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| Pictured
above is the Shipman 63 on her maiden sail. The Shipman line
of boats is built by Seaway of Bled, Slovenia, which specializes
in fast, modern cruising boats. Already the 63 has been compared
favorably in speed to an Open 60, yet she is a luxury cruiser.
The company’s philosophy is to build light, high-tech,
fast cruising boats because lighter boats are easier to handle.
The boats come with quality
components such as Hall carbon spars and UK-Halsey bluewater
sails. Both the 63 and their 50-footer are aimed at sailors
in their 50s and 60s who are accomplished sailors, but are
losing some of their youthful vigor.
Shipman makes luxury yachts
less expensively because of eastern Europe’s inexpensive
labor and because the company lowered the complexity and cost
of construction by using 3D computer design and robotic milling
equipment to cut precise hull and deck panels that can be
fitted together with an advanced epoxy by less skilled workers.
The Shipman 63 was officially
launched in Portoroz, Slovenia, on July 19th. One of the finalists
for the European Yacht of the Year 2005, Frenchman Michel
Desjoyeaux (the legendary ocean crossing solo racer) was given
the honor of being the first to take the Shipman 63 out on
Slovenian waters, demonstrating the single handed capability
of the yacht.
For more information and more photos go to: www.shipman.dk
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FEATURED
LOFT OF THE MONTH:
UK-HALSEY CALVERT
Dave Calvert's
sail loft in Islamorada, Florida, is one of the pre-eminent
manufacturers of multihull sails in the world. His sails have
set records, won national championships and won the respect
of competitors everywhere. Now that his loft is part of the
UK-Halsey group with over 50 lofts, sailors get Dave Calvert's
sails with the added benefit of local service.
Dave got his start in sailmaking
building windsurfing sails where he pioneered innovations like
the first full-batten windsurf sails in the U.S., square top
sails, RAFs (rotating asymmetrical foils) and early split batten
camber induced sails. His windsurf sails won many pro races,
open class events, and speed trials around the US, in the Caribbean
and at world championships.
 |
Dave
Calvert and Steve Fossett on the 125-foot maxi catamaran
PLAYSTATION. |
As the windsurfing market declined,
the loft’s attention turned to multihulls. After all,
multihulls are about as fast as windsurfers, but you could sit
down and enjoy racing with a team! The first multihull Dave
conquered was the Stiletto catamaran where he won the Nationals
six years in a row.
Next, he pursed Corsair triamarans
as they grew in popularity. These are fast trimarans that can
be towed across the country, assembled in less than an hour,
and raced on lakes or across oceans. The fleets were growing,
especially in Florida. Calvert Sails, once again, was there
on the ground floor. Working with dealers and boat owners, Calvert
Sails became involved with asymmetrical spinnakers, screachers,
elliptical head mains and square top mains. Calvert may have
been the first to come up with a square top main in the United
States. A square top main on a wing mast cat was built years
before the Corsair class saw this configuration.
Calvert Sails’ success earned
Dave an audition on Steve Fossett's 125-foot maxi-cat PLAYSTATION.
After crewing on the successful Miami to New York record run,
Dave was invited to be a driver on the trans-Atlantic record
attempt. This proved to be part of history when the 12-year-old
record was smashed by two days! The 24 hour distance record
was also broken when 687.17 miles were covered at an average
speed of 28.63 knots. Since then Dave sailed on PLAYSTATION
when she broke the Fastnet Race course record and the 3884-mile
East to West trans-Atlantic record.
 |
Dave
Calvert's performance cruising catamaran GREEN FLASH. |
Today, Calvert Sails are winning
races in every region of the US as well as in the Caribbean,
on boats that range in size from beach cats to the large ocean
racers.
"These are exciting times
for Calvert Sails. We recently became part of the merger between
Halsey Lidgard Sailmakers and UK Sailmakers. This gives us the
incredible resources of a group of over 50 sail lofts worldwide.
We can now benefit by sharing ideas with a large, talented design
team. Other benefits include, excellent production options when
we are too booked up to make sails, and the expanded service
to our customers that 50 locations offer,” said Dave.
