NORTH SAILS BLOG

#NSVICTORYLIST: MC SCOW MASTERS Q & A With Overall Winner, Matt Fisher Congratulations to 2020 MC Scow Masters Champions Matt & Lisa Fisher! 📸 Regatta Girl Photography We spoke to 2020 MC Scow Masters Champion, Matt Fisher, to get the full download what has helped him raise the bar to be even more competitive in the MC Scow fleet. NS: Where and when did it all start for you? Matt: I have been sailing MC Scows for 12 years out of Hoover Sailing Club, Fleet 54. We have about 25 boats in the fleet and get about 10-15 on the line every Wednesday and Friday. It is a tenacious fleet. I sailed quite a bit this summer and am in 4th place in local fleet standings. I grew up at Buckeye Lake YC about 30 miles east of Columbus, sailing the Lightning and Thistle. We moved to Hoover about 35 years ago. NS: How did you prepare for the MC Masters under the current sailing conditions? Matt: Hoover Sailing Club has been very active this summer. We have not had social activities at the club, but 2020 has been one of the healthiest years of participation that I can remember. Between sailing the MC Scow, the Laser, and crewing for my son Stu on the Thistle, I have sailed more in 2020 than I have since college. I sailed at least 35 races with the MC Scow fleet this summer and had a lot of time to practice. As I mentioned, we have a highly competitive fleet, and one of our fleet members, Ted Keller, is one of the top 2 or 3 in the class. He won the MC Scow Blue Chip five times and is considered one of the fastest MC sailors in the class. Ted and I did one-on-one tuning – or sometimes maybe 3 or 4 boats came out – 20 + times since April. I am retired, so going out on a Tuesday morning when conditions are right was easy to organize. During our practices, we focused on straight-line speed, boat handling, gear changing, and more. I did this with Ted before the Nationals in 2014, where we gook 2n and 4th overall. We practiced last year before the 2019 Masters, where we placed 1st and 2nd overall. Ted is a great coach and has brought me along. I spent a lot of time in the boat this summer working on boat handling. When comparing notes with other folks at the Master’s Nationals, this past week, a lot of fleets in the MC class had a strong year despite, or really because of COVID. NS: You have used the Z- Max Sail for some time. Can you give us a few tips on set up and trim? And why do you prefer this model? Matt: The Z – Max mainsail is the only sail I have used since I have been sailing MCs. I follow the North Sails tuning guide and have been much more conscious of knowing the tune numbers than in previous years. The week before the regatta, we knew we would get some big breeze at Clear Lake. We had a light day Friday and two medium to heavy days Saturday and Sunday. I tightened the forestay on Friday night a few turns. The Z-Max is easy to use, but if I have any issues, its because I am over trimming. I am getting better at using the telltale in reference to the top batten, which has helped a ton. NS: You started off the regatta with a 1-1 on Friday. You must have been fast. What can you tell us about this? Matt: Going from Thistles and Lightnings to an MC Scow has always been a big adjustment for me, and I think it is more challenging to make a new boat go well in lighter air than in a breeze. I have always been impressed with people like Allan Terhune, my brother Greg, and Skip Dieball, who would go to three different class midwinters three weeks in a row. Most of the tuning that Ted and I did was in lighter wind speeds, under 10 knots. Most of our club races were in light air also. With a scow, keeping a constant angle of heel and having the ability to change gears quickly is the key to having the best speed in the softer conditions. Keeping the boat going through the lulls and making the 2-3 adjustments to weight and trim make a huge difference. On Friday, I was able to get good starts and clear lanes so I could go where I wanted. The conditions changed drastically, from blowing about 10-12 in the morning on Friday to less than 5 knots by the end of the second race. We went from sailing the shifts to sailing for pressure and were able to keep the boat moving. I was very fortunate and borderline lucky on Friday to get off the line clean and then have a good lane on the first tack. But changing gears and staying in the breeze was essential for getting out in front of the fleet. NS: When it’s windy, you sail with your wife, Lisa. It must be great to share the racing aspect with her. What does she do onboard to help in windier conditions? Matt: That is one of the neat things about sailing scows. We can take on crew up until the 5-minute gun. I am in the “middleweight” category, and its an advantage to take on an additional crew with its blowing 12+. At the masters, it seemed like 80% of the boats took an additional crew on Saturday and Sunday. I think some of the big guys don’t like the rule, and I understand why. But it does help allow kids and spouses to sail. I like it when so many boats bring on an additional crew because everyone sails a similar lane. I will say that Lisa and I only went out to practice a couple of times before the event, and it showed on Saturday. We weren’t quite as good at holding our lanes; I started trimming a little looser on Sunday, and we were going much better. What is kind of funny is that now the only time that Lisa sails with me is when conditions are over 12mph. We sailed Snipes together for a long time and Lightnings and Thistles, so it’s very relatable. She is a great crew. Lisa also has the best, high-tech gear to keep her warm and dry, which is perfect because when it’s windy, it’s chilly, which is when I need her. It has made the Christmas season much easier to navigate too. A couple of years ago, I got her a drysuit. She tried it on and looked good in it. But she then realized she would only need it during cold and windy conditions. She sent it back because she didn’t want to sail in those conditions, but it has been fun to sail together, and it has allowed us both to get more involved in the class. NS: What are your future MC Regattas on the schedule? Matt: I am hoping that the Florida circuit will take place. There are three regattas at Lake Eustis, one in November, another in early February, and then the Midwinters. It is an excellent break from the winter months up north, and we have enjoyed being able to go south to sail regattas in February and March. We expect a crazy winter, so we have not made plans yet, but I hear that regattas will happen. We hope to go, but I will admit we are more on the cautious side of COVID. Looking for race-winning sails? You can now order directly from your North Sails expert. Call or email us today for the same quality, consistency, and expertise. We look forward to helping you make the most of your next event. Ask an Expert Tuning Guide Shop Sails MC Scow Class News READ MORE

THE STORY OF ARGO: PART III A New Adventure on the Mediterranean Read Part I and Part II. Ingvar Ravelius had a dream when he was 24-years-old that he wanted to build his Opal 46, Argo, and sail around the world. 10 years later, in 1984, he had sailed across the Atlantic ocean and around the Caribbean. When he was ready to take off, he met his future wife Leena, sold everything, and sailed away, departing from Sweden then on to the Mediterranean with no plans to return. Ingvar and Leena sailed from Gibraltar, east along the Spanish coast, then to Ibiza to visit their friends. They stayed in Ibiza a couple of weeks to pull Argo out of the water for maintenance. While Argo was on the hard, they flew home to Stockholm for a couple of weeks. After sailing for 6 months straight, flying home in just four hours felt strange for the couple. When they returned to Ibiza, they sailed east, deeper into the Mediterranean. Their adventures the following year took them to Mallorca, Menorca, Sardegna, Malta, and Greece. One sunny day in Lavrion, Greece, Argo was docked and Ingvar was working on deck. He was sanding the varnished surfaces to get the boat to shine, taking great care of each detail. The tender to Argo was tied to the side of the hull when Ingvar was working. He was so concentrated on his work that he did not notice that his tender had floated away, and the only thing left was the short end of the line, tied to Argo. Ingvar was frustrated that it could’ve been stolen, and was convinced that someone swam out and cut the rope. Dismayed, Ingvar and Leena decided to pull Argo for maintenance once again and spend their winter at home in Sweden. They made friends with a fellow Swede, who was driving back to Sweden after a road trip to Greece. They joined him for the return trip back home. Upon their return, they planned to sail through the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic Ocean down to the Caribbean. But that plan changed soon after they came home to Sweden. In December of 1985, shortly after they arrived in Stockholm. Leena and Ingvar found out that Leena was pregnant. They couldn’t go back to their adventure as soon as they planned. Leena stayed home in Stockholm until I, John, was born in August of 1986. Ingvar went back and forth to Argo to check up on her. In March of 1987, they returned to Greece with me as a newborn to set off once again. I was 7 months old when I saw Argo for the first time. She was on land in Olympic Marina, in Lavrion, Greece. Ingvar had bought a new tender. He wrote with big letters on it: TENDER to ARGO and then put a lot of layers of varnish on it. My father is extremely picky and careful with all the things when it comes to the boat. The red inflatable tender is now over 34 years old and is still the Tender to Argo today, it has been with the boat as long as I have. We sailed away through the islands of Greece and into Turkey. By my first birthday in August of 1987, we had docked in Bodrum. A man selling fruits at a market started talking to my parents about my blond hair. They told him that it was my first birthday and he gave me a watermelon as a gift, which started a tradition. Since that day, I have enjoyed watermelon on all of my birthdays. It was on this adventure, I took my first steps, onboard Argo. READ MORE

TUNING TIPS FROM THE TOP North 9DSX Moth Sail Pros at the top of the fleet share how the North 9DSX Moth sail takes them through the range of conditions and their personal tuning tips. Shop Moth Sails READ MORE

TF35: FLIGHT CONTROL A New Class Launches on Lake Geneva 📸 Loris Von Siebenthal Their take off was a bit delayed but the newly developed foiling TF35 fleet recently met on Lake Geneva for the first of two training weekends. The sessions provide sailors, class organizers and the development team an opportunity to see their vision in action, and trial a format for future regattas. For North Sails, these early training days serve as a chance to analyze the performance of the new TF35 sails. The TF35 is built on an ambitious design brief; bringing top-level foiling to a wider range of sailors. While the idea of an accessible, high-performance foiler sounds like a strange pairing, a big focus of the training weekend was testing out and then dialing in the boat’s flight control system, which makes the platform more stable and safe. A mere 6 knots of TWS downwind are needed for take-off and the TF35 gets foiling upwind in 8 knots TWS. The flight control system brings stability and safety to the platform, addressing the class’s wish to make a high-performance foiling experience available to more owners. 📸 Loris Von Siebenthal Lake Geneva is known for varying conditions, but the weekend presented ideal weather for dialing in the TF35. Arnaud Psarofaghis, sail designer and Alinghi co-helmsman said: “Our specific wind conditions on the lake are really challenging in terms of sail range, boat can accelerate quickly, boat speed can vary from 12 to 20 knots within 2 knots of TWS.” The much anticipated training session saw dream conditions on Lake Geneva, allowing the race committee to complete nine races in winds ranging from 4 – 12 knots. It was a unique opportunity for each of the seven TF35 crews to assess their level and progress within the fleet after training independently over the summer months. 📸 Loris Von Siebenthal Summarizing the weekend, North Sails Suisse director Pierre Yves Jorand said, “It was a very rewarding weekend we were able to test the TF35 in different sail configurations. The objective of the series is to have boats that offer the great experience of foiling in the typical Lake Geneva conditions. It’s now up to us to optimize the sail combination and boat set up to maximize the level of fun and performance of the boat in the lead up the 2021 TF35 Trophy Championship.” North Sails has been deeply involved in the development of this new class and our lofts in Switzerland and France worked together to outfit teams with North 3Di. 📸 Loris Von Siebenthal Patrick Mazuay, North sail designer, member of TF35 Class design team responsible for sail development explains: “We have seen a great improvement already in just one weekend from all of the crews. As one of the sail suppliers, all of us at North Sails are thrilled to see the positive development of everyone on the water. We now have the advantage of the October training session to improve and tweak the sail configuration.” The overall feeling on sails from everyone involved at the end of the three days training is of great satisfaction, both performance and robustness wise. Coming up next on October 9-12 is test event #2. Learn more about the class here. 📸 Loris Von Siebenthal READ MORE

JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL EVENT An Evening with North Sails & Emirates Team New Zealand READ MORE

FRANCISCO UVA SAGRA-SE CAMPEÃO NACIONAL DE OPTIMIST Brilhante prestação do velejador Francisco Uva, o novo Campeão Nacional da Classe Optimist! Muitos Parabéns Francisco! Francisco Uva 📸 Luis Fráguas Terminou, ontem, o Campeonato Nacional de Optimist com o velejador Francisco Uva a alcançar o título de Campeão Nacional. Os velejadores Francisco Uva (Por 2735) e Júlia Cardoso (POR 2651) lutaram taco-a-taco pelo primeiro lugar, durante o decorrer do campeonato, ambos a utilizarem velas R-2. No Top 6 da Classificação Geral são quatro os velejadores NorthSails. Utilizaram a vela R-2 (Francisco Uva , Júlia Cardoso, Augusto Castelo-Branco) e a vela R-4 (Salvador Baptista-Fernandes). A todos, os nossos Parabéns pelo desempenho e resultados na regata! Apurados para o Campeonato Europeu estão o Francisco Uva (1ºgeral, 1ºmasculino), a Júlia Cardoso (3º geral, 2º feminino), o Augusto Castelo-Branco (4ºgeral, 2ºmasculino) e o Salvador Baptista-Fernandes (6ºgeral, 4º masculino). Parabéns a todos os velejadores que participaram no Campeonato, numa época tão particular como esta! Para qualquer dúvida ou informação sobre a gama de Velas North Sails contactem o Class Expert, Vicente Pinheiro . Júlia Cardoso 📸 Gonçalo Melo Augusto Castelo Branco 📸 cedida por Augusto Castelo Branco Salvador Baptista-Fernandes 📸 cedida por Laura Artiaga READ MORE

SWAN TUSCANY CHALLENGE Successful Worlds Warm-Up For ClubSwan 50 Clients 📸 Nautor Swan / Studio Borlenghi Days before the Swan Tuscany challenge began, owners were rallying their teams as organizers pulled together to put on a successful event. Yachting, in the midst of coronavirus, hasn’t been easy, but members of the class were eager to make the first real event of the season happen, on short notice. With scheduled events canceled for the class across the calendar this summer, one of those events, the Rolex Swan Cup in Porto Cervo, the Swan Tuscany Challenge was a late addition to the schedule and brought 13 ClubSwan 50 teams to the starting line to battle for a podium finish. The racecourse served as a preview for the extremely close competition ahead of Swan One Design Worlds in Scarlino, Italy in October. The success of the last-minute event is, no doubt, a testament to the strength of the Swan class and the owner’s dedication to the fleet. The North Sails ClubSwan 50 Class Expert Arnd Howar on EarlyBird, was thrilled to be back out on the water. He commented, “The biggest highlight was this event coming together in such short notice. For teams to act fast shows the true strength of the ClubSwan 50 class. It is a testament of commitment from each program to get a fleet of 13 boats to the event, and pull off a successful regatta.” “It was great to see teams spending more time preparing and tuning at the dock to be ready for the Worlds in a few weeks,” said Howar. “The racing was unbelievably close, which shows just how competitive the Worlds will be,” he commented. Hatari leading the ClubSwan 50 fleet around the offset 📸 Nautor Swan / Studio Borlenghi “After seeing the fleet together last week, it shows that anyone has a chance, and each team will bring everything they’ve got to win this Worlds,” North Sails Expert Daniele Cassinari onboard Cuordileone commented. The team had not sailed together for nearly a year, and it was vital for the group racing Cuordileone to get the rig tuned properly and gauge their performance in the fleet ahead of the world’s event. There were only about 20 sailing days this year for the class, and not all, but most teams were able to take advantage of that, which helped create a cohesive dynamic amongst the fleet. Howar commented, “I think it shows how strong the class is and how good communication among the owners makes the bond that much stronger. Setting up fleet practices and clinics are unique for the ClubSwan 50 class. The Class wouldn’t have been as successful without Nautor Swan, the boat owners, and crews for their communication that helped keep us together this season.” Marcus Brennecke’s Hatari, overall winners of the 2020 Swan Tuscany Challenge, Club Swan 50 📸 Nautor Swan / Studio Borlenghi Tactician Markus Wieser on winning ClubSwan 50, Hatari, is elated with how well the fleet performed in Tuscany. Wieser is a familiar face around the sailing scene. He is involved in many classes, from the J/70 to the Superyacht range. The core team on Hatari sails TP52’s and also together on Maxi 72, Momo. “Being part of the Swan family for the first time– we felt very welcome. To race in this fleet with 13 boats on the starting line was extraordinary. That’s one design sailing at its best!” Once August came around, the Hatari team trained together with other teams at clinics, which was vital once Copa del Rey got canceled. Wieser commented, “We were building confidence while sailing in Palma, and so were the other teams. That time in the boat helped us win this first event in Tuscany, and was a great feeling of accomplishment. Things were on point for us. Our crew work, our set up. Our skipper, Marcus Brennecke, did an excellent job driving the boat, too.” Well matched, highly competitive one design racing for the ClubSwan 50 fleet. 📸 Nautor Swan / Studio Borlenghi “The competition was very tough,” said Wieser. “We didn’t have it easy. We were always fighting to be in the top-end of the fleet each race.” The ClubSwan 50 fleet is unbelievably tight. Any mistakes made would push you back. Once you lost that one-up, it was tough to get back into range with the race leaders,” said Wieser. “In one-design classes, the boats are practically identical, so everyone is very closely matched. “That’s the best part about this type of racing. It’s an even playing field.” The Worlds are currently scheduled for October 13-17th, and Hatari plans to be there. Racing location means everything, and the class goes above and beyond when choosing venues that will give sailors the best possible racing conditions. “Scarlino was a superb host for all of us,” said Wieser. “Especially considering they had very little time to prepare for this event.” North Sails Grand Prix expert Ignacio Braquehais (Nacho) onboard second-place finisher, Stefan Heidenreich’s OneGroup is honored to be a part of the ClubSwan 50 Project, “It’s not only about increasing the number of boats on the line,” said Nacho, “but also to make sure that each team is optimized and at the highest level of competition. We want to share our experiences and help each team evolve, not only in technical ways but also in trimming and tuning.” “The 2020 Swan Tuscany Challenge was the perfect warm-up after this last COVID lockdown in Italy,” Braquehais explained. “It was apparent that all teams are grateful for the support they’ve received from both the class and North Sails.” 📸 Nautor Swan / Studio Borlenghi Full Results READ MORE

3Di POWER FOR THE COBH TO BLACKROCK RACE Winners of Each Class Set New Race Record Frank Caul's Prince of Tides, overall winner of White Sails class 📸 Robert Bateman North Sails clients demonstrated the power of 3Di last weekend in the Cobh to Blackrock Race taking a clean sweep across all the classes. The top two boats in each class used 3Di upwind sails, which drove the leaders to set a new race record. Congratulations to all the winners; we are very proud to be your sail suppliers: IRC Spinnaker 1 1st: Nieulargo - Denis & Annamarie Murphy 2nd: Miss Whiplash - Ronan Downing IRC Spinnaker 2 1st: Cracker - Denis Byrne 2nd: Luas - Sean Hanley White Sails 1st: Prince of Tides - Frank Caul 2nd: Magnet - Kieran O'Brien North Sails Ireland Loft Manager, Nigel Young, took part in the Blackrock Race this year for the first time, so we got his account of the race: "This year's race was a really quick one. It was my first ever Blackrock Race and I was lucky enough to be sailing with Frank Caul and John Molloy on Prince of Tides, the Grand Soleil 37 from the RCYC. Prince of Tides had the fastest elapsed time of all the classes at just 57 minutes and 18 seconds, although hard to compare with Spin 1 as we started 10 minutes after them, but even so, a great performance from the team. North Sails got involved with the Prince of Tides team in November 2019, helping them with a few key bits and pieces over the winter. Then in the spring of 2020, we added two 3Di Endurance 760 sails with a third one on the way. The old sails were very tired and it was really hard to keep the boat in the groove upwind - flat at the front and round in the back is not a great combination. The new sails mixed with the boat modifications over the winter have resulted in a complete change of performance from the boat. It is like sailing a different boat thanks to Mark Mills for his help and advice, as well as the new North sails. Back in Spinnaker 1 Class Nieulargo stuck to their winning ways and it was great to see the family sailing together and sharing the helm between sisters Molly and Mia. There is nothing better than family sailing and it's very nice to be a part of it. Congratulations to the Murphy family for another Trophy race win. Keep up the good work. Nieulargo also uses 3Di Endurance 760 sails for their upwind inventory and the race-winning sail for them this year was the Helix Xi Aramid Code Zero. Talking to Denis after the race, he said the new Zero had won the race for them. They flew the sail from the start of the Foaty Channel almost right up to the Blackrock Castle. It's one of those sails when the wind angle is right, they are unbeatable. I could not finish the report without a shout out for Denis Byrne and the mighty Trapper TS250 Cracker. Denis has been getting faster and faster in that little boat and although he could be a long way back on the water, you can never write him off from the podium! The Blackrock Race was no different this year and Denis won both Spinnaker Class 2 overall as well as the coveted Moonduster Trophy. Congratulations Denis; great work from you and your crew. For more information about North Sails unique 3Di product, please get in touch. See you on the race track!'' Denis & Annamarie Murphy's Nieulargo crossing the finish line, overall winners of IRC Spinnaker 1 class 📸 Robert Bateman Denis Byrne's Cracker, overall winners of IRC Spinnaker 2 class 📸 Robert Bateman READ MORE

