NORTH SAILS BLOG

CLASSIC YACHT ROWDY WRAPS A SUCCESSFUL 2017 SEASON © Robert Deaves The one-hundred-year-old classic yacht Rowdy has completed another successful Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge around the Mediterranean. The season for Rowdy included wins at two of the most prestigious events on the Med - the Cannes Regates Royales and Les Voiles de St Tropez. She was outfit with a new North Sails inventory 2 years ago. After a successful season, we spoke to owner Donna Dyer about her 2017 racing experience. North Sails: Every classic yacht has a story, tell us about Rowdy’s origins. Donna Dyer: Rowdy is one of only a few NY 40s that has kept her original name. Howard and I purchased the boat in 2013 after a long history of success on the water. We have changed only a few things, including putting some of the original features back. Rowdy is a NY 40 Herreshoff Design, built in 1916 in New York. Holland Duell placed his order to buy the boat on 14 October 1915, took possession the following May and immediately started racing. He won many regattas during 25 years of ownership; his success was followed by many and was often covered in popular publications such as The New York Times. Following this initial success, sadly Rowdy fell on hard times before being purchased by Christopher Madsen (1928-2004), who completely restored her, and in 2006 Graham Walker assumed ownership of Rowdy. He raced her in the Mediterranean where they won many regattas, including multiple victories at the Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge. NS: Rowdy was outfit with new sails two seasons ago, can you share your experience working with the sails and how they may have contributed to your success? DD: Two years ago we changed to North Sails, this also coincides with our last two years of success. The sails are well designed and give us a winning edge. Our Favourite Regatta this Season was Cannes Regates Royales. We have won numerous regattas over the four years but never Cannes until this year, which was a fantastic achievement! "The best part about working with North Sails is we get wonderful support both at regattas and with sail design. We have only met fun, skilled, committed individuals who have added great value to our team and now are good friends." With the continuity of our great team, we hope to succeed next year and win many regattas and the overall Panerai. Congratulations to Donna and the team onboard Rowdy on a successful season! We look forward to watching your performance on-the-water next year. Learn more about Classic Yacht sails by North here, or get in touch with your local team READ MORE

Od początków w 1957 na B Street Pier w San Diego, North Sails wprowadził więcej technologicznych nowości niż wszystkie inne żaglownie razem wzięte. Postępy, które nadchodziły raz po razie, zdefiniowały w którą stronę będą podążać nowoczesne żagle. Z największym i najbardziej utalentowanym na świecie zespołem żaglomistrzów i projektantów North Sails zapoczątkował praktycznie każdy większy przełom w nowoczesnym żaglomistrzostwie. Wkraczając w swoją szóstą dekadę firma pozostaje na czele w projektowaniu i technologii. W 1982 North Sails była pierwszą firmą, która użyła komputera 3D do modelowania i projektowania żagli. Od tamtej pory firma opracowała swój własny pakiet programów pozwalających inżynierom zdefiniować i udoskonalać żagle w znacznie większym stopniu niż tradycyjna metoda “prób i błędów” (aby dowiedzieć się więcej na temat programów przeczytaj “North Design Suite”). Choć North’owski proces projektowania może wydawać się przesadzony w przypadku niektórych zastosowań, zapewnia maksymalną spójność i optymalną równowagę kształtu, rozciągliwości,wytrzymałości i ciężaru. Historycznie, projekty żagli na kursy pełne nie były tak zaawansowane numerycznie jak te do żeglugi na wiatr, a to z powodu trudności w dokładnej analizie przepływu powietrza wokół żagla. W 1995 zespół North Sails wraz z Uniwersytetem w Auckland stworzyli rewolucyjny tunel wiatrowy o “skręconym przepływie”, który symulował różnice w prędkości i kątą wiatru pozornego pomiędzy poziomem pokładu a górnymi częściami takielunku. Używając tego narzędzia projektanci North’a mogli obserwować modele żagli pod każdym kątem w ich warunkach pracy. Poprzez obserwację kształtu pracującego żagla można zmierzyć jak się zachowuje, kiedy szoty są poluzowane a żagiel zaczyna się skręcać. Modele posiadają takie same regulacje jak prawdziwe jachty - regulowane napięcie szotów, wysokość i położenie spinakerbomu i pozycjonowanie “dziób-rufa”. To pomaga optymalizować projekty, zarówno w geometrii 2D (wielkość żagla) jak i kształtowaniu w 3D. Ponieważ warunki w tunelu są zawsze optymalne (brak zmian kierunku wiatru, brak fal), konieczna jest ekstrapolacja wyników, jednak dane pozyskane z subtelnych zmian kształtu są nieocenione przy opracowywaniu nowej generacji North’owych żagli asymetrycznych, symetrycznych i genakerów, które pracują lepiej i są łatwiejsze w prowadzeniu. Rezultaty są imponujące - zwycięzcy w Vendée Globe, Volvo Ocean Race i Pucharu Ameryki na kursy pełne używali żagli North Sails. Pomogliśmy również armatorom wygrać niezliczoną ilość wyścigów na poziomie klubowym. Z kolei Gennakery z serii “G” sprawiają pływanie rekreacyjne jeszcze łatwiejszym. Nauka North’a zredefiniowała nowoczesne żaglomistrzostwo w XX wieku. Kontynuujemy naszą pracę, aby żeglowanie stało się jeszcze przyjemniejsze i przystępne dla żeglarzy XXI wieku. Dziś nasz cel jest taki sam jak na początku, w garażu w 1957: zaprojektować i wyprodukować żagle, które są lżejsze, wytrzymają dłużej i będą łatwiejsze w obsłudze. Źródło oryginału: North Sails READ MORE

DEFINING PARTNERSHIP North clients Dave and Mary Ellen Tortorello feel the power of teamwork on J/111 Partnership We caught up with Dave and Mary Ellen Tortorello, owners of J/111 Partnership and long-time clients of North Sails. Having competed in a large variety of regional regattas, including coastal and inshore PHRF, the pair are pleased with everything they have been able to accomplish, given all the right ingredients. Mary Ellen shared their story with us and we enjoyed hearing her explain how the experience has been so much fun. Through collaboration and new-found friendships, Partnership has defined a sailing experience that allows their team to perform at a higher level. Before switching to the J/111, Dave and Mary Ellen enjoyed racing a J/122 out of Mary Ellen's home club, Black Rock Yacht Club, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Their experience racing the J/122 instilled skills and best practices that apply well to the new program on Partnership. Both boats were outfit with complete North Sails inventories, the other constant being a focus on great crew, teamwork and exceptional preparation. "Every crew member brings a valuable skill set," said Mary Ellen. "Some like short course racing, others were great at distance racing. Most important is creating a supportive atmosphere, we back each other up 100%". Every sailing experience is one-of-a-kind. From an outsiders perspective, Partnership is a well-oiled machine, outfit with cutting-edge products and a great group of people onboard. While Dave is the skipper, Mary Ellen brings a lot to her team while trimming the headsail and managing the pit. Her sights were set on Block Island Race Week, where they would take first place in PHRF 1 after a fun-filled week of exciting racing. "When you get her above 12 knots, she planes and it’s so much fun going downwind." The Vineyard Race, a distance race out of Stanford Yacht Club and around Martha's Vineyard, would be the next test for Partnership. While Dave prefers short course racing these days, he sat this one out while Mary Ellen led the crew to finish first in their division and seventh overall. "Honey, I'm going to put together a fantastic crew & we're gonna go out there and bring it!" Partnership's season rounded out with an overall win in PHRF division at Black Rock Yacht Club during the Wednesday night series. At the AYC (American Yacht Club) Fall Series in Rye, NY they took first in their division and first overall in PHRF. Partnership is equipped with North Sails 3Di and the Tortorello's have pinned down a 'plug and play' set up they can tune easily. They notice the benefits and capability of their inventory, and continue to learn. “The encouragement we get from the North Sails team and service crew has contributed to our success over the years. We couldn't be happier with their support.” The Tortorello's have trusted North Sails for 10 years now, and have built a strong relationship with their sales team member, J/111 Expert Jack Orr, who has been there for them every step of the way. “I just want to thank Jack for being a terrific person, and for always representing North Sails in a professional manner. He always made sure we had the right sails for the season and kept us in the loop on the new products. He's such a great friend”. Another key North Sails contributor to the Partnership program is sails designer David Hirsch. His designs skills are amongst the top in the industry. Dave shared his wealth of knowledge in sail design & sailboat racing throughout the years to continually help us improve. We value his time, talent & friendship. The Tortorello's and the Partnership team enjoy regattas for many reasons. They love to be challenged, enjoy racing, and most of all, enjoy sailing with friends who share the same passion for the sport. “I’ve met some incredible people over the past 10 years racing Partnership, meeting other racers after regattas, making friends, trading stories, all good fun!" All the best to the Tortorello's, and props from all of us at North Sails for offering an example of hard work, dedication and spirit making all the difference. Click here for more information on North Sails J/111 products, or to speak with an expert. Dave and Mary Ellen accepting their trophy at American Yacht Club for winning the spring series Partnership at Block Island Race Week, securing their class win READ MORE

CONGRATULATIONS TO BAROSSA Congratulations for Neil McSherry’s and his team onboard Barossa who have won the DBSC Shipman Saturday series. With this being their second season on the boat, moving from the back of the fleet to the front of the pack is a vast improvement, with the help of a specially designed #3 Jib from the team at North Sails Ireland. READ MORE

ON TOUR IN SYDNEY AND PITTWATER FOR THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL TITLES. Aaron Cole from North Sails Australia sailed with his client Jeffrey Richardson on his 26' Div 1 Couta 'Georgia'. "We sailed in the 3 day regatta with our new Radian Gaff mainsail and Radial Jib. We placed in a few races and the competition was tight". Wagtail was probably the most on form boat and always finishing in the top 3 across 4 races! Close to 50% of the fleet (22) at the Sydney Regatta used NS. The National Titles are this coming weekend and we would like to wish our clients the very best of luck! NS has been very successful over the last few years since developing the Radial Gaff Mainsail and Jib. Much effort and time has gone in from the clients and North Sails Team, NS legend Noel 'Nitro' Drennan lived in Sorrento at the beginning of our development period and working with Nick Williams and Wayne Johnstone ('Wagtail' C86) they worked on both sail designs to improve matching up the depth/twist in the mainsail and the jib which leads to a nicely balanced boat... VIP on a long keeled class that was originally designed for catching 'Barracouta' fish in the coastal waters of bass strait! READ MORE

