NORTH SAILS BLOG

The latest iteration of the Swiss technology that first made headlines with Alinghi’s legendary ‘black sails’ at the 2007 America’s Cup brings cutting edge sails within reach of a wider audience. Following its success with 3Di across the grand prix, offshore and superyacht fleets globally, North Sails have launched a new variant tailored specifically for the club racing market. Originally born of development work carried out for Alinghi’s successful defence of the America’s Cup in 2007, in name 3Di may sound like 3DL but is an entirely different technology. 3DL is a lattice of load path fibres laminated between two layers of Mylar (aka ‘string’ sails). 3Di is a composite sail structure, closer in technology terms to carbon boatbuilding, involving the moulding of multiple featherweight ‘tapes’ of spread fibre filaments (from carbon, aramid or Dyneema) preimpregnated with adhesive. The layout of the 3Di tapes in a multiplicity of orientations and layers enables a sail to be engineered with ultra-high precision, but without the weight of the films required for a string sail. The only similarity between 3DL and 3Di is that both achieve their shape through being manufactured on North’s proprietary articulating, three-dimensional moulds, where sails are built with their flying shapes moulded in. The end result is 3Di being capable of creating super-light sails with maximum shape retention, displaying previously unheard of shape stability over a wide wind range…. Read the full article on North Sails 3Di RACE in the December issue of Seahorse, or online at seahorsemagazine.com READ MORE

North leads the way towards the new Melges 40 When a new high-performance boat comes on the market, the pressure is on to meet the expectations of everyone involved in the project: the designer, builder, class promoters, industry providers, media and – most importantly – the owners and crews. The higher the performance, the greater the expectations and the lower are the acceptable margins for error. New boats of this genre must be fast out of the box with little or no lead time available for testing and refinement: everyone wants one, so the first one built and launched will command great attention and must meet all expectations to provide that Wow factor needed to help launch the class into success. The new Botin-designed Melges 40 is a perfect example of such a high-profile new design, with the global reputation of Melges on the line. Designer Marcelino Botin has said “Melges is a pure sailing legend, and this was an opportunity for us to design something very new and different. The design compliments the Melges brand, and upholds their top-quality ideals. With respect to their philosophy, we proposed a design that adopts and introduces new features and concepts. The Melges 40 creates a new benchmark for performance in the 40-foot range.” Builder Max Waimer at Premier Composite Technologies said “For sure the Melges 40 is a new starting point in the sailing world. We share the same passion as Melges and Botin for creating not only an exceptional boat, but a very new, competitive racing experience. We truly have a common vision. The additional input from customers has made a big difference too. We put all of our production expertise and technology into the Melges 40.” So, with this backdrop in mind, how is North meeting this demand to have the fastest sails ready for this exciting new one design? The answer is in the process North has established to be intimately involved throughout the design development of the boat to gather the details on the rigging, spar set-up, and even the equipment on board to help advise on solutions that will benefit not only designing fast sails but also contribute to achieving the overall goals of the project. Participation in these formative stages helps in ensuring accuracy in not only the detailed sail geometries, but also in anticipating other important aspects of performance that affects the sails, such as crew work and the deck layouts that support their efficiency. With this information the North Design Suite of sophisticated computational tools can be used to replicate the details of how the spar and sails integrate with the boat’s design to produce these expected levels of high performance. These tools have been used successfully and refined repeatedly for the past several years on a wide variety of boats, ranging from small keel boats to Maxis, so the process is well-proven and has led to North’s widespread success in all these classes. Not only does this process help in the accuracy of sail design, but establishing a detailed knowledge base on the ground floor of a new project has other benefits, such as anticipating the content for a tuning guide that is ready