#NSVICTORYLIST: NATIONAL 18's Clients Sweep The Podium at the 2020 Irish Nationals Nick Walsh, Rob Brownlow and Eddie Rice, 1st place Irish Nationals Whilst we were all heading up to Blackrock on Saturday the National 18 Class were holding the Irish Nationals from the RCYC. Reduced numbers this year due to our friend C-19 but no let up in the racing. Talking to some of the sailors after the event on Sunday this was one of the hardest fought Championships in many years. North Sails have been heavily involved in the class since 2004 and we had a very intense period again in 2015/16 with the development work on the new Morrison Ultra 18. That was great fun out in the freezing conditions with Colin Chapman and many of the other sailors trialing the new designs and working out the new class rules for the sails with my old friend David Chivers. Out at Roches Point the fleet enjoyed some lovely racing on Saturday under the leadership of the one and only John Crotty. Lots of compliments were coming his way after sailing inside the harbour on Sunday. Well done John for taking such good care of the fleet on the water. After the eight race series I was delighted to learn that North Sails clients had taken the top three spots overall in the 2020 Irish Nationals. Congratulations to all the winners: 1st Overall: Nick Walsh, Rob Brownlow and Eddie Rice on 13 points. 2nd Overall: Alex Barry, Andrew Woodward and Grattan Roberts on 19 points. 3rd Overall: Colin Chapman, Eric Lyons and Morgan O'Sullivan on 22 points. Colin Chapman, Eric Lyons and Morgan O'Sullivan finish 2nd Place Irish Nationals 2020 South Coast Champs Back at the end of August the class enjoyed their Southern areas and North Sails customers had another clean sweep of the podium. Congratulations to Alex Barry, Sandy Remington and Richard Leonard for taking the win. 2nd overall this time was Ewen Barry, Stanley Brown and Dion Barrett and third overall Nick Walsh, Rob Brownlow and Eddie Rice. Very close racing again which is one of the big draws for the National 18 class. Congratulations again to all the North clients performing so well with our sails. We are proud to be a part of your success. Our 2020 Autumn Savings Deal is currently running so now is a great time to buy your new One Design Sails ready for 2021. Ready to get the most of your National 18 sailing? Contact us today. We look forward to working with you. Sail Fast! Contact the Loft Colin Chapman, Eric Lyons and Morgan O'Sullivan 3rd Place Irish Nationals READ MORE

FRANCISCO UVA CROWNED OPTIMIST PORTUGUESE NATIONAL CHAMPION After A Fantastic Performance in Vilamoura Francisco Uva 📸 Luis Fráguas The Portuguese National Championships finished last weekend in Vilamoura. Francisco Uva (POR 2735) and Júlia Cardoso (POR 2651) fought very closely for first place, with Uva taking home the title. Alongside four of the top six finishers, both Uva and Cardoso were powered by North, using the R-2 (Francisco Uva , Júlia Cardoso, Augusto Castelo-Branco) or R-4 (Salvador Baptista-Fernandes) designs. Congratulations to all sailors who took part in the Championship! Talk to your local Optimist class expert for more information on the North Sails Optimist range. Júlia Cardoso 📸 Gonçalo Melo Augusto Castelo Branco 📸 cedida por Augusto Castelo Branco Salvador Baptista-Fernandes 📸 cedida por Laura Artiaga READ MORE

NORTH CLIENTS DOMINATE 2020 ELLIOTT 5.9 NATIONALS 3Di Sweeps the Top Three in New Zealand Rough & Reddy to windward, Smak in the middle, Slam Dunk to leeward. 📸 NZ Elliott 5.9 Class Association North Sails filled the top podium at the New Zealand Elliott 5.9 Nationals last weekend. All three teams used 3Di OCEAN 330 mainsails and jibs. This was one of the closest finishes the class has seen in many years. Congratulations to clients Crag Satterhwaite and team on Rough and Reddy, edging out Kevin Peet's Smak to win the regatta on count back. Only a few points behind in third was Stu Clarke's team Slam Dunk. Congratulations to all on great sailing! Have questions about upping your game at the next event? Contact your local Elliott 5.9 expert Derek Scott and make the most of your time on the water. READ MORE

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: HAVOC Finding Balance Between Cruising and Racing Local North Sails expert Drew Mitchell catches up with Joey Drake, owner of Havoc, a C&C SR 33 out of Vancouver. Joey you have just upgraded sailing vessels. What was the decision maker on upgrading and purchasing Havoc ? I've always wanted a more serious race boat of my own, one that was large enough for a crew, and something I could spend the night on. I had been saving up and when I saw Havoc for sale, it checked all the boxes. She was well cared for, fast, and came with a ton of gear and a huge quiver of sails. Despite COVID starting up, it was actually good timing for me financially as well. When I met the previous owner, I could tell he was as passionate about sailing as I am and knew he had treated the boat right. You purchased this boat during a global pandemic. I know you bought it locally but did you have any issues with the purchase due to the state of pandemic ? I was curious to see if COVID would hinder or help the process at all, but it didn't seem to be a factor. I had some warnings that I might not be able to get a survey or that we wouldn't be able to have a proper sea trial, but it all worked out with pretty minimal headache. The only real bummer about buying a race boat in the middle of a pandemic has been all the regattas being canceled! Havoc is a pure racer but with many local races and regattas not happening this summer did you decide to take her cruising? If so where and what did you get up too ? The silver lining to having fewer regattas this summer has been all the exploring of BC's many cruising destinations. We have capitalized on all the free weekends and sailed to many beautiful spots that I have only talked about going to before. I owned the boat for less than a week and we were already setting a course to the Gulf Islands, our first cruising spot. We spent some time anchored in Galiano Island, then over to Wallace Island. Since then we've made our way up the Sunshine Coast, spending a long weekend in Smuggler Cove, meandered around Bowen Island, cruised up to Gambier Island for an SSYC event, and just returned from a long weekend in Gibsons. Along the way, we always take the opportunity to get to know the boat and practice maneuvers. With Havoc being a racer obviously cruising is a bit different. Tell us some ways/things you may have done to set up Havoc so you could get away cruising with her ? My girlfriend grew up in New Zealand cruising her family's yacht around. She loves her time relaxing in a cove somewhere, and I am convinced she would live her whole life at anchor (or sailing to the next anchorage) if possible. My passion however, is racing, so we figured it was easier to cruise a race boat than it would be to try and race a cruiser. I like to heel without hearing half my belongings tumbling around down below. She set to work "cruising" up the boat immediately. She starting planning the new cushions and cookware sets before I even purchased the boat. Although there isn't much space down below for lounging or cooking, there's a ton of deck space, so we have focused on making that area comfortable while cruising. We got a BBQ that can easily dismount when we want to feel less cruisey, a new stereo system, some outdoor pillows to make seating more reasonable, and figured out a way to stow multiple bicycles below. It still feels a bit like camping, but it's more than fine with us! This spring/summer you took charge and ran some competitive cruises around Vancouver through the online Sea Sloth Yacht Club. Can you tell us a little about how this all came about and what the Sea Sloth Yacht Club mission is? We Sea Sloths have always focused on inclusivity when it comes to sailing. Since most regattas and sailing events were being canceled this year, it ended up being a great way to get the word out about the group. We first came up with the idea for "Competitive Cruising" when the Martin Marine Round Bowen Race date came up. We wanted to sail, and we knew others did as well, so we just picked a couple marks on opposite shores as a start line and put the word out on Facebook. We wrote some very relaxed "sailing instructions", but with only four days' notice, we didn't know if anyone would show up. We ended up with 18 boats on the start line! People seemed to have a lot of fun, so we ran with it and put together some more events, but with more organization and planning. The whole idea has always been to get people on the water, and help erase some of the perceived barriers into the sport. It's low-stakes racing where everyone is invited, no matter what kind of boat or experience you have. The events are designed to give people space, and make the courses as user-friendly as possible to encourage sailors who might be new to racing. Do you have any Sea Sloth YC competitive cruises planned for the near future and how do people get involved ? Absolutely! We are currently planning another cruise with an overnight anchor, as well as something a tad more spicy for those round-the-can types. With some of the local clubs starting to host actual events again, we took a short break, but the Sea Sloths are here to stay! The goal of including new sailors and new boat-owners hasn't changed, so we will continue to find new ways to encourage folks to cast off the dock. You can find out more about the club on the website, seaslothyachtclub.com, or on the facebook group. There's also a club-wide WhatsApp group where everyone is free to share cruising ideas. Once sanctioned racing and regattas gets going again where and what events do you plan to race Havoc in? Everything! One of the reasons I wanted my own boat was so that I could really attack the schedule and get out there often. I want to improve my skills as a sailor and especially as a skipper. My girlfriend and I managed to compete double-handed in the Jack and Jill regatta recently, which is no small task with running backstays. We have another double-handed race coming up, the Ken & Barbie regatta, and I just entered the boat in the Howe Sound Regatta later on in the month. As soon as weeknight racing picks up again, you'll see Havoc ripping around the course. After a full summer with the new boat do you have any current projects or upgrades you plan to do with her ? Havoc is beautiful and in great shape, but she's still 25 years old, so that of course comes with some projects. First items on the list are some new paint on the bottom, some new runners and halyards, and a bit of a "re-branding." Havoc has a long history racing in the area, so we wanted to keep the name, but my girlfriend is a graphic designer and she designed a new graphic for the name to spruce things up a bit. We are both pretty excited about that. What was your favourite memory so far with Havoc? The first time I ever touched the helm after buying the boat was for a practice race in English Bay. Vancouver is generally a light-air venue, but this day it was blasting 28-30 kts with steep wind waves. The whole crew was a bit nervous, having never sailed the boat before and half were new to sailing altogether. People kept asking "Should we do this?" We stuck it out and had an absolutely amazing day. We were late to the start while we fiddled with reefing the 3Di main, but rejoined the fleet quickly. On the way upwind, we decided not to attempt the kite, but once we rounded the windward mark, we couldn't help ourselves. Up went the fractional asym, and we rocketed downhill at a steady 13kts while surfing waves. My face hurt from smiling so much. We were all soaked from water spraying up over the deck, and we were all happy as could be. I am sure there will be higher speeds and many more memories down the road on Havoc, but that moment will be one of my favorites for years, I imagine. READ MORE

CONSEJO NORTH SAILS Hoy hablamos de mayores La vela principal de cualquier velero, tanto de crucero como de competición, puede combinarse con diferentes diseños, materiales o sistemas de izado en función del uso, las características del barco o las preferencias de su armador. Mayor convencional Cuenta con uno o dos sables altos forzados y sables bajos de baluma. Mayor de cabeza cuadrada La vela de elección en regatas grand prix. Su área superior cuadrada permite un twist progresivo altamente eficiente, un arrastre inducido menor y una distribución optimizada del área de la vela. Mayor de sables forzados Los sables cubren desde la baluma hasta el grátil, mejorando el control de la forma y reduciendo el flameo, lo que redunda en una mayor durabilidad. Mayor de alto alunamiento Su perfil se encuentra entre el de una mayor convencional y una de cabeza cuadrada, y es la vela de elección para multicascos. Ofrece buenas prestaciones en brisas ligeras y navegación de través. Mayor enrollable en el mástil Requiere un diseño personalizado, con o sin sables verticales y un sistema de enrollado que garantice su perfecto ajuste dentro de la cavidad del mástil. Mayor enrollable en la botavara Requiere un diseño personalizado y un sistema de enrollado que garantice su perfecto ajuste dentro de la cavidad de la botavara. Las mayores North Sails están disponibles en diferentes materiales en función de su uso: NPL, NPC y 3Di. Contacta con nuestros expertos para que te asesoren sobre la mejor elección para tu barco. READ MORE

LAS VELAS DE LA FLOTA IMOCA El próximo 8 de noviembre partirá de Les Sables d’Olonne la BB edición de la Vendée Globe © Jeremie leCaudey North Sails es la velería elegida por tres cuartos de la flota IMOCA: 17 equipos equipan inventarios completos de la velería y otros siete cuentan con inventarios parciales. La regla de clase IMOCA limita a ocho el número de velas en competición, y cada equipo decide el diseño y particularidades de cada una de ellas en función del diseño y configuración del barco y su aparejo, las preferencias del patrón y su estrategia para afrontar la vuelta al mundo en solitario. North Sails diseña las velas a medida para cada equipo, fabrica su estructura 3Di en la velería de Minden (Nevada, Estados Unidos) y las finaliza en la velería de Vannes (Francia). READ MORE

NORTH SAILS COPA EL PODIO Barcos equipados con inventarios North Sails dominaron la regata Mar de Maeloc Rías Baixas, una prueba de cuatro etapas disputada entre el 12 y el 15 de agosto en la costa sur de Galicia. © María Muiña La clasificación combinada erigió campeón absoluto al First 44.7 Aceites Abril de Jorge y Luis Pérez Canal, por delante del Elan 37 Bosch Service Solutions patroneado por Ramón Ojea y el Grand Soleil 37 B Antílope de José Luis Alonso con Jorge Martínez Doreste de táctico, todos ellos equipados con velas North Sails. ¡Enhorabuena a todos y gracias por confiar en North Sails! READ MORE

DOMINIO EN MODO ULTIME El trimarán de 32 metros de eslora Maxi Edmond de Rothschild se impuso en la batalla de titanes en la Drheam Cup, regata de 750 millas náuticas entre las localidades francesas de Cherbourg-en-Cotentin y La Trinité-sur-Mer. © E. Stichelbaut / polaRYSE / Gitana El barco del equipo Gitana copatroneado por Franck Cammas y Charles Caudrelier fue el más rápido de los diseños Ultime, completando el recorrido en 21 horas, 30 minutos y 33 segundos, dos horas por delante de su inmediato perseguidor, el Sodebo. Tercero finalizó el Actual, completando un podio copado por inventarios North Sails. La Drheam Cup es la única regata programada por Gitana como preparación para su asalto al Jules Verne Trophy, la circunnavegación del planeta cuyo récord actual de 40 días, 23 horas y 30 segundos estableció en 2017 el IDEC de Francis Joyon con velas North Sails. READ MORE

VELAS NACIDAS PARA EL CRUCERO La navegación de crucero requiere velas específicas que aporten fiabilidad, durabilidad y facilidad de uso. El catálogo de la velería North Sails ofrece su gama específica Cruising con soluciones a medida para cada barco y las preferencias de cada armador, siempre con la garantía de una navegación rápida, con menor escora, menor carga de timón, menor abatimiento, gran facilidad de trimado y una prolongada vida útil. Seis décadas de experiencia en diseño, ingeniería y fabricación de velas permiten a North Sails contar con un extenso catálogo que abarca en eslora desde pequeñas embarcaciones de vela ligera hasta los más colosales superyates y en utilización desde embarcaciones de recreo hasta trimaranes voladores de competición oceánica. Dentro de este denso y extenso universo de referencias, la velería propone su gama Cruising específica para navegación de crucero, una familia de productos que combina diseños a medida con los mejores materiales de la factoría North Sails, desde el tradicional poliéster hasta el revolucionario 3Di. Literalmente, una respuesta a cada necesidad. La gama Cruising se caracteriza por su compromiso entre durabilidad, polivalencia y prestaciones. Un extenso dosier que cuenta con una amplia oferta de mayores (estándar, de sables forzados, con alto alunamiento, enrollable en el mástil y enrollable en la botavara), génovas/foques (preferiblemente enrollables para navegación de crucero) y velas de rumbos abiertos (especialmente Gennaker, un spinnaker asimétrico fijado a la proa o al botalón que no requiere tangón ni aparejos especiales), con la posibilidad añadida de adaptar el diseño de las velas a las preferencias de cada armador, una capacidad de personalización que garantiza la satisfacción del cliente. La importancia del material Para elegir la vela adecuada a nuestro barco, resulta clave identificar qué material responde mejor a nuestras necesidades. En navegación de crucero priman factores como durabilidad, fiabilidad, polivalencia y capacidad de adaptación a un amplio rango de condiciones de viento y mar con ajustes de trimado fáciles y menos frecuentes. La gama North Sails Cruising basa su oferta en tres materiales: NPC, NPL y 3Di. NPC es el acrónimo de North Panel Cloth, y agrupa a la familia de productos de tejido de poliéster North Sails. Las velas NPC se dividen en Cross-Cut (confeccionadas con tejido NorDac Fill de trama de poliéster de alta tenacidad), Radian (que ofrece menor estiramiento y mayor rendimiento que cualquier otro tejido de poliéster no laminado, exceptuando la 3Di Nordac) y Downwind (específica para portantes). NPL, o North Panel Laminate, engloba a las velas laminadas de crucero. En función de las necesidades del armador, la gama ofrece versiones TOUR (construcción en sándwich de aramida negra de corte radial con laminado Xi Cruise), TOUR ULTRA (construcción en sandwich de dyneema o de dyneema/carbono para barcos de mediana y gran eslora respectivamente) y Downwind (laminados de poliéster o de aramida, recomendados para velas portantes de rumbos cerrados tipo G-Zero). 3Di son las siglas mágicas que lucen las velas de los más avanzados barcos de competición, pero que también están disponibles en versión crucero bajo la denominación 3Di OCEAN. La 3Di OCEAN 330 es un producto revolucionario que reinventa la vela de dacron, combinando las propiedades únicas de las velas de composite 3Di con la conocida fibra de poliéster, resultando en una innovadora vela de crucero sin costuras, con una forma aerodinámica más suave y estable que ofrece una mejora en el control, la comodidad y la velocidad; un compromiso nunca antes visto entre coste, prestaciones y durabilidad. La 3Di OCEAN 370 es un híbrido de poliéster y Ultra PE, creada para satisfacer las necesidades únicas de los barcos de crucero en el rango de 35 a 60 pies, tanto para monocascos como para la creciente comunidad de cruceros multicascos. La 3Di OCEAN 700 utiliza la proporción más alta de Ultra PE de toda la gama 3Di (Ultra PE cuenta con mayor grado de elasticidad que el carbono o la aramida, ofreciendo un mayor margen de seguridad frente al flameo, los roces y el plegado), lo que le confiere una imbatible combinación entre facilidad de uso y manejo al reducir volumen, peso y rigidez, pero sin comprometer los altos niveles de robustez y fiabilidad característicos de las velas de composite moldeado 3Di. Como importante valor añadido, el equipo de expertos de North Sails España ofrece su asesoramiento a la hora de elegir el inventario idóneo para nuestro barco, aportando su experiencia en elección de materiales y diseños, y proponiéndonos la configuración más adecuada a nuestras necesidades para conseguir la mejor experiencia en navegación de crucero. Todos los detalles sobre la gama North Sails Cruising están disponibles en North Sails. READ MORE