Dave and wife Trish, own and cruise
their Osborn 42 cat Green Flash, each summer to the Bahamas.
They cruise 4 to 6 weeks a year, and race the cat in the South
Florida events in the winter. Dave and Trish have owned several
cruising boats and have cruised the Caribbean for the last 16
years.
“Multihull sail design,
is also another world,” said Calvert. “Because of
the special performance multihulls, the sails must have designs
to optimize the high apparent winds. Wind differs both in speed,
and direction, from the surface to the masthead. Twist in all
of the sails must be designed for the different sheer and gradient.
The proper profile and three dimensional shape must also be
optimized. Both
too full or too flat are slow. Multihull sail designers have
gone through the learning curve. They
have learned what is the shape to strive for on each boat. I
feel that it takes good multihull sailors, to be good multihull
sail designers. You don’t see many sail designers on the
race course.”
In the first half of 2005 the UK-Halsey multihull sails
tallied-up
the following impressive results:
Ft. Lauderdale to Key West: First to finish,
new course record, first overall, first in class B, and second
in class A.
Miami to Nassau Race: First to finish, first
on corrected
Corsair Nationals: First in F 31 class, and
first overall.
Van Isle 360 Race: First, Second, Third.
Miami to Key Largo Race: First and second boats
to finish, and first in the top four multihull classes.
Chicago to Mackinac: Third in class.
Port Huron to Mackinac: First in class
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UK-HALSEY
SAILS WINS THE AMATEUR CATEGORY IN 2005 TOUR DE FRANCE
As a result of UK-Halsey Sailmakers consistent involvement
in the Mumm 30 class, six of the 30
teams in the 2005 Tour de France Voile chose UK-Halsey sails.
ALPES-MARITIMES-MANDELIEU- THEOULE finished fifth overall.
ESPOIR ILE-DE-FRANCE won the Amateur category and finished
ninth overall – an outstanding performance by this young
crew. - ALFA LAVAL, the English team
finished second in the Student class and 14th overall. Australian
Paul McKenzie sailing
PERPIGNAN-MEDITERRANEE took fifth in Amateur category.
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CIRCUMNAVIGATOR’S
BOOK REVIEWED
CHASING SUNSETS is a terrific
account of one family’s circumnavigation on a Mason 53
outfitted with UK-Halsey sails. The book about a six-year voyage
is written by Laurie Pane with running commentary from his wife
Carole and son Ryan. With self-deprecating humor that is not
over-bearing, Pane writes about his family’s sail around
the world along the tradewinds route. This is a story about
the people they met, the places they went, wild life they saw,
food they ate, cruisers they buddy-boated with, and a look at
their family.
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DOLPHIN
SPIRT, a Mason 53 carried the Panes 40,000 miles while
they
visited 56 countries during their six-year circumnavigation. |
One
example of Laurie’s sense of humor comes o ut when he
talks about his neighbors in one South Pacific harbor: “Normally
we were the biggest boat in most anchorages. Not a big deal,
but sort of nice in a round about way — what the hell,
it’s good for the ego! When we entered Musket Cove, there
was a 150-foot sailboat, two 130-footers, an 85, a 75 and two
65s. Put us right into our place it did, with our measly 54
feet.”
As someone who has sailed almost
halfway around the world on parts of the Pane’s route,
I found their story accurate, informative and fun to read. The
Pane’s trip extended from 1996 to 2002. Their descriptions
of the cruising life-style rang true and it was fun to read
about how some harbors have been developed while others stayed
the same in the years since I sailed from Australia to the Mediterranean.
Besides being a great read for armchair sailors, the book is
a good resource for those thinking about cruising around the
world. It is an accurate description of what it is like. Laurie
offers good advice based on experience. For instance, he writes:
“Our shotgun had been handed over to the Customs officers
in Nuka Hiva, and we got it back when we checked out of Papeete.