U organizaciji JK Labud, skoro svake godine u listopadu od 1927. godine, jedri se Mrdujska Regata -jedna je od najstarijih regata u Europi, a ovo je bilo divlje 86. izdanje. Organised by JK Labud, almost every year in October since 1927, the Mrdujska Regata is one of the oldest regattas in Europe and this was a wild 86th edition. Flota od 191 jedrilice imala je predviđen start u 11 sati ispred veličanstvene splitske luke. Snažna i na refule još jača bura počela je dan sa oko 20 čvorova. Otac i kći, Emil i Nađa Tomašević, prvi put su jedili sa svojim novim Seascape-18. Prevrnuli su se samo nekoliko sekundi prije početka starta. Nađa je ostala plivati za brodom, dok se Emil, vlasnik Ultra sailing schoola, držao za bok broda koji je vozio punim jedrima bez posade i udaljio se 100 metara od Nađe. Uz malu pomoć JK Labud regatnog odbora koji je izvukao Nađu iz mora i vratio je na brod uspostavili su ponovo kontrolu nad brodom i pravodobno startali. A fleet of 191 sailboats aimed to cross the start line at 11am on Saturday, right in front of the majestic, Split port. A strong and gusty Bura began the day with around 20knots. Father and daughter crew, Emil and Nađa Tomašević, sailing their new Seascape-18 for the first time, capsized just seconds before the start. Nađa was left behind in the choppy waters while Emil, owner of the Split-based, Ultra sailing school, was dragged several meters by the flailing boat. With a little help from the JK Labud race committee, they managed to remount, regain control and make it over the start line in good time. Posada Arhimeda iz JK Orsana pronađena je kako spušta jedra i ljuljaju se nakon što su izgubili kormilo na putu prema otoku Mrduji. Bili su prisiljeni povući se iz regate te ih je gumenjak regatnog odbora vratio u luku no posada je i dalje imala osmijeh na licima. Arhimed, JK Orsan, were found dropping sails and rocking around in the swell after they lost their rudder on the leg towards Mrduja island. They were forced to retire from the regatta and were towed back to the harbour by the race committee; the crew were still all smiles. Oko 13, vjetar je na refule dostigao 35-40 čvorova! Tri broda su se prevrnula u blizini Mrduje, a još se jedna nasukao na tlo otoka Brača. Opsežna služba spašavanja uključivala je Lučku kapetaniju Split, MRCC, gumenjak HGSS i gumenjak regatnog odbora. Srećom, svi koji su bili uključeni, osim brodova i ponosa, izašli su bez ozljede. At around 1pm, the wind had matured into a gusty, 35-40 knots; a further three boats capsized close to Mrduja and one more hit the ground of island Brač. The extensive rescue squad included the Split Port Authority, the MRCC, the HGSS Ship and the Race Committee Boat. Luckily, all those involved, except boats and egos, came out unhurt. Vlasnik broda TP52 Polet Furioso, Niko Dešković i njegova posada imali su frustrirajući dan. Prva dionica regate izgledala je obećavajuće dok su obilazili Mrduju na trećem mjestu. Međutim, s podignutim spinakerom dostigli su brzinu broda od 26,5 čvorova na vjetru od oko 35 čvorova i postali žrtvom snažne bure. Furioso je razbio cijeli arsenal jedara. Oštetili su spinaker, flok i glavno jedro te su se bili prisiljeni motorom vratit natrag u luku. Posada je uočena kasnije ispred hangara Labud, postavljajući ogroman spinaker na betonu procjenjujući štetu. Crew and owner, Niko Dešković, of TP52 Polet Furioso had a frustrating day. The first leg of the regatta was looking promising as they rounded Mrduja island in third place. However, with the spinnaker hoisted, they reached a boat speed of 26.5 knots in a wind of around 35 knots and fell victim to the strong Bura attack. Furioso blew their entire arsenal of sails. They damaged their spinnaker, jib and mainsail; forced to motor their way back into port. The crew were spotted later in front of the Labud hangar, laying out the huge kite on the concrete, assessing the damage. 27-godišnji skiper Miloš Radonjić iz JK Lahora Kotora i njegova crnogorska posada zauzeli su prvo mjesto na lijepoj TuttaTrieste 2. Novi, 18,5 metara dug brod s njegovim obrnutom provom iznimno je impresivan, gladak, oštar i seksi. Tijekom najjačeg vjetra od 35-40 čvorova, podigli su svoje najveće jedro i postavili novi rekord brzine broda od 26,5 čvorova. Prešli su ciljnu liniju s vremenom od 2,35 sati. Blizu, ali ipak nedovoljno blizu u usporedbi s postojećem rekordnom Mrdujske regate od 2,09 sati, koji drži Marina Kaštela iz JK Marina Kaštela. Ipak, Radonjić je postavio svoj vlastiti, časni rekord kao najmlađi skiper koji je pobijedio na Mrdujskoj regati. Bravo! 27 year old skipper, Miloš Radonjić from JK Lahor Kotor, and his Montenegrin crew took first place on the handsome Tutta Trieste 2. The new, 18.5 metre yacht, with it’s reverse-bow is remarkably impressive looking; sleek, sharp and sexy. During the strongest wind of 35-40 knots, they hoisted their largest sail and set a new, boat speed record of 26.5 knots. They crossed the finish line with a sailing time of 2.35 hours. Close, but not close enough, to the existing Mrdujska record time of 2.09 hours, held by Marina Kaštela of JK Marina Kaštela. However, Radonjić has set his own, honourable record as the youngest ever skipper to win the Mrdujska regatta. Bravo! Osam minuta iza Tutta Trsta 2, Ola iz JK Marina Kaštela, skipera Tonia Bulaje, prošla je ciljem na drugom mjeste. 12 metarska Akilaria-RC2 čvrstog izgleda, često postiže dobre rezultate i čini se da se posebno dobro održava u grubim uvjetima. Eight minutes behind Tutta Trieste 2, Ola of JK Marina Kaštela, skippered by Toni Bulaja, came in at second place. The sturdy-looking, 12 meter Akilaria-RC2 often achieves good results and seemed to hold especially well in the rough conditions. Treće mjesto osigurala je Fatamorgana 2, vlasnika i skippera Mate Arapova iz JK Mornara. Arapov, njegov brod i posada bili su pod posebnim povečalom za ovu regatu. Zvijezde ove regate jedrile su s home-made, novoinstaliranim, nikad prije testiranim, karbonskim foilovima. Vireći kroz palubu, izgledali su poput dva divovska, bijela, rebra. Jedrilica s Fred Flintstone igledom. Uzbuđenje je bilo u zraku jer su fotografije i videozapisi snimljeni iz pratećih gumenjaka poslani diljem Europe lokalnim jedriličarima koji nisu bili tamo da svjedoče o samom spektaklu. Third place was secured by Fatamorgana 2, owned and skippered by Mate Arapov from JK Mornar. Arapov, his yacht and crew were under particular scrutiny for this regatta. Stars of the show; they were sailing with home-made, newly-installed, never-before-tested, carbon foils. Sticking up through the deck, they looked like two giant, white, ribcage bones; a sailboat with a Fred Flintstone-esque, caveman appeal. Excitement was in the air as photos and videos were taken from the circling ribs and sent around Europe to locals who weren’t there to witness the spectacle themselves. Nažalost, kako je jedna foil radila bolje pod pritiskom od drugoga, Mate i njegova posada prešli su ciljnu liniju sa samo jednim foilom koji je ostao netaknut. Svakako izvrstan napor, ali sada natrag na ploču za crtanje. Rim nije izgrađen u jednom danu, a svi smo željni vidjeti 'Flying Fatamorgan 2 - Faza 2’. Sadly, after one foil was functioning better under the pressure than the other, Mate and his crew crossed the finish line with only one foil left intact. However, an excellent effort and now back to the drawing board. Rome wasn’t built in a day and we are eager to see ‘Flying Fatamorgan 2 - Phase 2’. Izvanredne nagrade za napor moraju također ići još dvojice jedriličara. Olimpijcu, windsurferu, Luki Mratoviću, koji se odlučio pridružiti regati velikih brodova na svom RS:X, imao foto završnici sa salonom 34 Green Pepper i završio regatu za 3 sata i 15 minuta. Dok je Milan Vujasinović, hrvatski reprezentativac u kalsi Finn, obišao Mrduju 9. i završio regatu na 24. mjestu za 3 sata i 40 minuta. Outstanding effort awards must also go out to two other sailors; Olympic Class windsurfer, Luka Mratović, decided to join the big-boat race on his RS:X Windsurfer, had a photo finish with Salona 34, Green Pepper, and completed the course in 3 hours and 15 minutes. While Milan Vujasinović, Olympic Finn Class sailor, rounded Mrduja in 9th and finished in 3 hours and 40 minutes at around 24th place. Četvrto mjesto osvojio je skipper Mario Hrvoj iz JK Špinut, na Toto. Petio odlazi Gringu 2 i Robertu Sandaliću iz JK Uskok-Zadar. Šesto mjesto Orion 2, pod vodstvom Ivana Kureta, JK Labud. Sedmo mjesto Mirko Fatović, JK Labud na Bare V. Na osmom mjestu, Barba Branko i Filip Zlatan Zoričić iz JK Labuda. Marin Mišura, JK Labud, na Croatel One došao je na devetom mjestu, a deseto mjesto je otišlo brodu Dubrovnik, pod vodstvom Denisa Vukasa iz JK Orsana. Fourth position is held by skipper Mario Hrvoj from JK Špinut, on Toto. Fifth went to Gringo 2 and Robert Sandalic, JK Uskok-Zadar. Sixth place Orion 2, helmed by Ivan Kuret, JK Labud. Seventh came Mirko Fatovic, JK Labud on Bare V. In eighth place, Barba Branko and Filip Zlatan Zoricic from JK Labud. Marin Mišura, JK Labud, on Croatel One came ninth and tenth place went to Dubrovnik, skippered by Denis Vukas from JK Orsan. Od 191 broda koji je ove godine sudjelovao na Mrdujskoj regati, 99 ih je obišlo otok Mrduju, a samo 55 brodova je završilo cijelu regatu. Mnogi su otišli kući s novim popisom popravaka. Out of the 191 yachts taking part this year, 99 rounded Mrduja island and only 55 boats actually finished. Many went home with a new repair list. Like Facebook za više. READ MORE

Jako pionier w nowoczesnym komputerowym wsparciu projektowania (CAD) dla potrzeb żaglowni, North Sails opracował North Design Suite™ (NDS), najbardziej wydajne i wszechstronne narzędzie projektowe w branży. Rodzina 14 wyspecjalizowanych modułów dostarcza NDS niebywałą zdolność i elastyczność w projektowaniu żagli i analizie takielunku/kadłuba. Każdy moduł może współpracować z innym stwarzając projektantom i inżynierom North’a możliwość wirtualnego testu łodzi w nieskończenie wielu warunkach zanim w ogóle zostanie zbudowana. NDS znacząco poszerza możliwości projektantów do porównywania różnych kombinacji maszt-żagiel i dokładnego zbadania wyników. Co równie ważne, NDS znacząco skraca czas dostrajania i dopracowywania już po zbudowaniu jachtu. Poznajcie the Suite… Desman™ Tworzy trójwymiarowy model łodzi i takielunku. Projektanci Northa proces projektowania żagla zaczynają od użycia Desmana, szkieletu North Design Suite. Wymiary masztu, geometria takielunku i punkty mocowań, położenie urządzeń do trymowania i wymiary żagli są ściśle określone dla konkretnej łodzi. System określa mechaniczne właściwości takielunku i żagli (momenty bezwładności, powierzchnię, sztywności materiałów i moduły żagla). W późniejszym procesie, “Membrain” użyje tych danych do określenia deformacji żagli pod obciążeniem, tak samo jak każdy element stałego i ruchomego olinowania czy naprężenia w szotach i fałach. Spiral™ Wprowadza żagle na modelu Desmana Spiral pozwala projektantowi na wprowadzenie trójwymiarowego projektu żagla na strukturę z Desmana. Trójwymiarowy kształt jest zdefiniowany jako kształtowalna membrana, bez uwzględnienia żadnych sił wiatru. Każdy wymiar żagla może być precyzyjnie dostosowany zarówno w osi poziomej i pionowej pozwalając Spiralowi zaaplikować projekty grotów, sztaksli, spinakerów i żagli asymetrycznych. Warps™ Definiuje strukturę żagla Tym programem projektant definiuje kompozycję materiałów w żaglu. Dla żagli panelowych potrzeby tkaniny lub laminatu są ustalone i generuje się poszczególne bryty. Dla kompozytowych żagli formowanych 3D układy i gęstość taśm jest ustalana i aplikowana w tej samej przestrzeni trójwymiarowej w jakiej żagiel będzie pracował. Flow™ Aplikuje oddziaływanie wiatru na żagiel i kalkuluje powstające siły. Używając Flow, projektant wprowadza ciśnienie wiatru na żagle stworzone wcześniej za pomocą Spiral i Warps. Ciśnienie róźni się na poszczególnych obszarach żagla, bazując na projekcie żagla, sile i kierunku przepływu powietrza. Flow także raportuje dane o napędzie i momentach działających na żaglach, które później mogą być wykorzystane przez moduł North Sails VPP dla określenia wydajności żagla. Membrain™ Balansuje ciśnienie wiatru, kształt żagla, sily na takielunku. Membrain używa pola ciśnień dostarczonego przez Flow, aby zdeformować zestaw maszt-żagiel jako jednolitą strukturę. Kiedy taka struktura jest zdeformowana, kształt żagla się zmienia, więc Membrain wysyła te zmiany z powrotem do Flow, aby nabyć zaktualizowane pola ciśnień na zdeformowanej powierzchni. To znowu zmienia kształt żagla w Membrain, więc proces jest powtarzany, dopóki nie uzyska się balansu pomiędzy ciśnieniem a deformacją kombinacji maszt-żagiel. Poprzez dostosowanie zmiennych w projektowaniu żagla i takielunku, projektant może użyć Membrain do udoskonalenia i optymalizacji kształtów żagli, projektowania masztów, regulacji takielunku i innych detali. Virtual Wind Tunnel™ (VWT) Modeluje przepływ powietrza na żaglach VWT pozwala projektantowi na wizualizację i analizę kształtu żagla, działających na nim sił, stabilności kształtu i łatwości w trymowaniu. Jest to pierwszy symulator przepływu wiatru zarówno na żagle do kursów pełnych jak i ostrych, a ponieważ VWT może pracować z danymi definiującymi żagiel i takielunek z konkretnej łodzi, zapewnia niesłychaną dokładność. Pierwotnie opracowany wspólnie przez Dartmouth College Thayer School of Engineering i North Sails, VWT jest obecnie zarządzany przez Stevens Institute of Technology. VWT jest w stanie zintegrować się z Membrain, pozwalając na optymalizację kształtów żagli zarówno do żeglugi pod wiatr jak i z wiatrem przy praktycznie nieograniczonej różnorodności wiatrów i stanów akwenu. North VPP™ and Hull VPP Łączy dane dotyczące takielunku, żagli i kadłuba. North'owskie VPP i Hull VPP to potężne narzędzia pozwalające na efektywne zintegrowanie danych takielunku, żagli i kadłuba, dając projektantom jachtów i żagli możliwość analizy całej łodzi - od topu masztu po czubek kila jako zjednoczony działający system. Najpierw żagle, takielunek konkretnego jachtu są generowane przez Flow, Membrain i VWT. Osobno Hull VPP generuje dane hydrodynamiczne dla tego samego kadłuba. Oba zestawy danych wprowadzane są następnie do North VPP. Na potrzeby niektórych analiz North’s Das Boot™ jest używany jako jeszcze skuteczniejsza alternatywa dla Hull VPP. W wyniku integracji, udoskonalenia żagla mogą być dopasowane do charakterystyk konkretnego jachtu jak również zoptymalizowane do docelowych warunków żeglowania. North VPP i Hull VPP to znaczący krok naprzód dla projektantów North Sails, pozwalając im dostosowywać żagle dla praktycznie każdej łodzi z niespotykaną precyzją. Race Model™ Bada efekty zmian w żaglach i takielunku, ich wpływ na rating i vice versa. Race Model pozwala projektantom Northa wprowadzać konkretne zmiany w ożaglowaniu, takielunku charakterystykach statecznościowych, w kursach zarówno na wiatr jak i z wiatrem oraz przewidzieć ich oddziaływanie na rating praktycznie w dowolnej formule. Proces ten może również działać w drugą stronę, aby znaleźć zmiany pozwalające osiągnąć określony rating. SPP™ Szybko porównuje osiągi pomiędzy różnymi projektami i trymami żagli. Sail Performance Prediction (SPP) pozwala projektantom Northa na szybkie porównanie nowego projektu do projektu wzorcowego. Dodatkowo SPP może sięgać po dane wydajności kadłuba na podstawie świadectwa pomiarowego, jeżeli nie dysponuje się wystarczającą ilością danych aby skorzystać z VPP. Sailect™ Tworzy zestawienie żagli w przyjaznym dla użytkownika formacie. Dobra karta doboru żagli jest jak instrukcja obsługi dla Twojego inwentarzu żagli. Dla wyścigów przybrzeżnych lub morskich kluczową sprawą jest mieć w gotowości kolejny żagiel do postawienia po znaku kursowym lub przy zmianie warunków wietrznych. Sailect jasno przedstawia optymalny zakres rzeczywistych prędkości i kątów wiatru dla konkretnych żagli, pozwalając aby cały czas były używane w najlepszych dla siebie warunkach. Dobry dobór żagla podczas podmiany minimalizuje także częstotliwość zmian. SailScan II™ Porównuje kształt żagla do kształtu z projektu SailScan II porównuje zdjęcia kształtu żagla z projektem stworzonym w Membrain. Jest to wartościowe narzędzie określające czy żagiel potrzebuje korekt w kształcie. Wspomaga także inżynierów i specjalistów produkcji żagli North Sails w doborze materiałów i metod produkcji, aby poprawić żywotność naszych żagli. Router Używa historycznych danych pogodowych z danego akwenu, aby przewidzieć wydajność żagli. Router pobiera wykresy biegunowe jachtu, łączy je z historycznymi lub przewidywanymi danym pogodowymi na konkretnej trasie, a następnie “żegluje” jachtem od startu do mety. Porównanie może być przeprowadzone pomiędzy różnymi kombinacjami zestawów żagli, pozwalając projektantom Northa na wybór najszybszych żagli na konkretny fragment trasy. Router został opracowany przez matematyka Northa Michael’a Richelson’a pomagając zwyciężyć załodze jachtu Illbruck w regatach Volvo Ocean Race 2001-2002. Źródło w oryginale: North Sails READ MORE