THE LAST WARM-UP BEFORE THE VENDEE GLOBE Less Than Two Months To Go! With less than two months to go before the start of the Vendée Globe, the IMOCA skippers are taking one last chance to measure themselves in the warm-up finale, the Défi Azimut. The Défi Azimut is a competition born in the heart of the Lorient Sailing Valley (based in Brittany, France), the cradle of offshore racing and technology, and “a breeding ground for skills”, as Jean-Marie Corteville, creator of the Défi Azimut and President of Azimut, points out. Created at the initiative of the IMOCA class, the Défi Azimut brings together the skippers of the Vendée Globe, and the Lorient based company Azimut, with the mission of combining performance, innovation, and strategy, in the image of what the Sailing Valley conveys. Since its launch in 2011, it has not denied its success and has brought together more than 70 sailors, including the winners of major competitions. It serves as a dress rehearsal before the major transatlantic races that punctuate the nautical calendar from year to year, the Transat Jacques Vabre and the Route du Rhum, and the prestigious quadrennial Vendée Globe set to begin on November 8, 2020. 20 IMOCAs, with 15 foilers, are participating in the 2020 edition of the race. The race began on September 9th with the speed run, a pure speed trial along a 1.5-mile course. A spectacle to view from the shore, these runs are a chance for the teams to push their boats, sails, and spectators’ heartbeats to the limit. Jérémie Beyou (Charal, defending champion), Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut), Kevin Escoffier (PRB), Clarisse Crémer (Banque Populaire), Sébastien Simon (Arkea-Paprec), Charlie Dalin (Apivia), Isabelle Joschke (MACSF), Armel Tripon (L’Occitane en Provence), Alan Roura (La Fabrique), Romain Attanasio (Pure – Best Western), Fabrice Amedeo (Newsrest Arts & Fenêtres) and Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian Group) are among the competitors of the 10th edition of the Défi Azimut and are equipped with North sails. 📸: Ronan Lafaix – L’Occitane en Provence / Défi Azimut Whether aboard their latest generation foiling monohull or older boats, the IMOCA skippers look forward to this post-summer challenges as they resume their regular training schedules, The Défi Azimut is comprised of three major events over five days: The Speed Run: Crewed speed trials to try and set the best time. Several possible attempts (between 2 and 4) for each of the crews composed of a maximum of eight people. 48H Azimut: The flagship race within the event, the 48 hour, 500-mile single-handed race allows for a media man/woman on board to allow the public to experience the daily life of the sailors. Chrono Tour du Groux: The record of the round the island of Groix with a reduced crew. The record is held by French sailor Vincent Riou in 2015, who covered 17 miles in 1 hr 8 min 10 seconds. This varied and intense race format will allow the performance of the boats to be evaluated and serves as a showcase to measure the technological differences. For 2020, the technology challenge is paying attention to the foils, and how they interact with the daggerboards, which continue to prove their worth. All eyes will also be on the skipper’s choice of sails which is just as important as the adjustment of the foils, especially when reaching and downwind. Such a high-caliber race offers the competing teams the opportunity to carry out final equipment checks, make the final adjustments, and validate their choices before the big show. It will also allow sailors who were unable to compete in the Arctic Vendée last July to put their cards on the table and assess their level. “Every time the Kiwis, Australians, or English pass through here, they are impressed. The Défi Azimut is equal to Lorient, which has become the world center of ocean racing,” commented Malouin skipper Kevin Escoffier (PRB), 2nd in the 48-hour race in 2019. Sanitary measures will be put in place to ensure the smooth running of the event. Fans can stay up-to-date on the action here. 📸: Yann Riou / PRB   READ MORE

Experts Share Fastest Numbers for the Vipers North Sails Viper 640 experts, led by reigning World Champion Jackson Benvenutti and former World Champion Zeke Horowitz with help from Annapolis NOOD Champion Austin Powers, have been hard at work updating your Viper 640 North Sails Tuning Guide. This guide features key updates to make sure your speed stays consistent with the fastest teams in the world. What’s New? You will find a new measurement for a shorter headstay, an update on mast butt placement, and hear about new techniques for using your mast blocks and lower shrouds to control headstay tension. You will also discover updated guides for weather jib sheeting as well as how that relates to the vang and cunningham settings. As always, this guide serves to get everyone in the ballpark for world championship caliber speed. Your North Sails experts are eager to help you dial-in and fine tune so you and your team can be set up for success. Contact us any time! We look forward to helping you achieve your goals.   Contact Your Class Expert Open Tuning Guide   READ MORE

KEEPING UP WITH CHARLIE ENRIGHT North Sails Caught Up With the 11th Hour Racing Skipper on His Transat Delivery and Prepping for The Ocean Race Summit in Newport, RI. 📸: Amory Ross | 11th Hour Racing. Charlie Enright is a busy guy if he’s not gearing up for The Ocean Race learning his new IMOCA platform, he’s spearheading a sustainability campaign or collaborating with his team. North Sails managed to secure a few minutes with the 11th Hour Skipper ahead of The Ocean Summit in Newport and training on Narragansett Bay. North Sails: Tell us about delivering the boat to Newport. It was an eventful delivery with a new foil: it was wet, it was wild, it was upwind. It felt like a totally new boat with the new foil. Life onboard was tough, too – there were six of us, and there’s not much room down below! It’s a wild beast and it will take a while to tame. When you are down below, you feel like you are in a torture chamber, but up on deck, it’s a bit better than that. The living arrangements are something we need to work on, particularly on long trips. You’ve gone around the world several times now. You’re learning a new boat. How has that been for you? Stepping away from the Volvo 65 and jumping into the IMOCA Class? In our last two trips around the planet, we were racing in one-design boats so the IMOCA brings a level of development that we’re not familiar with. The design and the technological aspect is certainly a big step up, but one that we’re embracing and immersing ourselves int. The journey so far has been really rewarding. 📸: Amory Ross | 11th Hour Racing. As far as being hands-on with designing the boat and the sails, what have you picked up that’s different from your last two campaigns? Well, it’s always a fine line between science, naval architecture, engineering, and then feedback from onboard. So I think managing that relationship is key. Making sure that everyone is getting the information they need to make the best decisions. From there, we test and ratify those decisions on the water, essentially in the form of boat speed. What is an example of a project you’ve worked on with North sail designers? What kind of adjustments are made in the typical sail design process? Whether it’s sail shapes or sail sizes, there’s the science that goes into it. Then you have to construct it and then go out there and do the work. So I’d say that right now, we’re more in the geometry phase opposed to the finer details. We’re painting with a broad brush right now before we jump into the nitty-gritty because there’s just so much that you can explore with tack locations, heights, areas, overlaps, LPs. We’re going big in these beginning stages as the race start is two years away. You’ve been a team leader during this entire process. How have you stepped up in a different way from a one-design platform with the rest of your group to getting your team on the same page while you’re also learning too? The depth of what we’re doing is much, much greater. At this point, it’s not about, do we go left or do we go right, it’s about when going left or going right what kind of foils are we going to have? What kind of sails are we going to have? The number of decisions that need to be made has increased probably 100-fold, so managing that process has certainly been challenging at times and definitely a step up from where we’ve been in the past. 📸: Amory Ross | 11th Hour Racing. A popular question from our audience: During the TransAt, did you have the opportunity to do any speed testing? What was the top speed you’ve seen on the boat so far? Because we were upwind all the way over, we didn’t see the speeds that we’d seen in other conditions at other times, but we’ve easily seen 36 knots, no question. With the new foil the percentage increase in speed at the angles at which we were sailing was quite noticeable too. With the Ocean Race Summit quickly approaching on September 16th, tell us about your role as Newport local, and being able to experience this in your hometown. We don’t take for granted the fact that we live in a very active maritime coastal community and being able to contribute to that in the form of The Ocean Race Summit is a really important milestone in our campaign. It’s important to us to be entrenched in the community and to support and work with local marine businesses sharing what we have learned on our sustainability journey. So, there’s definitely a hometown aspect to it – to be developing these innovations and strategies together while also bringing back everything we’ve learned from afar to our hometown. We follow what a team like 11th Hour Racing is doing when you have sustainability absolutely embedded in the core of your offering, but what can marine businesses and sailors be doing in their communities? What’s really important to remember is that none of us are perfect, but we are all citizens and we can all play a role in supporting ocean regeneration. The first time I sailed around the world, my eyes were opened to the global problem our oceans were facing; the second time I started to consider what solutions we could be putting in place to mitigate the impact, and this time we want to be showcasing the solutions that are available and influencing change right from within the heart of the sailing industry. It’s not realistic to expect the entire sailing industry to end in order to contribute to slowing down or stopping climate change, so our task is to promote and influence change from within the marine industry by working with boat builders and manufacturers to encourage a change in mindset and processes to make systemic changes for the future. 📸: Amory Ross | 11th Hour Racing. Can you give an example of this? One example is how we have worked with your designers at North Sails to understand the digital footprint of our sail production process. It turns out that this is a measurable percentage of the overall manufacturing footprint, which makes sense when you consider the importance of design and analysis in the innovation development of our campaign. Now we understand what this footprint is, we can work together and look at how we can improve these processes and also consider what we can be doing to restore and regenerate where we have had the impact. This is our ultimate team goal: to be net positive. We are working with all our suppliers and partners to identify areas that can be improved and how we can innovate new solutions to create that change. Thanks to the support we have from our partner at 11th Hour Racing, we can share our learnings with other teams, businesses, and events. What’s next? I know you guys are sailing around Jamestown this weekend in the Sail for Hope Regatta, but as far as preparing for the Ocean Race, getting the boat ready, and getting the team comfortable, can you tell us any of the goalposts that you’ve set? We’ll be sailing out of here for the next six weeks and at the end of that six week period, we’re up against some pretty big design decisions. We’re trying to gather as much data as possible while training so we’re as educated as we can be when we have to make those final calls. Coming from the Volvo 65 full-send into the IMOCA, are you nervous? No, not really. Last summer in some ways was a bit intimidating because it was a new class and a new race format. I sailed doublehanded from France to Brazil, which is something I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing five years ago, but I think now that we’ve got some more bodies on the boat, it feels a little bit more natural and more like the sailing that we’ve all done in the past. READ MORE

Milan Vujasinović & NS na tronu Europe FOTO: ROBERT DEAVES Osim Milana, člana JK Val iz Šibenika, na regati su sudjelovala još dva Hrvatska jedriličara. Obojica su iz Splitskog JK Labud i obojica su ostvarila finalni plasman među najboljih deset Europskih jedriličara! Riječ je o Josipu Olujiću koji je regatu završio na 8. mjestu i o Nenadu Bugarinu koji je na kraju bio 9. Organizacije Prvenstva ove godine su se prihvatili Poljaci koji su ga smjestili u njihovoj vrlo aktivnoj jedriličarskoj lokaciji u gradu Gdynia. Uvjeti na moru su bili pravi sjevernjački... mnogo oblaka, kiše, niskih temperatura (u odnosu na naše ljetne uvjete). Ukupno je sudjelovalo 70 jedriličara, uglavnom Europljana. Jedini koji su bili s drugih kontinenata su po jedan jedriličar s Novog Zelanda, Meksika, Venezuele i Argentine. Od njih, najozbiljniji u svojim namjerama bio je Argentinac koji je na kraju završio na sedmom mjestu, dok su se ostali smjestili u donjem dijelu rezultatske ljestvice. Inače je uobičajeno da se na raznim EP otvorenog karaktera prijavljuju i jedriličari s drugih kontinenata u mnogo većem broju, pogotovo oni koji su u olimpijskim programima i ovakve regate im izvrsno dolaze za brušenje forme, međutim aktualna situacija s Koronom smanjila je broj "stranaca" na minimum. Najviše se osjetio izostanak jedriličara iz Australije i Novog Zelanda, pa je i to jedan od razloga zašto su ove godine zajedno na regati jedrili mladići u naponu snage, zajedno sa svim ostalim mlađim i starijim kategorijama. Tako je u kategoriji natjecatelja mlađih od 23 godine bilo osmero, mastera je bilo deset, grand mastera sedam i great grand mastera čak jedanaest. Naši predstavnici su u Poljsku otputovali tjedan dana ranije da bi se akomodirali na uvjete, a i da bi napravili što više treninga u većim skupinama, jer ako se zanemari nedavno odjedreno Prvenstvo Hrvatske za klasu Finn, nije bilo niti jednog pravog treninga ili regate u dosta dugom vremenskom periodu. Event je započeo službenim premjeravanjem u nedjelju 30. kolovoza i za te aktivnosti bila su predviđena tri dana. Prvi natjecateljski dan bio je srijeda 2. rujna i u ritmu od po dva plova dnevno jedrilo se do nedjelje 6. Program regate je ispunjen u maksimalnom obimu i rezultati su se dobili nakon deset jedrenja i sa samo jednim odbacivanjem. Naš jedriličar koji je Gdyniu napustio sa zlatnim odličjem u svojoj kategoriji je Milan Vujasinović. On je bio i dosta dobar u generalnom plasmanu u kojem je osvojio 13. mjesto. Da je još uvijek ozbiljan kandidat i za puno bolje rezultate pokazuje to da je od deset mogućih rezultata imao tri jednoznamenkasta finiša, od čega je najbolji rezultat bio 2. mjesto u osmom plovu. Ostali rezultati su bili nešto lošiji i najveći broj bodova koji su mu ušli u konačnu kalkulaciju bio je 28. Ovako velike oscilacije u rezultatima vjerojatno su nastale zbog dosta velikih oscilacija u smjeru vjetra koje su se javljale u drugom dijelu svakog dana jedrenja. U tim trenucima ako ste se nalazili na pogrešnoj strani regatnog polja našli bi se u stvarno nepovoljnoj poziciji iz koje više nije bilo moguće razmišljati o boljem plasmanu. Više o tim detaljima nismo saznali od Milana, koji je odmah nakon završetka regate otputovao u Kiel na Kieler Woche, ali zato su za razgovor bili na raspolaganju druga dva Hrvatska jedriličara. Gdynia, Baltik... onako, hladniji uvjeti nego ovdje od kuda smo otišli s 30+ stupnjeva. Gore je u prosjeku bilo dvadesetak stupnjeva, a često i niže. Bilo je dosta oblačno, puno kiše... najlakše je to opisati s "Englesko vrijeme". Išli smo desetak dana ranije, jer od ožujka nije bilo pravog treninga. Tako da smo dosta trenirali i imali nekih malih trening regata. Nekih šest dana prije regate stisnula su me leđa, pa sam morao i jedno vrijeme provesti u mirovanju i ići na masaže da se to opusti. To me je pustilo dan dva prije EP i tada sam izašao na more da vidim da li su leđa u redu. U jednoj viri to me je opet stisnulo, pa sam zadnji dan pred početak Prvenstva morao provesti na masažama. Tako da sam u regatu ušao malo ukočen, jer nisam bio siguran hoće li se opet u nekoj viri nešto dogoditi. Srećom sve dalje je prošlo u redu, ali na početku se ipak nisam mogao opustiti i to mi je bila mentalna kočnica tog prvog dana. Kad sam se uvjerio da tijelo sluša i da mogu bez straha čupati i u krmu i u orcu opustio sam se i nastavio normalno jedriti. Što se tiče vremena, imali smo tri različita uvjeta jedrenja. Samo prvog dana je puhalo s mora, a sve ostale dane s kraja. U svim uvjetima bila je zajednička karakteristika značajnih oscilacija u smjeru vjetra od po 20-30°. Tako da se puno toga događalo, mijenjalo... lako se moglo biti naprijed, lako se moglo biti nazad. Ali na kraju se opet pokazalo da su oni koji su imali pravu brzinu sigurno izbijali naprijed. Za sebe mogu reći da sam odjedrio jednu konstantnu regatu. Imao sam i svojih prilika, a i lako izgubljenih bodova tokom svih dana, ali vozio sam konstantno. Moram reći da mi je to i bio cilj, da održavam visok prosjek... da ne zabrazdim negdje u floti, a i da ne napravim samo povremeni bljesak. Spomenuti veliki dricevi su me sigurno koštali značajnih bodova u dva plova, npr. u zadnjoj regati gdje sam s petog mjesta pao na dvadeseto. Ali s druge strane ne bi sve ni pripisao tim promjenama, poštenije bi bilo reći da u tim trenucima nisam bio 100% u regati... da nisam bio koncentriran i da nisam pratio što se dešava po polju. Ali svejedno... u zadnju regatu predzadnjeg dana sam ušao kao petoplasirani i kao peti sam i okrenuo gate, u tom trenutku bio sam ispred svih direktnih konkurenata. Nažalost, tada sam se uspavao na minutu i nisam pratio što se događa pa sam odabrao krivu stranu, odnosno okrenuo lijevi gate, a vjetar je otišao u desno tridesetak stupnjeva. Posljedica je bila da sam na bovu od orce došao kao 25. pa sam morao u posljednjoj krmi spašavati što se spasiti može. Tada sam finiširao na osmom mjestu, što isto nije loše, ali... Josip Olujić, JK Labud Analizom Josipovih rezultata vidi se da je stvarno održavao dobar prosjek, a imao je čak i pobjedu u 7. plovu. Na kraju je razlika iza trećeplasiranog bila 22 boda. Da je bilo malo više koncentracije i sreće u dva spomenuta jedrenja možda bi bio i u konkurenciji za postolje... Ovako je s 83 boda završio na osmom mjestu, a da bi cijela priča bila neizvjesnija pobrinuo se drugi Labudaš, Nenad Bugarin, koji je Europsko prvenstvo završio samo jednom mjesto iza Josipa sa samo jednim bodom razlike! FOTO: ROBERT DEAVES Sve skupa je moglo i malo bolje završiti, a moglo je i lošije, ipak su uvjeti bili zahtjevni. Trebalo je držati konstantu, što nije bilo ni malo lako, pogotovo zadnjih dana kad smo imali vjetar s kopna koji je mijenjao smjer i po više od 30°. Tako da to nije bilo lako za predvidjeti i oni koji su uspjeli imati konstantne rezultate na kraju su osvojili medalje. Za razliku od Prvenstva Hrvatske ovog puta sam jedrio sa svojom opremom. Tada mi je bila još uvijek na Palmi gdje sam trenirao uoči Korone, ali za Europsko prvenstvo smo je uspjeli prebaciti do Poljske. Inače, na regati je sve manje više bilo uredno, brzina je bila korektna, ali moram ponoviti da su uvjeti bili toliko promjenljivi da ta brzina, iako je ona uvijek bitna, ipak nije toliko dolazila do izražaja. Tako da su stalno svi bili u konkurenciji za dobar plasman i samo su strategija i taktika donosile prevagu i osiguravale rezultat. A te promjene vjetra nisu išle po šabloni, inače bi se to moglo lako predvidjeti i postaviti se na moru na pravi način. Ono što se jedino moglo donekle reći da je šablona je to da su se te promjene dešavale u drugom dijelu dana. Krajem dana vjetar bi odlazio u desno, samo što nije bilo lako predvidjeti kad će se dogoditi taj trenutak. S druge strane dešavalo bi se da vjetar ode u desno, pa se vrati, a u nekim drugim slučajevima ode u desno i ne vrati se više... to se npr. desilo zadnju regatu. Nenad Bugarin, JK Labud Neno se jednako kao i Josip može pohvaliti jednom pobjedom, a u prvih 10 je imao još četiri finiša! Oni koji žele napraviti malo detaljniju analizu učinka naših jedriličara mogu to napraviti pomoću službenih rezultata koji se nalaze na ovom linku. Regatno polje na kojem se jedrilo EP bilo je u obliku štapa s ciljem postavljenim desno od posljednjeg gatea, a ciljano vrijeme jedrenja je bilo 75 minuta. Nakon ove regate pred Finnistima je duža pauza koja bi se trebala prekinuti na iduće proljeće, jer su trenutno sve ozbiljnije regate otkazane. Kulminacija sezone, ako se izuzmu Olimpijske igre koje su prebačene na iduće ljeto, trebala bi biti u Portugalu na svjetskom prvenstvu koje će se jedriti u Portu, jer će se tada podijeliti posljednja slobodna mjesta za Tokio, a naši predstavnici još nisu osigurali normu koja bi ih trebala jednog od njih tamo i odvesti. READ MORE

TRUSTING IN NORTH 3Di Powered Vento Solare is Making the Most of Their Summer Sailing Bill Kneller is passionate about getting on the water. For the past 17 years, he has been working hard to optimize his sailing programs and working closely with his sail experts and designers at North Sails in Portsmouth, RI to make sure he’s got the right sails for the job and the right set up to help him achieve his sailing goals. 3Di has played a role in his local sailing success onboard his J/109, providing him with a competitive sail plan, which has helped his team of sailing friends perform at their full potential. From weeknight PHRF racing on Narragansett Bay to weekend regattas in the New England area, Vento Solare is a familiar face on the race course, battling in the top of the fleet in all conditions she’s up against. We caught up with Bill and the team at the dock just after they finished the (Jamestown) Around the Island Race, hosted by Conanicut Yacht Club, to find out what this program is all about. Vento Solare took 17th out of 78 in one of the largest and competitive PHRF events in Newport, RI. He introduced us to his team, explained what positions they fill on the boat, and how they’ve built a great relationship with their skipper and friend –which is what this program is all about. Hear more about Bill’s corinthian team, Vento Solare, why he loves sailing, and how his local North Sails network has been supporting his programs over the years, helping him reach his goals and be successful on the water doing what he loves most. From us at North Sails, we want to wish Bill and the team the best of luck in the remainder of the 2020 season! READ MORE