to use at the first launch rather than having to wait for the completion of extensive sessions of sail testing. Being a regular sail trimmer on Steve and Heidi Benjamin’s HPR 40 and now their TP 52 called SPOOKIE, North sail designer Chris Williams has a perfect perspective to the development and design process for the new Melges 40. “This boat is truly unique,” he says. “Besides having lots of sail area, the canting keel gives it a righting moment that is 20% greater than an HPR 40, so there is tremendous power and speed potential, and modeling the sails to drive its performance is not just using a variation of any existing designs.” Williams explains more on the particulars: “We started work on this early with Southern Spars to identify the rig parameters so we could set up the sail plan properly using DesMan. On any boat the headstay characteristics are an important driver for jib design since it governs the luff tension, and for the Melges 40 we know there is no hydraulic ram for this adjustment, so we then knew the runner winch would control this for the boat. We then looked in detail at the runner set-up: the winch size and how much power it could generate, and the location of the runners and how efficient they would be in transferring the load to the headstay. We then urged the class design team to move the runners as close as possible to centerline so no moment would cause the spar to twist and throw off the tuning calculations. “Once we recreated the spar’s properties in DesMan, we used Flow and Membrain to model our first test sails on the virtual yacht and start iterating towards greater refinement in the designs. This allows us to give some meaningful feedback to the class managers in which we helped establish some parameters for the One Design class rules and build specs for the yacht. An example of this is knowing the exact placement of the spar doubler: this ensures every yacht’s spars will work with any sail. Modeling the mast bends and jib trims through their ranges of different tunes and jack loads allows us to maximize the size and roach profile of the light air jibs and their batten placement relative to the available space in the foretriangle.” After this crucial first step, the sail designs and their MemBrain modeling data are forwarded to other members in the North design team, who with their individual and collective experiences accumulated over dozens of similar projects can further refine their accuracy. For the Melges 40 these team members include Giovanni Cassinari, who is not only a North Sails sail designer and mainsail trimmer on the SuperSeries 52 Azzurra, but also will be racing on the new Melges 40 Inga; Marchino Capitani, another North Sails designer, coach of Azzurra, and an Inga team member; and Per Anderson, North Sails head of design. “I’m sure the sails will be tweaked slightly with the overall goal of making sure that the first set built follow very closely to the ideas and design concepts of the group as a whole,” says Williams. “There are always many ways to skin a cat here, so the hard part is to make sure the sails are not designed by a committee so much as input and experience is given and shared by a group then correlated into a fast suite of sails.” Finally, another important factor in the project was in working with the Melges 40 class to determine the optimal sail inventories needed for this boat through its range of performance, mindful that the class is interested in minimizing cost through allowing too many sails in the inventory and also being sensible their replacements. For the Melges 40 it was determined that 3 full-sized jibs was the best solution given not only the boat’s performance through the range of conditions but also their intended schedule of races and venues. Part of this discussion is driven by the durability of the sails and their ability retain their performance shape through an acceptable lifespan. For the Melges 40 Williams says 3Di Raw materials will be used in the upwind sails, with a mix of tapes and their composition to be determined when the mold shapes and designs are finalized. He reckons that this brand new boat with its canting keel and massive sail area will have steep learning curves for the sailors, yet the accuracy and efficiency of the North Design Suite process will ensure that the first generation upwind sails and rig tuning guidelines from North will be at 95% of their ultimate level of development…this is highly encouraging news for those first few owners who want to come out of the box with fast results and remain fast as the class grows and develops. READ MORE