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NORTH SAILS AUSTRALIA NEEDS EXPERIENCED SALES AND SERVICE STAFF Create your path in yachting with North Sails Australia. North Sails Australia has positions available for both sales and service staff. Join the world’s largest Sailmaking company With over 29 lofts and manufacturing facilities worldwide that build sails from One Design Optimist’s to 85 Metre Superyachts there are endless opportunities. North Sails is the official Sailmaker of the 35th Americas Cup and 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race. Contact: For more information, please call Michael Coxon on 02 9998 8500. READ MORE

HENRY BOSSETT RETIRES AFTER 42 YEARS OF SAILMAKING Owner Henry Bossett retires from North Sails, leaving New Jersey region in the very capable hands of long-time partner, Ron LaNeve On the eve of owner Henry Bossett’s retirement, the North Sails team in New Jersey embraces changing times after 42 years in business. While the loft location is closing its doors, Ron LaNeve will become our traveling sails-man, providing expert sail advice and North’s signature Certified Service to our New Jersey customers. North Sails would like to thank Henry for over two decades of fantastic service. After opening his doors in 1975 (then operating out of his garage as Bossett Sailmakers), Henry established the loft in New Jersey in 1982 as Shore Sails and converted to North in 1995. Sailors throughout the country sought service and guidance from Henry and the small New Jersey team, for activities ranging from offshore sailing to speed races on ice. “Henry is very methodical in everything he does. He checked and double checked to make sure everything was right before cutting for a new sail. He’d measure not twice but three times. I was lucky enough to learn from him and adopt these practices,” said Ron, who began working with Henry out of the New Jersey loft in 1987. It didn’t take long for their network to grow far past Henry’s haven on the Jersey Shore. By specializing in one design sail production - from design to finishing touches - Henry was able to leverage his experience in the field while building sails on the loft floor. From small boat one-design classes like the E Scow, M16 Scow and the International 210, to the Prindle, A-Class Catamaran, and Tornado multihulls, Henry’s customer base spread across the U.S. and abroad to parts of Europe. In the Tornado, Henry qualified for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow with crew Jeff Kent - unfortunately, the same event President Carter boycotted due to Russia’s occupation of Afghanistan. Nonetheless, the pair continued racing the Tornado and were consistently ranked top five in the world. Of course, his passion for sailing bridged onto hard water where Henry became known as a top ice boat sailor and sailmaker, namely in the DN and Skeeter classes. He earned his reputation on the race course by winning three World Championships in the DN (1977, 1981, 1983) and four North American Championships (1982, 1983, 1990, and 1993). Some time ago... Henry leading the pack with fellow DN sailor, Meade Gougeon, just behind Henry’s customers appreciated his keen eye for design and strict attention to detail. As Deb Whitehorse wrote for iceboat.org, “I’ll never forget the day Skeeter skipper Tom Hyslop talked about getting a “new Henry” which was the way that Skeeter and Renegade sailors referred to any sail from Henry Bossett.” Ron continued, “We thought jobs through from beginning to end. Henry is bright; he forced me to think ahead and think creatively for the best result. In 31 years - I can track the mistakes we made on one hand. Being thorough and detail oriented kept us on track and paid off. It was an honor and a pleasure working with Henry.” So what’s next for Henry? Still plenty of sailing, but now he’ll be carrying his camera instead of a measuring tape. “I'm looking forward to spending more time exploring the beauty and history of the East coast with my wife, who has supported me from the beginning, and with my children and grandchildren who have been there for me every step of this journey also,” he said. “Sailing is something that's in my blood, my passion doesn't disappear just because I put away my sewing machine. Now I'll have my camera along with me instead of my measuring tape.” “I'd just love to thank all of my friends, supporters, and customers throughout the years. It's been one heck of a ride, and I've loved every minute of it. Lastly, the reality of this change is as our wedding invitations said all those years ago, in a quote by Gwen Frostic - “In a continuous living cycle each end becomes a beginning and life is becoming, always becoming…“ To honor Henry’s retirement, we’ll offer this 1986 advertisement from Chapstick, in which he proves looking good is still possible while sailing over ice at 40 knots! Thanks again to Henry for a fantastic tenure with North Sails. https://youtu.be/lh9CxTCacS8 Henry at the helm, sailing the Tornado with crew Mike O'Brien READ MORE

Hulp bij het bestellen van de juiste zeilen Tips en advies van onze experts 1. Nieuwe zeilen bestellen, de meest voordelige tijd is het najaar Denk in het najaar alvast na over nieuwe zeilen of advies over eventuele aanpassingen in uw huidige garderobe. Zo geeft u uzelf de tijd om goed na te denken over wat u wilt, zijn de zeilen op tijd klaar voor het nieuwe zeilseizoen en kunt u wellicht gebruik maken van onze winteraanbiedingen. Onze experts spreken graag samen met u de verschillende opties door en sturen u op basis daarvan een eerste offerte voor uw nieuwe zeilen. Voor aanschaf van nieuwe zeilen profiteert u op dit moment ook nog van onze najaarskorting. 2. Raadpleeg onze experts (op locatie) Laat u voordat u nieuwe zeilen goed informeren door één van onze experts over alle mogelijkheden en opties, het zijn er vaak zoveel meer dan u zelf kunt bedenken. Ook de mogelijkheden in de zeilwereld veranderen snel, prijsverschillen worden kleiner en materialen steeds duurzamer. Ook in de weekenden zijn we bereikbaar en beschikbaar voor service en advies op diverse evenementenlocaties. Via onze website en social media proberen we u op de hoogte te houden van waar de North Sails experts te vinden zijn. Niet alleen wanneer u graag informatie en advies ontvangt over nieuwe zeilen, maar ook als u tijdens een evenement schade vaart aan één van uw zeilen, kunt u bij ons terecht voor hulp. 3. Mooi of duurzaam? Met de komst van 3Di NORDAC hebben we een prachtig high perfomance product in huis voor toerzeilers; een duurzaam en betaalbaar zeil. 3Di NORDAC is een specifiek uniek cruising product voor de toerzeiler en heel goed betaalbaar wanneer u op zoek bent naar een beter zeil om de performance van uw boot te verbeteren , voor uw volgende vakantie naar Engeland bijvoorbeeld. Uiteraard leveren wij ook nog steeds onze radiaal zeilen. We merken dat sommige zeilers radiaal zeilen toch nog mooier vinden dan een compleet wit 3Di NORDAC zeil. Maar met een miniem prijsverschil van slechts 2 tot 3 % zou het zonde zijn als NORDAC niet de voorkeur krijgt. 3Di NORDAC zeilen zijn een stuk duurzamer en blijven er prachtig op staan. Heeft u vragen? Neem contact op met één van de experts van North Sails Benelux voor meer informatie. READ MORE

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SALIDA DE LA VOLVO OCEAN RACE La Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 comienza el próximo mes en Alicante. © Ainhoa Sanchez/Volvo Ocean Race El Race Village del puerto de salida abrirá al público del 11 al 22 de octubre, con acceso libre y un montón de actividades para todas las edades en horario ininterrumpido de 10 a 22 horas. El 14 de octubre acogerá la regata In-Port y el 22 de octubre despedirá a la flota, que partirá a las 13:00h rumbo a Lisboa para disputar la primera de las 11 etapas en las que se divide el recorrido de esta edición. Como velería oficial de la Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, desde North Sails os invitamos a que os acerquéis a Alicante para vivir en primera persona la regata oceánica por excelencia. Más información sobre la presencia de North Sails en la Volvo Ocean Race, aquí READ MORE

SALÓN NÁUTICO DE BARCELONA Entre los próximos 11 y 15 de octubre participaremos en el Salón Náutico de Barcelona con un stand espectacular en el que desplegaremos toda nuestra gama de productos. © 42n.es No faltará la última incorporación al catálogo North Sails, la 3Di NORDAC, la vela de tecnología 3Di para barcos de crucero de pequeña y mediana eslora que acaba de ser elegida “Mejor Producto Nuevo” en el Newport International Boat Show. Te esperamos en el stand B101. Más información sobre North Sails en el Salón Náutico de Barcelona, aquí READ MORE

REFORZAMOS EL ARSENAL DE LA VOLVO OCEAN RACE En su condición de velería oficial de la Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, North Sails dotará a los VO65 de un inventario de velas íntegramente fabricado con su tecnología 3Di que incluirá el nuevo J0, una polivalente vela desarrollada a partir de los testimonios de los equipos de la anterior edición. © Jen Edney North Sails se convirtió en proveedor oficial de velas de Volvo Ocean Race en la edición 2014-15, pero su relación con la vuelta al mundo se remonta a la década de 1980. De cara a la edición 2017-18, la velería líder mundial ha revisado y mejorado el arsenal de velas de los monotipos VO65 en base a la información recopilada durante la pasada VOR y los testimonios de sus participantes. “La conclusión más valiosa que recibimos tras la pasada edición fue que existía un agujero entre el J1 y el Código Cero”, explica Gautier Sergent, experto oceánico de North Sails. “Entre 10 y 15 nudos de viento, las tripulaciones tenían que hacer constantes cambios de vela para encontrar la mejor configuración. Nos fijamos el objetivo de cubrir ese hueco e introdujimos un nuevo J0 que encaja perfectamente entre ambos”. El J0 tiene una superficie de 171 metros cuadrados, a medio camino entre el J1 (132 m2) y el Código Cero (305 m2). “En los Volvo 70 teníamos el J1 solapado detrás del obenque, mucho más grande que el actual, ya que nuestro J1 es ahora al 100%, no tiene solape con la mayor y es relativamente pequeño”, explica Xabi Fernández, patrón del MAPFRE. Una más a bordo La regla VO65 en la edición 2014-15 limitaba el inventario a bordo a siete velas (más tormentín). La incorporación del J0 supone aumentar a ocho velas (más tormentín) el menú entre el que las tripulaciones pueden elegir para obtener el máximo rendimiento de sus barcos. Según Gautier Sergent, supondrá una reducción en el número de cambios de vela de proa: “Encaja muy bien en la nueva configuración del recorrido, que ahora discurre más millas por el Pacífico Sur. Los equipos no tendrán que virar o trasluchar cada día, así que realizarán menos cambios de vela”. La nueva incorporación está recibiendo buenas críticas de los participantes, cuya mayor preocupación es ahora saber cuál es su rango de utilización. Inicialmente diseñada para condiciones de ceñida en brisas ligeras entre ocho y 15 nudos, el J0 está demostrando ser mucho más polivalente. Tras semanas de entrenamientos, Xabi opina que “es una vela tirando a rápida, que nos ayuda en vientos ligeros de ceñida, y a medida que vas abriendo rumbo, con más viento. Facilita que el barco no tenga que ir sobrepasado con el Código Cero, como nos pasaba antes”. Pascal Bidegorru, tripulante del chino Dongfeng, explica que “la vela tiene un rango enorme desde ceñida con brisa ligera, pasando por rumbo de través, y hasta una dura empopada”. Su compañero Daryl Wislang, campeón de la pasada edición con Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, apunta: “North Sails ha realizado un magnífico trabajo; han escuchado nuestros comentarios y han desarrollado la vela que necesitamos. Vamos a usarla mucho”. Más novedades El J0 es la mayor novedad del arsenal de velas a bordo de los VO65, pero no la única. De acuerdo con Xabi Fernández, todo el inventario ha sido mejorado. “En general, han ajustado todas las velas: El Código Cero es un poco más pequeño y más plano que el anterior (pudimos verlo en la Leg 0, en la que algunos barcos usaron el antiguo), el fraccional es un poco más pequeño y la mayor se ha optimizado en la curva de grátil. El A3 es ahora de 3Di en vez de Cuben Fiber, un poco más plano, y vemos que es la vela que más ha mejorado”. Este cambio supone que todas las velas a bordo de los VO65 serán por primera vez de 3Di, exactamente en su gama RAW específica para máximas prestaciones, con la que se logra la mejor relación peso-rigidez sin añadir las cintas exteriores. Sólo el tormentín seguirá siendo de Spectra. “3Di es otra historia” Desde su aparición, la tecnología 3Di se ha demostrado como el arma definitiva para circunnavegar el planeta, y desde 2010 ha propulsado a todos los barcos de cada podio de la VOR. Tras debutar en la edición 2005-06, Xabi Fernández ha vivido de primera mano la revolución que supuso la llegada del 3Di, la tecnología exclusiva de North Sails que domina los océanos. “El 3DL ya fue un avance importante en aquellos años. Tuvimos unas velas de 3Di en el IMOCA en 2010, y una vez que se incorporó a la VOR en 2011, pensamos: esto es otro mundo; esto sí que es lo que toca”. La llegada del 3Di supuso eliminar una preocupación de las mentes de las tripulaciones: Literalmente, no se rompen. “Con el 3Dise ha ganado mucho no sólo en fiabilidad, sino también en prestaciones, porque no se deforman. Grandísima parte del entrenamiento del MAPFRE lo estamos haciendo con las velas de la edición anterior, como la mayor, que dio toda la vuelta al mundo y sigue en muy buen estado. Apenas se deforman y no se rompen, pero si tienes cualquier pequeña rotura se arreglan con un poquito de sikaflex y tejido de 3Di. Es otra historia”. Inventario de velas a bordo del VO65 Mayor: North Sails 3Di RAW de 161,8 m2 J0: North Sails 3Di RAW de 171,3 m2 J1: North Sails 3Di RAW de 132 m2 J2: North Sails 3Di RAW de 86,6 m2 J3: North Sails 3Di RAW de 44,5 m2 A3 (gennaker): North Sails 3Di RAW de 375 m2 Código Cero: North Sails 3Di RAW de 305 m2 Código Cero Fraccional: North Sails 3Di RAW de 235 m2 Tormentín: North Sails Spectra de 29,7 m2 READ MORE