This was a little strange, as we were to visit several more
islands in French Polynesia. In common with most other cruisers,
we found that having a gun on board was more trouble than it
was worth. Almost every country requires guns to be surrendered
on entry, which negates any defensive worth they might have.
A non-declared gun found during a Custom’s search often
results in immediate confiscation of the boat.”
While discussing the long paper
work process in Fiji, Laurie writes: “My policy has always
been to go along, uncomplaining, with any local requirements.
It is their country and their rules. If you don’t like
it, just leave and go somewhere else. In this instance we were
having a very pleasant time with the Fijians, joking and laughing
and generally helping the time to pass. They knew that the paperwork
was just ‘make-work’ and so did we, but it had to
be done.”
About planning their route, Laurie
wrote, “One of the fallacies of cruising is you have all
the time in the world to do things. Certainly there is more
time to spend in each place than is available to land-based
mortals, but key schedules, mainly weather and season-related,
have to be kept. For example, you cannot enter the South Pacific
before the end of the cyclone season in March, and you must
be out, in Australia, New Zealand, or north of the equator,
by early November. That leaves only seven months to cover French
Polynesia, Cook Islands, Tonga, and Fiji, all at less than six
knots. Stay too long in one place, and you have to hurry through
another. The main problem is that it gets better as you go west,
something that is hard to appreciate when lolling in Bora Bora’s
lagoon.”
If you are thinking about taking
your own boat around the world, do not skip over the Appendices;
there is a lot of good information there including Questions
Most Asked, How Much Did It Cost, Most Important Gear, Spare
Parts, Home Schooling and much more. They spent $40,000 per
year, which included a trip home once a year, infrequent stays
at luxury hotels, over land travels as well as boat repairs
and upgrade. My one criticism is that I wish there was a little
more about their actual sailing-– some lessons learned
on sails they used, or trim tips. And since they did use UK-Halsey
sails, I’ll conclude that Carole inscribed my book with,
“Your sails took us safely around the world.”
To buy the book and find more
information about the Panes, go to www.chasingsunsetsthebook.com
The cost of the 448-page paperback with color photos is $19.96.
|
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| Above
is the Oyster 66 MATELOT, which UK-Halsey Hamble made
the sails for. The sails are built to our Tape-Drive Blue
Water construction standard, which is a spectra base with
Kevlar tapes. The sails were delivered two months ago
and are impressing a lot of people. The boat’s skipper
Angus Fuller said, “The sails look superb. All the
guests are well impressed with them -- even skippers of
superyachts who are die-hard 3DL users are muttering that
they’re impressed.” |
|
FAMILY
TEAM WINS BENETEAU FIRST 47.7 CLASS AT COWES WEEK
MOANA, a Belgian Beneteau First
47.7 owned by François Goubau enjoyed a good week of sailing
and took 2nd place in IRC 2 at Cowes Week this summer and 1st
place in the Bénéteau 47.7 fleet. The closest competitor was
KIRRIBILLI, another First 47.7 also suited with a full UK-Halsey
inventory. 
Commenting about the race helmsman
Mathieu Goubau said, "I was particularly pleased with the way
MOANA is performing since she was suited with her new UK Sails.
We managed to be faster upwind. Especially in the medium breeze
we sailed much higher and faster than everyone else."
MOANA took victory in a very hot
contest for the Skandia Young Skipper’s Trophy. Goubau
edged out Mark Campbell-James helmsman of the Farr 52 BEAR OF
BRITAIN for this prestigious trophy after putting together a
fantastically consistent series dropping out of the top five
just once.
The family crew was assisted by
their sailmaker Alfred Van Rijckevorsel from UK-Halsey Benelux.
The crew was made up of: François & Michèle Goubau, Laurent,
Alexis & Mathieu Goubau, Thierry & Guy Duhameeuw, Cédric Declercq,
Patrick Le Jeune, Denis Lardinoit and Mélissa de Burbure.