North Sails 3Di RACE takes patented technology tested by the most competitive sailing programs in the world and translates them into your everyday race solution. 3Di RACE is engineered and designed specifically for boats up to 40’. Proven performance, durability, and value packed into a single sail. Call a sales representative today. Go North. Go Beyond. Why is 3Di RACE different? RACE is attainable performance. With a unique, specialized layout, 3Di RACE sails will deliver optimized performance through wide wind ranges. Without surface tapes, RACE boasts an impressive strength to weight ratio – offering you a lightweight sail that has the capacity to perform, and the flexibly for you to trim, handle, fill, and flake it with confidence. RACE takes our celebrated 3Di technology, tested by the most competitive sailing programs in the world, and translates them into an everyday race solution. Proven performance, durability and value packed into a single sail. – Ken Read, President, North Sails In a general sense these sails are extremely adjustable and are able to power up and de-power through the range, thus their shape holding and performance through the range is tremendous. – JB Braun, Aero Design, North Sails Sail Scans show the impressive shape holding ability of 3Di RACE, especially as wind pressure increases. In 7 knots of wind a 3Di RACE sail will look similar to a comparable string sail. When the wind picks up and put some load on the sail structure (10-12 knots) you will see a significant difference between a “string” sail and a 3Di Race sail structure. You will easily see a delta in cord depth by up to 2% and up 5% in draft location with the 3Di Race sail holding its sail shape over a wider range. – Per Andersson, Head of Design, North Sails Gone are the days of throwaway plastic sails that break down far too quickly. 3Di RACE will substantially outlast any string sail and will give racers much more time on the water with optimized performance. The dedicated RACE tape layout makes this sail user-friendly, lighter, low-stretch and more forgiving to trim and tune. As the segment leader for Club Race, I’m confident introducing 3Di RACE is a big step in changing customers’ perception that 3Di technology is out of reach for everyday sailors. – Sam Richmond, Club Race Segment Leader, North Sails Go North, Go Beyond. Read our Quick Guide, or contact an Expert today. You better hurry – our first sets have already hit the water running. READ MORE

DISCOVERING SRI LANKA A Fresh Perspective It’s not every day you get to see where your sails are made and we had heard a lot of good things about the loft so we’re quite excited to see it all. During our visit many things stood out giving us a fresh perspective on the manufacturing loft in Sri Lanka. Scale North Sails seek to manage everything in-house meaning the sheer scale of the operation immediately impressed us. But more than that, what really stood out was the combination of technology, skilled craftsmanship and quality control. Everything from sails for dinghies to large offshore racing yachts were being made with the same meticulous level of detail. Machines using bobbins of thread that took a week to set up weaved away, plotter machines precision-cut sail panels, yet more machines laminated cloth and carbon using hi-tech adhesive. At the top end, machines followed by a person suspended in the air laid out carbon on huge automated platforms modeled to replicate the exact shape of a sail. Expertise Alongside the technology, each and every sail was being made with some element of human craft and skill. Spinnaker panels were laid together by ladies with an eye for precision, looking up and down the panel to determine where it needed to be laid before gently but confidently pressing it down. People sat in pits in the midst of huge platforms with sewing machines carefully stitching sails or sewing parts into them. Even top of the range carbon sails were hand finished by a professional with a pair of scissors and an eye for detail. Pride It was all carried out in a calm focused manner, people going about their jobs, knowing what they needed to do. Stopping to ask any Sri Lankan supervisor a question soon made you realise these people took pride in their job – quite often they would lose us as they leapt into intricate detail! Quality And then there was the quality control. Each sail is accompanied by a ‘ticket’, essentially a number of pages explaining the make-up of that individual sail, what needed to be done, what parts would accompany it and a list of checks to make sure it was delivered as it was designed. The name of the yacht was given and the sail’s destination – literally sails being made for the world! As an owner of a set of North Sails sails, it really did give us the assurance that our sail had been made to a very high standard by a factory well equipped, by talented people and that it had all been quality checked. We now look at our sails with a different eye. On our sail is a little label that has the North Sail logo and states ‘Made in Sri Lanka’. It should read ‘Made with Pride in Sri Lanka’. A loom sits loaded in Building 2 at North Sails in Sri Lanka. North Cloth takes up one of nine buildings at the North Sails complex in Sri Lanka. Dilki Kumari lays nylon spinnaker panels on a small-boat downwind sail in building eight. READ MORE