Liebe Kundinnen und Kunden, am Montag, den 02. Oktober sowie am Dienstag, 03. Oktober (Tag der Deutschen Einheit ) bleibt unser Büro in Hamburg geschlossen. Am Mittwoch sind wir wieder ab 09:00 Uhr für Sie erreichbar. Unsere Kollegen am Bodensee in Langenargen sind am Montag mit einer kleinen Besatzung im Einsatz. Gerne können Sie uns eine E-Mail schreiben, und wir rufen Sie dann am Mittwoch zurück. Ihr North Sails Team READ MORE

North Sails service en advies op locatie Waar zijn de North Sails Benelux experts te vinden in november? Photo Credits: Jasper van Staveren North Sails service en advies op locatie in oktober en november De experts van North Sails Benelux werken vanuit de vestigingen in Almere, Rotterdam en Stabroek. Bent u in het weekend een evenement aan het varen dan is de kans groot dat één van onze vijf North Sails experts in de Benelux ook meezeilt. Heeft u tijdens het evenement vragen over uw North Sails zeilen of zijn er reparaties nodig? De experts van North Sails Benelux staan zeven dagen per week voor u klaar met service en advies. In oktober en november kunt u onze North Sails experts vinden op de volgende evenementen: 29 oktober IJspegel Trophy Scheveningen Zondag 29 oktober varen Wouter Kollmann en Nic Bol beiden mee met de IJspegel Trophy op Scheveningen. Wouter vaart op de A31 van Willem Schopman en Nic vaart op de Griel van Robert Jockin. 9-12 november Cannes Dragon Winter series Joost Houweling vaart in november de Cannes Dragon Winter series 14 t/m 16 november: METSTRADE Show, RAI Amsterdam Van 14 t/m 16 november zijn de experts van North Sails Benelux te vinden op de METSTRADE Show, standnummer North Sails 07.155. Meer informatie op https://www.metstrade.com 12 en 26 november: IJspegel Trophy Scheveningen Jacco Huijgen zeilt 12 en 26 november de IJspegel Trophy wedstrijden mee op de Flying Dolphin van Willem Ellemeeet. READ MORE

UN GRAND BRAVO AUX TANDEMS QUI ONT PARTICIPÉ À LA DOUBLE! Samedi dernier, une centaine de courageux équipages se sont placés sur la ligne de départ de La Double, régate qui, comme son nom l’indique, se court par équipe de deux. Père-fils, monsieur-madame, frère-sœur, amis, l’ambiance était belle et l’esprit de convivialité se faisait clairement ressentir au Club Nautique de Versoix ! Prévenus du petit temps (très, très petit par moments…) grâce au bulletin météo que notre équipe a distribué le matin même, les équipages n’ont pas été découragés en voyant le parcours raccourci pendant la course, et presque tous ont réussi à finir dans les temps ! Félicitations toutes particulières aux duos montés sur le podium en temps compensé, tous équipés par nos voiles au logo bleu et blanc : Thierry Paridant et Pierre Buholzer, amis de longue date, sur Météorite (Modulo 105), Jacques Emery et son fils Loik sur Makani (Melges 32), et Yves Tournier et Loic Savuin sur Triumvat (Luthi F10). North Sails est fier d’être partenaire de ce club et de cette régate depuis longtemps, et toute l’équipe espère pouvoir y participer encore de nombreuses années ! READ MORE

UNE VICTOIRE POUR LES VOILES NORTH LORS DE CHAQUE EPREUVE DU D35 TROPHY! Une jolie performance pour North Sails sur le circuit des D35 cette année. Une première place sur chaque épreuve, ainsi que la première et deuxième place du classement général ! © Loris Von Siebenthal Les catamarans lémaniques ne s’essoufflent pas et continuent à attirer beaucoup de passionnés de voile à travers toute l’Europe. Des champions de la Volvo Ocean Race, des participants au Vendée Globe, à l’America’s Cup ou des médaillés olympiques : la lutte a été intense lors des 8 épreuves qui ont composé la saison de mai à septembre. Tout au long de la saison, les professionnels ont validé le combo gagnant : Grand-voile 3Di 870 Raw, Drifter 3Di 870 Raw, Foc 3Di 870 Endurance, et Gennaker 3DL hybrid carbon/aramid. Nous adressons nos félicitations et un clin d’œil tout particulier aux membres de l’équipe North Sails Suisse qui naviguent à bord de ces bateaux : Jonas Schagen (Okalys), Julien Monnier (Swisscom), Coraline Jonet, Arnaud Psarofaghis et Pierre-Yves Jorand (les trois sur Alinghi). Rendez-vous en 2018 pour une nouvelle saison qui, nous l’espérons, sera tout aussi passionnante ! READ MORE

You would not think there was much in common with a foiling America’s Cup yacht and a cruising boat but you could be surprised. The technology used to help power these amazing craft to 40 plus knots is now used in cruising sails. I can’t see the latest “cruising” production yacht up on foils just yet, though the level of construction and design has been advancing rapidly. These boats are super cool and no slow coaches either. So how are cruising sail designs and construction keeping up, and how does this align itself with a foiling catamaran? 3Di Nordac tape laying head assembly The North Sails range of 3Di range of sails has traditionally been used for race boats. High modulus aramid and carbon fibres molded on a full sized mold. The America’s Cup jibs were made exactly this way by North Sails as are all the sails in the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race. This same technology is now used with dacron sails. Dacron has proved itself over many years to be a reliable, tough and affordable material, so making molded sails from Dacron seemed a logical step. The introduction of 3Di Nordac this year to the North Sails product range has shifted the goalposts. These sails are 100% polyester fibres, molded and engineered for maximum durability and strength, making them excellent cruising sails. It’s all quite technical using a robotically-controlled gantry laying pre impregnated fibers with thermoset resin to your sails specific design and layed up over a full size male mould. Sounds pretty cool for a cruising boat! But the reality is dacron sails are so reliable it seemed a natural progression for this technology to move forward into the broader sailing fraternity. The development of 3Di Nordac dacron molded sails has been tested over the last year on demanding ocean cruising boats and charter fleets. The results have been impressive. The technology, advancements in longevity, design and construction will make the tradition of white dacron sails for cruising boats stay with us well into the future. 3Di Nordac in action If considering a more traditional sail construction the trend towards radial cut sails is now the new standard. The advantage of radial cut sails versus the original cross cut sail is superior shape holding. The radial design means North designers can place the panel strength along the load path of the sails. They also look pretty cool as well! North Sails Radian cloth is a dacron specifically designed for radial cut sails and combined with our Tour laminated range for larger boats ensures those sailors which still like their sails sewn with thread are well catered for. Both products are North Sails in house manufactured cloths specifically designed for our radial cut traditional panelled sails. Radian furling headsail At the pinnacle of cruising sails is the Endurance range. These sails are direct America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race trickle down technology. These sails have been hurtled around the globe on the Volvo Ocean Race, Vendee Globe and the Jules Verne. The trickle down from the Grand Prix events doesn't start and finish with sails however. The Vendee Globe and similar events has driven big advances in sail handling technology all of which are very applicable for the cruising sailor. If you are old enough to remember some of the first furling system for sails they were probably better off being used for a clothes line. Little plastic things with stretchy ropes. If the sail did furl it was a miracle and when it was re deployed the sail looked more like corrugated iron with the expected rust stains. Furling large sails is now seen as the norm with Super Maxis, Vendee Globe competitors and Volvo Ocean racers all using various furling systems to enable them to go faster and safer with less effort. Furling sails not just for cruising The advances in rope technology have allowed for furling sails to have super strong soft rope forestays in the luff of the sails. For instance a sail on an inner forestay like a Number #4 type jib can be hoisted on soft rope inner forestays with a furler. If it gets too windy simply hoist the Number #4 jib, furl up the Genoa and deploy the new jib. If sailing cracked sheets it may be possible to fly both the Genoa and Jib at the same time getting to your destination quicker. Want to get there even quicker and add an even larger furling sail. Reaching and Running sails are now designed with furling systems. The larger the sails become, the more we rely on the new sail construction technology for strength, weight and design to enable ease of handling. G series Gennaker Cruising sailors can now enjoy a level of sail design, construction and handling systems normally only available to the grand prix racer. What to take from all this? The current selection of sails and products to suit your next adventure is huge. Whether it be a coastal cruise or a global expeditions. All cruising sailors aim to make the journey safe, reliable and enjoyable. There has never been a better time to be cruising. For more information on all North cruising products, please visit our website at https://northsails.com/sailing/en/cruising Ian “Biggles” Johnson READ MORE

CRITERIUM PSAROS 33 A PORQUEROLLES Le weekend passé, cinq Psaros33 avaient pris la direction de Porquerolles, dans le sud de la France, pour disputer 4 régates dans de belles conditions de mistral ! Malgré un vent trop soutenu (monté jusqu’à 25 nœuds) qui a forcé les organisateurs à annuler le dernier jour de régate, les équipages se sont régalés. Un grand bravo à Luc Munier et son équipe Vincent, Adrien, Jean-Marie et Mathieu, qui a remporté les 4 manches à bord de « PBS », équipé d’un foc 3Di Race ! Luc Munier, à la barre de « Banque Pâris Bertrand Sturdza » « Nous avons passé un excellent weekend à Porquerolles. Les conditions étaient musclées… Nous avons eu de la chance de pouvoir naviguer ! Les conditions nous ont permis de sortir notre nouveau foc 3Di Race, plus lourd que notre drifter. C’est une très belle voile, qui nous a fait gagner en vitesse. Combiné à l’expérience de Patrick Huguenin – qui nous a rejoint pour le weekend – et à nos choix stratégiques, c’est ce qui nous a permis de remporter ce Criterium. » Retour en vidéo à bord de PBS (© Mathieu Meyer) Félicitations à tous les équipages présents : 2ème FUJIN de Jean Psarofaghis 3ème PETREL de Thierry Fauchier Magnan 4ème BIG'S de Claude Felhmann 5ème JOKER de Jean Olivier Kerrc READ MORE

PODIUM 100% NORTH POUR LE CHAMPIONNAT DES GRAND SURPRISE DE FOUNEX Encore une belle performance pour les voiles North Sails ! Lors du championnat des Grand Suprise les 16 et 17 septembre, elles font un sans-faute à Founex ! Après 9 régates disputées, c’est finalement Bernard Borter à bord de Little Nemo qui s’impose, devant Christian Haegi (Mea Huna) et Constantin Pournaras / Patrick Mazuay (Zephyros). Bernard Borter, skipper de Little Nemo : « Tout s’est très bien passé pour nous ! Nous sommes arrivés confiants, car on navigue depuis longtemps ensemble et on va plutôt bien. Samedi, les conditions étaient parfaites, juste « appuyé » comme il fallait, on a passé une journée incroyable ! Le dimanche était un peu moins facile. Il y avait plus de vent, tous les équipages ont sorti le foc. Il n’y avait presque aucune différence de vitesse entre les bateaux. Tout s’est joué au placement et sur le positionnement des bateaux entre eux. Pour la dernière manche, on a ressorti le solent que nous avions lors du Bol d’Or (et qui avait très bien marché, surtout sur le retour !), et nous en sommes plutôt satisfaits pour l’instant. On a navigué de manière assez conservatrice, sans prendre trop de risques : ça a payé, étant donné que pour les 9 manches lancées, on a fini soit 1er soit 2e ! » READ MORE

DES SUISSES VAINQUEURS DANS LA CATÉGORIE 'CLASSIQUE' DU CHAMPIONNAT DU MONDE DE 5.5 Du 4 au 8 septembre se sont déroulés les championnats du monde de 5.5 dans le Finistère, à Bénodet. Le Yacht Club de l’Odet a organisé de main de maître les régates rassemblant 26 participants venus des quatre coins du monde ! C’est un équipage suisse, composé de Bruno Engel, Bruno Allamand et Antonin Bocherens qui, à bord de Belphegor, a ravi la tête du classement de la catégorie « Classique ». Photo © Association Française des 5.5 JI Bruno Engel : « Il y avait une très bonne ambiance ! Et les 6 bateaux engagés dans la catégorie classique étaient vraiment magnifiques. Nous avons eu le bonheur d’avoir d’excellentes conditions sur toute la semaine du championnat. Le vent était constant, et soufflait en moyenne à 20-25 nœuds, c’était parfait. Nous avons été ravis des voiles dans ces conditions de vent ! Lors de notre premier championnat, nous avions fini en 2e position, et on voulait faire mieux cette année. « Nirvana » a été notre plus gros adversaire tout au long des régates, William (Borel) nous a donné du fil à retordre ! Nous étions d’autant plus contents de notre victoire. » READ MORE