The Fastnet Race was sailed for
the most part in light airs, though that didn't stop the heavy
Ben 47.7 from sailing in the right direction. A correct interpretation
of the weather charts brought MOANA in a comfortable position
at Fastnet Rock which encouraged the crew to drive the boat
hard to the finish securing a third place in IRC 0, chased by
the Grand Soleil 45 SATORI and the impressive Mills 37 THUNDER,
that finished second and first respectively.
|
COLT
45 GOES OUT ON TOP
Allan Flether’s Santa
Cruz 70, COLT 45, won the GL70 class in the 2005 Chicago Mackinac
and Bayview Mackinac races. In the Bayview race she was first
overall in IRC. COLT
45 carries a 100% UK-Halsey inventory. In the last four Bayview
races COLT 45 has finished 2,1,2,1. Her main is a 2003
carbon sail and it still looks beautiful. The jib top (PICTURED),
which is very fast, is a 2004 kevlar/carbonTape-Drive. The
jibs were new in 2000 and are all made with Cuben Fiber skins
and carbon fiber tapes. It is amazing how long they have held
good shapes. The only shape tweaks needed were to add luff
curve to counter shrinkage.
All of these sails were designed
by Pat Considine of UK-Halsey Chicago. His best design is
probably our VMG spinnaker. Whenever we have this sail up
we are the fastest boat.
This will be the last year for
the COLT 45 team as Allan Fletcher is selling the boat and
moving on to less strenuous activities. Allan has sailed for
over 50 years and is one of sailboat racing's greatest sportsman.
The sport will miss him.
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CRAZY
HORSE SPOILS COLT 45’S TRIPLE CROWN BY WINNNG TRANS
SUPERIOR RACE
Bud Siudara’s Frers 50 CRAZY HORSE scored two huge victories
this year, and in the process kept the Santa Cruz 70 COLT
45 from winning the third jewel in the Great Lakes’
triple crown of yacht racing.
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Siudara
and his son Andy are the fourth owners of the Frers-designed
50-footer CRAZY HORSE |
For the last 10 years, the 390-mile
Trans Superior Race has been won by two Santa Cruz 70s –
STRIPES and COLT 45. This year they were both in the race,
and Siudara had no intention of beating the two sleds with
his much heavier and smaller 1981 IOR 50-footer. He was concentrating
beating the other masthead rigged 50-footer in the race named
CHEWBACCA.
The race went the length of
Lake Superior, from Sault Saint Marie to Duluth, Minnesota
in the southwest corner of the lake. For most of the race
the old 50-footers were close together trading the lead in
the shifting and variable winds. Once the wind freed up enough
for CRAZY HORSE to fly her double-head rig consisting of an
1.5 oz asymmetric and genoa stay sail, she was able to go
from just behind CHEWBACCA to six miles in front. "We had
the right weapons," said Siudara. "Without an asymmetrical
spinnaker, they fell off to leeward of the rhumbline while
we went several tenths faster toward the finish. We also had
a .6 oz. asymmetric which is really fast in light air.
“The boat has a complete
inventory of UK-Halsey sails and they all look great.
 |
Crazy
Horse's crew for the Mills Trophy: front left to right,
Dan Milz, Jeff Jarzombek, Tom Coolman and skipper
Bud Siudara; rear, left to right, David Nietcing,
Hans Rentrop, David Wysocki, Doug Holmes, and Paul
'Grampy' Lady |
"While sailing with the double-head
rig we sailed right past STRIPES that was in a hole one half
mile to leeward. We were the third boat to finish and corrected
over Stripes by three-and-a-half hours and over COLT 45 by
37 minutes. What a victory! We had not expectations of pulling
something like this off."