“The purpose that we all share is to access places where one cannot normally go by boat, no charters available, those that are less explored and, coincidentally and fantastically, at extreme latitudes.” In late 2015, childhood friends Vincent Moeyersoms, Olivier Moeyersoms, and Marc Vander Stricht bought the 53’ aluminum, French-designed exploration sailboat, Alioth. Why? Because these Belgian cruising sailors share a love of extreme latitudes—now they have the vessel to get them there. Built in 2009, Alioth is fully kitted-out with a lifting keel, water ballast, twin rudders, and crash bulkheads in the bow and stern. She is an ocean-goer with some miles in her wake, having completed a circumnavigation with her previous owners. Alioth came with sails that Vincent describes as “old” since they have 50,000 miles on them and her year-old North Sails spinnaker is a “keeper.” Next month she will receive North Sails NPL TOUR heavy-duty cruising sails. For Vincent and crew, expedition sails might be a better term. For 2-3 months out of the year, Alioth will serve as home for Vincent, Olivier, and Marc. Within five years they hope to lap the Americas on a zig-zag route reaching far North, and far South. In May, the crew delivered Alioth from Belgium to Norway. Over the next few months they will make their way from the Lofoten Islands, down the coast of Norway, and start ticking the boxes on the Atlantic. “Next summer we should be coming up the coast of the US to Maine, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland,” Vincent said. “If the conditions are right, we could then attempt the Northwest Passage. If not, we will delay a year.” Completing the Northwest Passage would leave them in Alaska. From there, the planned route would deliver them down the coast of Canada, across the Pacific to New Zealand, across the South Pacific to Chile, then onto Antarctica, South Georgia, and back up to Europe. “I sailed professionally years ago and I took part in the Round the Word Race and raced maxi boats,” Vincent said. “Later I ran a few campaigns in the Maxi class and America’s Cup. In 1992, I managed the winning America’s Cup team America3.” Five years aboard Alioth is the next challenge. Alioth’s name signifies the brightest star in the Big Dipper. “We decided to keep the name,” Vincent said. This decision is a nod to the crew’s shared ambition to add a greater purpose to their exploration. “We would love to adopt an environmental aspect of the journey, to contribute toward trying to find a solution to the ocean’s plastic pollution problem we’ve seen growing for so many years. In 40 years spent on the water, we have seen trash accumulating on the ocean, and we want to be part of the solution.” We look forward to keeping in touch with Alioth throughout her journey on the globe through North Sails Waterlogs – composed by a tribe of adventurers powered by North Sails. More at northsails.com/water-logs READ MORE

EXCLUSIVE SAILMAKER OF THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE © Ugo Fonolla / Volvo Ocean Race The Volvo Ocean Race announced today that North Sails is the exclusive sail supplier for the 2017-18 edition. One of the ocean’s toughest races, the VOR draws the world’s most skilled offshore sailors to compete in a highly competitive drag race around the planet. Equipping teams with the industry’s most reliable high performance products is paramount to the success of the Volvo Ocean Race, it’s sailors, sponsors, and fans across the globe. North Sails has been deeply involved in the Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Race since the mid-1980’s. Collaboration between North Sails and Volvo Ocean Race programs has lead to breakthrough technology, most recently North Sails 3Di ™, which was born in response to skipper requests for reliable shape holding, durability, and of course lightweight, performance sails. The extreme conditions of the Volvo Ocean Race demand sails that can withstand upwards of 45,000 nautical miles and four equator crossings. 