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE North Sails prêt à relever le défi de la Volvo Race 2017/2018 © Amory Ross / North Sails A retenir dans ce communiqué : North Sails fournisseur exclusif de voiles de la course depuis 2014 100% du jeu de voile désormais réalisé en 3Di Une équipe impliquée sur le plancher… et sur l’eau A l’instar de l’America’s Cup et des Jeux Olympiques, la Volvo Ocean Race est un événement nautique international majeur. « C’est sans aucun doute la course la plus exigeante pour le matériel, qui est sollicité à 100% tout autour de la planète, détaille Greg Evrard, PDG de North Sails France. Il est donc logique que North Sails, leader mondial, soit depuis toujours impliqué dans cette course. Les meilleures équipes cherchant à s’équiper des meilleures voiles possibles ont ainsi choisi North Sails depuis des décennies. Aussi, comme sur l’America’s Cup, des dessinateurs et maîtres voiliers des équipes North Sails ont pendant des années été détachés au sein des équipes participant à la Volvo Ocean Race. Finalement, c’est assez naturellement que North Sails a été choisi depuis 2014 pour être le fournisseur de voiles exclusif de la course, les voiles étant devenues monotypes. » Pour North Sails, c’est la reconnaissance de la qualité et de la fiabilité de ses voiles en 3Di, mais également un sacré défi : celui d’entretenir les voiles et de garantir une monotypie stricte. C’est Gautier Sergent, Directeur de North Sails 3D Manufacturing et surtout dessinateur reconnu et expert es 3Di qui a conçu le set de voiles des VOR 65 en tenant compte des retours des équipes à la fin de la dernière édition courue. Toutes les voiles sont moulées aux USA et finies en France ou aux USA. Une expérience unique qui permet de concevoir des voiles de très haute qualité, désormais destinées à un public plus large. « Les qualités de la technologie 3Di - disparition du risque de délamination, voile composite beaucoup moins sensible aux UV, profil plus stable à matériau équivalent, forme initiale de la voile conservée plus longtemps - étaient idéales pour répondre aux exigences de la Volvo Ocean Race, explique Gautier. Aussi, il nous a semblé évident de l’intérêt de la rendre accessible au plus grand nombre, sous différentes formes, la plus récemment lancée étant le 3DiNordac, destiné aux bateaux de croisière : le même process de fabrication - voile composite filamentaire moulée - est donc adopté pour des voiles de croisière en utilisant le polyester à la place du dyneema, du kevlar ou du carbone. Les voiles en 3Di sont beaucoup plus durables par rapport à des voiles à membrane ou panneaux : elles sont en effet fabriquées à partir de filaments de composite, sans couture ni collage de panneaux et sans film plastique. Ceci explique aussi pourquoi elles sont plus légères, plus solides et plus stables. Ces caractéristiques conviennent parfaitement aux navigants qui se confrontent sur l’une des courses les plus exigeantes au monde. Le 3Di a d’ailleurs été lancé dès l’édition 2011/2012 de la Volvo Ocean Race. Depuis, le 3Di ne cesse d’évoluer, de s’adapter à différents usages (voiles de portant par exemple), ce qui fait que pour l’édition à venir, 100% des voiles seront en 3Di. Pour cette prochaine Volvo Ocean Race, les équipes naviguent encore sur des monotypes et c’est encore une fois North Sails qui a été choisi comme fournisseur officiel des voiles... Plusieurs éléments ont changé en 2017-2018 et plus particulièrement le parcours : il y a en effet plus d’étapes dans le Grand Sud. Pour simplifier la logistique et la jauge, les équipes auront le droit d’utiliser deux jeux de voiles composés de huit unités pour un total de seize voiles. » Différents types de 3Di sont utilisés dans un jeu de voiles : toutes les voiles dites “plates” sont en 3Di RAW tandis que leA3 et le FR0 qui sont les voiles de portant, sont en 3Di FORCE. A partir des retours de la dernière Volvo, une voile spécifique, le J0, a été développée. Il s’agit d’une voile gréée en tête de mât, amurée sur le bout dehors et sans recouvrement, se voulant être la plus polyvalente possible. Les premiers essais ont donné satisfaction aux équipes. L’autre évolution a été réalisée sur leA3, le gennaker de tête. Autrefois fabriqué en en cuben fiber, il est désormais réalisé en 3Di FORCE, plus stable, ce qui permet d’accroître la plage d’utilisation de la voile et la capacité d’accélération du bateau sans compromettre la fiabilité de la voile. L’engagement de North Sails dans la Volvo, c’est aussi une histoire d’hommes : « les hommes de North Sails ne font pas seulement du design et de la vente de voiles, assure Bruno Dubois, Project Manager du Dongfeng Race Team : ils passent beaucoup de temps sur l’eau avec les clients. Cela fait une grosse différence et c’est aussi l’une des raisons pour lesquelles North Sails est aussi populaire. S’il n’y avait pas ce type de relation basée sur le suivi constant, la continuité et la fidélité, cela ne fonctionnerait pas aussi bien. Les teams managers et les responsables techniques des équipes ont une relation particulière avec les membres de North Sails, qui les suivent de près à terre et en mer. Ce n’est donc pas juste une histoire de produit mais aussi d’hommes et de femmes. » © Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean READ MORE

RETOUR D'EXPERIENCE: COACHING PERSONNALISE ET CPL Depuis le début de l’année, North Sails Suisse accompagne un équipage tiré au sort lors des épreuves du Championnat du Petit-Lac. Cette fois-ci, c’est Isis, un Grand Surprise, qui a bénéficié du coaching personnalisé de Julien Monnier et de sa présence à bord lors des entraînements pour la Belle Etoile. Jennifer Schlup, à bord de Isis : « Julien (Monnier) est venu à bord pour les entraînements. C’était une très bonne expérience ! Avec l’équipage, on a participé à toutes les régates du CDPL, on navigue tous les mardis… Mais c’est la première fois que nous avons bénéficié d’un coaching de ce type. On a tous bien pu profiter de ses conseils. Il nous a beaucoup observés, pour nous faire faire des modifications par la suite. On a fait énormément de manœuvres pour qu’il nous explique comment nous améliorer sur des points assez précis. C’était un plaisir de partager ce moment ! » Pour mémo – Le concept de coaching personnalisé avec North Sails Suisse Un équipage sera tiré au sort pour un accompagnement de type coaching personnalisé durant une semaine, sur les épreuves du Championnat 2017 (hors Bol d’Or). Un équipage gagnant ne pourra pas être sélectionné une deuxième fois. Dans une atmosphère conviviale et avec pour objectif de partager notre passion commune, ce coaching personnalisé comprend les actions suivantes : J-5 avant l’épreuve : Briefing par téléphone ou à la voilerie avec le skipper et/ou l’équipage (tendance météo pour l’épreuve, passage en revue de la check list performance (carène, voiles à bord, électronique, etc.), point sur la liste d’équipage) J-4 : Entraînement du mardi soir à bord, avec si possible l’équipage au complet (à la SNG ou à Nyon) : briefing, réglages du mât et des voiles, point tactique, session de manœuvres. Puis débriefing au retour à terre et établissement d’une « to do list » d’ici à la course J-1: Briefing météo, réglage du gréement affiné selon les conditions météo, lecture des instructions de course, préparation finale du bateau H-3 : Dernier point sur la météo, stratégie générale, check list des priorités H : Selon votre configuration d’équipage, navigation à bord ou suivi de la régate par un membre de North Sails Suisse, photos techniques, vidéos et prise de notes en vue du débriefing J+3 : Synthèse avec l’ensemble de l’équipage à la voilerie, analyse et transmission des photos et vidéos, établissement de la liste des pistes d’amélioration pour les prochaines navigations. Avec nous, les pros, c’est vous ! Nous partagerons les trucs & astuces pour booster les performances de votre speedo, améliorer vos manœuvres en toute sécurité, affiner vos réglages et tactiques sur des bases simples mais efficaces. READ MORE

OFFICIAL SAILMAKER FOR AUSTRALIAN YACHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS The Partnership Is Confirmed For The Next Two Years North Sails is pleased to announce that we are the official sailmaker partner for the Australian Yachting Championships for the next two years. The 2018 regatta will be hosted by Sandringham Yacht Club in Melbourne from January 19 to 21, 2018 with the 2019 regatta to be held on the Derwent river in Tasmania in January 2019. North Sails will have a strong presence at the event with our Melbourne loft being located close by in Sandringham for regatta service in addition to many of our team competing at the regatta to support our clients. With both Monohull and Multihull divisions, there is sure to be some great racing with many boats scheduling in the weekend on the way home from the Sydney-Hobart race. For more information please visit the event website at the Australian Yachting Championships If you would like help in putting a team together for the regatta contact Alby Pratt at the Sydney loft. READ MORE

NORTH SAILS NEW ZEALAND NEEDS EXPERIENCED SAILMAKERS AND APPRENTICES Create your path in yachting with North Sails New Zealand. Now is a great time to start your Apprenticeship and Sailmaking career. The Volvo Ocean Race yachts are due in Auckland Late Feb until 18th March 2018. With the 36th Edition of the Americas Cup likely to be sailed on local waters who knows where you could end up. Join the world's largest Sailmaking company With over 29 lofts and manufacturing facilities worldwide that build sails from One Design Optimist's to 85 Metre Superyachts there are endless opportunities. North Sails is the official Sailmaker of the 35th Americas Cup and 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race. Contact: Derek Scott: derek.scott@northsails.com Guy Hewson: guy.hewson@northsails.com READ MORE

NORTH SAILS 3Di POWERS ISORA OVERALL WINNERS TO NEW VICTORIES © Andy Green / greensea.zenfolio.com We caught up with J/109 clients Vicky and Peter who recently bought 3Di from North Sails UK. Here is what they had to say about their experience with their new sails with the help of their local expert, Frank Gerber. When the shiny new Pentex taffeta sails arrived to replace our old Dacron cruising sails Peter was very pleased, especially when we came 2nd overall in our very first ISORA race using them. Our 2nd place finish was swiftly followed by 3rd overall/1st in class on our second ISORA race. The new North Sails were delivered and North Sails UK representative, Frank Gerber, checked the sails and gave advice on tuning and rigging. He asked us to round up our crew for weight on the rail to simulate racing conditions. I'm sure Frank must have had a shock when he met us and our cruising setup, especially when we had to explain to him that there was no crew and it was simply just the two of us. "With Frank's patience and sound advice over the years we have gradually moved into racing mode and this year won ISORA. The spec of our sails has changed, as has the boat and number of loyal crew but we still use North Sails as we know we'll get good service." © Andy Green / greensea.zenfolio.com "We currently use North 3Di sails on our J/109 and find them very good value, as they seem to be able to stand up to the tough conditions we put them through in offshore racing. Our jibs we used at ISORA won this year have been used for the last three years now. In that time we have done two Rolex Fastnet races, one Volvo Round Ireland race and three full ISORA seasons, and are still competitive sails." -Vicky and Peter, J/109 "Mojito" © Andy Green / greensea.zenfolio.com North Powered ISORA winners Overall: 1st Mojito 2nd Sgrech Class Zero: 1st Aurelia 2nd Rockabill VI Class One: 1st Mojito 2nd Sgrech Class Two: 1st Elandra READ MORE

EXCERPTS FROM HAMILTON ISLAND The North Sails team in Australia rallied for a successful week at Hamilton Island Race Week - both on the water and in the service loft! We polled the crew on their experience at this years' race week in paradise, and this is what they had to say. © Andrea Francolini Billy Sykes (Swish, Ker 44, Winner of IRC Racing Div. & Passage Div. 1) Steven Proud put together a fairly young team for the event. Leading up to the regatta we put on a larger mainsail to optimize the yacht for light air, as well as a new headsail and A1.5 spinnaker. "Surprisingly the larger mainsail was also very fast in moderate to fresh conditions both upwind and downwind." After winning the regatta with a day to spare, the team decided to go for a fun cruise around Lindeman Island, though we were careful to stay out of the way of competitors who were still racing!" © Andrea Francolini Michael Coxon (R/P 100, Wild Oats XI, Winner of Line Honors) "It was a pleasure to race on Wild Oats and observe two famous Maxi Yacht rivals, Wild Oats XI and Black Jack, come head to head again at Hamilton Island Race Week. The two yachts last raced each other in the 2009 Sydney to Hobart when the now named Black Jack was Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo, which I was racing on, with Alfa gaining the upper hand. Wild Oats has remained in the Oatley family and last week the tables turned in her favor; however she did not have it all her way with Black Jack taking two impressive line honors with her new owner, Peter Harburg. Both maxis commissioned new 3Di RAW 3-reef mains for the regatta in preparation for the 2017 Sydney to Hobart Race, when they will battle super-maxi Comanche for line honors. The weather will likely play a big part in that fight, as each of the three maxis have been optimized for, and impressed in, different conditions: Black Jack in the light, Wild Oats medium, and Comanche fresh. © Andrea Francolini Mark Bradford & Vaughan Prentice (R/P 100 Black Jack) The Black Jack team was on a very steep learning curve at Hamilton Island Race Week, with their relaunched boat going head to head with semi-sistership Wild Oats XI. Despite limited practice time, the enthusiastic crew of 20 were certainly up for the challenge of this new addition to the Black Jack family. "As expected, our recent changes to the RP 100 and new 3Di sail inventory saw us very competitive in the light winds with line honors victories, and an IRC 2nd and 3rd in races 2 and 3 of the regatta." This leaves the team with the challenge of finding a click of speed in the moderate to heavy air conditions, before their next major match up with Wild Oats XI in the 2017 Sydney to Hobart. Paul Westlake, (R/P 66 NANOQ, winners of IRC Race Division) "I had the pleasure of sailing onboard the immaculately prepared Nanoq - the name HRH Prince Frederik of Denmark uses for all his yachting activities. Nanoq is the Greenlander’s word for polar bear. "HRH Prince Fredrik steered Nanoq throughout the regatta under the tactical guidance of Iain Murray, and a fantastic blend of Danes and Aussies in the crew. With a large range of wind conditions and sea states (less than five knots and flat water right through to 20 knots and wind against the tide), it was a challenge to hit the right rig tune to match with sail combinations. We were able to keep Nanoq sailing to its IRC rating against tough competition from the sister ship Alive, and also keep an eye on the TP 52 and the two 100 footers." "The 3Di RAW jib inventory and 3Di Endurance mainsail enabled us to make gains upwind, and aggressive driving put big smiles on Frederik's face as he learned the Aussie slang terms of ‘low hooks’ and ‘big sails win big races’.” © Andrea Francolini Nick Beaudoin, North Sails Australia Certified Service Manager Nick had a very busy week with sail repairs! Not only did he coordinate the service loft on the island to handle all the torn spinnakers and keep everyone on the water throughout the week; he also sailed with four North Sails clients: Day 1 (CNB 76 Charlotte, 2nd place Cruising Division 1) Nick began the week onboard Ervin Vidor’s gorgeous CNB 76 Charlotte. The race started downwind with 25 knots of breeze through Dent passage, followed by the spinnaker run of the week across Whitsunday Passage and then a beat back to the finish in a dying breeze. "The yacht’s 3-year-old 3Di Endurance Main and Furling jib were set up perfectly." Day 2 (Azuree 46, Kayimai) Nick joined Rob Aldis and his team for the second day of racing. With a lighter forecast, the crew was ready for the tour around the Whitsundays. "The strong tide pushed us along downwind to the first turning mark before a series of reaches back and forth in Whitsunday Passage. The new Code Zero excelled in these tricky conditions. The race ended on a shortened course as the breeze faded later in the day." © Andrea Francolini Day 5 (Dehler 38 Rocksalt, skipper Anthony Bishop. 1st Place Cruising Division 4) "Today we saw more classic HIRW conditions as the breeze picked up and funneled down Dent Passage for the second to last day of racing. It was another windy downwind start for all the fleets as we ran North to the first island turning mark. "With her new 3Di RAW sails, Rocksalt excelled in the upwind transition as we worked our way through the many islands and against a strong incoming tide." For more information, contact your local North Sails Expert for the latest in 3Di products. North Sails would like to thank our clients for the opportunity to contribute and participate in such a variety of programs, it's a pleasure to accommodate service needs while witnessing on-the-water performance. We already look forward to next year's HIRW! © Andrea Francolini © Andrea Francolini © Andrea Francolini © Andrea Francolini READ MORE