TWICE ON TOP Argo Racing Breaks Two Records in a Doubleheader Week of Racing 📸: Rick Bannerot First, it was the Around Jamestown record, then it was the Vineyard Race, a mix of excellent conditions and determined crew gave Jason Caroll’s MOD70 Argo the opportunity to break, not one, but two records this week on New England waters. Is the team excited? Yes. Are they satisfied? No. North Sails sat down with Project Manager Chad Corning to talk about their titles, and what they are aiming for next. NS: What a week! Tell us about the sailing. Chad Corning: The first one was the around Jamestown record, which is a cool local record here in Newport. It’s about 19 miles around Conanicut Island in Narragansett Bay. We had been doing laps around Jamestown as a training exercise. In the MOD 70, it gives us a focused training session. It was probably been the fourth or fifth time that we had contemplating doing a lap of the island this summer. We got out on Tuesday, the wind was easterly, southeasterly, it was an okay direction for going around because you want an easterly or westerly to reach the whole time. So we got out and we got the boat ready to go, the sails up, and by the time we opted to start, the wind had become even more easterly, which made it even better. We were able to fetch out to Beavertail, have a nice fast Gennaker run down the backside of Jamestown, and then just have to do one tack on the way back up to the bridge. As it goes with records, everything needs to be perfect and it was a perfect day on Tuesday. The Vineyard Race was quite different, you look at the weather and you download it into the computer and it spits out a route and there’s a lot of modeling. Hypothetically, the record was possible, but the conditions in the forecast didn’t quite meet up. By the time we got back into the sound, it looked to be impossible because of light winds between the tower and Block Island and the entrance to the sound that was not really expected. Then things looked up, there was much more wind than forecast for the next leg, from the entrance to the sound to the finish. So all of a sudden we started ripping and started doing the math and made the decision to keep pushing the team. From the navigator’s desk, I knew it would be kind of five minutes either way with a couple of hours to go. It was an exciting few hours, the boat was lit and everyone was just kind of pushing as hard as we could. Which makes it very satisfying after an intense effort like that to get it that was really cool. It was just by a few minutes and it was kind of breaking the record that we set in 2018, but a record of a record and it was cool. With no other boats to race against, in a race like the Vineyard Race, it’s really the only way to kind of stay focused. So it was great to get it. 📸: Sharon Green / Ultimate Sailing NS: How did the sails and equipment affect the decision to keep pushing for the record in changing and building conditions? How was the performance of the boat? Corning: Our relationship with North Sails, starts with our sailmaker Fuzz Foster and Steve Calder our sail designer, it’s a great collaborative process with those guys and that sets us up to be very confident. We didn’t think twice about anything with the sails and we had a mixed sort of mixed inventory age-wise. We had our original 3Di main, we have a newer one, but didn’t use it. We had our original Gennaker which is two-plus years old. It’s been around the block, it’s been to Hawaii and we pushed that sail very hard and didn’t even think about it. We know that even if it’s older stuff, we can be confident in pushing just as hard as we want. We’ve had zero trouble and the sails have been perfect. In terms of North, I can’t give enough credit to Fuzz and Steve, in terms of how they set us up on all this, that’s the secret sauce. NS: Because of travel restrictions, your crew is mostly Americans, right? Corning: We have a great team of sailors. Some guys from the UK and France that we would normally have weren’t here because of travel restrictions, but that’s okay. We’ve got good people here in Newport and here in the US that we tap into. Seven out of eight onboard were American, other than Brian Thompson who came from the UK, who’s a multi-hull sort of God and he helps us sort of stay out of trouble. Charlie Ogletree has the same sort of status in terms of experience as Brian, so those two guys gave us sort of the depth of experience on the boat and then the rest of the team, it was Jason Carroll , myself, some guys here from Newport, and US sailors, all who have a lot of experience on the boat. It’s kind of a low drama, good chemistry team and that just makes everything very easy. Everyone’s got each other’s back and everyone knows what to do instinctually without … there’s very little verbal communication. It’s a bit of a machine. 📸: Rick Bannerot NS: What’s next for the Argo crew? Corning: A record that we really want is the Caribbean 600 record, which has been elusive, although we’ve tried a couple of times, so we are reconfiguring the boat with new foils and new rudders for this winter campaign and the campaign next year. We have a very focused program to start that race on the very best possible foot. So, hopefully, the conditions are such where that’s possible. Then next year we’ll be in Europe with the boat, for the Fastnet and Middle Sea Races. It’ll be cool to do the Fastnet on the new course for the first time and I suspect many of the hundred footers will race, so a record or anything line honors might be impossible for that race, but perhaps the Middle Sea race record is in our sights. Then maybe the last thing we have in the longterm plan is to perhaps try for the Route of Discovery record which is Spain over to the Bahamas in the fall. But that is obviously a pretty far out there and we’ll kind of see what happens with it. READ MORE

INTRODUCING THE NEW THISTLE DSD+ MAINSAIL Smoother Sail Plan & More Power Across The Conditions As the leading sailmaker in the Thistle class, we are proud to introduce a new mainsail to the North Sails Thistle inventory. Class leaders Paul Abdullah, Mike Ingham, and North Sail Designer Mike Marshall have been working hard to make your Thistle sailing even better than before. The DSD+ mainsail is built out of Dimension/Polyant 165SQ that proves to be very durable, while the finish keeps the leech nice and straight through all conditions. With a radial lower section, the lower leech stays static as the mast bend is adjusted to match the conditions, providing the user with a smoother, flatter sail plan, with less overbend wrinkles. Incorporating a slight luff curve the sail shape is induced, transferring the power down low, opening the leech. The new DSD+ Mainsail is another step forward in North Sails goal to make the fastest sails possible. This new mainsail is very popular with inland lake sailors who see more flatter water conditions, though it has seen great success and proven its reliability in open water conditions as well. Standard features include battens, sail numbers, class royalties, insignia, vision window, sail bag, and an optional set of battens. Have questions? We are here to help. Customer service and education on our products is even more important than ever before. Learn more about North Sails new Thistle mainsail and how to achieve maximum power throughout a range of conditions. Watch our webinar, featuring Class experts Paul Abdullah, Mike Ingham, and North Sail Designer Mike Marshall to get the full download on our newest addition to the North Sails Thistle inventory, the DSD+ Mainsail. Shop Sails Contact Your Expert READ MORE

PH klase Optimist U12 JK Val iz Šibenika organizirao je trodnevnu regatu klase Optimist koja je bila ograničena samo na najmlađe jedriličare i imala je predznak Prvenstva Hrvatske. Jedrili su samo mlađi od 12 godina, a skupilo ih se 71 s cijelog Jadrana. Vremenski uvjeti u Šibeniku ih nisu baš mazili, jer se jedrilo samo u petak. Subota i nedjelja su protekli samo u kupanju i zabavljanju ispred kluba jer je puhalo vrlo jako, a na udare i olujno jugo. U petak je flote izašla na more oko 13 sati, a jedrilo se po laganom jugozapadnjaku. S obzirom da se jedrilo u Šibenskoj luci polje je bilo relativno kratko, ali s druge strane vjetar je bio lagan i trajanje jedrenja je bilo baš kako treba. Ukupno su se odjedrila dva plova, odnosno maksimalan broj predviđen za jedan dan u Oglasu regate. Malene nade hrvatskog jedrenja su bile poprilično disciplinirane na startu i samo četiri UFD-a su zapisana na ploči istaknutoj na brodu Regatnog odbora. Sve četiri kazne bile u u prvom plovu, a u drugom više toga nije bilo jer kako je prognoza nekoliko dana ranije najavljivala jako jugo za vikend, treneri su sigurno savjetovali svojim natjecateljima veću opreznost na startu drugog plova s obzirom da je s takvim razvojem vremenske situacije svaki bod osvojen u petak bio vrlo važan. Po pitanju bodova na prvom i drugom mjestu s jednakim brojem bodova, kraj dana su dočekali Ema Grabar i Bepo Duplančić. Bepo je bio konstantan i u oba plova je osvojio drugo mjesto, ali Emina pobjeda u prvom plovu osigurala joj je vodeću poziciju unatoč trećem mjestu u drugom plovu. U tom jedrenju najbrži je bio Emin klupski kolega Marko Puljiz, ali bolje od trećeg mjesta nije mogao, jer mu je 7. mjesto u prvom plovu donijelo dosta kaznenih bodova u odnosu na spomenuti dvojac. Subota je od samog početka bila u znaku vedrog juga koje je konstantno puhalo preko 20 čvorova, a za kategoriju U12 preporuka VZN-a je da ne jedre po vjetru preko 16 čvorova. U jednom trenu je na kratko vjetar oslabio na oko 15 čvorova, ali ubrzo se pokazalo da je u pitanju bio kratki smiraj jer je vjetar otišao malo u desno. Nakon tog prijelaza ponovno je pojačao na prethodne brzine pa je RO morao zaključiti druženje za taj dan. Da ne bi sve propalo pobrinuli su se domaćini koji su u dogovoru s Nacionalnim parkom Krka osigurali svim sudionicima besplatan ulazak u park i njegov obilazak. Mnogim mališanima je to bio prvi kontakt s krškom ljepoticom i sigurno će im ostati u lijepom sjećanju. Ali i onima koji su odlučili ostati u Šibeniku nije bilo dosadno jer su se klinci pobrinuli da im dan ipak prođe u smijehu i veselju. Nedjelja je za razliku od subote bila oblačna i dosta vjetrovitija. Jedino kratko zatišje bilo je ujutro oko 11 sati, ali jugo se ubrzo vraća u turbo mod i RO u 14 sati proglašava ovo Prvenstvo Hrvatske završenim. Rezultati po kojima su se podijelile nagrade su bili oni od petka, a na vrhu ljestvice bila su imena od kojih se i očekivalo da će biti glavni akteri raspleta. U generalnom poretku mjesto na postolju su osvojili: EMA GRABAR - JK ULJANIK, PULA BEPO DUPLANČIĆ - JK ZENTA, SPLIT MARKO PULJIZ - JK ULJANIK, PULA U konkurenciji djevojčica raspored je bio slijedeći: EMA GRABAR - JK ULJANIK, PULA MARTA LOLIĆ - JK SPLIT, SPLIT DORA SAMARŽIJA - JK SV.NIKOLA, ZAGREB A što se tiče dječaka zlato, srebro i broncu osvojili su: BEPO DUPLANČIĆ - JK ZENTA, SPLIT MARKO PULJIZ - JK ULJANIK, PULA TOMA SMIRČIĆ, JK SPLIT, SPLIT Treba spomenuti i da je u petak navečer u Šibeniku bilo otvaranje Festivala svjetla koji organizira član JK Val, Zoran Lučić. Svečanost je već tradicionalno održana na moru, gdje su izvođačima koji su bili na pontonu ispred rive, kulisu već tradicionalno radile prigodno osvijetljene jedrilice iz Šibenskog jedriličarskog kluba. READ MORE

DOUBLEHANDED TEAMWORK Ken Read and Suzy Leech Share Their Latest Insights 📸: Billy Black Balancing team members’ strengths is a vital part of taking on double-handed offshore sailing. After days offshore as a pair, with Ken Read as skipper and Suzy Leech as tactician share the secrets that make their partnership a success on the racecourse. Click here to watch the team debrief their summer of racing and win in the Ida Lewis Distance Race. NS: How do you make navigational decisions as a team? Leech: Partnership is key- both crew need to know how to navigate. Teach your partner. Each person should do their own homework. Then come together and have a discussion. Read: We split the macro and micro navigation. I was primarily the question asker for specific micro navigation/tactical questions and Suzy would spend the time pouring through the data looking for the answers. And she was great at making sure we didn’t end up on the beach! 📸: Billy Black NS: What about race preparation? What are you doing before the start line? Leech: Preparation is even more important when sailing double-handed, use the season of training data … weeks of weather observations (which model is accurate this season), days of routing… keeps you oriented, especially when you don’t have time to calibrate. Read: Especially for these 24-hour races, it is imperative to leave the dock with a very clear view of the racecourse and the expected weather and sail choices for the racecourse. Fully crewed, you can pour over data and make decisions on the fly. Often we had some pretty straight forward preconceived notions of what was next and that certainly was a benefit in a 24-hour race. Leech: Make safe gains… No big flyers. Read: We thought we would be pretty fast and well prepared and there was really no need to be crazy. No question knowing the area of Rhode Island Sound helped the two races this summer. A lot of tidal features around Block Island for example and it certainly helped having sailed around there for 40 years! 📸: North Sails NS: How do you deal with something unexpected during the race? How do you prevent mistakes? Leech: When you are sailing, take the time to check, before the quick answer, especially when tired. Read: Being tired is the enemy of any race. Any distance. As well as food and water consumption. For sure we have gotten better at making sure we stay hydrated and there is enough food in us. This is key. And prepping with the right clothing. For sure with Suzy and I, we fell into the boat speed vs boat handling/nav roles. Just happens to be what we probably do best. There is no doubt in my mind that we would have to get better at the other person’s role, though as the longer the race the more the other person has to do more. Leech: Remember to stick to your guns – trust your gut (e.g. on the way home, current around Point Judith was ripping… based on homework done, should have given wider berth). Read: I think that was tired brains after a long night with zero sleep! These things happen. You have to be prepared and know where you are in the fleet scoring at the time. We thought we were pretty safely ahead on corrected time at that stage so we probably mentally fell asleep for a bit there. 📸: Billy Black Leech: Look at trends … forecasts may be off, but which one has been closest? What trend does it indicate will happen next? Read: It’s normal boat racing, really. Know the course, know the anticipated weather per leg, know the competition, know the strengths and weaknesses of your boat and sail inventory, and work within all of the above. Leech: Stick with the game plan! And know your competition. READ MORE

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT: GORD WYLIE New Adventure Awaits with XP44 Phoenix With almost 40 years sailing under his belt, Gord Wylie is a veteran of the new boat ownership club, having four keelboats so far. His favourite? The J/29. It was his first keelboat and chance to be a skipper while being in charge of crew. He got the boat fixed up over time and turned it into a winning boat. His focus now though is his new XP44, which he sails out of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. North Sails expert Drew Mitchell caught up with Gord to share details of his new vessel. Gord, the new XP 44 you have brought to Vancouver is quite the machine. What was the decision maker on this specific boat? Is it turbo'd correct? Analysis, years of looking at boats. We were looking for a boat that can grow with our family as our children are getting older that has the ability for offshore racing and cruising. This boat is a long term boat for our family, 10 years or more. We wanted this boat for Vic Maui 2020. You purchased and moved this boat to Vancouver during this pandemic, did you run into any issues and where did the boat come from? We relied on the knowledge of professionals in our sailing community. Ross MacDonald from North Sails and Ian Fraser from Fraser Yachts for transport and boat knowledge.The boat came from Southampton to Tacoma, transport from Tacoma to Vancouver was difficult and in the middle of shutdown. Set up the boat when it arrived was also difficult as we were not able to have assistance from many people. Once you got the boat to Vancouver the pandemic was in full swing, this obviously changed your racing plans to cruising plans. How does the boat set up differently for two different types of sailing? We initially set up the boat for cruising but did switch to race mode for a bit, the racer in me needed to test out the boat in race mode. We have scratched the surface on testing the race sails, the boat came with a large inventory. Ross MacDonald has been very helpful with boat knowledge and sail inventory. When the sail inventory came into the loft I could barely get in the front door. With such a large inventory how do you plan to manage it? We have about 30 sails for the boat and have cleaned out the kid clutter in the basement and built a sail loft. Ross MacDonald and Dennis Lefeaux North Sails Vancouver> have been and are being very helpful with sorting through the sail inventory. I saw you out in the WVYC single/double handed race earlier in the year, how did the boat perform? Was it difficult to run such a large boat with only two sailors on board such a new large boat? We really enjoyed the day, it was our first time in any breeze and give a shout out to Drew Mitchell for hopping on board and helping with some stuck cars not adjusting properly. Obviously with the racing scene shut down in Vancouver you must be enjoying some cruising, where have you headed and does this boat cruise as well as she races? What are some of the features on the boat that make cruising enjoyable? We have been cruising in Desolation Sound and Johnson Strait this summer, my favorite stop this year in Desolation Sound was in Wallace Cove. We have some great cruising features on this boat including a cockpit table that recesses into the floor so you can have a wide open cockpit when underway and a dodger that folds down into a garage. Say that the racing scene comes back in 2021. What events do you plan on attending? Anything and everything, we are planning on racing offshore and PNW races. Any recommendations to future boat owners on purchasing sailboats outside of Canada? Do not underestimate the value of a broker who understands international shipping, a lot of money can be lost if not done correctly. I was fortunate enough to have an excellent broker. How did the name Phoenix come to fruition? We needed to come up with a name during the middle of the lock down and pandemic, Phoenix symbolizes a better future, rising from the ashes and seemed fitting for the times we are in and needing to look into a brighter future. READ MORE

NORTH SAILS 3DI DOMINATES AIB 1720 SOUTHERNS Dutch Gold Takes the Title Dutch Gold, winners of the AIB 1720 Southerns 📸 Bob Bateman North Sails would like to congratulate Rob O'Leary and his crew onboard Dutch Gold for winning the AIB Southern Area's this past weekend in fine style. Rob is getting a taste for winning with 3Di now and is on a roll at the top of the class. Dutch Gold was using a North 3Di mainsail and large jib as the key upwind sails for his programme. Hot on his heels this weekend was fellow club mates T-Bone sailed by the Durcan/O'Shea combination. T-Bone was also powered upwind by the same 3Di setup, as well as being powered downwind by the North T-6 large spinnaker. Talking to team T-Bone after the regatta, they were delighted with their pace upwind and down for the weekend. No complaints! This years' Southerns saw a full spread of conditions from 25 knots on Friday, to 5 - 6 knots on the final Sunday. The North 3Di sails handled the spread of conditions well and it's no coincidence that we see these sails claiming first and second position overall. It is unusual that the same sail making process can be made to work for International Moths, Sportsboats, America's Cup Super Yachts, and everything in between! 3Di really is an amazing process that is unique to North Sails. Dutch Gold crossing the fleet 📸 Bob Bateman T-Bone powering upwind 📸 Bob Bateman READ MORE

The Rise of Doublehanded Sailing Doublehanded sailing has gained momentum globally, as the gateway to getting back out on the water while remaining socially distant. Learn how you can improve your results in the next shorthanded race with our expert tips and techniques. Armel Le Cléac'h and Clarisse Crémer Give a Rundown of Their Experiences North Sails were lucky enough to have the two doublehanded experts Armel Le Cléac'h & Clarisse Crémer host a webinar for an in-depth masterclass. Quizzed by Ken Read, the pair discussed choosing the right teammate and how they got involved in the sport. Learn More Two Brains are Better than One Suzy Leech teamed up with Ken Read to take on the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race earlier this year. Each sailor brought a different set of skills to the table which led this powerful collaboration to take the win in the 24-hour doublehanded sprint race. Learn More Paris 2024 in Sight With nearly 20-thousand miles under his belt, Sam Fitzgerald is a seasoned Class40 racer and has his sights set on being a part of the doublehanded discipline for the upcoming summer games. Read about how he plans to make his vision a reality. Learn More Dynamic Duo Achieves Class40 Domination Catherine Pourre and Pietro Luciani are the reining Class40 World Champions with their North Sails allowing them to push the boat to its full potential. The pair share their best key takeaways for successfully managing a doublehanded racing program. Learn More Racing the Sun Fast 3300 Having never sailed the Sun Fast 3300 before, Ken Read explains why he wanted to get involved and take on the challenge of racing it from Fort Lauderdale to Key West with Suzy Leech. Learn More Shorthanded Sailing at a Local Level After three months of no activity, sailing on the Solent kicked off in June with 36 single and doublehanded racers. The North RIB launched to offer coaching, sail trim tips, and support to all. Learn More Sign Up Today For Upcoming Events! We've got three great events coming up, with the first one, the Vineyard Stamford Race, beginning on Friday with a whopping 95 boats registered. EDLU is on September 12th, and already there's over 45 boats registered to compete. The Essex Doublehanded Challenge is the following day, September 13th, for those that want a full-on weekend of racing. Don't miss these great racing opportunities to round out your 2020 season! Have questions for your local North Sails experts? Contact your team in Milford today. READ MORE