3Di ENDURANCETM has proven itself worthy of this epic adventure in the last two editions of the race, allowing teams to push their boats harder than ever — a valuable advantage in any one design competition. “The 3Di sails from North have been excellent. We just compared a picture of our mainsail from just before the start with one of today after 35,000nm usage. Bit more draft aft. Give it a new paint job and I bet if you would ask somebody he/she would say this is a brand new main,” said Bouwe Bekking, Skipper of 2014-15 2nd place finisher Team Brunel. “Same for the other sails, you can see they have been used, but still in good shape. This mileage would be a lifetime for the average cruiser. I know what I would buy.” The 3Di product’s unique construction process allows for repairs that do not compromise the structural integrity of the sail. With a tightly designed inventory, both durability and ease of repair are key. “Most boats made it to Itajai on their first set of sails. This is unheard of.” said Nathan Quirk, Sail Loft Manager in the Volvo Ocean Race Boatyard, in reference to the 2014-15 race. “3Di can be maintained and repaired easily with confidence. Hard to imagine doing this with string sails.” The North team looks forward to working together with Volvo Ocean Race to further push technical and durability boundaries to new territories. For 2017-18 the VO65s will be equipped with 100% 3Di inventories, pushing latest technology to the downwind sphere for the with the introduction of 3Di FORCETM. 3Di Force boasts downwind performance characteristics of unmatched stability, high tenacity, UV resistance, and low water intake. Produced on a 3D mould, 3Di FORCE runners will benefit from unmatched design execution, making the ranges more precise when sailing on the ocean. “The team at North Sails especially looks forward to continuing our development and execution of cutting edge products with the Volvo Ocean Race. This will be my fifth design generation with this ever challenging race and ultimately our goals and motivations are the same – make for a trouble free race, exciting for all the right reasons!” – Gautier Sergent, 2014-15 VOR Designer of Record and Manager of North Sails 3D. North Sails 3Di ENDURANCE is preparing sailors the world over to #GoBeyond. Discover more at NorthSails.com, on Facebook (@North Sails), Twitter (@NorthSails) and Instagram (@north_sails). Image credits © Matt Knighton / ADOR / Volvo Ocean Race (top); © Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean Race (left); © Matt Knighton / ADOR / Volvo Ocean Race (left) READ MORE

North Sails designer Mike Marshall has teamed up with leaders in the F18 class to develop the North Sails inventory. Since March 2014, Mike has worked closely with Tripp Burd and Olympic hopeful Mike Easton to create a trio of sails that will push their Falcon F18 to peak performance. Using North’s proprietary modeling software to optimize the designs, results were tested with on-the-water trials. While Mike and Tripp won the 2014 F18 US Nationals with the initial designs, the team found areas for even further optimization. “We’ve since made two generations of the main. The first design adjustment was to allow for better light air performance, and the second was a small shift back in the direction we started with, to preserve the all around performance of the sails,” said Marshall, who has designed for North Sails since 2012 and sailed the F18 for the past year. “The sails give a little more power in light and choppy conditions and are able to flatten out in big breeze despite the extra depth. One final test to go but but so far we are quite happy with the current set as a solid all-purpose option.” The final test he mentions is the Cata-Cup in St. Barths, where 55 of the class’s top sailors face off in what is traditionally a series of epic big-breeze, big-swell races in the Caribbean Sea. While Mike had a conflict, Tripp took the boat south and enlisted the help of a friend, Bracco Jacopo to drive the boat. The pair finished 19th in the end. During the week Tripp sent in several progress reports: November 15, 2015 – Tripp Hey guys, first day of Catacup done. Happy to report that the sails are pretty well sorted. Whatever changes were made to the main bolt rope, luff curve, or batten end spacing has mostly fixed the hoisting problems and our setup seems fast! One race today, counter-clockwise around the island. Shifty and 5-10 knots for the most part. Rain squall moved through towards the last quarter of the race and launched the lead pack while everyone else got becalmed for a bit. A bunch of teams finished in the dark. The sails have almost the same low end punch as the previous set, which is sweet. During the squall, the breeze cranked for a bit and we didn’t have any major luffing or main inversion problems which was great! We’re sailing heavy this week and light air and chop should’ve killed us. Two races tomorrow, mid-teens supposedly. Should be sweet. November 22, 2015 – Tripp It’s been an