ONE DESIGN WINTER NEWS Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush competed in the Optimist Worlds in Thailand. Finishing with flying colors, we caught up with them to get their full story on their experience. © Matias Capizzano Seb Menzies and George Lee Rush competed in the Optimist Worlds held in Thailand and performed with some Outstanding results and great experience it was for them. Joshua Hyde competed in the European Optimist Championships held in Bulgaria and also had an amazing regatta including winning race 5. Yamaha win 18ft European Champs in lake Garda Salesman Matt Steven and team David Mcdiarmid with Brad Collins dominated the regatta with winning every race apart from one with gear failure. The team is now focussing ahead of the JJ Giltinan World Champs held on Sydney harbour in March which will see them with some new 3di Sails. Rough n Ready Dominate Elliot 5.9's at Marsden Cove Recently Matt Kelway - North Sails Salesman Teamed up with Craig Satterwaite and Richard Bearda in the Travelers series, although they won six out of the ten races they were pushed hard by Sam Edwards (also using North Sails) on Brizo. Sisters win 470 World U- 20 World Championships in Japan The 17-year-old twins Courtney and Brianna Reynolds-Smith who sail out of the Murrays Bay Sailing Club recently won the U-20 World championships. They have made the transition from the 420 very well! Watch out for these girls in the future! OK Dinghy World Championships Barbados Luke O’Connell continued his season form finishing third at this years OK dinghy worlds. NZ Sailors are performing very well in the class and are excited to host the Worlds champs in 2019 held at Wakatere. READ MORE

WELCOME TO THE TEAM We're proud to welcome new team members in Auckland. Welcome to North Sails! Matt Kelway, Salesman and Richard Bicknell, General Manager The Westhaven sales office will definitely be a quieter place with the departure of Josh Tucker, who has taken a leave of absence to sail around the world with his family. Josh remains a part of the North team, however, and will still be available by email for advice and updates. Joining the sales team is Matt “G” Kelway, who originally came to North nearly 10 years ago. He originally joined the company after finishing his business degree in 2007, working on scheduling and logistics, then spent several years overseas sailing on the RC44 circuit and with Gavin Brady’s Beau Geste programme. Kelway grew up sailing at Bucklands Beach, where he was coached by North Sales and Marketing Manager Andrew Wills — with whom he now sails on an Etchells. Kelway has been working with North on a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for its lofts worldwide, but has decided to join the Auckland-based team in a sales role. “It will be good to be more front-of-house, dealing with clients. I’m looking forward to getting out there and dealing with the local sailors, getting around the country to some of the smaller clubs and letting them know that we’re here to help,” says Kelway. “With the America’s Cup coming back here, it’s really important to get people excited about sailing again.” Supporting and managing the Auckland team will be Richard “Bicky” Bicknell, who has taken on the role of General Manager. He will also continue handling sales to superyacht clients. Bicknell recently competed at the Loro Piana superyacht regatta in Porto Cervo, Italy, aboard Farfalla, before sailing the J Class America’s Cup regatta in Bermuda, then returning to Palma in the Mediterranean for another superyacht event. Next he will be off to the J Class world champs in Newport, Rhode Island, then to the Monaco Boat Show and superyacht regatta in Saint Tropez, before finishing the year doing the Sydney-Hobart race aboard Rantan. “My role to supply cohesion to the loft and keep all the parts working together, and with the other lofts around the world,” says Bicknell. “There’s been a bit of change, but it’s all starting to come together. The team we’ve got now is very exciting.” Joining the team at the North Shore loft are two other well-known faces: Ben Costello, who has nearly 20 years’ experience as a sailmaker and on big boats, and Casey Bellingham. Costello, who has been freelancing for the past few years, has come to the North team full-time to take on the role of Service Manager. He will be dealing with sails coming in for service or recuts, organising parts, and taking care of the neds of visiting superyachts. “We’ve got a great set-up here, with a Hiab and forklifts and plenty of storage, and this summer we already know of seven or eight superyachts that will be here and need assistance,” says Costello. Bellingham, also an experienced sailmaker who originally hails from the Bay of Islands, has come to the loft as Master Sailmaker, overseeing the production quality of upwind sails, in tandem with Ben de Fluiter, who looks after downwind sails. He will also oversee the training of new apprentices. “Even though sailmaking has changed a lot, it’s really important that they have the skills and understand the principles of how the fabric behaves and can be used.” Ben Costello has come to the North team full-time to take on the role of Service Manager. READ MORE

LAND ROVER SYDNEY GOLD COAST YACHT RACE Worldwide coordination and attention to detail matched with on-point crew work gave super yacht Black Jack a chance to raise the bar. © Andrea Francolini The refurbished 30-metre racer, originally launched as Alfa Romeo in 2005, finished just three minutes behind its near-identical rival, Wild Oats XI, despite only going back in the water a week before the race, and hoisting her new sails just hours before the starting gun. Black Jack 100 had recently returned to Australia after being laid up for more than a year in Europe, and been reconfigured for its new owner, Brisbane yachtsman Peter Harburg. Mark Bradford of North Sails Brisbane, the yacht’s sailing master, says a new set of sails was required, designed and manufactured by North in the United States, and shaped and finished by the North Sails Auckland loft. “The geometry had been changed, with the forestay moved forward. The boat also has a new rig and boom from Southern Spars, so we couldn’t just press ‘plot’ and make the same sails as it had before,” says Mark. “There was a real synergy between North and Southern to get the sails to fit exactly right.” So exactly right that when the 370 square metre mainsail was first hoisted — just two hours before the race start — it fitted perfectly. “Usually we would have two or three days to fit such a big sail, but when we went out the day before it was too windy to check it out. We hoisted the mainsail with two hours to go and found no adjustments needed to be made, which is a real credit to everyone involved.” The next challenge was upwind sails: the brand-new number two was hoisted on the way out to the start, and the new number-one jib went up for the first time about two hours into the race. “Both Black Jack and Wild Oats changed jibs on the same tack, and once again, that sail which had never been up before fitted first time,” says Mark. And so what had been intended largely as a delivery trip — to get the boat up to Queensland for Hamilton Island Race Week — turned into a real race, as the two maxis duelled their way up the coast, exchanging a narrow lead several times. “We were still trying to feel our way through the boat and work out systems, but it turned into a real battle,” says Mark. “Wild Oats were within eyesight the whole way and we were pretty stoked to be in the same patch of water, considering how new the set-up was.” Black Jack was also carrying a new J5 and J6, and a new A3, which didn’t get out of the bag in the upwind conditions. The boat’s next big outing — and battle with Wild Oats — will come at Hamilton Island, where America’s Cup and Olympic sailor Tom Slingsby will be part of the crew. “We’re really going to ramp it up there,” says Mark. “Our expectations have changed a bit now — we’ve gone from getting the boat back on the water and seeing how it goes to being seriously competitive.” READ MORE

AMERICA'S CUP America’s Cup action up close in personal with front row seats report from Hayden Whitburn. Michael Douglas and Hayden Whitburn, who took a month’s leave from his role at the Westhaven office, was in Bermuda at the invitation of Sir Russell Coutts, working with the young sailors of Sir Russell’s America’s Cup Endeavour programme — and watching the racing from a VIP boat right on the course. Hayden has been involved with Sir Russell, running his kids’ sailing programme at Manly Sailing Club, north of Auckland. Hayden has known the America’s Cup legend since his days growing up in Dunedin, and has stayed in touch with his role model. ‘I’ve been working with Russell on his junior sailing programme for the past year, which is going really well, and he invited me to come up to Bermuda and help out with the guest chaser programme, too’, Hayden says. Being a Commentator on a VIP chase boat around the course carrying sponsors and celebrities like actor Michael Douglas and the King of Spain, has meant Hayden has had a close-up view of the spectacular and heart-stopping racing. ‘We were allowed to be right on the course next to the umpires and right next to the media boat. It’s pretty awesome seeing the boats up close, much like the Formula one racing!’ Sir Russell has been running the America’s Cup Endeavour community sailing programme in Bermuda during the build-up to the Cup. More than 1550 students aged 9 to 12 years old, from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds across Bermuda, have been introduced to the sport of sailing through a special education programme which features a science, technology, engineering, arts and maths curriculum, dubbed ‘STEAM through Sailing’. It's amazing what Russell is doing for our sport. So many sailors burn out at a young age but he is all about getting kids into the sport and keeping them in and most importantly having fun! Between the Louis Vuitton and America’s Cup series, a team of young Kiwi sailors also competed in the Endeavour Junior Regattas in Bermuda. ‘They got to race right in front of the grandstand, reaching back and forth, so that’s a great opportunity for them’, says Hayden. It was also spectacular to see the J-Class yachts racing with all our sails on display. READ MORE

Thorens (en réel) et Vandenberghe (en compensé) remportent la SYZ Translémanique en Solitaire Ce week-end a eu lieu la SYZ Translémanique en Solitaire, l’une des grandes classiques lémaniques et la régate en solitaire la plus exigeante du Léman. Ouverte aux voiliers monocoques de régate et de course-croisière, cent régatiers en solitaire se retrouvent pour faire le tour complet du lac ! Pour un coup d’essai, c’est un coup de maître pour François Thorens qui participait à sa toute première translémanique ! Il remporte le classement en temps réel sur son Psaros 40 après 12h13 de course. « C’était une bonne "balade" ! J’y ai pris beaucoup de plaisir, ce qui est pour moi le plus important dans la voile, avant même les résultats. Même si ça fait toujours plaisir de gagner ☺ Je navigue depuis tout jeune, souvent seul, mais c’était ma première Translémanique en solitaire. La régate a été délicate aux alentours de Rolle : j’étais à l’arrêt complet, et j’ai pu regarder passer mes concurrents à même pas 100m. Avoir l’habitude de naviguer dans le haut lac m’a permis de prendre les bonnes décisions à partir de Lausanne, ce qui m’a permis de remonter ! A l’aller comme au retour, j’ai été content des performances de ma grand-voile et de mon génois North. Même dans les grains, elles ont bien résisté dans les risées. Je serais évidemment au rendez-vous en 2018 pour passer à nouveau un super moment ! » Le podium en temps réel est complété par Nicolas Groux (l’un des collaborateurs de North Sails Suisse) et Alain Gautier (oui, oui, l’ex skipper de Foncia). Nous tenons bien évidemment à féliciter également Frédéric Vandenberghe, vainqueur de l’épreuve en temps compensé sur son VXOne habillé par North Sails ! Tous les résultats disponibles ici READ MORE

NORTH-POWERED CLIENTS SWEEP BJ MARINE'S TASTE OF GREYSTONES REGATTA Clients solidify wins across the board in all divisions Congratulations to North Sails clients who dominated the BJ Marine Taste of Greystones Regatta last weekend! North Sails powered the winners and the runners up in Cruising Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 under the Adjusted Echo Scoring System (ESS). Our clients used a combination of 3DL and 3Di products to power their way around the race track. Congratulations to the Kelly Family with guest helm Marty O'Leary and team on Storm for taking the class one overall win. in the other classes, a job well done to Dave Cullen and Ross Keating and team on Checkmate who took the win in class two, followed by Barry Cunningham and his team on Quest for winning class three. It was a close competition and some fun racing! For more information on North Sails products please go to our webpage or contact us here at North Sails Ireland. Full Results © Alan Leddy © Alan Leddy © Alan Leddy © Alan Leddy © Alan Leddy READ MORE

DRAGON SOUTH COAST CHAMPIONSHIP North Sails Clients take the top slots at South Coast Championship in Kinsale Congratulations to Cameron Good, Henry Kingston and Simon Furney for taking 1st Place at the Dragon South Coast Championships at Kinsale YC this past weekend. Powered by North Sails, Little Fella and her crew claimed the overall victory in a small but highly talented fleet. Only a cigarette paper separated the top two boats and the runners up. When it came down to the final score update, David Williams and Peter Bowring on Phantom, also powered by North Sails, scored a 3,1,2,2 and were tied in points with Little Fella. Unfortunately Phantom fell short, allowing Little Fella to come out ahead with two bullets in their score line up, winning the tie-breaker. That was a close one! Congratulations to Little Fella and Phantom for your performance this year at the SC Champs. Thank you to Kinsale Yacht Club for hosting the Dragon fleet. Great sailing and a lot of fun was had by all competitors. For more information on North Sails Dragon products, or to speak with a Dragon Class Expert, please contact North Sails Ireland. Full Results ©Shane Goggin Photography ©Shane Goggin Photography ©Shane Goggin Photography READ MORE