Earlier in the summer, CRAZY
HORSE won Lake Erie's most prestigious big boat event, the
Mills Trophy. Siudara's boat was first to finish and first
overall. The boat also was awarded the Budweiser Eagle trophy
for the best margin of victory. After sailing the 75-mile
course, CRAZY HORSE bested the second place boat by 22 minutes
on corrected time.
| “The
conditions were exactly right for us. We had heavy air
and flat water for the first 4-5 hours going upwind and
then breezes settled in at 7 to 9 knots for the rest of
the race. That's just what we liked. We were either beating
or close reaching, so we could take advantage of our long
waterline. |
|
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TRANSPAC
STORIES: UK-HALSEY CUSTOMERS WIN TWO CLASSES
CORUBA FINISHES THIRD OVERALL AND WINS THE SLED CLASS
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CORUBA
racing in the Seattle Grand Prix |
Rob
and Suzanne Fleming’s 1988 Nelson/Marek 68 CORUBA won
the Sled Class in the 2005 Transpac and finished third overall
in fleet -- a terrific showing in their first major ocean race.
Doug Christie of UK-Halsey Seattle worked very closely with
the Flemings to the setup the boat, build new sails and optimize
the rating.
Doug wrote the following about
the race: “We made a strong move to the South with a chute
up the second day. This gave us enormous leverage and each day
we climbed further up the standings. As the drag-race portion
of the race developed we were well positioned and the moderate
conditions and a small sea state played into our hands. We were
3rd in class and 3rd overall until the faster boats reached
the trades near Hawaii. Fortunately they ran out of race track
and we held on to fourth in class and fourth overall as well
as first in the Sled class. After TRADER incurred two 30-minute
penalties for incorrect radio check-in, we moved 18 minutes
ahead of them on corrected time to finish third in class, third
in fleet and first in the Sled class.
While one prefers to win on the
water we felt quite justified as we also had SSB problems and
with the idea of penalties looming over us managed to do things
correctly and relay our positions via VHF which TRADER could
have easily done.
The inventory selection we chose
worked well. We added a new Airx chute, Blast Reacher and Genoa
Staysail. We suffered no damage other than a brand new Carbon
reaching strut taking a swim on the second to last jibe.
EDITOR’S NOTE: CORUBA also
won the Swiftsure Race this year and set anew course record
in the process.
SO FAR WINS ALOHA CLASSES A AND B
There once was a Transpac tradition
to go swimming at the halfway point, which is farther from land
than any other place on earth, but that isn't what Gary Kozlowski
had in mind when he got flung overboard by a spinnaker sheet
during a set on Larry Hillman's Swan 48 SO FAR in the middle
of the Transpac.
Without a PDF on Gary was in trouble.
"I knew I couldn't swim fast enough to get back to the
boat," he said, "but I still had hold of the sheet."
Within three or four minutes, his mates hauled him back to the
boat. A very lucky guy indeed.
The Chicago-based SO FAR went
on to run away with Aloha B class honors and won Aloha A and
B overall on handicap time.
Later, Hillman summed up his boat's
highlights of the race: "We sailed just 2,438 n.m. to complete
the race---the equal of eight back-to-back Mackinac races! We
saw whales, sea lions, seals and dolphin by the score, and after
13 days at sea we saw the amazing beauty of Molokai Island rise
over our port bow . . . a breathtaking sight. Along the way
it seems like we broke, repaired and broke again just about
everything aboard. We sent eight bags of sails to the loft for
repairs, reworked our engine fuel lines, rebuilt a head (nice!),
hauled spinnakers from the sea, hoisted a bowman to the masthead
and battled a failed refrigeration system. We dodged a monstrous
50-foot cross-tacking whale -- missing it by less than five
feet. We missed countless tankers and cargo ships, ducked falling
masthead sheaves and spinnakers and evaded boarding waves, flying
fish, dive bombing birds and airborne shelves and drawers.
