glamour sailing conditions. Although the forecast was light for the whole weekend, the trusty Solent sea breeze filled in each day meaning all the one design fleets completed their racing series. North Sails experts Nick Bonner, Pete Redmond and Jonty Cook were out racing amongst the fleet. Here’s what they had to say about the sailing Pete Redmond sailing on Nifty & Sunrise, part of the newly formed Performance 40 fleet. “The Performance 40 fleet is super cool racing and quite a fun fleet to be in. There were seven boats in the fleet and everyone’s close at top marks because the boats are all a similar speed. One of the races all boats finished within 40 seconds of each other after IRC correction.” “Because it’s so tight, there's a big emphasis on crew work, so you can’t have a shocker and get away with it, which the coastal race proved. Anyone who couldn’t peel or who had the wrong sail up didn’t do very well.” Jonty Cook was sailing onboard J/111 Jitterbug “There were seven boats in the J/111 class, we normally race as part of the Performance 40 fleet. The weekend was pretty decent one design racing. It’s a similar situation to the Performance 40’s, everyone goes pretty much the same speed so it all comes down to crew manoeuvres. Jelvis, the winners, were particularly rapid. “Being able to pull manoeuvres such as goose winging all the way downwind in the light airs gives an extra edge to everyone else in the fleet which is what you need in One Design racing.” Nick Bonner was out on the water watching the racing, he was particularly interested in the Quarter Tonner fleet “Aguila had a full set of 3Di sails and they used them all weekend and were looking really good. Although they had a bad friday, they really turned it on for the rest of the regatta and won their class. The sails looked really smooth and shape-wise looked really nice with the sail shape holding in the correctly. “The feedback from the guys in the fleet was also really positive, especially those moving from 3DL to 3Di sails. Relative to the 3DL sail shapes, the 3Di is looking pretty accurate. We have a strong market share within the fleet which is great for us in such a great development class!” “Rumbleflurg in the Performance 40 fleet have a lot of potential. They have a new boat and a new crew, and I think they will just get better and better across the season. With a few tweaks to their boat and some more on the water practise, they will be up their at the front of the fleet.” “It was also great to see Toucan and Pandemonium looking strong in the HP30 class. Pandemonium has recently changed to North Sails, so we look forward to working with them and getting them up to the front.” In the J/111 fleet, Martin Dent’s Jelvis put in the performance of the weekend scoring 1-1-1-1-2-1-1-3 putting them clear in the lead with their Dutch rivals Sweeny. The J/109 fleet also had a strong turnout ahead of the championship next week, Simon Perry’s Jiraffe put in an equally stunning performance to win the regatta also scoring 6 bullets in the eight race series. The largest fleet in the regatta was the Quarter Tonner fleet. The final result saw all three podium finishers tied on points! Sam Laidlaw’s Aguila took the regatta, plugging 3 bullets across the series. Once again it was the battle of the King 40’s at the front end of the Performance 40 fleet. The two boats fought it out to the very last race, with Roger Bowden’s Nifty coming out on top by 2.5 points ahead of Michael Blair’s Cobra. In third place was the new boat to the fleet, Thomas Kneen’s JPK 1180, Sunrise. All the boats mentioned above are fitted out with North Sails inventories. If you are interested in updating your sails, get in touch with our local team to find out what we can do for you! Full results © Rick Tomlinson © Rick Tomlinson READ MORE

NORTH SAILS SUCCESS IN ISORA AND RC35'S IN SCOTLAND Maurice "Prof" O'Connell from North Sails Ireland reports that North-powered race boats had a "stunning" weekend's success on both sides of the Irish Sea at the Kip Regatta and ISORA race. Speaking this morning, Prof said "We are delighted to see our wonderful clients achieve such great results and are thrilled to be a small part of that." Kip Regatta Firstly, in Kip Regatta in Scotland, the competitive 12 boat RC 35 division, Pat Kelly's J109 literally STORMed the event scoring 2,2,1,1 over the four race series sailed in very light airs. With input from Nigel Young from North Sails Ireland, "Storm II" is IRC-optimised with both symmetric and asymmetric spinnakers. For Kip Regatta, she was flying a newly designed 3Di mainsail and Code 2 jib plus a very special new A3 reaching kite made from a high tenacity polyester woven fabric. Speaking after the event, "Storm II" helmsman Marty O'Leary said "She was going like a rocketship, the new main is noticeably quicker than the old one and the new A3 is mint - nearly a Code Zero. Once we had the lads on the rail, we were gone!" 1st RC35 Division (IRC) and Boat Of The Regatta J109 "Storm II" Pat Kelly Rush Sailing Club ISORA Secondly, In the 50 mile ISORA race on Saturday North-powered boats won all three IRC classes and the overall race. Prof was aboard Chris and Patanne Power-Smith's Aurelia, which took both the overall and IRC-0 win flying their new 155sqm composite A2 asymmetric. 1st Overall - J122 Aurelia - Chris & Patanne Power-Smith 1st IRC 0 - J122 Aurelia - Chris Power-Smith 1st IRC 1 - J109 Mojito - Peter Dunlop & Vicky Cox 1st IRC 2 - J97 Windjammer - Denis Power & Lindsay Casey READ MORE