SESTO-COSBY MAKES WAVES IN THE OPTIMIST FLEET After Two International Regatta Wins on Lake Garda 📸 Fraglia Vela Riva/Zerogradinord Making a name for himself in the fiercely competitive Optimist fleet is 14-year-old British sailor Santiago Sesto-Cosby. Having sailed the Optimist for an astounding 10 years, we were eager to find out about his journey and where he is heading next. Sesto-Cosby started sailing at Salterns Sailing Club in Lymington on the south coast of England. He then joined the Royal Lymington Yacht Club before being part of the regional squad and ultimately being selected to train at a National level; a commitment that set him up well as he now competes internationally and races all over the world. The young sailor recently made waves on Lake Garda after winning the Ora Cup against 240 boats earlier this month. He topped off his achievements most recently after becoming the first-ever British sailor to win the Country Cup, also on Lake Garda, racing against countries including Denmark, France, and Germany. It is clear Sesto-Cosby has some in-depth knowledge of Garda as a sailing venue, so we asked him to share his insights. “During the Ora Cup, I learned alot about the fleet, the wind, and the conditions. We often launched early so got to know the conditions prior to the race start. It was different from when I’ve sailed there before as there seemed to be less wind, but it arrived earlier. Sailing with a north wind on Garda is tricky because it is shiftier which means big gusts to look out for!’’ Getting caught up on the line can ruin the whole race before it has even begun. Sesto-Cosby balances picking the bias side of the line whilst avoiding starting amongst the big bunches. He explains, “Generally, only one or two boats starting in a bunch will actually get a good start and the rest will be buried. Once I’ve got my position, I accelerate a few seconds earlier than most and don’t start too close to the pin to allow myself room to tack off. Once you have done that and crossed a few boats, you are out in front and in the lead. From there, you can fight with those closest to you rather than battling it out with everyone and risking dropping back in the fleet as a result.’’ “From there, you can fight with those closest to you rather than battling it out with everyone and risking dropping back in the fleet as a result.’’ Working with Riccardo de Felice from North Sails Italy, Sesto-Cosby uses the new-design 2021 prototype North sail which was designed for racing on Garda. “I recently transitioned after being offered to test it out in Valencia where I became very attached to it. I found it perfect – more powerful than my previous sail, but the pinching modes of sailing remained. 10-15 knots of breeze is the perfect condition for me with this sail.’’ The size of the Optimist fleet can be daunting for younger sailors who are new to sailing. Sesto-Cosby’s advice is to prioritize boat speed and handling during the early stages of racing. “Tactics and fleet knowledge develop with time; after a few years of racing,’’ he says. “I regret not focusing more on my boat handling (tacking, general speed) when I was younger, because the knowledge of strategy and tactics comes with experience when you get older.’’ The future looks bright for Sesto-Cosby who hopes to continue his winning streak at the European Championship next October. When it comes to moving on from the Optimist, he is looking to partner with a Swiss sailor in the 29er whilst doing some Optimist coaching on the side. We look forward to watching the progress of this young, rising star. 📸 Fraglia Vela Riva/Zerogradinord 📸 Valeria Sesto 📸 Fraglia Vela Riva/Zerogradinord READ MORE

#NSVICTORYLIST: 5.5 METRE EUROPEANS Aspire’s Mateusz Kusznierewicz Sweeps the Fleet Congratulations to Aspire’s Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Przemyslaw Gacek, and Simon Fry 2020 5.5 Metre European Champions! 📸 Robert Deaves The 5.5m Class is one of the very few classes this year to hold a Worlds and European Championship. All sailors respected the organizing authorities’ mandatory guidelines to prevent the further spreading of the virus, carefully social distancing and taking their temperatures each day before going to their boats. While adhering to the safety protocol, sailors still made the best of the event, and San Remo provided excellent racing conditions. Teams were noticeably excited to be out sailing again, as this was the first event for the class since January. The conditions in San Remo showed the fleet a mix of conditions, and North’s client results were proof that our products for the 5.5 Metre can deliver top results in any wind condition. North Sails class expert Christoph Burger on New Moon II explained, “As a class leader for North Sails, I am always thinking of ways to make our products better. Sometimes these can be smaller things or new designs. Right now, I am focusing on the smaller things to help our clients gain that extra performance boost.” 📸 Robert Deaves Christoph explains: “The 5.5 Metre class is on the right track and very attractive. We swept the podium here at the Europeans and our clients filled almost all of the top 10 spots. About 20% of the fleet has newer boats too, and there are some new building projects in the works we are all excited about.” Christoph commented, “Before the regatta, we had one week to train, so we lined up with Otto (NOR 68) and Momo (SUI 229) to make sure we were up to speed. At the regatta, we took the bronze. “Every team is fast,” explains Christoph. “We all had speed, so it came down to strategy and tactics to do well at this regatta. The top end of the fleet was very close in scores. The tiniest mistake would cost an entire position. This year’s conditions were challenging. Aspire sailed an excellent regatta, ending their speed streak with two bullets to close out the event. Well done!” 📸 Robert Deaves New Moon II used North Sails MNi-1 All Purpose Mainsail, Li-2 Jib Light Jib, and S-2 Spinnaker in the lighter conditions. Christoph explains, “This choice of North’s upwind sails are designed to be used in the light winds up to max 12 Knots TWS, so they were the perfect match. We chose to use the AP mainsail because we wanted to be ready if the wind got stronger. For the moderate wind races, we only changed jibs, shifting to our Mi-1 Medium Jib. These choices proved to be the best for the regatta.” Congratulations to Aspire’s Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Przemyslaw Gacek, and Simon Fry 2020 5.5 Metre European Champions! In second place was Momo’s Dieter Schon, Markus Wieser, and Thomas Auracher, followed by New Moon II’s Mark Holowesko, Christoph Burger, and Peter Vlasov. Next up is Régate Royal in Cannes and the season finale in Thun, Switzerland. Full Results Want to learn more about North Sails 5.5 Metre championship-winning sails? Contact your Class Expert for more information. 📸 Robert Deaves READ MORE

EVENT SPOTLIGHT: LOWISA 2020 Locals Gather For Annual Regatta North Sails expert Drew Mitchell out of Vancouver reports from the annual LOWISA regatta in Lake of the Woods. After 54 years of LOWISA being the sailing event to attend within Manitoba and Western Ontario, the 55th edition had to be postponed to July 31- August 7, 2021 due to Covid-19. If you have not heard about LOWISA before, it is an amazing race with a lot of history. Back when sailing was thriving, the regatta would get over 100 boats! There are many families who have been racing LOWISA for many generations. The regatta is a 7 day, 6 stage distance race around Lake of the Woods nearby Kenora, ON. On a normal year, the Regatta starts off at Northern Harbour just outside Kenora and loops around islands of Lake Of Woods, some of the time even going down into the US. They usually do roughly 20-30 NM legs per day and end up all at the same anchorage for the night. All the boats raft up after racing and start making dinner, enjoy a cocktail and talk about the day of racing. Depending on the day, there are social events such as island rum parties, cocktail making competitions and I've even seen a float plane fly in pizza for a pizza party! After three days of amazing racing around islands they choose a fishing lodge and have a layover day. The layover day is always a good day for rest but also fun activities. The standard activities are a football game, USA VS CANADA, a talent show, paddle board race and a North Sails presentation. After the lay day is over, they race three more legs back to Northern Harbour where they have the awards after the last day of racing. A neat part of LOWISA is they give out awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd but the awards that are most sought after are the LOWISA Spirit Award, the award for the boat that overcame the most obstacles to get to the event and the sailor that was showed the most sportsmanship during the event. These awards always get the most cheers and laughs as they ask the winner to come up and give a short speech. This year’s informal gathering was a bit different without the friends from the south and a formal itinerary. There were raft ups at the anchorages but these were kept smaller with little to no on shore activities. They spent one night at a fishing camp where a dinner was offered outside and eaten at picnic tables. I also ran a North Sails talk about sail maintenance and repair. Despite the restrictions, the week was a great time with great cruising and even better weather. Everyone is looking forward to the 55th edition of LOWISA as Commodore James and his team have now had two years to plan it. It's going to be one for the ages and I think everyone is excited to have the Americans back and proper sanctioned racing to be had. Let us know if you would like to join the fleet. They would be ecstatic to have you join. Please check out Lowisa.org or Lowisa on Facebook for updates. READ MORE

NEW ADDITION TO TEAM AUSTRALIA Tom Spithill Joins North Sails Sydney North Sails are pleased to announce the addition of Tom Spithill to the team in Australia. Growing up in Elvina Bay on the waters of Pittwater as a part of a sailing family, Tom was chucked into a boat at a young age. Since then Tom has continued to sail, and up until recently was the head coach at the RPAYC for over ten years where he coached many successful youth and open teams and was awarded both NSW Coach of the year and Australian Coach of the year. Tom has a passion for teaching veterans and first responders sailing, and was an integral part of the Invictus Games Sydney in his role as Sports Competition Manager. More recently Tom has been enjoying sailing his foiling moth Wendy Jnr and his classic international 5.5 metre Baragoola. “I've enjoyed hopping out of the coach boat and getting back out on the water, doing as much yachting as I can, whether that be a non spinnaker twilight, or a world championships. Tom was a client of North Sails prior to joining the team, using championship-winning sails on his 5.5 Metre and the 3Di Decksweeper on his Bieker Moth. Tom commented, "both of which I have been equally impressed with." What does Tom hope to do for North Sails clients? He commented, "I'm looking forward to sharing my passion with other like minded sailors, while helping new and potential clients marry up with the right product for their type of sailing." We are proud to have Tom on our team in Australia. If you have any questions about optimizing your inventory, please contact Tom. © Martina Orsini READ MORE

#NSVICTORYLIST: CAIPIRINHA IS 2020 WORLD CHAMPION Mainsail Trimmer Alberto Bolzan’s Take on the Melges 32 Worlds 📸 Zerogradinord / MWL The racing season for Martin Rejnes’ Caipirinha* started a little different than usual. Typically the crew gets together before the season begins and spends time on the water practicing and attending as many events as possible to get up to speed. Still, with the threat of COVID, their season jump-started at their first event. In a typical environment, the season’s start would allow teams to train and focus on improvement areas. This year, an exceptional year indeed, teams had little to no opportunity to fine-tune. Catching up with the mainsail trimmer, Alberto Bolzan, who had much to say about how this season was unlike others, but all the same how fun it is competing in such a high-level class with great competition and camaraderie. “It was a bizarre season beginning for us. Starting much later this year, it was full-on, just taking what we’ve learned in previous years and trying to start where we left off. Fortunately, we were very fast from the get-go, as in previous years, which made things a little easier for us to get right back into it.” 📸 Zerogradinord / MWL Villasimius served up a little bit of everything for competitors, challenging all scopes of the crew work, boat speed, and tactical decisions. Alberto comments, “the secret to our success was speed, hands down. Thanks to that, we were able to take a conservative approach to each race for this championship. We also were very consistent when it came to race results. We did not win any races, but we kept our point count low.” When it came to staying conservative, Caipirinha* made sure they got off the line. Clear air meant speed, which made all the difference. As far as staying consistent, it wasn’t only about race finishes. The team has the same pre-start plan, which they execute each race at each event. It included matching up with the fastest boats to make sure you were where you needed to be on the rig. “We made sure we stayed close to our competition,” said Alberto. “Although we got no bullets, we sailed what I would call a perfect championship.” 📸 Zerogradinord / MWL Before each day begins, their routine comes into play. “We assess the conditions, look at the forecast, and think about what we can do with our sail set up and rig tune. Once we leave the dock, we scope out the racing area. We sail around and try to figure out if any risks are depending on which side of the course we are on, so there are no surprises,” said Alberto. Collecting valuable information before the race started allowed them to focus on other things. “In a few of the lighter air races, making the right observations pre-start was the contributing factor to our success,” said Alberto. What makes Capiriniha’s* sailing program strong is that the core team sails together in other classes. “We’re good friends, says Alberto. “And we know what a fast boat should feel like. So you put us together on one boat, and we can make it happen.” The team also gives thanks to their coach Flavio Grassi who has provided them with feedback based on observations and can find the tiniest things they can work on that make a huge difference. “Flavio comes from America’s Cup and Olympic background, so he analyzes every move we make and helps us improve each time.” 📸 Zerogradinord / MWL The average experience level in the Melges 32 class is very high, so each team is a threat. Caipirinha* is always working to keep things easy and straightforward. That way, no mistakes can happen, and they can put themselves in a fair position to have a good race result. “Our closest competition at the event, second place finisher Christian Schwoerer on La Pericolosa is fast, no doubt,” says Alberto. “Every time we see them, we are challenged. Last year, this year, they are very fast. That has made the game of winning that much more fun from a sports aspect.” As far as the event location, Alberto loves the venue. “Villasimius, Sardegna is such a great place to host events. They have top-notch conditions, always challenging, which makes the perfect platform for fleets like the Melges 32 to come and play.” 📸 Zerogradinord / MWL North Sails has been working hard to develop the fastest sails for the Melges 32 class for many years to help clients perform their best. Alberto comments, “North’s experience is unrivaled, not just from Italy, but from all over the world. How the sails have evolved and how high-level the technology is now, makes the class what it is today–the perfect high-performance platform.” North Sails class experts want to congratulate team Donino, Gspot, Vitamina, and new teams, Star Telekom and Heat, for their hard work during this challenging year. Now that the Worlds have come and gone, is it all over? Alberto says, “It’s never over. We will be working together in this class and others, always working hard to be the fastest boat with the fastest sails on the racecourse.” Race results Have questions about race-winning sails? Contact your Melges 32 Class expert today. 📸 Zerogradinord / MWL READ MORE

THE STORY BEHIND THE SAILS The Solitaire du Figaro is an unrivaled ocean race and demanding on the sailors who participate. It requires grit and teamwork to make it to the start line. 📸 Alexis Courcoux The Solitaire du Figaro is an unrivaled challenge in ocean racing. Whether it is the craft on which the sailors’ race – the Figaro Beneteau 3 hydrofoil -, the format of the race over four short legs, the frantic pace where the management of sleep and mind is required, the demanding course with complicated conditions or the heterogeneous profile of Figaro sailors who compete on an equal footing. This unique competition is the meeting ground for renowned sailors who come to test their abilities with young, sometimes up and coming sailors who aspire to enter the big league, in search of a springboard to a career in ocean racing. At North Sails, Quentin Ponroy, sail designer, and Gaétan Aunette, technical salesman, are responsible for Figaro projects. They take stock of the race and work with the skippers to bring their project to fruition. Why is the Figaro Class Championship attracting so much interest? And why is the Solitaire du Figaro an unrivaled ocean race? The Figaro Class is the only one-design single-handed ocean racing yacht with an accessible format and affordable budgets for racers and partners. The championship includes a renowned flagship race, the Solitaire du Figaro, and brings together both young and experienced sailors who regularly compete against each other. It’s a great mix of talent at a high level. The Figaro Class is a competitive platform where sportsmen and women want to assess their level in ocean racing, and sometimes the reality can be severe or not. If we can compare it with another sport, soccer, it would be a bit like the Champions League of ocean racing where the best, as well as the enlightened amateurs, have gone through it. For us, it’s great work in terms of project development with our customers. What is the profile of a Figaro sailor in the way he or she sails and trims? There are as many profiles as there are Figaro sailors. Each one has their own history with divergent backgrounds (Olympic, FFV, cruising…), their style of tuning, and driving their boat. They are also part of different training centers. And so we need to have a strong capacity to listen and then to meet the needs of each one, to design the best sails, to adapt to both their unique style and the one-design support. Some racers want sails that are identical to the others and will try to stand out in other aspects such as strategy. Others are looking for the best possible sail to make the difference in speed and are willing to spend time with us to develop their sail set and achieve the desired result. In general, they are very receptive to our advice. In any case, it’s all about the details, because the level is very high. How do you design a set of sails in the Figaro Class? In 2019, the first year of the Figaro 3, most of our work was based on studies carried out from and around the boat’s build plans (design process identical to IMOCA boats, etc.). This year and for the years to come, we are modifying and optimizing this base thanks to prototypes (1 to 2 per year and per sail) designed based on feedback from the skippers and all the tests we do with them (design process identical to the one-design series). The precision and the level of requirement of the skippers in this class are unique for an offshore series. The set of sails being almost the only non-one-design parameter in this series, the racers necessarily devote a lot of time and attention to it. Together, we manage to get detailed work. In IMOCA and Class40, for example, the skippers have to take into account several non-one design parameters (boat design, foil, electronics…) and therefore have proportionally less time for the sails. The three main stages of Figaro design include the drawing of the 3D mold of the sail, the adapted design of the structure (3Di being a real strength because of its dynamic shape retention, reliability, and longevity; our competitors use for the most part more classical membranes), and meticulous manufacturing in the detail of the sail (the stiffness of the battens, the halyard ring offset, the reefing system… are studied with precision). What changes have been made to the sail plan in the Figaro class since the previous edition? We are only in the second year of the evolution of the Figaro 3, but almost all aspects have been reworked. The main trends on the flat sails are the weight saving in the structure, the volumes that have advanced in the Genoas, and the introduction of load-sharing Helix structured luff technology in the Gennaker among others. The rest is confidential. What learning comes from the sails of Figaro? The boat performs well upwind. Moreover, with the arrival of the Gennaker, the main and J2 sails are real sails specifically designed for VMG upwind sailing. Can the work done on the Figaro be applied and highlighted for other classes, particularly in IRC and club regattas? Absolutely, because the latest IRC boats such as JPK or SunFast have similarities with the Figaro 3. Moreover, the use of reduced crew in IRC is more and more present and is getting closer to that of the Figaro. For these two reasons, the work done in Figaro 3 is largely transposed to IRC. What is your relationship with the skippers? Sometimes we exchange via SMS late at night… We obviously have a relationship of trust, listening, and exchange. It’s important to understand their needs. They are the ones who, through their feedback, make the sails evolve. Our job is to transcribe their feedback on our North Design Suite software. How do you arrive at the ideal inventory for a skipper? We exchange a lot beforehand through different modes of communication and gather all the information concerning the type of materials, the shape of the sails, the gauge, the tests, the service on the regattas, the training sessions for test sails, the estimate, the delivery, etc. As far as the choice of sails is concerned, the skippers base their choice on several parameters such as the feeling with the sail (feeling and performance), the risk-taking (who among the other competitors uses this same sail? Am I the only one or do several racers have the same one?). Finally, there are the effects trends in this race. Each racer is free to ask us to customize his inventory around a standard model per sail. Can you name the sails and their function in the Figaro class? Mainsail | J3 front breeze sail | J2 light and medium close-hauled sail | Helix GK multi-purpose reaching sail | A5 spinnaker for strong wind | A2 spinnaker max for VMG down | TMT safety sails How do you assist the sailors to make the most of their sails specially designed for this race? We spend time explaining how the sail is designed, its shape, and potential. And we follow up on the training sessions, we ask them for their technical feedback on each sail according to the sensations, speed, ease, versatility, trimming, the stability of the sails under pilot, etc. Then, we proceed with the development of the sail to improve all the points mentioned above. What evolutions can still be made on the Figaro class sails? The shapes and structures will always evolve, to a lesser extent, sometimes with some backtracking, but the evolution will be continuous. We will still be able to save weight, improve the shapes… We already have a lot of ideas for this winter. We also need to have the right timing in our evolutions and our tests on the sails in order to anticipate and be reactive. READ MORE

