UK-Halsey Newsletter
UK-Halsey International
August,2006

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Fast wet rides were the norm in the Around Helgoland Island race this year. Over 170 boats raced around this North Sea island in 35 knots of breeze. The Tripp 40 AMOUSE BOUCHE (pictured) finished third in Class 3 while the UK-Halsey equipped X312 OUT OF THE BOX was first in the same class. See article below for more on the North Sea Race Week (Nordseewoche).

Photo: Hinrich Frank, stockmaritime.com
ANOTHER MOB VIDEO YOU'VE GOT TO SEE
     The third in UK-Halsey’s series of important instructional streaming videos has just been posted on our website. It’s a demonstration MOB recovery where not everything works correctly but the situation will seem a lot closer to what you typically find when racing. And seeing mistakes is a great learning tool. Viewing is free (after logging on). Mastering these techniques could save a crewmember’s life. Now, you have upwind and downwind MOB recoveries and a less anticipated MOB under heavier conditions are available on the UK-H website.

Click Here to see the Safety At Sea videos.
BREAKING NEWS
EAGLE WINS THE MACKINAC CUP IN THE 2006 CHICAGO-MACKINAC RACE
Mackinac Cup Winner Eagle. boatingshots.com photo
     The 333-mile Chicago to Mackinac Race, the longest freshwater race in the world, started slow for 299 boats. The wind continued to be tricky throughout the night with pockets of wind and holes. On Sunday afternoon much of the fleet had not covered a large distance. Luckily the wind began to fill in and move aft late Sunday night. Some reports of gusts over 30 knots were reported. The wind held up through most of Monday, allowing the fleet to sail through the Straits of Mackinac with their chutes at good speeds.
     EAGLE, a Sydney 38, owned by Jerry and Shawn O’Neill, won Section 3, won the Mackinac Cup (trophy for the fastest half of the fleet scored under ORR), and was also first overall in IRC. EAGLE has a full set of UK ULTRA sails, which includes a new Code 1 genoa that saw plenty of use Saturday and Sunday.
     NITEMARE, a Santa Cruz 70 competing in the GL 70 class, owned by Tom Neill, won the Great Lakes 70 section, and was the second boat to finish, behind the Max Z-86 WINDQUEST. At nightfall on Sunday, they had a sizable lead on their competitors, but as the wind freshened from behind, with over 100 miles to go, they saw their lead diminish. Yet NITEMARE was able to win by a healthy margin over MIRAGE, which has a partial UK-H inventory.
     In the 25-boat T-10 Fleet, UK-Halsey customers made a clean sweep. Doug Baker’s TEMERITY won the one-design division and finished second overall for the Chicago-Mackinac Trophy. TEMERITY was followed by Tim and Nancy Snyder’s CHEAP THRILL, and then Arvid Eiesland’s WILD NORWEGIAN.
     In the J-120 class it was another clean sweep for boats with UKH sails. Frank Kern’s CARINTHIA won a close finish with less than a minute lead over Robert Kirkman’s HOT TICKET. Third went to Henry Mistele’s NIGHT MOVES.
     In the 20-boat J-105 class, Michael Morin & Duane Rose’s JUNTO won. They flew a UK-Halsey sail the entire race. Perennial winner David Wagner and his crew on GIGI were third.
     In Section 5 Jim Burch’s Tripp 33 THUNDERBOLT won, while Doug Rogers’ Schock 35 CAPTAIN BLOOD was third.
     In Section 7 Jonathan Veersma and crew on his Soverel 33 ZOT won by more that an hour over another Soverel 33 to win their division. ZOT has a full Tape-Drive inventory.
     In Section 9 Tony Bowker and Bob Nelson’s C&C 35 WINGS won. WINGS has a full UK-H inventory. Second place in this division went to Cork Boersma’s S-2 10.3 ENCORE, which also has a complete UK-H inventory.
     Look for a more complete report on the UK-Halsey Chicago website.
TIPS FOR MAKING YOUR SAILS LAST LONGER
SAIL SUN SCREEN
     Always make sure to roll your genoa with the UV protection cover on the outside. If the sail gets rolled up with the acrylic cover on the inside, the sun will cook the leech of your genoa.
     If your main does not roll into the mast, make sure to put the sail cover on when the sail is down. The leech (back edge) of any sail carries the highest load, and when your main is down on the boom, it is the leech that is exposed more than any part of the sail.