Weather-wise, we had it all, from
0.0s to 40 knots. And in the end, what a reception! Each Transpac
boat was assigned a host family in California and Hawaii, and
no matter what time of day or night you arrived in Hawaii, the
host family was there in force to applaud and cheer 'their'
boat and crew. Immediately upon docking, our host, Doug Taylor,
whisked us to a party fully stocked with ice (yes ICE) in our
drinks, frosted beers, shrimp platters and all sorts of other
incredible edibles. I never met this man before. That's hospitality."
|
 Wanting
a woody, racing sailor Dick Felter spent two years restoring
a classic 34-footer that he sails on Lake Carlye in southern
Illinois. Instead of touring around the lake on a classic Chris
Craft, Felter chose to bring back a 1949 Hinckley Sou’wester
34. Dick is ecstatic about the look, craftsmanship and performance
of the sails. ”The boat is a real joy to sail, and the
new sails make a huge difference. Now when a puffs hit, the
boat accelerates instead of heeling over and loading up the
rig.” To keep the classic look of the boat, UK-Halsey
Chicago used Bainbridge’s Classic-look Dacron. The cream
color is reminiscent of Egyptian cotton.
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TWO
CHICAGO TO MACKINAC RACE STORIES
FIRST TIME MAC AND FIRST PLACE FINISH
By Luis Gianotti, UK-Halsey Southern California
I’ve wanted to do this race
since 1996 and it looked like in 2005 I would keep the idea
on my wish list for yet another year. But three days before
the race I was talking with Pat Considine of UK-Halsey Chicago
and I asked him if he needed an extra crewmember. He said that
the Santa Cruz 70, NITEMARE, which he was sailing on was all
set, but the boat his father and sister were sailing on needed
someone. Ten minutes later Jim (Mister C) called me to let me
know that they had a spot for me!
Great, I got a plane ticket and
two days later I was having dinner with Jim and Cate in Chicago
learning as much as possible about the race. These guys have
done it many times; so I was in very good hands (2005 was Jim's
35th Chicago Mac race). The three of us joined six others to
form the crew of WOOTON 2, a tall-rigged Sabre 402.
The race started on a Satuday
around noon in very light breeze that was on the nose. It was
spectacular to watch 290 boats sailing away from Chicago. For
the first third of the race the breeze stayed light and slowly
shifted 180-degrees to end up in the southwest, right on the
stern.
The race got exciting just after
Pt. Betsey when the wind started to build and blow strongly
out of the southwest. On our way to Grey’s reef we were
flying --making 10-12 knots. We changed to the heavy chute as
we passed the Manitou Islands.
Later in the night we saw the
lightning of the storm that was rolling through the Mackinac
Strait. It was long gone when we got to Greys Reef, but we went
through with 22-25 knots of wind. Early Monday morning the breeze
was up to 28 knots. Jim was driving and on one wave the bow
went submarine, which led to a major wipe out that blew up the
chute!!! We had another chute ready and hoisted in two minutes.
The adrenaline was running again. The chute we re-hoisted was
the.6 oz, which was made for medium air. Luckily that light
chute survived the punishment.
Turning the corner into the Strait
of Mackinac, we changed from the chute to the jib top. On this
leg we saw gusts to 32 knots. As soon as we passed the bridge
the spinnaker was reset and we finished quickly. We crossed
the line at 11:23 a.m. Monday and only one boat from our division
crossed before us, but we corrected over him.
I was very lucky in my first Chicago-Mac
to have the opportunity to sail with a competitive crew and
to have weather that was so warm. My foul weather gear stayed
in my bag for the whole race!!!
MACKINAC
STORM STORY: RESCUE AT SEA
by Jerry Mayfield, UK-Halsey Holland Mich.
The night before the 300-mile
Chicago-Mackinac Race, four crew members of the J/125 ERLEICHDA
were watching the Weather Channel after a crew dinner. “Of
course we tuned in just in time for Storm Stories,” said
Jerry Mayfield of UK-Halsey Sailmakers in Holland, Mich. “The
story they showed was the replay of the trimaran CALIENTE capsizing
a few years earlier in the Chicago-Mac. A heroic story of a
rescue at sea if there ever was one; yet a story that still
sends a chill up the spine of sailors when they recall their
own countless close calls on the water. Who would have thought
that less than 48 hour later some of the fleet would be close
to reliving the story.”
 |
| ERLEICHDA |
The following is Jerry’s
account of going to the aid of a capsized trimaran in this year’s
Chicago-Mac. His story is a textbook example of how racing sailors
need respond to a boat or competitor in danger.