DOUBLEHANDED TIPS FROM ARMEL LE CLÉAC’H & CLARISSE CRÉMER Masterclass Takeaways from the Live Webinar with Ken Read Armel Le Cléac’h & Clarisse Crémer during the Transat Jacques Vabre 2019 📸 Alea North Sails were lucky to have the two doublehanded experts Armel Le Cléac’h & Clarisse Crémer host a webinar for an in-depth masterclass. Best known as a singlehanded sailor with notable race wins in the Solitaire du Figaro, Transat AG2R and the singlehanded Transat, Le Cléac’h’s accolades also include a record-breaking finish in the 2016-17 Vendée Globe. Crémer is an up and coming sailor, making a name for herself during the Transat 6.50 in 2017, where she finished second in her class. Did your partnership come naturally? Le Cléac’h and Crémer began their partnership in 2019 when Crémer was scouted to join the Banque Populaire team, racing the IMOCA platform with Le Cléac’h. The team’s training gave Crémer the confidence and experience to pursue a singlehanded campaign for the 2020 Vendée Globe later this year. Although sailing with the best-brought pressure, Crémer explains that “Armel is confident, calm and explains everything well on these kinds of boats.’’ Together, the French duo finished sixth overall and took the top spot in both the non-foiling and mixed crew classes in last years’ Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV). How did you go about choosing the right teammate? Define your roles at the start. Even though the responsibilities may change over time, it is important to have defined roles onboard, with the most important being safety. Both team members must know where everything is onboard and what to do if there is a problem. During the TJV, Le Cléac’h was responsible for weather, strategy, and route planning, but as Crémer gained experience on the boat, her role evolved as her confidence developed, to the point where she was able to make decisions and changes whilst sailing. Know how to do every job onboard. Try changing roles in training so you understand and realize what your teammate is doing. Choosing the right teammate. Time on the water training helps you get to know people better, so sailing and training together lots before doing a high-pressured race. There are three important factors in finding the right teammate: having the right personality to be able to work together, physical ability to handle the job, and mental state to know what to do and figure out how to solve problems. Understand your boat. To get into offshore racing, you can’t just be a sailor anymore. You’ve got to be a sailmaker, boat builder, electrician, rigger, as well as being a trimmer, navigator, and helmsman! 📸 Easy Ride Videos Why Shorthanded Sailing? Shorthanded sailing is an important part of France’s culture, sparked in 1964 by the French legend and offshore sailor, Eric Tabarly. Tabarly made a mark in history when he won the singlehanded Transat, arriving into Newport, Rhode Island, two days earlier than the next sailor. He went on to win future offshore races and became an inspiration for France. France now provides some great racing platforms for singlehanded sailing, which is how Le Cléac’h got involved. When asked if single and doublehanded sailing are similar, he advised: “Doublehanded sailing is like sailing solo, for two. To perform well in doublehanded sailing, you almost need to be two-single handed sailors.’’ Crémer got hooked on the thought of adventure, completing the singlehanded Mini Transat Race as her first offshore race. “Shorthanded sailing is a good opportunity to do more strategic roles and learn as much as possible, especially when sailing alone,’’ she says. “It gives you the chance to do everything and make all the decisions – the best way to learn!’’ “Doublehanded sailing is like sailing solo, for two. To perform well in doublehanded sailing, you almost need to be two-single handed sailors.’’ Clarisse Crémer: A Women on the Rise in the Sailing World As well as being important for women sailors in general, role models are vital for new, young female sailors coming up through the sport. Crémer started sailing as a hobby when she was young on holidays and began racing at the age of 16, discovering the world of offshore racing in 2010 through University. Saying yes to every opportunity led to her decision in 2015 to take part in the Mini Transat, marking the time when she became fully committed to the sport. “I always loved sports, competition, and the sea in general. I was especially driven for the adventure of the Mini Transat. This race gave me my love for offshore sailing.’’ “Shorthanded sailing is a good opportunity to do more strategic roles and learn as much as possible, especially when sailing alone.’’ Up next for Crémer is another exciting opportunity to be part of the Banque Populaire team for the 2020 Vendée Globe, leaving from Les Sables d’Olonne on the 8th November 2020 for a non-stop race around the world. Her advice? “Progressing and reaching the stage where you feel useful (and not just a weight moving from one side to the other), can be hard on a crewed boat.” This is why singlehanded sailing appealed to Crémer, as it provided more opportunity for tactical decisions and driving. “Have confidence if you want people to trust and choose you for different positions on the boat. Otherwise, only results and other experiences will allow you to be legitimate. The more I practice, the more my confidence grows which is the only answer to my doubts. One thing I did learn is that you can be confident without being loud!’’ Missed the live webinar with Ken Read? Catch up now. 📸 Easy Ride Videos 📸 Jean-Marie Liot/Alea READ MORE

EVENT SPOTLIGHT: WELCOME BACK REGATTA Locals Take To The Water Lunenburg Yacht Club held the first sanctioned regatta in Nova Scotia since the start of the pandemic. They named it the Welcome Back Regatta and was organized in less than three weeks! Lunenburg offers some of the best summer sailing in North America. It is not only held in the clean open waters on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, it normally offers 25 degree weather with a 15-25 SW sea breeze. Lets just say last weekend did not disappoint. There were 35+ boats and 5 fleets on one course. Two PHRF fleets, a sonar, an IOD and a J105 fleet. With the local PRO expert Colin Mann running the event everyone knew that it was going to be a great weekend. Day 1 was a classic Lunenburg sea breeze. It took a little while to get going but once it settled it was great racing. The IOD fleet got 1 race off as the wind got above their class limit and had to head in. The rest of the fleets got 3 races in with the last one being a race back to Yacht Club. Breeze was a steady 20-22 knots with a decent swell coming in from the ocean. Drew Mitchell from North Sails was on the water taking video and pictures of the racing. Once everyone got back to the yacht club there was a BBQ, sponsor tents, daily prizes and a North Sails booth inside the club with the videos and pictures playing on a TV. Day two was postponed until 1 o'clock to let the breeze come in. Racing started at 1 pm sharp and 3 great races got off in 8-14 knots. Again everyone came into the club after racing and enjoyed a BBQ while chatting about the racing. Many sailors hung around the docks and yacht club until late and enjoyed the standard sailor chit chat and beverages. Day 3 had a bit of a surprise with the Bluenose II sailing across the race course before the racing started. Once the racing started the breeze was very similar to day one in terms of direction and strength. Started around 8-10 knots and quickly built to proper sea breeze. Colin got the IOD's off first so they could make up for some races lost on day one. IOD's got three races in and the rest of the fleets got 2. Having spent the better part of a lifetime in the business it was wonderful to be reminded how much fun it is to race boats. Welcome back! After racing everyone headed back to the club except for a few Chester YC boats that just continued downwind to Chester. Dinner and Awards were a hit with local sailing hero Andreas Josenhans presenting the awards. I know everyone enjoyed the regatta and I would like to pass along a big thanks to the organizers especially Jennifer Hall and the Mann family as well as a thank you to all the sponsors. A final straw in the regatta cap was when I was walking down the dock to head home I heard a group of sailors saying " hopefully we can have another event like this next year." Regatta Chair Jennifer Hall shares, "As one of the only keelboat regattas in North America this summer, it’s not surprising that sailors from across Atlantic Canada were keen to come to Lunenburg for the LYC Welcome Back Regatta this past weekend. The success of the event is thanks to all the Club volunteers who made it happen and the support from our event partner and suppliers, including North Sails." Please check out the results and contact Drew Mitchell, based at North Sails Vancouver, if you would like to see any pictures or videos taken on day one of the event. Photos below courtesy of Sky Sailing Studios. Photo courtesy of Sky Sailing Studios Photo courtesy of Sky Sailing Studios Photo courtesy of Sky Sailing Studios Photo courtesy of Sky Sailing Studios Photo courtesy of Sky Sailing Studios READ MORE

FINDING THE RIGHT SOLUTION FOR THE ULTIMATE CRUISER Sails, Support, and Service Go the Distance 📸 Mark Albertazzi Point Loma native, Morgan Dene Oliver (Dene) started sailing when he was eight years old on his North-fitted Sabot out of Mission Bay Yacht Club. “I was thrilled when my dad bought me a Sabot. I’ll never forget it. Since then, I’ve owned six different sailboats from 35-62 feet, and all of them have had a North Sails wardrobe.” Dene was in the market for a different type of boat this time around. He wasn’t going to be racing, purely focusing on enjoying his time on the water. “This time I wanted something different,” said Dene. “But not a racer. Something for ultimate day sailing in San Diego. I found this extraordinary boat built at the Morris yard in Northeast Harbor in Maine. It’s the largest boat but also the most sophisticated model Morris has ever built. Commissioned four years ago, the engineering team collaborated with Sparkman Stephens and Ted Fontaine to did a fantastic job. She’s like the prettiest girl at the prom. No matter where I go, everyone wants to see her. Everything is a push-button; Up and down, in and out.” My idea of the perfect sail consists of sailing straight out into the Pacific from San Diego, CA. I could go for 24 hours or so, then turn around and come back. Throw in an 80-mile downwind or broad reach with a nice swell behind me; that’s what I’m all about now.” Dene Oliver, excited for another great day on Solutions II in San Diego! The big delivery Dene acquired his Morris 52 Solutions II in January. She got a new paint job in Camden, ME, where she was safely stored for the winter season at Lyman Morse. Solutions II was then trucked across the country from Camden, ME to San Diego, CA, in February. “Imagine a 52-foot sailboat with an 82-foot mast (that’s 20 feet sticking out behind the trailer!). Boy was that a sight to see!” said Dene. “She arrived here in San Diego, and because of the state shut down for COVID, I had to wait a month and a half to get her in the water. She was launched in the beginning of May, as the team at North Sails in San Diego went above and beyond to get her ready to sail, and I’ve spent as much time as possible with her since. Solutions II is a work of art on the water.” Expertise, sail service, support, and friendships “My experience working with North Sails has been a great one,” says Dene. “To me, it’s about the people you meet and the relationships you develop. With North, I’ve always been taken care of, treated fairly, respected; there’s trust in our relationship. Feeling important and knowing I am in good hands is what I like best about the whole deal. The team here in San Diego is a team I can rely on–hands down.” Dene explains, “My service expert Eric Heim, with the help of sail expert Brian Janney, Marnie Jenkins, and John Gladstone quickly supported my new program once Solutions II made it to the West Coast. I can’t thank them enough for their help.” Longtime friend, sail expert, and now boat broker John Gladstone enjoying the sail testing with Dene and the North crew. John Gladstone is now Dene’s boat broker (Fraser Yachts) and has played an intricate role in helping Dene not only find the best boat, but help the San Diego team coordinate to find sail solutions to suit Dene’s needs. John explained, “Although I am working with Dene from the other side of the industry these days, I still find myself supporting him with the whole package. Time has gone by, but we’ve worked together for so many years. It’s just as fun and rewarding as it was back then. My first interaction with him was in the 80s as his primary North sailmaker on several of his earlier yachts. Dene has always done things well, first-class– and all with a contagious passion. We are having a blast with his latest addition, Solutions II, the most exquisite Morris 52 you’ve ever seen. Solutions II is not your average day sailor!” The value of seasonal service “When you buy something,” says Dene, “you aren’t investing in the asset alone, you are investing in the care of the asset, and you have a program plan to keep things running smoothly. Like all features of the boat, the hull, through-hull fittings, your sails–these things need attention. Tweaking here and there is part of normal maintenance, but most important, having your sails inspected regularly ensures you have a good day on the water, every time.” 📸 Mark Albertazzi That #firstsailfeeling Once the boat left the dock, the mainsail and jib were deployed. John said, “I anticipated that when we got the sails up, he may be in the market for replacing them, knowing they were a bit old. Unbelievably, his 3DL sails still look amazing! That goes to show not only how well the previous owner and now Dene takes care of things, but how involved Dene was in finding the perfect boat that had top-notch gear. He was looking to add more excitement to his off-wind sailing, which is where the idea for an optimized downwind sail came into play.” Solutions II is now equipped with a new G1 top-down furling gennaker. With the top-down function, Dene can set it all up before he even leaves the dock. He can hoist it and have it ready to deploy at the touch of a button. Powered winches allow for easy furling and unfurling, all leading back to the cockpit. The advantage of his new sail addition is that it’s a ready-made system. When he’s done using it, he furls it and then drops it into a zipper bag on deck to safely store for next time. It fits perfectly in the custom length bag without being folded or compressed into the forward storage locker.. “I don’t mind a little challenge here and there, but I need to have options that work best for my type of sailing,” said Dene. “Many reasons led me to add a more performance-based sail option to my inventory, like this hot new downwind sail. It’s added significant speed off-wind, and it’s unbelievably easy to use.” Why top-down? John commented, “We knew he needed something big enough, but also something he was comfortable using shorthanded, which is most of his sailing these days.” “By adding the new G1 to Dene’s inventory options, Solution II’s performance downwind has increased tenfold!” said John. “Working with Dene is always a great experience. Just being able to get out on the water, let alone on such a beautiful yacht with an appreciative owner, is such a treat.” Client support is key to any sailing program. “Dene likes to know that his best interest is at the top of the list. Having trust in his longtime sailmaker enables him to make the best decisions so he can enjoy his sailing which is the most important thing. Dene has exquisite taste and appreciates perfection, and everyone who’s worked with him appreciates that about him too,” said John. 📸 Mark Albertazzi   READ MORE

A GLIMMER OF HOPE North Sails Experts Team Up For J/70 Tuning Session Photo courtesy of Lisa Bronitt Since the pandemic hit, many sailors around the world have resorted to day dreaming about sailing. Regattas were cancelled or postponed, goals were pushed back, and boat work was no longer a chore, rather it was a way to pass the time by. That is until Bruce Golison and Jim Murrell put their heads together to create a “group sailing session” out of Marina Del ray. This was an opportunity to get back out on the water and train and race with some great teams and coaches while still observing all the local health regulations. During the first weekend of August, when the California Yacht Club was supposed to be holding a 100 boat world championship regatta, the local Fleet 4 J/70 class took to the water to prepare for what is now the 2021 J/70 Worlds. North Sails experts Alex Curtiss and Eric Doyle joined up with other prominent industry professionals for three days of extensive training and racing. 11 J/70 teams from Southern California showed up for some tuning and long course racing. Coaching was given during tuning sessions and racing and everyone learned some things about the race course and set up. Here are some of our big takeaways: A Challenging Venue Santa Monica Bay has all the necessary elements to create a very challenging race course. While not known as a particularly windy venue in the late summer months, there are plenty of wind shifts, holes, kelp, current lines and sometimes even fog to keep everyone on their toes. The wind usually dies at night in Southern California and doesn’t build again until after mid-morning when the rising temperatures on land push the marine layer back out to sea. The water temperature is between 60 and 69 degrees which allows a high thin cloud layer (the marine layer) to come in at night as the land cools. Races are not scheduled to start before 11am as a result. The first race is generally in a light building sea breeze in flat water unless there is an underlying groundswell to mix things up. Play Your Side During the racing we had typical Santa Monica Bay conditions-- 5 to 11 knots, lighter in the morning and generally building sea breeze in the afternoon. It almost never paid to cross the middle of the course. Regardless of fleet size, in light air the breeze will typically fill from the sides first. Getting caught in the middle can be death. Usually there were left puffs on the left and right puffs on the right. Sometimes you would need to duck several boats to get to the side you wanted. It is painful at first, but on long beats it took a lot of patience in order to see long term gains. Look Up When sailing in Southern California, the clouds will often tell you the story on what might happen next. In general, cloudiness will keep the breeze more to the south. As the sun comes out and the land heats up, look for the breeze to go more to the west. The natural sea breeze direction is more in a westward direction. Also pay attention to the clouds that form over the mountains. If the clouds start to form, generally that means the thermal is starting to form. There is some thought that if there is a 25-30 degree difference between temperatures in Palm Springs and Marina Del Rey, the chances of a solid sea breeze increases. That’s not the bible, but it is something that local sailors look at during their morning preparation. Photo courtesy of Lisa Bronitt Potential For Light Air In order to be successful at the world’s, speed in very light conditions is going to be a requirement. We raced all day on Sunday in conditions where a race might not have started but the wind can drop out at any time so we have to be prepared to finish races in 3-5 knots of wind. Smooth tiller motions, keeping the weight forward, full team kinetics, lots of time and room for acceleration at the and good patience were the primary keys to success. Once the sea breeze does establish itself the sailing is awesome. 11 to 14 knots is the afternoon norm with everyone hiking and the waves tend to come up rather quickly with the breeze. 100 boats will also create lots of chop. The boat is fastest when tracking straight and this can be challenging as the wind rotates right and the swell becomes more side on when sailing upwind. More twist to accommodate the constant change in the apparent wind angle at the top of the mast is necessary but full power to get through the chop is required as well. Trimmers and drivers must focus constantly and yet have the boat set up to do the work and track easily. The crew will have to be on their toes to steer the boat with their weight and heel angle in order to minimize tiller movement and maximize speed through the water. Off The Wind Downwind there are lots of waves to surf and over 13-14 knots of wind there are plenty of good rides available. This is also prime conditions in which to sail wing on wing, it’s just important to identify the flatter spots and the ideal times to utilize. It will certainly be challenging at the world’s in a 100 boat fleet to get clear lanes and smooth water to keep the speed up. Overall the weekend was a great success. Teams had lots of time on the water to shake the rust off and develop teamwork while under the watchful eye of some great coaches. We had plenty of practice starts and some boat handling drills and while the long course racing in under 5 knots of breeze was a bit painful at times, I am sure that everyone came away from the weekend with new skills and ideas and looking forward to next time. It is being discussed to have the same format during September, the 11th-13th are penciled in at the moment, see if you can join! Photo courtesy of Lisa Bronitt READ MORE