This was the 4th ever J111 worlds and the 3rd I have done with Rod Warren's team 'Joust racing'. We had a pretty interesting journey to get here this year, as there were no charter boats in the Bay Area and shipping Joust out from Australia was not an option we had. Gerard Sheridan Lucky for us, fellow SYC yacht club member and great NS client Phil Simpfendorfer decided to add to the growing J111 fleet at SYC and purchased 'Aeolus' from the San Francisco fleet and allowed us to use the boat in the regatta, before packing her up for freighting home to Melbourne We really gave it a good shot this year and employed a coach and allowed for 4 practice days to familiarize with with the local bay sea breeze and the tides that sailing on the bay is famous for. This definitely came in very handy in the passage race that led us outside the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz island. We took our own new 3Di RAW mainsail, A2 Gennaker and used the boats 3Di jibs from Seadon at NS San Francisco due to some small differences in the USA fleet having a higher furling drum height, meaning our RAW jibs would not sheet perfectly. Again thanks to Phil! Gerard Sheridan We definitely had legs around the track in the weeks 'breeze on' conditions but just a few slight mistakes in a very close fleet meant that just 2 points would separate 1st 2nd and us in 3rd place! We won 4 of 9 races just to show the tightness of the fleet and how consistency always pays! Congratulations to Peter Wagner's Skeleton Key for sailing very consistently and being this years J111 world champion! Thanks again to Rod and the crew for giving it all we had and getting the best result to date for Joust racing! READ MORE

Uitbreiding North Sails Benelux met Nic Bol, Jacco Huijgen en Mark Meeuwisse North Sails Benelux breidt per 1 september 2017 uit met drie experts Het team van Wouter Kollmann en Anton Brinkhof wordt versterkt met de ervaren Rotterdamse zeilmakers Nic Bol en Jacco Huijgen. Mark Meeuwisse is het derde nieuwe gezicht en start als sales medewerker bij de North Sails loft in Almere. Met deze uitbreiding kan North Sails Benelux in de groeiende behoefte van de Nederlandse en Belgische markt voorzien. Nic Bol wordt Sales Manager North Sails Benelux Nic Bol, de nieuwe Sales Manager van North Sails Benelux, brengt ruim 25 jaar ervaring in het zeilmakersvak met zich mee. Hij zal in zijn nieuwe functie tevens leiding gaan geven aan de North Sails loft in Stabroek. Als fanatieke wedstrijdzeiler heeft Nic van jongs af aan in verschillende klassen op hoog niveau gevaren en internationaal diverse mooie prestaties neergezet: “Ze noemen mij wel eens de Joop Zoetemelk van het zeilen, immer tweede. Maar gelukkig heb ik ook een paar bijzondere overwinningen op mijn naam kunnen schrijven waaronder het WK J22 in Scheveningen afgelopen jaar.” Nic is zeer content met zijn nieuwe uitdaging als Sales Manager bij North Sails Benelux: “Met dit team hebben we als marktleider alle mogelijkheden tot onze beschikking om zeilend Nederland en België optimaal te bedienen. Met de toevoeging van North Sails 3Di NORDAC, de nieuwste toepassing voor de toerzeilmarkt, kunnen we daarnaast alle typen zeilers en van alle niveaus helpen aan de juiste zeilen.” Ervaren zeilmaker Jacco Huijgen Jacco Huijgen zit inmiddels al 14 jaar in het zeilmakersvak. Hij heeft via bijbaantjes bij verschillende zeilmakers de fijne kneepjes van het vak geleerd en is na het afronden van zijn HBO opleiding aan de slag gegaan als verkoper bij Nic. De laatste twee jaar heeft hij samen met Nic de zeilmakerij in Rotterdam opgezet. Ook Jacco is een ervaren wedstrijdzeiler, ooit begonnen in de Contender. Inmiddels is Jacco al een aantal jaren bij vele wedstrijden te vinden, van Melges 24 tot en met Swan 45. Van alle nationale titels die hij behaalde is hij zelf het meest trots op die van Benelux Kampioen in de J80. Mark Meeuwisse sales medewerker Almere In Almere krijgen Wouter Kollmann en Anton Brinkman per 1 september ondersteuning van sales medewerker Mark Meeuwisse. Mark is een ervaren rot in de watersportindustrie, een zeer ervaren zeiler en specialist in toerzeilen. In het verleden zeilde hij onder andere X99 en X35, maar is van alle markten thuis, van scherpe jachten tot aan platbodems. Wouter Kollmann, als sales medewerker werkzaam vanuit de North Sails loft in Almere is blij met de uitbreiding: “Met de expertise van Nic en Jacco in huis en daarnaast de extra hulp van Mark bij ons op de loft in Almere kunnen we onze groeiende klantenkring nog beter bedienen.” READ MORE

COPA DEL REY MAPFRE: SERVICIO… Un año más, North Sails ofreció durante la Copa del Rey MAPFRE su servicio de recogida y reparación de velas para todos los participantes de la regata. Al término de cada jornada de competición, personal North Sails recogió en los pantalanes del Real Club Náutico de Palma las velas que necesitaban mantenimiento o reparación, que fueron trasladadas a la velería de Lluchmajor para ponerlas a punto por la noche y devolverlas antes del comienzo de la competición del día siguiente. El viento suave que predominó en esta 36 edición de la clásica mallorquina redujo el número de incidencias en las velas de la flota, pero cada cliente que lo necesitó pudo contar con nuestro servicio de reparación nocturna y disfrutar de sus velas al día siguiente. READ MORE

North Sails would like to welcome Ian “Biggles” Johnson to our team. David Clark, the Vice President of the Australian Etchells has to say about the man best known as ‘Biggles’. “He is highly regarded as both a sailor and a person. It is probably because he is so much fun to sail with, for he throws humour in the face of adversity. He is a classic.” I have sailed with some real pros and Biggles makes a clever and very subtle shift between being on and off. When he’s on, he’s totally into it, and a really competitive sportsman. It is really good, because when you have a long day on the water, he makes it so much more pleasurable, and his demeanour does not change whether you’re at the pointy end or back of the fleet.” He’s just straight up, and calls it the way it is. I think he’s taken a lot away from his time sailing with John Bertrand, AO. You always use the phrase, ‘A Good Man’, when referring to Biggles”, said Clark. “ Biggles said he thought he knew a lot about sails until I sailed with John Bertrand for two years. His attention to detail and understanding is incredible. In addition to building rapport instantly with Biggles, you also get to understand the depth of his own skill base. For instance, he has attended 15 Etchells World Championships, and is looking to make it 16 next year at Brisbane. Of the many top ten placings in that time, Biggles is clear that the thing he learned the most is how not to do it. There are also 19 Sydney Hobart races on his impressive CV, with a Line Honours win followed up the very next year by stepping into a life raft. There are also two Fastnet races in there, lots of National and State titles in many things, time in the lovely Stars, as well as J24s and others. Now we mentioned the great man JB a bit earlier, and after now learning more , it is only apt to refer backwards a little. John Bertrand AO considers things for a moment, asking himself, “How best to describe Ian Biggles Johnson?” Then JB sums it up quickly and succinctly with, “Pure enthusiasm. Biggles sails and races for the joy of the sport. The man exudes a natural feel when it comes to wind, water and team building. Just a terrific bloke.” Ian will be based out of the Melbourne loft with Aarron Cole and is excited to be working with North Sails. “It was a childhood dream to be involved with the world’s best sail makers and brand. Biggles will be back in the Etchells this coming season, Some club racing at Sandringham, Brighton and down on the Mornington Peninsula. It could be Saturday to Wednesday Wonders. “I am happy to be out there helping, and love it”. READ MORE

VELAS CLÁSICAS EN TIEMPOS MODERNOS Los veleros clásicos son una ventana al pasado. Sus armadores y tripulantes son guardianes de la historia única de cada barco y de una tradición que perdura en el tiempo ajena a los avances tecnológicos. En su condición de velería líder mundial, North Sails cuenta con una división específica dedicada al diseño, fabricación y mantenimiento de velas para estas joyas de la navegación. La estricta reglamentación que rige la competición de clásicos limita el uso de materiales, pero la evolución forma parte del ADN de North Sails, por lo que los expertos de la marca buscan la mejora en optimización de formas y de fabricación. Los mejores expertos en velería para clásicos trabajan en dos instalaciones North Sails desde las que se cubren las necesidades de la flota mundial: Milford (Estados Unidos) y Cuntis (Pontevedra). En la planta española opera una veintena de personas que compaginan la fabricación y el mantenimiento de velas de última generación con la de clásicos. “Fabricamos entre 100 y 150 velas para clásicos cada año”, explica Manuel Lastra, director general de North Sails España. A lo largo de sus más de cuatro décadas de experiencia, Lastra ha vivido buena parte de la evolución y revolución del sector. “Comenzamos en la década de 1980, cuando suplíamos velas para los buques escuela. Estas velas requerían bastante trabajo manual en materiales tradicionales, como costuras de cabo, protecciones de cuero, etc... De entonces viene nuestra especialización e interés por barcos de otras épocas, y desde entonces forman parte de nuestro muestrario”. Velas con historia Por las instalaciones de North Sails en Cuntis pasan piezas que recorren siglo y medio de historia de la navegación. “Todos tienen su parte de interés y curiosidad, ya que vienen con una larga historia ‘adherida’. Barcos que pertenecieron a famosos, como el Manitou (John Fitzgerald Kennedy); otros utilizados para viajes documentales como el Xarifa (Hans Hass),... Esa es la parte emocional del proyecto. En la parte técnica, todos tienen algo: Hay que considerar que estás recorriendo con ellos unos 150 años de evolución de navegación a vela, sus materiales, maniobra,…”. Por el departamento de clásicos de Cuntis pasan proyectos de velas nuevas para barcos restaurados o para réplicas en construcción, así como renovaciones de inventario para barcos que compiten hoy en regatas como la Puig Vela Clàssica o la Copa del Rey Panerai Vela Clásica Menorca. Piezas que requieren un trato de auténtica sastrería a medida. “Actualmente estamos trabajando para barcos como el NY 30 Linnet, el MYLNE 57 Kelpie, los NY 40 Mailee y Chinook, los S&S 53 Skylark y Serenade, o el J15 Mariska”. Auténticas joyas de la navegación. Materiales En la velería pontevedresa se entremezclan ambos extremos del espectro de la vela. Bajo su techo conviven las velas de clásicos con las de barcos de última generación. ¿Qué las diferencia? “Básicamente, las diferencias radican en los materiales utilizados en su fabricación y en las formas”, explica Lastra. “El poliéster y el nylon son las fibras utilizadas en las velas clásicas. Estos materiales, combinados con la madera de cascos y mástiles, proporcionan una elasticidad al conjunto, que es todo lo contrario a la “rigidez” de los barcos y velas modernas. Las velas clásicas necesitan más potencia para los mayores desplazamientos de estos barcos respecto a los barcos más ligeros de hoy en día”. Botado en 1908 y restaurado en 2009, el Mariska pertenece a la clase 15M, y con sus casi 16 metros de eslora desplaza 34 toneladas; un TP52 actual, con eslora similar, apenas desplaza siete. “Los materiales más comunes son el poliéster (Dacron) y el nylon para los espís. En competición, tienen que ser tejidos compuestos de trama y urdimbre sin mylar; por esa razón se admite incluso el Pentex tejido, aunque actualmente ya no existe en el mercado. Para grandes desplazamientos se usan tejidos de Dacron de doble capa, ya que tienen mayor estabilidad al bies que sus equivalentes en peso de una sola capa. En competición, y dependiendo bajo qué reglamento, se pueden utilizar otras fibras o cortes de vela, aunque están penalizados. Otros materiales más avanzados, como el carbono, están directamente prohibidos”. Modernidad relativa Dentro de los estrictos parámetros que rigen la competición de clásicos, existe espacio para la aplicación de materiales y metodologías más actuales. Su perfeccionamiento se centra en la forma y la fabricación. Mediante el uso del North Design Suite, los diseñadores pueden crear modelos 3D de un barco para comprender mejor cómo encajará una vela en la geometría de aparejos que son, por lo general, complicados. La combinación de diseñadores especializados en velas clásicas con el uso del potente software de diseño mejora el rendimiento al tiempo que respeta la estética clásica. Ese margen de maniobra “depende de bajo qué regla se compita, y a veces del área geográfica; en este aspecto, en Estados Unidos son menos estrictos. Lo más moderno que admite sin penalización el reglamento CIM (Comité Internacional del Mediterráneo, vigente en el área del Mediterráneo) es el Pentex tejido. En la clase Espíritu de Tradición (SOT o Spirit of Tradition, barcos construidos a partir de 1970 utilizando técnicas y materiales modernos pero con un aspecto y estilo fieles a un proyecto tradicional de época o clásico) sí se admiten fibras y construcciones modernas”. Incluso la revolucionaria tecnología 3Di de North Sails tiene cabida entre los clásicos: “Se acepta en la categoría Espíritu de Tradición, como los J Class, flota de la que North Sails es velería oficial”. De Velas Campos a North Sails Lo que hoy es North Sails España nació como Velas Campos a finales de la década de 1970. Pedro Campos y los hermanos Manuel y José María Lastra, todavía estudiantes, comenzaron a fabricar velas para uso propio en una vivienda de la familia de Campos en Madrid. “En 1978 conseguimos un pedido del astillero Taylor para Dufour, lo que suponía hacer más velas, más grandes, y requería más espacio”, explica Lastra. “Así que la familia de Pedro nos ofreció espacio en el comedor del balneario de Cuntis, cerrado en invierno; en verano nos trasladábamos al gimnasio, una habitación de 7x18 metros que servía de oficina y velería. Ahí empezamos a fabricar las primeras velas para buques escuela sobre 1980”. En 1981 construirían lo que hoy es la planta de Cuntis. “Mientras la terminaban, trasladamos la velería a un taller de coches”. En sus inicios, la velería ocupaba la planta superior de la nave actual, un espacio diáfano de 21x51 metros (más de 1.000 m2), “por entonces la mayor de Europa sin columnas”, donde fabricaban velas de todo tipo, “hasta de windsurf”, siempre en busca de las mejores prestaciones. “Mi hermano José María siempre fue muy rompedor en materiales, y posiblemente fabricamos las primeras velas de kevlar de España”. En 1984 se unieron a la firma danesa Diamond Sailmakers. En 1995, Jose María Lastra dejaba la empresa, que pasaba a denominarse North Sails. Hoy, la factoría de Cuntis es una de las más productivas de la firma gracias a la maestría de sus hasta 40 trabajadores “gente de la zona, que en algunos casos lleva con nosotros casi 40 años”. Sus tres plantas y cerca de 4.000 metros cuadrados de superficie están consagrados a la división de velas clásicas North Sails, a la fabricación de velas de portantes y, desde este mismo año, a la aplicación de gráficos en velas. “A través de nuestra división North Graphics hemos decorado la mitad de las velas de la flota Volvo Ocean Race; la otra mitad, en San Diego”. READ MORE