Sunday morning July 17,
2005 6:00 AM. We were about a mile west of Greys Reef
lighthouse when it happened again. I had just taken the helm
and one of the crew spotted a fast moving squall line headed
in from the northwest. We immediately dropped our spinnaker
as JUILIANA, a 78ft racer about a half-mile behind us, got hit
first. While seeing their sails flogging in the wind our main
trimmer shouted, “heads down, I have no idea what this
boom is going to do!” We all held on as the boat jibed
from starboard to port in a 49-knot gust. It took several moments
to gain control of the boat and get a No. 3 up. As we got up
to speed and were rapidly gaining on two competitors, we saw
JUILIANA dropped her sails and was motoring west.
Confused for a moment we noticed
their crew on the foredeck pointing at the water. Believing
they had lost a crewmember overboard we immediately dropped
our sails, started the engine and turned to follow them.
Scouring the waves, we saw nothing
but continued to motor after them. Suddenly we spotted the capsized
multihull farther back than the area we were focused on. We
immediately contacted the Coast Guard and the race committee
to apprise them of the situation. Before we could get there
two other racers, EAGLES WINGS and FINE LINE, were already on
the scene along with a powerboat. The powerboat, manned by a
news crew doing a story on the race, managed to get the three
sailors out of the water.
Recently there has been discussions
about helping sailors in distress (Fundamental rule 1.1). I
am glad to see there are no issues for the sailors on the Great
Lakes. When it was all over, we played a minor role, if any,
in the rescue of the crew of the yacht EMMA. Other boats that
were trailing us got there much faster. When we started back
to help we were not even sure what happened or who we were helping,
but we stayed until we had confirmation that all of the crew
were safe. I am proud of the crew I sailed with and the crews
on the other boats and would do the same thing again except
next year I’m watching cartoons before the race!
I dedicate this story to a former
crewmate, Jim Matson, lost at sea on the Around the Islands
Race on Lake Superior in July 1987.
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FIVE
YEAR-OLD TAPE-DRIVE SAILS STILL WINNING
 |
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BACCHANAL
|
On Long Island Sound, two different J/120s won distance
races this July. Larchmont Yacht
Club Rear Commodore Jan Smeets’ BACCHANAL won her
class and was first overall in IRC in
the 190-mile Around Long Island Race. She was also scored
under PHRF where she finished
second in class and third in fleet. BACCHANAL’s sail
inventory included a three-year-old
Tape-Drive main (pictured), a new UK light No. 1 and
a new all purpose Asymmetrcial
chute. “That chute is magnificent,” said Smeets.
“It is so powerful and rotates to windward
well.”
Rick Oricchio’s ROCKET
SCIENCE won her PHRF division and was first overall in PHRF
in
the 45-mile Riverside YC Stratford Shoal Race. G Sailing
with sons Dan and Dave, ROCKET
SCIENCE topped a fleet of 17 competitive boats. “This
is the fifth year we’ve had our Tape- Drive sails
and they still have terrific shape,” said Oricchio.
“In the medium breeze, I was
pleased with our ability to hold the Code 0 – that
sail made a big difference in this race.”
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FASTNET
RACE SMILES ON SLOWER BOATS: UK-HALSEY TAKES 2ND IN FLEET.
Small boats cleaned up in this
year’s Fastnet Race. Instead of killer storms, the race
was marked by light air through the finish of the big boats,
and then a strong westerly kicked in pushing the small boats
to the finish so that they could correct over the gold-platers.
A UK-Halsey customer Eric Lisson sailing his Granata 38 CAVATINA
corrected to second in fleet. Eric paid tribute to Des McWilliam
of UK-Halsey in Cork, Ireland, who made his sails. “We
worked closely with Des over the years on designing sails
that would give us the speed we need. What he has come up
with again has been crucial and we will continue to work with
him over the winter on further design improvements.”
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Mathias
Preuße’s Swan 40 Jazz finished third in the Swan Regatta
Group 2 held in conjunction with the Rolex Baltic Week.
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