MINIMIZE TORTURE
     Flogging, or violent luffing, breaks down the fibers in your sails. Some luffing is inevitable (when raising your mainsail for instance), but try to keep this to a minimum. Never motor directly up wind with your main flogging.

DON’T GET LED ASTRAY
     The top of your genoa suffers from flogging when the jib sheet lead block is too far aft. When the lead block is too far aft, the sheet applies more tension straight back along the foot than down along the leech. This causes the top of the sail to flutter. To find out how to locate the proper lead block position, click here to get to the genoa trim section of the “Encyclopedia of Sails.”

THE LEAD FOLLOWS
     Don’t forget that when you roller reef your genoa in strong winds, you’ll need to move the genoa sheet lead block forward because as you roll the sail, the clew moves forward. If you don’t move the lead block, the top of the sail will flutter violently in the stiff breeze.

SILENCE IS GOLDEN
     If the leech of your sail makes a terrible racket from flapping, tighten the leech line. Our sails have a simple-to-operate jam cleat. Not only does tightening the leech line reduce the noise, but it prevents the back of your sail from destroying itself -- and that saves you plenty of gold.

LOOSEN UP
     Trimming your sails properly in strong winds requires a lot of halyard tension on both the main and genoa. Do your sails a favor by easing the tension on the halyards every time you come in from sailing. Leaving them tight unnecessarily stretches them. To learn what to look for when setting the halyard tension, click here.

ANNUAL SERVICE
     You wouldn’t leave your patio furniture outside all winter, so why would you leave your sails up all winter? When you put your boat away at the end the season, take down your sails and drop them off at your UK-Halsey loft for washing and inspection. This is the best way to protect your investment. Washing your sails extends their useful life by removing dirt and salt that abrades sailcloth. “Do it yourselfers” should rinse off both sides of all your sails with a garden hose, then dry them well before storing them in a cool dry place. Do not store your sails in your boat where they can pick up nasty odors and envelop mildew over the winter.

Enjoy Your Time on the Water!
UK-Halsey Sailmakers
CAVATINA WINS BMW ROUND IRELAND RACE
     Following up a close second in the 2005 Fastnet Race, Eric Lisson’s Granada 38 CAVATINA won the 704-mile 2006 Round Ireland Race. The 28-year-old boat had a limited inventory of a Tape-Drive Silver roller/reefing genoa, Powerhead Dacron main sail, Code Zero and a Max Runner Matrix spinnaker. The key to her light weather performance has been the Code Zero, which the crew has adopted as a full member of the team. They’ve named it Speedy Gonzales! According to crewmember David Hennessy, “CAVATINA’s furling headsail is slow in light airs but the Code Zero can make five knots boat speed in five knots of apparent wind once we can crack off some.”
     CAVATINA‘s win was no fluke. She has won the race once before, and in 2005 she was second overall in the Fastnet race. Lisson, who modestly regards himself as one of the most inexperienced on board, claims they are experts at getting the most out of CAVATINA in both light and strong winds. “We’re 100-mile-per-hour sailors in a 50 mile-per-hour boat. The boat is below our capabilities, so we always get a 100 percent out of it,” said Lisson. Congratulations to Lisson and his long-time crew of Dave Hennessy, Leonard Donnery, Eamonn O'Neill, Sean Hanley, John Murphy and Ian Hickey – and Speedy Gonzales too. Photo by David Brannigan, Oceansport.
TWO UK-HALSEY CUSTOMERS THREE-PEAT IN NEWPORT to BERMUDA

     Dr. Eduardo Salvati with his son Christian and crew aboard MABUHAY II took line honors in the J/44 class for the third consecutive time and won their Class on corrected time under the ORR Rating Rule while Richard du Moulin and Chris Reyling three-peated in the doublehanded class by winning under IRC. A record number of 270 boats, ranging in length from 32 to 98 feet, participated in the 635 miles Centennial Newport-Bermuda Race. Having the same experienced, dedicated and congenial crew of the last three races made the difference on the final result. Both MABUHAY and LORA ANN sailed with brand new ocean-race spec Tape-Drive mainsails. Dr. Salvati wrote, “Your sails look good and helped a lot in the final result of the Bermuda Race! Thanks."