TRAINING UP IN THE M32 Closing The Gap 📸 M32 World / Stephen R. Cloutier In the M32 class, the knowledge gap between pros and amateur racers gets smaller. In the highly competitive M32 Newport fleet, not one of the high-speed catamarans is sailed by a professional skipper. Instead, the owner-driven class has tapped some of sailing’s household names, including Rome Kirby and Taylor Canfield, to sharpen the skills of the skippers. They have also managed to snag their own pier space behind Midtown Oyster Bar in downtown Newport to serve as a summer base for the North American fleet. Their model has proved excellent for fleet building and kept high-performance racing from feeling unattainable to the average sailor. “It’s been a blast sailing down at Midtown Sailing Center, down at the pier there.” Says Rome Kirby who sails on Midtown Racing as crew for driver Larry Phillips, “Larry has created a cool little haven in this crazy world we’re living in right now.” Kirby has a Volvo Ocean Race and two America’s Cups to his resume. When the pro could pick up a ride any given weekend this summer, he chooses to spend his time sailing on the M32. “Racing the boats within inches of each other at 20+ knots is probably not normal for some guys, but when you’ve got pros on each of the boats you take that fear away.” 📸 M32 World / Stephen R. Cloutier While the M32s are not foiling, they are high-speed, and the transition from a monohull is not an easy one. Taylor Canfield is one of the most seasoned M32 sailors in the fleet, racing onboard Convexity, “I think the class kind of started more as a pro-driver class and has slowly migrated into an owner-driver class, which is awesome. I think a lot of people saw the boats as super intimidating, they are high-speed, everyone’s wearing helmets. If you go for a first sail with the right people and trust in your crew, the boats are very safe and they’re built well.” The fleet boasts an all North inventory of a 3Di main and a Carbon Fiber code zero we have kept the same design for the past 4 years. M32 and the M32 class association has been working closely with North to deliver the most consistent and highest quality product. At the request of the class, the sail shapes are remaining unchanged in 2020 with only changes to ensure increased durability and smoother finishing. “My immediate impression getting on the boat was just the sheer speed,” says Doug Newhouse. “The boat will accelerate from zero to 20 knots very quickly. The boats only weigh 1300 pounds. They have a huge sailplane.” Doug Newhouse is no stranger to the sailing scene, but he is the latest team to join the M32 fleet with his boat, Yonder Racing. “You don’t have a cockpit, you have a trampoline. Literally moving on the boats, there’s a different movement pattern and there’s a different level of physicality to sailing an M32 that you just don’t have on a monohull.” Newhouse says that any given event in the fleet feels ‘like a pro-am’ with the sharing of knowledge from the high caliber competition on Narragansett Bay. “The pros on the M32s are at the top of the game, and the drivers are quite skilled but aren’t full-time professionals like these other guys. Having them involved on the boats really gives you the confidence that you actually can sail these kinds of boats.” Newhouse credits Jeremy Wilmot with his M32 education. “Jeremy’s a very, very talented sailor and he is great to go out with, and he’s a lot of fun, but he’s also very strict. My goal with Jeremy is to see how little he can correct me. The better I do the less he has to say.” 📸 M32 World / Stephen R. Cloutier The fun and physicality are just two of the reasons that the class is attracting new owners and competes at a high level. The M32 class association itself has made entry into the class easy by managing their own races, not relying on a yacht club. The organization of the events is phenomenal, with professional race committees, safety ribs and umpiring on the water means no flags, no yelling, and no wasted time in the protest room. Ryan McKillen is the owner/driver for team Surge, who made the transition from the J/70 fleet to the M32, they most recently finished second in the Midtown Surf Cup, despite McKillen having only a few years of experience in the sport at all. “It’s like night and day from the J/70 where you’re pretty much on your own,” says McKillen. “Dave Doucet, Who Is the fleet Manager and Director of M32 North America, really held my hand through the whole thing and they made it super easy to get set up. You get good help from the class at the individual owner level. Most one-design classes set the rules and put the events on, and as an individual owner, you’re not going to get help from the class. It’s not like that with the M32.” 📸 M32 World / Stephen R. Cloutier The racing itself makes it easy and exciting for teams to get on the water, the races are fast-paced and short, only around 17 minutes. Teams are pushing off the dock around noon, meaning they can log 5 or 6 races before they head in for the day. Newhouse testifies that it’s hard to have a bad day of M32 racing, “Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to be on the podium, but the boats themselves are so much fun. And they’re so exhilarating that even if you came in last place, you’re probably going to come in with a smile on your face because you’ve had a good time. You’re just flying across the water and that by itself as special.” The class has two more events planned in Newport, Rhode Island for September and October. 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TEAM CELLFAST WYGRYWA MISTRZOSTWA KLASY J/70 North Sails wspiera załogi w tej popularnej zagranicą klasie 📸 Jacek Bonecki Mistrzostwa Miasta Gdańska, które zostały rozegrane w randze Mistrzostw Polskiej Floty klasy J/70 pewnie wygrywa Team Cellfast z Michałem Korneszczukiem za sterem. Drugie miejsce, po zaciętej walce zajmuje zespół GTJ z Michałem Jabłońskim, a trzecie CB Racing ze sternikiem Marcinem Rymerem. Po udanych zeszłorocznych, pierwszych mistrzostwach załogi polskiej klasy J/70 zdecydowały, aby kontynuować organizację regat w Polsce. W poprzednich latach ekipy te skupiały się na startach zagranicznych – głównie we Włoszech i Niemczech. Dlatego w tym roku zaplanowano dwa starty – pierwszy podczas Lotos Nord Cup Gdańsk – a drugi jako impreza mistrzowska. Niestety nie wszystkim teamom udało się stanąć na linii startu – nasilające się restrykcje koronawirusowe „uziemiły” kilka łódek przebywających zagranicą. Finalnie w ośrodku COSA AZS w Gdańsku – Górkach Zachodnich, który wspólnie z Yacht Club Gdańsk zorganizowały mistrzostwa, pojawiło się pięć zespołów. Nie brakowało jednak wśród utytułowanych żeglarzy. Obok znanych we flocie teamów Neuca oraz GTJ, a także broniącego tytułu Cellfast, flotę zasilił w tym roku SKŻ Powidz z Tomaszem Feretem na czele z załogą w składzie Kacper Kowalski, Michał Szewczuk i Jacek Zalewski. Na starcie stanął również CB Racing, w którego skład wchodzi Marcin Rymer – były kadrowicz klasy 49er, Paweł Kołodziński – olimpijczyk w klasie 49er, Marcin Bużański poprzednio startujący w J/70 jako EonD team oraz Piotr Przybylski – m.in. uczestnik Americas Cup 2007. Regaty rozpoczęły się w piątek 14 sierpnia od oficjalnego treningu, który poprowadził Paweł Butowski. Jak się okazało piątkowe, bryzowe warunki powtórzyły się również podczas następnych dni rywalizacji. – Bardzo dobrze oglądało mi się trening tej floty. To są świetni zawodnicy i musiałem się mocno skupiać aby wyłapać elementy, które mógłbym zaproponować obszary do poprawy – powiedział Butowski. Sobotnia rywalizacja rozpoczęła się od krótkiego oczekiwania aż bryza się ustabilizuje. Cały dzień stał pod znakiem północno-wschodniego wiatru o sile 7-12 węzłów. Po godzinie 12 Sędzia Główny – Tomasz Sawukinas rozpoczął procedurę startową. Dzięki temu udał się zapewnić komisję sędziowską wysokiej jakości. Sobotnie rozgrywki kończą się prowadzeniem teamu Cellfast. Ostatni dzień regat ponownie stał pod znakiem chwilowego oczekiwania na wiatr. Finalnie bryza, która zawitała na akwenie była trochę słabsza i wiatr nie przekraczał 10 węzłów. Zaowocowało to tez mniejszą falą. Te prostsze warunki przełożyły się na mniejsze różnice w prędkości łódek i niejednokrotnie cala flota meldowała się niemal równocześnie na znakach zwrotnych. - Bardzo cieszę się z obrony zeszłorocznego tytułu. Głównie wynika to z tego, że nasz team pływa w bardzo stabilnym składzie i udaje nam się coraz lepiej egzekwować manewry i pilnować prędkości. Podczas tych regat używaliśmy foka J-6, Grota XCS-1 oraz genakera AP1. Żagle te są proste w użyciu i łatwo reagują na zmianę trymu, co pozwala nam na szybkie dostosowanie się do zmiennych warunków. – mówi po zakończeniu Michał Korneszczuk. 📸 Jacek Bonecki 📸 Jacek Bonecki 📸 Jacek Bonecki 📸 Jacek Bonecki 📸 Jacek Bonecki READ MORE

Prvenstvo Hrvatske za klasu Laser Radial Drugo Prvenstvo Hrvatske odjedreno u Splitu prošlog tjedna bio je u organizaciji JK Mornar, a klasa za koju je bilo organizirano je Laser Radial. Ovog puta jedrilo je četrdeset troje jedriličarki i jedriličara iz Hrvatske i susjednih zemalja, a apsolutnu pobjedu odnijela je članica JK Split, Elena Vorobeva. Jedrilo se uglavnom pored Čiova s tim da u tri dana predviđena za jedrenje nije se uspio napraviti kompletan program. U petak nije bilo vjetra i RO je u 14:45 flotu vratio natrag na kopno. Istina, iza 15 sati je nešto i zapuhalo, ali najvjerojatnije se ne bi uspjelo odjedriti niti jedan plov. Zato su atmosferske prilike iduća dva dana omogućila ispunjenje maksimalnog programa i na kraju su se rezultati zbrajali na osnovu 6 jedrenja. U subotu se izašlo na more iza 12 sati i prvi plov se odjedrio po laganom vjetru, dok su iduća dva bila po više nego ugodnim uvjetima s atraktivnim valom i vjetrom do 14-15 čvorova. Nedjelja je bila slična. Također je puhao maestral, ali ovog puta regata je organizirana malo desnije od Sustipana. Prvi plov je započeo na oko 6-7 čvorova, da bi se iduća dva plova jedrila na oko 10 do 12 čvorova. Unatoč relativno velikoj floti startevi su bili stvarno disciplinirani i jedino je drugi plov startan na Uniform zastavu koja je opet bila kobna samo za jednu jedriličarku iz Pule. Razlog tolikoj disciplini, bar na početku, možda leži u tome što je određeno da su sva PH ove sezone valjana već nakon jednog odjedrenog plova, pa je stvarno svaki start više nego bitan za konačan plasman i sigurno nije potrebno ulaziti u rizik prijestupa već na početku eventa. Inače, polje koje se jedrilo bilo je klasični štap koji se morao obići dva puta, a cilj je bio definiran s brodom RO-a i bovom ispred njegovog pramca. Do njega se jedrilo nakon prolaska kroz gate. A evo što je o regati ispričala aktualna prvakinja Hrvatske, Elena Vorobeva: Uvijek je zadovoljstvo pobijediti regatu, a ovu godinu još je bila prilika pobijediti i u muškoj i u ženskoj konkurenciji ukupno, što sam i ostvarila! S obzirom da su i muški i ženske jedrili zajedno, bilo je puno zanimljivije nego prošle godine kad se natjecalo odvojeno u ženskoj konkurenciji. Imali smo dobru flotu od 43 broda što već sliči na ozbiljno natjecanje. Imali smo 6 plovova u 2 dana po uvjetima od 3-5 čvorova promjenjivog maestrala do stabilnih 16 čvorova s valom iz istog smjera. Htjela bih zahvaliti Regatnom odboru koji je maksimalno iskoristio drugi i treći dan da jedrimo što više i istovremeno nas nisu držali na moru dok nije bilo uvjeta za jedrenje, a nakon dolaska na regatno polje ubrzo bi krenula startna procedura. Na ovu regatu smo gledali kao dio priprema za naredno Europsko prvenstvo koje bi trebalo održati u 10. mjesecu u Poljskoj i bilo je dobro vidjeti gdje se nalazimo nakon dugih mjeseci rada i treninga u domaćim vodama. Cijeli naš tim završio je u vrhu liste, pored mog zlata donijeli smo još i 2 brončane medalje u klupsku kasicu zahvaljujući ulaganju mojih sparing partnera, iskusnog Tonija i mladog Lovre. Sve to smo uspjeli uz podršku našeg kluba, pažljivoj pratnji i nadzoru trenera Tonča Antunovića i našeg marljivog rada. Elena Vorobeva, JK Split Elena je inače pokazala najstabilnije jedrenje tijekom Prvenstva i ostvarila je 50% pobjeda uz 6. mjesto kao najslabiji rezultat, dok su joj u ukupnoj sumi dva četvrta mjesta bila najveći bodovi. U konačnici, može se reći da joj je pobjedu donio posljednji dan regate kad je bila mnogo bolja od do tada vodećeg, Roka Stipanovića iz YC Croatia. Roko je fenomenalno otvorio regatu i u subotu se u Mornara vratio s dvije pobjede i jednim trećim mjestom i bio je pobjednik dana. Međutim, u nedjelju je jedrio znatno sporije i najbolji mu je rezultat bio 8. mjesto. Srećom, matematika je bila na njegovoj strani i izvrsna subota mu je u konačnici osigurala drugo mjesto u generalnom poretku i prvo u muškoj konkurenciji. Brončana medalja u otvorenom dijelu regate je ovog puta otišla u ruke mladog Slovenskog jedriličara Gaspera Strahurnika iz JK Burja. Njegov najbolji rezultat je bilo 2. mjesto u predzadnjem plovu, ali niti jedan od ostalih finiša nije bio ispod 9. mjesta. Tako da mu je konačna suma bila za samo 4 boda veća od Rokove. Najbliža konkurencija mu je bila u vidu Marka Smolića iz JK Val i Sandre Lulić iz JK Mornar. Njih dvoje su završili regatu na bod razlike i bili su 2, odnosno 3 boda iza Gaspara. Naravno, oboje su izvrsno jedrili da bi mogli ostvariti ovako visok plasman, ali oboje su imali po dva kiksa s plasmanima izvan top deset i to ih je izbacilo iz utrke za medalje. Kompletne rezultate regate možete pronaći na ovom linku. Inače, kako pravila dopuštaju, natjecatelji su bili podijeljeni u različite kategorije... U19, U21 i stariji. Najbrojniji su bili u dobnoj skupini U19 s više od 30 imena na toj ljestvici. Naslovi su podijeljeni u svim tim kategorijama i u dodatnim podjelama na jedriličare i jedriličarke, a tko je sve smio biti nazočan na proglašenju pobjednika možete pročitati u nastavku: OTVORENO PH - GENERALNO Ž 1. Elena Vorobeva - JK Split 2. Sandra Lulić - JK Mornar 3. Ursula Balas - JD Val PRVENSTVO HRVATSKE - GENERALNO Ž 1. Elena Vorobeva - JK Split 2. Sandra Lulić - JK Mornar 3. Ursula Balas - JD Val OTVORENO PH - U21 Ž 1. Ursula Balas - JD Val 2. Petra Mastelić - JK Labud 3. Nika Manestar - JD Val PRVENSTVO HRVATSKE - U21 Ž 1. Ursula Balas - JD Val 2. Petra Mastelić - JK Labud 3. Nika Manestar - JD Val OTVORENO PH - U19 Ž 1. Ursula Balas - JD Val 2. Petra Mastelić - JK Labud 3. Nika Manestar - JD Val PRVENSTVO HRVATSKE - U19 Ž 1. Ursula Balas - JD Val 2. Petra Mastelić - JK Labud 3. Nika Manestar - JD Val OTVORENO PH - GENERALNO M 1. Roko Stipanović - YC Croatia 2. Gasper Strahurnik - JK Burja 3. Marko Smolić - JK Val PRVENSTVO HRVATSKE - GENERALNO M 1. Roko Stipanović - YC Croatia 2. Marko Smolić - JK Val 3. Toni Bušić - JK Split OTVORENO PH - U19 M 1. Roko Stipanović - YC Croatia 2. Gasper Strahurnik - JK Burja 3. Matija Reljanović - YC Croatia PRVENSTVO HRVATSKE - U19 Ž 1. Roko Stipanović - YC Croatia 2. Matija Reljanović - YC Croatia 3. Lovre Bakotić - JK Split Iduće Prvenstvo Hrvatske je za tjedan dana i u Šibeniku će JK Val okupiti najmlađe od najmlađih, odnosno organizira PH za klasu Optimist U12. READ MORE

STATE STREET MARATHON SAILING IS BECOMING A TEAM Gearing Up and Building their Doublehanded Campaign for Paris 2024 By the time most people are making their morning coffee, Jesse Fielding and Francesca Clapcich have logged a 20-mile bike ride with their team. Getting to their goals includes a training regimen on par with any other athlete training for the 2024 Paris games. If they aren’t on their bikes in the morning, they are in the gym where, in addition to workouts, they practice mobility to keep them limber on deck during sail changes and maneuvers. After they’ve logged their workout, rehydrated, and caffeinated, the pair head to their newly set-up training complex. A space on the Newport, Rhode Island waterfront where a trailer and large industrial building houses various equipment and parts, and a commercial tent is the base for the athletes. On this particular morning, Clapcich is dealing with an unresponsive wifi router while Fielding runs errands in preparation for the weekend’s Ida Lewis Distance Race. Before lunch, the pair will take a look at weather routing and work with their training partners to devise the best course for the weekend’s racing. Being an offshore sailor, especially one with Olympic aspirations, means being a multi-faceted competitor. If the team isn’t working out or sailing, they are making sure their sails and equipment are in top shape, studying the conditions, and working on their team dynamic. “It takes a complete sailor to exist in the doublehanded discipline, right?” Says Fielding, “ And so it’s a big bucket to fill, and you are filling it with all the different little cups of knowledge you can from all the different sectors of the sport as a whole, whether it’s fitness or mechanics of the boat or sailing speed and smarts, et cetera, performance, et cetera. That being said, you can never fill that bucket alone. I really want to highlight the fact that this discipline, specifically in offshore sailing, requires a co-skipper. And that is co and equal in the complete sense of the word. And I think that is an incredible opportunity to showcase the better part of society, which would be a truly equal world, not only between genders but people as a whole.” There is a certain buzz around the base, the Ida Lewis Distance Race boasts steep competition for the team, high winds, and challenging weather. It will give the team a chance to test their grit and their trust in each other as teammates when no one else is around. Each session on the water is a chance for Fielding and Clapcich to prepare for whatever Paris 2024 could throw at them. Variety in training is important for the group, to the point where the program invites any seasoned sailors to come down to their base and train against them. It’s an open invitation to grow the discipline and get the best training possible against those who think they have what it takes. By mid-afternoon, the two Beneteau Figaro 3s are pushing off the dock. There’s a light breeze on Narragansett Bay, nothing compared to what is expected for the weekend’s competition. Instead of an afternoon of sparring with their training counterparts, the goal for this afternoon is to hoist each sail in the team’s inventory and check all of the lines and reef points. The Figaros are outfitted with North Sails 3Di RAW, sails specifically built for this kind of racing. The durability of 3Di is peace of mind for the team. The sails have been tested for days of racing in the toughest conditions and can withstand heavy loads for extended periods of time. “It takes a complete sailor to exist in the doublehanded discipline, right? It’s a big bucket to fill, and you are filling it with all the different little cups of knowledge you can from all the different sectors of the sport as a whole” As Clapcich and Fielding work through their pre-racing checklist, the teammates chatter idly about anything, including what they have been watching on Netflix this week. Their ease with each other is evidence of their commitment to the program’s success. “We’re a great check and balance on each other.” Says Fielding. “We’re doing this together. We are leaning on each other’s skillsets, and I just think that that’s been a really pleasant part of the experience.” The idea for the State Street Marathon Sailing platform came from Malcolm Gefter, the team manager. “It’s always bothered me that in spite of how big the country is and how many sailors there are, the US performance in the games has been less than proportional to its ability based on size and talent. Creativity and innovation is integral. So faced with a new problem, the US should be pretty damn good at getting the answer. Since this is a double hand offshore program that’s new, right?” He continues with how he recruited Fielding and Clapcich. “In any other class, when you’re doing any other sailing, you say, ‘Well, who are the best Opti sailors? Who are the best 420 sailors? Who are the best college sailors?’ And it becomes obvious who the best sailors are. We were forced by virtue of the circumstances to say, ‘pick some team or a small number of people that you already know by their reputation are good sailors at the level that is necessary to even think about competitive level.’ Make them the reference standard, and then have everybody come and compare themselves to the reference standard that you use one by one by one rather than supporting a large base.” When Fielding received the call, he was all in. “To hear of an opportunity with such foresight and strength behind it and a plan and a place for me in that program, it was a great moment in my sailing timeline and personal timeline. And to have that program be here in Newport, in a startup phase, and get to join that program from early stages. It’s just an amazing opportunity.” Fielding, who has career ties to North Sails, found offshore sailing through showing up on the dock, and got his break after his application was accepted to sail with the Morning Light program. “I was passionate about offshore sailing. And I was lucky to have a resume that allowed me to join larger boat teams and go and learn from older sailors that have so much to give. So I still think there’s a huge knowledge transfer dynamic that happens from older sailors that pass down offshore sailing knowledge and experience, and you sort of get that in the situation. You have to be out there with those people to hear the story, see the example in action, and then learn.” For Clapcich, the opportunity is equally as huge. As a two-time Olympian for Italy (she has since immigrated to the U.S.) and Volvo Ocean Race veteran, she is taking her leadership position at State Street in stride. “Especially for women in the sport, it’s really hard to get opportunities. I feel more confident. The more you get older and the more you get to experience, it’s good to take on some leadership. And I feel that I’m in that stage of life, personally.” Clapcich continues, “The responsibility is high. You’re in charge of so many things. I want to be a good example where a woman in this sport can actually be in the leadership role.” The program has a long way to go before 2024, but Fielding and Clapcich are ready to face the competition, they aren’t intimidated. Francesca speaks up, “everyone is using the French teams as a benchmark, but of course. They sail a lot. They sail a lot offshore, and they sail solo, and they sail doublehanded. They are not unbeatable, the level is very close all around the world. And one little mistake can take you out of the running for the medal.” After the Ida Lewis Distance Race, Fielding and Clapcich are 180 miles closer to Olympic competition. READ MORE

EVENT SPOTLIGHT: LEO WARDRUP CAPE CHARLES CUP 2020 Hosted By Broad Bay Sailing Association When Covid 19 hit in early March, many of the regattas on the Chesapeake bay that we have come to know and love succumbed to postponement and cancellation. One staple on the Southern calendar bay every year the Cape Charles Cup looked like it might endure the same fate. Traditionally, the race involves a race over to Cape Charles on the Eastern shore on Saturday and a race back. This year with a couple of adjustments, Broad Bay was able to host a fun event by having two medium distance races in great wind in the Hampton Roads area. Saturday brought strong winds of 15-20 knots and rain, but that didn’t stop both the PHRF and Cruising fleets from completing their respective courses. Fleets had individual staggered starts around government marks finishing the courses in blazing time. Fleets included PHRF A,B,C, Multihull, CRCA, Non-spin, Cruising A,B, and C classes. Those who braved the rain were treated to excellent wind and waves to surf to the finish line. Photo Credit: Donna DeSteph and Charity Gavaza Sunday brought lighter air to start for the competitors on both race courses. Halfway into the race, a 180 degree wind shift and an increase to 15 knots forced crews to be on top of their sail trim and boat handling. This time, without the rain boats got to enjoy a surf through the finish line just after lunchtime with the rest of the day to enjoy time with their crews. Some Highlights from North customers included: Robert Radam, Grey Area, 1st in PHRF A, 1st in PHRF Overall Ben Carver, Entourage, 1st in Multihull Bob Archer, Bad Habit, 1st in PHRF B Pete Hunter, Wairere, 2nd PHRF A 2nd race Ken Vinson, Popoki Kai, 2nd in Multihull To learn more about North Sails line of racing, including club racing, see here. READ MORE