Purjeneulomo Niiniranta Oy / NORTH SAILS pitää avoimet UIVA- FLYTANDE 2017 messujen aikana 17.- 20.8. keväällä avatussa Lauttasaaren toimipisteessä, osoitteessa VENEENTEKIJÄNTIE 12 Olemme paikalla: torstaina ja perjantaina klo 12-20 lauantaina ja sunnuntaina klo 10-18 Tervetuloa tutustumaan uusiin tuotteisiin ja toimitiloihin. Tarjolla kahvia ja syksyn kuumimmat purjetajoukset. READ MORE

Avoimet ovet Uiva/Flytande 2017 messujen aikana North Sails pitää avoimet ovet Uiva/Flytande 2017 messujen aikana keväällä avatussa Lauttasaaren toimipisteessä osoitteessa Veneentekijäntie 12. Olemme paikalla messujen aukioloaikojen mukaisesti to-pe 12.00-20.00 ja la-su 10.00-18.00. Tervetuloa tutustumaa, kahville, keskustelemaan tulevista hankinnoista ja katsastamaan messutarjouksemme! READ MORE

North Sails Benelux aanwezig op HISWA te water, komt u ook? (langs de waterkant, standnummer K.150) Over een paar weken start de HISWA te water, dit jaar voor de vijfde en (voorlopig) laatste keer in Amsterdam. De HISWA te water vindt plaats van 29 augustus t/m 3 september, de beurs is elke dag van 10:00 – 18:00 geopend. North Sails Benelux is de gehele week aanwezig met een eigen stand. 3Di NORDAC op de HISWA te Water We praten u tijdens de HISWA graag bij over de nieuwste toepassing van onze 3Di zeiltechnologie: 3Di NORDAC. Ook hebben we 3Di NORDAC sample zeilen bij ons op de beurs. Wanneer u tijdens de beurs uw nieuwe zeilen in bestelling geeft kunnen we u een scherpe beurs aanbieding doen. HISWA te water in 2018 in de Bataviahaven in Lelystad Vanaf 2018 verhuist de HISWA te water naar de evenementenhaven Bataviahaven in Lelystad. De grootste in-water boot show van Noord-Europa is met het oog op de toekomst op zoek gegaan naar een ruimere locatie. Met onze loft in Almere zijn we verheugd dat de beurs in 2018 bij ons in de achtertuin plaats gaan vinden. Dit biedt ook voor North Sails veel perspectief! Afspraak maken? Wilt u graag een afspraak maken met één van onze experts? Neem dan contact op met North Sails Almere. Tickets bestellen? Bestel hier uw tickets voor de HISWA te water. Ps. Voor onze vaste klanten en nieuwsbrief abonnees zijn er gratis kaarten beschikbaar voor de HISWA te water. Binnenkort ontvangt u hierover meer informatie. Credits: OTTI fotografie READ MORE

Jedrenje s timom X-cite, na njihovoj X-41 jedrilici s North Sails jedrima, kroz Nacionalni park Kornati. Posada Angelina pobijedila je sve, a ova regata nije bila iznimka. Kup Kornati se održava već više od 30 godina; dobro organiziran i uvijek popularan, ova regata privlaći jedriličare iz cijele Europe. Ove godine bilo je prijaviljeno preko 100 brodova, svaki s posadom od otprilike osam članova. Kornati kup jedna je od najvećih regata u Hrvatskoj. Većina natjecateljskih brodova su charter jedrilice, međutim, članovi posade su cjeloživotni jedriličari i postoji ista glad za pobjedom koju biste našli na bilo kojoj regati višeg ranga. U ponedjeljak smo uživali u dvije regate jedrene u štapu po laganom vjetru od oko 5 do 8 čvorova ispred Pakoštana nekon kojih su posade uputile u Marina Piškera kako bi prenoćili. Utorak je donio 10-15 čvorova sa sjeverozapada te je jedrena navigacija u Kornatskom i Žutskom kanalu. Po dolasku u Marina Žut te večeri, svi natjecatelji bili su zadovoljni s dvije pristojne utrke. U srijedu su posade prvo čekale vjetar pored Žuta, da bi se regatni odbor se zaputio put otoka Gnalić u iščekivanju istog. Na tom putu mnogi brodovi su bili vezani zajedno, neki su se lovili ribe, a sa sigurnoj udaljenosti svjedočio sam kupanju jednog natjecatelja potpuno golog. Po laganom vjetru od oko 7 čvorova, oko otoka Ošljak Mali, Ošljak Veli, Gnalić, Artica Vela i Mala održana je navigacijska regata. Ciljna linija nalazila se pored pristaništa u Biogradu. Večernja proslava uključivala je natjecanje u stand-up-paddleboard i glazbu uživo. Izvješće o vjetru za četvrtak nije bilo obećavajuće. Iz različitih smjerova i ne više od 5 čvorova. Utrke su zakazane i pokušane; Bavaria 41 su uspjeli prijeći cilj, sve ostale klase su napuštene. Atmosfera je bila neodoljiva na dodjeli nagrada i mnogi su se odmah registrirali za sljedeću godinu. Luka Šangulin, vlasnik Angeline Yacht Charter, http://www.angelina.hr, je bio korimilar jedrilice X-cite na ovoj regati. Imenovana po Lukinoj baki, obiteljska charter tvrtka posjeduje s preko 120 različitih jedrilica i motornih jahti, a 2015. godine dobila je nagradu za najbolju charter tvrtka u Hrvatskoj. Oni su regularni sudionici Kornati kupa i bili su ponosni s još odvojanjem još jedne regate u nizu. Ručak na brodu X-cite nije bio uobičajeni pre-made sendviči, već mali piknik. Drvena pasarela namještena popreko koja je glumila stol s hrvatskim mesnim prerađevinama i sirevima. Posada koja jede, ostaje zajedno ... i očito jako pobjeđuje. North Sails Hrvatska sretni su što imaju Team X-Cite i Angelinu Yacht Charter kao kupce. Pružamo osobne usluge i kvalitetne proizvode, podržavajući lokalne tvrtke i održavajući hrvatsko gospodarstvo u prvom planu. Like Facebook za više. READ MORE

The North Sails Crew is here for you North Sails is proud to be supporting the Landsail Tyres J Cup, August 17th - 19th, both on and off the water. Our crew will be on the water taking photography and drone footage to use for daily debriefs post racing. Join us after racing each day for a panel discussion and footage analysis to go over what really happened on the race course. Our Certified Service team will be on hand for overnight repairs. Contact Jonty Cook 07470 409213 for all your sail care needs make sure you don’t miss out, sign up for the regatta today! For more information and to keep up to date during the regatta, be sure to follow us on Facebook @NorthSailsWorldwide READ MORE

Ispitivanje kvalitete North Sails-a je rigorozno. Kombinira promatranje učinaka sunca, vlage i plijesni na vlakna s dodatnim kontroliranim istraživanjem kako bi se bolje razumjelo što uzrokuje prirodnu degradaciju jedara. U suradnji sa UV istraživačkim laboratorijem na Floridi, North Sails provodi dugoročne testove na cijeloj proizvodnoj liniji. Ovaj laboratorij je specijaliziran za promatranje izloženosti materijala sunčevim zrakama. Jedna od najčešće korištenih metoda je izvođenje testova s ​​umjetno induciranom UV simulacijom. Ova metoda daje rezultate u kraćem vremenu od vanjskog izlaganja, no šteta nastala ovim testiranjem nije konzistentna sa vanjskim realnim izlaganjem. Vanjsko testiranje na prirodnom sunčevom svjetlu i učinak jedrenja zahtijeva više vremena, ali pouzdanost podataka je znatno veća. Do danas je testirano preko 750 uzoraka kako Northovih tako i konkurentskih jedara, s najsloženijim UV testiranjem u proizvodnji jedra. Razgrađena platna analizirana je nakon 500, 1000, 1500 i 2000 sati izlaganja suncu. Polovica uzoraka ispitana je za izdržljivost čvrstoće vlakana, dok je druga polovica testirana testom FlexCycle koji simulira zamorno trzanje jedara te se naknadno testira čvrstoća vlakana. Istraživanje se ovdje ne zaustavlja. Northovi UV testovi također su uključivali uzorke jedara prikupljenih od Open 60 jednotrupaca koji su jedrili oko svijeta. Uzorci su također izvučeni iz sličnih površina konkurentskih jedara, uključujući dijelove podvrgnuti kompresiji, savijanju i neke čiste površine jedara. Budući da ti brodovi jedre istim rutama sa sličnim uvjetima, rezultati pružaju pouzdanu usporedbu degradacije jedara na poznatom udaljenost i vrijeme. Na vrelom suncu Hrvatske, North Sails jedra su odlična! Snažna, dugotrajna i mudra investicija za vašu jedrilicu. Like Facebook za više. READ MORE

Vom 21. bis 23. Juli segelten die 36 Clubs der 1. und 2. Segel-Bundesliga zum Auftakt der 128. Travemünder Woche bei überwiegend schwachen Winden um die ersten Tabellenplätze. Es war eines der spannendsten Wochenenden in der Liga-Geschichte: In der 1. Liga kam es erst im letzten Rennen am Sonntagnachmittag zur Entscheidung. Der Deutsche Touring Yacht-Club (DTYC) mit Steuermann Julian Stückl, dem ligaerfahrenen Sebastian Bühler, Neuzugang Dominik Müller sowie Marco Tarabochia konnte sich bei wechselhaften, schwierigen Bedingungen den ersten Platz auf dem Siegertreppchen knapp vor dem Segel- und Motorbootclub Überlingen (SMCÜ) sichern. „Mit den schlechten Starts am letzten Wettkampftag haben wir unsere Führung unnötig riskiert“, erklärt Julian Stückl sichtlich erleichtert. North Sails ist stolzer Partner der Segel-Bundesliga und exklusiver Segellieferant. Alle J-70 der ersten Bundesliga fahren mit den regulären One Design Klassensegeln. Für die zweite Liga stellte North Sails neue Vorsegel vom Typ Club. Der Segel- und Motorbootclub Überlingen (Tino Mittelmeier, Jan Fritze, Alexander Gaiser, Frederik Schaal) vom Bodensee verpasste den Sieg in Travemünde nur knapp. Am Ende reichte der 3. Platz im letzten Rennen nicht für den SMCÜ. Beim Punktgleichstand mit 48 Punkten konnte sich der DTYC mit mehr Erstplatzierungen den Sieg in Travemünde sichern. Die Süddeutschen waren nicht mit hohen Erwartungen nach Travemünde gekommen. „Aber bei unseren Lieblingsbedingungen mit wenig Welle und zehn Knoten Wind konnten wir konstant gute Ergebnisse und damit eine absolute Top-Platzierung einfahren“, freut sich Steuermann Tino Mittelmeier. In der Gesamtwertung führt nach vier von sechs Spieltagen der SMCÜ vor dem DTYC und dem Norddeutschen Regatta Verein aus Hamburg, der die Tabellenführung abgeben muss. 1. Platz – 1. Segel-Bundesliga: Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club © DSBL/Lars Wehrmann 1. Platz – 2. Segel-Bundesliga: Seglervereinigung Itzehoe © DSBL/Lars Wehrmann READ MORE

Esse 850 European Cup - nur North Sails auf dem Podest !! Vom 13. - 16. July massen sich 18 Esse 850 aus der Schweiz, Italien, Österreich, Holland und Deutschland bereits zum 10. Mal am European Cup vor Malcesine am Gardasee. Erstaunlich viele Boote bereiteten sich diesmal auf den Anlass vor und konnten ein paar wunderschöne Trainingstage geniessen. Am Freitag ging es mit einer starken Ora nach dem Mittag pünktlich los. Es konnten 4 faire Läufe gesegelt werden. Obwohl der Wind konstant war, liess er taktische Überlegungen zu und man konnte sowohl auf der Kreuz, wie auch auf Vorwind Plätze gut machen. Der Samstag war windtechnisch gesehen der schwächste Tag. Der Erste Start war auf 13.00 Uhr angesetzt, doch erstmal hiess es warten. Es konnten später zwei Leichtwindläufe und danach ein noch leichterer Leichtwindlauf mit Ziel im 2. Luv gesegelt werden. Dabei schafften die hintersten Boote das Zeitlimit nur knapp und die Segler kehrten erst um 19.00 h in den Hafen zurück. Abends wurden die Segler im Club wie jedes Jahr verwöhnt. Trotzdem musste am Sonntag früh aufgestanden werden, da Morgenläufe angesetzt waren. Leider war es kein 'normaler' Vento, sondern eine stark abgeschwächte Version davon. Trotzdem brachte die wie immer sehr professionelle Wettfahrtleitung die zur kompletten Serie noch fehlenden 2 Läufe am Morgen unter Dach und Fach. Der 2. Lauf war allerdings schon eine Zitterpartie und das Ziel wurde wieder ans 2. Luvfass verlegt. Überragender Sieger des Europacups 2017 mit nicht weniger als 8 Laufsiegen war Alain Marchand auf SUI-172. Er fuhr mit einem kompletten Satz der neuen 3Di Segel von North Sails. Komplettiert wurde das Podium mit Robert Hartmann auf SUI-153 und Daniel Schroff auf SUI-156, beide ebenfalls mit North Sails, Daniel Schroff mit einer neuen 3Di Fock. North Sails ist stolz auf diesen Erfolg, der zeigt, dass die Segelentwicklung in die richtige Richtung geht! Am European Cup fuhren 13 von 18 Teams mit North Sails - danke euch allen für euer Vertrauen! Für mehr Informationen über die neue 3Di Technologie könnt ihr euch gerne an Daniel Schroff wenden: +41 71 680 00 80 Rangliste READ MORE

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