uncharacteristically light event this year, not the full tradewind conditions we’ve had in the past. Still, we’ve managed to break a few things which has hampered our results a bit. The racing lifestyle is pretty civilized…we’re in for a lunch break right now! The parties and group of sailors here make it a ton of fun. This afternoon will be the last race and we have some Nikki Beach champagne stakes going. Gotta win! I’ll send a good summary tomorrow if that’s cool. November 25, 2015 – Tripp A downside to racing in such a unique venue is the long travel home…and it’s a trade I’d make a thousand times. The passionate team of organizers at the St. Barths Cata-cup have consistently delivered the best event in sailing, and this year was no exception. The weather wasn’t as expected. We broke some stuff. Spent hours loading hot 40’ containers, and it’s all worth it. No other event I’ve sailed combines such an exceptional level of competition, with fun racing formats, and an (overly? nahh) full social schedule. Even rounding deep after a botched start, you’re then chasing down a fleet at twenty knots through cliffs, reefs, and ocean swell. Vendee champs, medalists, couples, friends, and families, can all compete on equal terms. My friend, Jacopo, whom I sailed Cata-Cup with, sails once a year…this event. Bringing sailing friends from around the world together, Cata-Cup is a perfect example of why high performance beachcat sailing has such a draw. For those who aren’t as familiar with the F18 class, it’s a development box rule with restrictions on materials to keep costs down. Turnkey new boats cost under 25k, while 15k gets you an equally competitive ride on the used market. New hull shapes, foil packages, and sail designs keep the tinkerers engaged, while effective weights and rules keep all the designs very close in performance. Performance that can smoke 50’ keel boats and then take a few friends out for a beach cruise. The fleet’s a blast and at the end of the day, we’re all out there sailing to have fun. Events like Cata-Cup keep that spirit blazing. READ MORE

Al Declercq and Team Join North Sails North Sails is pleased to announce that accomplished sailor and experienced sailmaker Al Declercq and his team have joined North Sails. Declercq, based in Detroit, MI, is returning to North Sails after a 22-year hiatus and made the decision with their customers’ best interests in mind. “North Sails leads the sailmaking industry with superior products and excellent customer service and sail care. It was the right choice for our client base and we are thrilled to be back with the North Sails team,” Declercq said. “North Sails is committed to improving our presence and providing more sales representatives and sail care lofts to the thousands of sailors on the Great Lakes,” said Ken Read, President of North Sails Group. “Earlier this year, we partnered with Skip Dieball and we are thrilled that Al and his team have decided to join North Sails as well,” Read continued. “Between Al and Skip in Detroit, and our existing sales and service centers in Chicago and Toronto, they will anchor a network of North Sails lofts from Thunder Bay to Montreal. Personally, I am excited about the strength of the team we have to support the beautiful Great Lakes region,” Read concluded. Throughout his career, Declercq has raced in the Fastnet, Transpac, Newport to Bermuda (five times) and several other notable offshore events. He has raced in an unprecedented 49 Port Huron to Mackinac races and 36 Chicago to Mackinac races, winning a total of 26 times. “I know sailors who have worked with Al for more than 20 years because of the excellent customer service and sincerity he and his team are known for,” said Kimo Worthington, Sales Manager for North Sails in North America. “Al has sailed over 50,000 miles on the Great Lakes which makes him an undisputed expert for sail needs in that region,” Worthington said. “We welcome Al and his team, including wife Sara, who will be the Detroit office manager.” “Returning to North Sails is a win-win for our clients and our team,” Declercq said. “North Sails is the worldwide leader in sailmaking because of technology and innovation that results in the best products and value on the market,” he continued. “We are proud to offer our clients such a vast range of products, from paneled sails to 3D sails. We have a number of cruising clients who will be amazed by the North Sails difference and we intend to work hard to keep them all happy and satisfied with their sail investments,” Declercq concluded. Al can be reached by calling 586-790-7500 or by email: READ MORE

At times the costs and disappointments nearly sunk us, but we kept going through to the 2008 Worlds, where we were third yet again. READ MORE