AYC HOSTS FIRST ANNUAL TWO BRIDGE FIASCO Big Turn Out On The Bay Charles Kowalyshyn’s “Coalition” rips downwind at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge © Will Keyworth / North Sails On Sunday August 2nd, Annapolis Yacht Club hosted the first annual “2 Bridge Fiasco.” A “run what ya brung” pursuit style race between the Chesapeake bay bridge and the Severn River bridge with a start line smack in the middle. Boats all shapes, sizes, and even foilers showed up for this unique event. With 133 participants, it was one of the largest regattas of 2020. There was one restriction for the race. Boats must be sailed either single or double handed. The smallest boats included a foiling windsurfer and waszp, with the bigger boats ranging into the mid 40 footers. Classes included PHRF, PHRF non spin, Portsmouth, Portsmouth multihull, Etchells, Harbor 20, J/22, J/24, J/105, and J/70. Mary and Geoff Ewenson heading upwind on the “Evil Hiss” in the Viper 640 class © Will Keyworth / North Sails Typically, this time of year in Annapolis would not have much to offer in terms of wind at 11AM on an August day, but the wind gods cooperated by delivering a 10-15 knot southerly to keep the conditions fresh for all of the shorthanded crews. North customer’s had victories in multiple classes and the results can be found here. The next big event on the calendar is the Annapolis Nood held over August 28-30. We hope for everyone to sign up for a fun and safe three day regatta. Registration can be found here. John Loe’s Hornet a J/33 on a kite reach surfing down waves out in the bay © Will Keyworth / North Sails © Will Keyworth / North Sails READ MORE

FIRST HOIST ON ZEPHYR A New Kite Makes All The Difference Zephyr is an Outremer 55, equipped with a 3Di ENDURANCE square top mainsail, which currently has 7,000 miles on it. She also sports a 3Di OCEAN genoa, and has recently acquired a brand new NPC Downwind masthead asymmetric. Boat owner and captain, Eric Laakman, has worked closely with sail expert Matt Steven in Auckland, New Zealand and San Francisco sail expert Seadon Wijsen to optimize Zephry’s sail plan. He credits both for top notch service and expertise to get him ready to take on offshore distance sailing. After three months of lying in wait in the sail locker, Zephyr hoisted their brand new, massive 211 sq meter North asymmetric spinnaker for the first time, and were in awe from the moment the kite was made. Eric was eager to see the new kite in action and was beyond satisfied with what he saw after their first hoist. Winter sailing in New Zealand is on the windy side, which means there’s no real need for light air sails. Every now and then, you’ll get an odd light air day, but even so, conditions rapidly change which in most cases means hoisting your kite is not necessarily the most prudent decision, especially when you’re on the water shorthanded. “For me,” says Eric, “Patience is key, as quick maneuvers while shorthanded are not always easy to pull off.” “The day of Zephyr’s first hoist, we had the perfect conditions on the Bay of Islands, especially for winter. With 10-12 knots, the breeze was strong enough to keep blowing us back to where we started. Never mind that most on board were a few cocktails deep into the afternoon!” Since Eric has owned the boat, he’s seen his fair share of spinnakers on the foredeck. “Typically they’d fall into two categories,” he said. “Either they were too small and had a narrow range or they were useful verses simply using the working sails. We’ve also tried used sails before, but they were never quite the right fit for the boat.” Multihulls are made for fast off-wind sailing and Eric appreciates the importance of having the right sails to get the job done. “If you really want to go fast downwind in light conditions on a catamaran that can pull the wind forward, you want your spinnaker to fit just right.” “Before the sail was cut,” Eric said,” I had a chance to sit down with North sail designers and experts in Auckland, New Zealand. It was great to know exactly what I would be getting, as well as discuss my options for the design. While 1.5 oz nylon was used in the panels that would typically see higher loads, we decided to go with a lighter material, 0.75 oz, for the remaining panels. The goal of this sail was to get Zephyr moving in the lightest of downwind conditions, and the weight savings on the sail would give it a few knots of extra range at the low end. I chose the color white, not just for the classy aesthetics, but also for the best durability given that some of the panels were lighter cloth weight.” Low and behold, the first launch out of the sock went surprisingly smooth. Without really doing much adjusting or trimming, we immediately hit 8 knots. I set the autopilot to hold a constant angle to the wind at 110 AWA. In 12 knots of true wind, our true sailing angle was 150 degrees –meaning we were pulling the wind forward by a full 40 degrees. I’m used to this on a beam reach with a code zero, but not while using an asymmetric spinnaker. Our VMG downwind was nearly 60% of the TWS. It was unreal! I’m looking forward to experimenting by floating the tack line to get a little more fullness from the luff and more rotation. By doing this, we’ll get even more power out of the sail in the lighter conditions. “As we awed in the size of the new kite, we mixed up another batch of Dark and Stormy’s, kicked back, and took in the view as we flew past other sailboats that were motoring back into the harbor.” READ MORE

18. regata za dušu i tilo 18. regata za dušu i tilo odjedrila se u Betini u nedjelju 16. kolovoza. Manje više po već uhodanom receptu, osim što su ovog puta izostale posade iz daljih krajeva, pa su se natjecali uglavnom Betinjani, Murterini, Jezerani i Tišnjani. Jedino "sa strane" bilo je nekoliko barki tradicionalnih jedriličara iz Vodica, Biograda, Prekog i Novigrada. Ugodno ljetno poslijepodne s laganim i umjerenim maestralom do desetak čvorova prevladavalo je na cijeloj ruti koja je bila identična onoj od prošle godine. Znači, start s Betinske rive, prva bova ispred kampa u Plitkoj vali, zatim natrag i oko rta Rat, pa oko otočića Sustipanac i prema bovi ispred rta Gradina (na ulazu u Murtersku uvalu), te natrag u Betinu u cilj. Barke su bile kategorizirane na tradicionalni način u gajete, leute i kaiće. Gajeta je kao i uvijek bilo najviše, čak 33! Potom su po brojnosti slijedili kaići kojih se prijavilo sedam, te najmoćniji među njima, četiri velika leuta. S obzirom da su se svi mogli vezati na rivu start je bio s krmama vezanim na nju, a signaliziran je točno u 15 sati topovskim udarom koji je dobro protresao sve nazočne. Na startu je bio vrlo ugodan vjetar, ne toliko jak kao godinu ranije, ali svejedno su vodeći vrlo brzo stigli do prve bove. Već od početka, dobar izbor startne pozicije i ozbiljne namjere, favorite su izvukli na čelo flote. Prošlogodišnji pobjednici, gajeta Sirotica bila je na čelu i tako najavila obranu titule. Ostali su bili u blizini, ali sticao se dojam da će pobjeda biti vrlo lagana. Nakon obilaska ove bove i rta Rat drugi ozbiljni filter je uslijedio na Sustipancu. S obziroz da je vjetar bio ugodan, ljetni povjetarac, sjena ovog otočića stvarala je probleme onima koji nisu uzeli u obzir njegovu visinu i vegetaciju koji su radili sjenu i značajno usporavali. Oni koji su to uzeli u obzir i obišli ga u širem luku mnogo brže su nastavili prema najduljoj dionici regate. Ta dionica je u bila i najotvorenija i jedrila se u orcu, pa su tu najviše do izražaja došle vještine kormilara i kvaliteta jedrilja. Oni manje iskusni su dosta opali s obzirom na idealni kurs, ali ekipa s vrha to sebi nije dozvolila i na jednim uzdama stižu do Gradine nakon koje je slijedio još samo finalni sprint. Do Gradine je Sirotica još uvijek održavala značajnu prednost, pogotovo jer su im prvi pratitelji, gajeta Trtuša bili nekoliko desetaka metara niže od njih. Na samom okretu ta prednost je izgledala nedostižna, ali nikad ne reci nikad... Ekipa s Trtuše odlučila se na rizik i jedini mogući način jedrenja koji bi mogao ugroziti Siroticu, a to je jedrenje uz kraj (obalu). Kako je dio obale uz koji se jedrilo načičkan kućama, koje mogu stvarati tu sjenu vjetra, Sirotica se odlučila na sigurnu varijantu i praktički dulju rutu u vidu šireg obilaska Betinske obale. Međutim, svjestan ulazak u rizik posade Trtuše ovog puta se isplatio i u posljednjih nekoliko stotina metara uspijevaju sustići Siroticu, a kako su bili unutarnji pred finalnom virom za ulazak u cilj, a i na desnim uzdama, Sirotica je stavljena u poziciju iz koje nije bilo izlaza... Što se tiče generalnih rezultata, njih možete pronaći na ovom linku. A što se tiče raspodjele po pojedinim kategorijama, njih možete pročitati preko slijedećih linkova: gajete 1. - 24. gajete 25. -34. leuti kaići Po svemu sudeći, prva iduća regata latinskog idra bit će tek na kraju ljeta, na tradicionalnoj završnoj svečanosti u Murteru. READ MORE

470, FINN & RS:X Prvenstvo Hrvatske FOTO: JK LABUD JK Labud je sredinom prošlog tjedna, točnije od utorka 11. kolovoza, do četvrtak 13. kolovoza. Odziv je bio dobar, a vrijeme koje je pratilo natjecatelje na moru bilo je vrlo sličnom onom koje je u istom tom akvatoriju vladalo za vrijeme održavanja PH za klasu Optimist. Drugim riječima, pravo ljetno. U sve tri klase bio je prijavljen po jednoznamenkasti broj sudionika, a najbrojniji su bili daskaši na RS:X. Surfere je predvodio Luka Mratović, po stažu najiskusniji od njih, a i po postignutim rezultatima u svojoj karijeri jedan od naših najboljih surfera u različitim kategorijama. S njim su na regatnom polju jedrili i momci i djevojke kojima je prosjek godina oko dvadeset, a došli su iz četiri kluba uglavnom iz Splita i bliže okolice. Ukupno su odjedrili 6 jedrenja, a među prijavljenih 9 natjecatelja Luka je apsolutno dominirao i osvojio je sve plovove osim 4. na kojem nije ni startao. Tim četvrtim plovom, odnosno pobjedom na njemu, može se pohvaliti njegov klupski kolega Bartol Urem. On je na kraju osvojio srebro, a ta pobjeda mu ga je osigurala, jer je imao jednak broj bodova kao još jedna Labudašica, Palma Čargo. Nažalost, Palme nema na fotografiji, već su tu top tri u muškoj kategoriji. FOTO: JK LABUD Također šest jedrenja uspješno su odradili i dvosjedi u klasi 470. Od kada su se iz ove klase povukli zlatni olimpijci, posada Fantela - Marenić, u njoj su jedrili uglavnom Labudovi juniori. Međutim, od kad je taj program ukinut za ovu klasu nismo dugo čuli, sve dok se nije pojavila nova generacija juniora. Ti momci i djevojke su upravo u prijelaznim fazama između klase 420 i većih jedrilica, pa tako vidimo da su neki od njih zajedrili na 470, a dok neke od njih viđamo i u klasi 49erFX. U ovoj floti jedrilo je šest posada i jedrenja su bila dosta izjednačenija u usporedbi s RS:X. Čak četiri posade se mogu pobijediti s pobjedama u pojedinim jedrenjima, a jedino je Uskokovcima Puleku i Lokasu to uspjelo za rukom tri puta. Naravno, njih dvojica su se ovjenčali naslovom najboljih. Na drugu stepenicu su se popeli Mistral i Iris Matulja iz Lovranskog JK Istra. Kod njih su dominirala druga mjesta, za razliku od isključivo ženske posade Petešić - Bašić iz JK Uskok, a koje su zauzele treće mjesto i kod kojih su u većini bila treća mjesta. Kompletne rezultate klase 470 možete pronaći ovdje. FOTO: JK LABUD A što se tiče kraljevske klase, klase Finn, na njihovom Prvenstvu Hrvatske okupilo se šest kormilara iz četiri kluba, a najzanimljivije je bilo u samom vrhu, odnosno u borbi za pojedinu od stepenica postolja. Dva Labudova predstavnika i jedan jedriličar Šibenskog JK Val bili su glavni režiseri raspleta ove skupine. Kod njih se može primijetiti zanimljiv razvoj njihove forme tijekom regate. Pobjednik i prvak za 2020. je Josip Olujić - JK Labud i u pet odjedrenih plovova jedini kiksevi su mu bili dva druga mjesta. U stvari kod njega nije bilo uzleta i padova i uglavnom je pokazao stabilnost od početka do kraja. S druge strane, kolega mu iz kluba, Nenad Bugarin, na kraju brončani, otvorio je regatu pobjedom i drugim mjestom, ali do kraja osvaja isključivo treća mjesta. Zato je Milan Vujasinović - JK Val, nakon što se "tražio" u prva dva plova, nastavio vrlo dobro jedriti i suci mu upisuju druga mjesta i pobjedu u posljednjem plovu. Tko zna, možda bi rezultat bio i malo drugačiji da su Dugi i Neno jedrili na svojim jedrilicama. Naime, oba su jedrila na posuđenim brodovima i s posuđenom opremom jer je jednom sve to u Španjolskoj, a drugom na Palmi. A evo što je o regati rekao novi prvak Hrvatske: Ne mogu se sjetiti kad je bilo posljednje PH za Finn, tako da mislim da je vrlo lijepo da smo se ponovno uspjeli okupiti u dovoljnom broju unatoč tomu što smo nas prva trojica dosta aktivniji i s puno većim iskustvom i značajno smo se izdvajali od preostale trojice. Za razliku od ostalih ja sam imao prednost jedrenja na svom brodu, jer su njih dvojica trenutno locirani u Španjolskoj i na Palmi i tamo im je ostala sva oprema. Tako da su obojica jedrili u posuđenim brodovima i to im je vjerojatno bio hendikep u određenim uvjetima. Sve u svemu mislim da sam dobro jedrio, ali mislim da je prevagu odnijelo to što sam poentirao u uvjetima s više vjetra. Početak i sredinu regate sam odjedrio vrlo dobro i osigurao titulu, tako da sam mogao opušteno ući u posljednji plov u kojem sam onda mogao pustiti da njih dvojica imaju svoju borbu u koju se ja više ne moram uplitati. Uglavnom, nismo odjedrili puni program, ali mislim da su svejedno ovih pet odjedrenih bile dovoljno kvalitetne i zanimljive. Josip Olujić, JK Labud Njihove kompletne rezultate možete pronaći na ovom linku. FOTO: JK LABUD Inače, što se tiče vremenskih uvjeta na regatnom polju o tome je par riječi ispričao predsjednik Regatnog odbora g.Jozo Višić: U utorak smo izašli na Čiovo tek oko 14:30. Do tada nije bilo vjetra. Onda je naglo stiglo 10-12 čvorova koji su omogućili da se započne druga orca za vrijeme koje sam morao prekinuti regatu. Jedino su daske uspjele završiti taj plov, jer je njihova orca bila na otprilike pola duljine orce druge dvije klase. Tako da su oni svoju regatu završili za 15-20 minuta. Oni su na kraju tu regatu završili pumpanjem, a to im je bila već druga za prvi dan Prvenstva. U srijedu je počelo puhati već oko podne i pol i krenuli smo s jedrenjem oko 13 sati. Tog dana smo napravili tri regate za 470, dvije za klasu Finn kojima smo započeli i treći plov kojeg sam morao prekinuti. Vjetar je počeo padati i okrenulo je naglo u buru, pa su i "štiriji" zadnju mezzonavu u stvari vozili u orcu. Kako im se redoslijed nije mogao promijeniti ostavili smo ih, ali Finnovima smo morali prekinuti. A daske su napravile samo dva plova, oni su na regatno polje došli malo kasnije... I trećeg dana regate, u četvrtak, napravili smo po tri plova za 470 i Finn, dok su daskaši odjedrili dva plova. Inače sva ta jedrenja smo napravili po maestralima iz 240 do 260°. Kao što sam rekao, najlošije je bilo prvog dana kad je maestral stigao kasno i puhao samo sat - sat i pol. Zato je drugih dana dolazio ranije i bio dovoljne snage cijelo vrijeme. Jozo Višić, predsjednik RO Ova regata je bila na neki način i dobar sparing test za naše Finnaše pred kojima je Europsko prvenstvo u Poljskoj na početku mjeseca rujna. Po trenutnim prijavama neće biti najveća moguća konkurencija od uobičajenih 60 i više sudionika, jer ih je trenutno prijavljeno oko 40. Po programu jedrenja će biti od 2. do 6. rujna, a tri dana prije jedrenja bit će organizirana premjeravanja. Što se tiče samog jedrenja, format je promijenjen i neće biti medal racea i finalnog plova, već je predviđeno da se u tih pet dana jedri po dva plova svaki dan. Prije Europskog prvenstva bit će organizirano i Prvenstvo Poljske za klasu Finn, tako da će naši jedriličari tu regatu nastojat iskorisititi kao posljednju ozbiljnu pripremu nakon vrlo duge pauze bez regata i ozbiljnih sparinga. READ MORE

YOU’RE INVITED: DOUBLEHANDED DEBRIEF Join North Sails President Ken Read and Special Guests on Monday, August 24th Live on Zoom 📸 Billy Black Diving headfirst into a new style of sailing has made for an exciting and competitive summer for North Sails President Ken Read. Join Ken live with special guests Suzy Leech and Brad Read as they debrief their recent of doublehanded sailing experiences. Ken’s year of doublehanded sailing kicked-off in February, a few weeks before we knew close-to-home, short-handed sailing would be so popular this summer. Luckily for Ken, talented crew and world-class competition are never hard to find in Newport, Rhode Island. Inspired by the growing doublehanded trend, Ken has been alternating races with his brother Brad and Suzy Leech. They’ve been getting to know their boat Alchemist, a Jeanneau Sunfast 3300, and bonding as teammates. Putting in their miles on the Sunfast has brought them several successes. Alchemist has won on handicap in all three races entered and took line honors in the New England Twin/Solo. Monday, August 24th, 1500 EDT Keeping It Simple | Mistakes & Recovery | Choosing Your Teammate Register Now Please submit any questions in advance to webinars@northsails.com or ask live via the Zoom chat. We look forward to having you join us! READ MORE

AIRLIE BEACH RACE WEEK 2020 North Sails Australia’s Josh Torpy and Ben Kelly Share Race Reflections 📸 Shirley Wodson Photography Airlie served up challenging light air racing for the week-long event. In the IRC passage fleet, racing was very close between Team Hollywood, Mr Bojangles, Desperado, Black Diamond and Envy Scooters making it exciting and a great test of crew work. Team Hollywood, with a full North inventory, was quick out of the blocks– just as expected in the lighter breeze conditions. Black Diamond was hot on their heels, pushing them on the IRC rating every chance they got but Team Hollywood was ahead of the game, coming out on top of the scoresheet, followed by Envy Scooters, and Desperado to round out the podium. 📸 Shirley Wodson Photography North Sails Brisbane's Josh Torpy was onboard Envy Scooters, and used Airlie Beach RW as their practice event for the Annual Sydney Hobart which takes place later this summer. “We were fortunate enough to have some great crew that we normally don’t have access to, especially given the Covid pandemic,” said Josh. “Having a top-notch crew gave us the upper hand, and that allowed us to truly get the most of the week-long event to work on crew fine tuning and boat speed.” Using the week to fine tune, the team took many positives away which will help them get up to speed with their normal crew. Josh commented; “This year's event saw many smiling faces, as sailors were happy to be back on the water, back to doing what they love most. All and all the whole fleet had a great week in what we all felt very lucky and privileged to participate in a great regatta in the Whitsundays given the current situation.” 📸 Shirley Wodson Photography North Sail Expert Ben Kelly also shared excitement for a successful race week onboard Black Diamond. “It was refreshing to be surrounded by such a strong team of younger sailors that are moving up into larger keel boat racing,” he remarked. “This was the first race for the new owner, and to experience the tight IRC racing amongst a wide range of boats made for the perfect ice breaker.” The Black Diamond crew is gaining traction and was able to ramp up their performance by focusing on crew work and boat handling. Ben commented: “For our first race together, we are very happy with our result. Our 3Di RAW 780 mainsail was our secret weapon in the light air conditions, and the boat was in great condition, prepared by Lee Randall and North Sails associates to get her up to top speed.” Overall North Sails was heavily represented across all fleets at the event, I paid particular attention to the Multihull Divisions, with a new A2 giving the Cut Snake owned by Robert Dean a new deeper downwind mode that clearly improved their week in the light conditions. 📸 Shirley Wodson Photography Troy Forest’s Grainger Mint was quite impressive all week, with a beautiful 3Di square top mainsail and headsail. “They used their massive Code 55 upwind and did very well in the ultra-light conditions,” said Ben. “We recently supplied Mick Hayes aboard the Schionning Catamaran Renaissance with a new carbon paneled main that had an increased head width and a more refined roach. From the looks of it, they had her dialed in at this event.” The Orma 60 Trimaran ex-Vodaphone won the regatta using a full wardrobe of North Sails. All sailors felt genuinely fortunate to be attending a regatta in such amazing waters and perfect weather. Ben commented; “I am sure next year’s Airlie Beach Race Week will smash all records for attendance as the beautiful images going out on social media have made all missing this years event very jealous!” 📸 Shirley Wodson Photography READ MORE