GEORGE HAS DELIVERED – WARM WEATHER SAILING THAT IS
This report came from Robyn Brooke while she was racing doublehanded in the Melboure to Vanuatu race aboard the Cavalier 37 BOOTS with George Shaw. The two finished second.

     My cry of, “Take me somewhere warm George,” after a wet and windy Bass Strait crossing was instrumental in the creation of the Queensland Government South Pacific Boomerang yacht races. Now after 960 odd nautical miles towards Vanuatu, George's promises have come true.
     It is warm (27 degrees in the nav station of our Cavalier 37 BOOTS), the seas are calm, the breeze is consistent from the NNW at 7-10 knots. On the radio sked last night, TEVAKE II mentioned they have rewritten the slogan “Take me somewhere warm George” to “Take me somewhere windy Wally” after a frustrating day chasing the breeze. Short memories these sailors.
     Apart from yesterday, we have been lucky enough to have relatively consistent breezes, albeit a bit light, to keep us moving. Sail selection for a race such as this is an important (and expensive) aspect of planning. BOOTS' sailmaker, Mark Remington (and his wife Margaret) from UK-Halsey in Sandringham, studied the wind roses of the area to come up with some suggestions to compliment our sail wardrobe for this race. All the sails on BOOTS have names, and the locker has recently been refreshed with the addition of two new ocean racing sails, now named Mark and Margaret.
     The following breeze yesterday appeared to suggest we needed a spinnaker, but neither St George nor Picasso would set in the fluky conditions, so we set Margaret on the bow prodder and bingo, instant reaction! For anyone who is interested in the detail, Margaret is made from Code Zero material, a super light spinnaker material. She meets IRC measurements for the boat although is higher in the foot than our biggest light bay racing sail. What has been taken from her skirt has been shaped into her belly so she is curvier and sets nicely when reaching (off the wind). She also comes with her own furling unit and as mentioned, attaches onto the removable bow prodder forward of the forestay. When the wind picks up, as it did last night, we simply wind out her buddy Mark, and wrap her up until next time. Mark is made of tough stuff, specifically for ocean racing and is slightly smaller than our usual bay racing sail, also with a high cut foot. All our sails have been designed for the double-handed ocean racing George Shaw and I do together on BOOTS.
     Mark and Margaret (the sailmakers) are helping more than just us in this race. Since there is no sailmaker in Vanuatu, nor is there a machine, Mark has sourced a second hand industrial sewing machine which the Ocean Racing Club will present to the host yacht club in Port Vila. Mark and Margaret are coming over to Vanuatu after the race to assistance those who have suffered sail damage during the race and to teach the islanders in the workings of their new sail making industry.
Cheers,
Rob

SETTLER POSTS PERFECT SCORE AT NEW YORK YACHT CLUB RACE WEEK
Tom Rich's Peterson 42 SETTLER preparing to tack.
Photo courtesy of Rolex. 
     Posting 11 points -- the lowest possible score over 11 races -- was Middletown's Tom Rich aboard his Peterson 42 SETTLER. He earned one point for every race he won, leaving nine others in his PHRF Class 5 behind him. That performance also earned him a Rolex watch for best overall performance in PHRF. "We won the starts and then we were gone," said Rich. "No one ever passed us except once in the first race. We didn't blow a tack or mess up a spinnaker set--we made no mistakes, and we were always in clear air." For Rich, it was not just about flawless crew work. It was about family, too. Among his all-Rhode Island crew were his two daughters, two nephews, a cousin and his wife. Tom has a full inventory of UK-Halsey sails, which includes four new Carbon GPL tri-radial headsails.
     Later in the week, the one-designs took to the course and 19 J/109s showed up to race. Racing was extremely competitive and the standings shifted on the last day. UK-Halsey had three of the top five finishes. Al Minella’s RELENTLESS finished second with UKH New York’s sail designer Kerry Klingler calling tactics. Rick Lyall’s STORM was fourth and Steve Tedeschi’s TASTES LIKE CHICKEN was fifth.
     In the 20-boat J/105 class, Joerg Esdorn finished third, which follows his second place finish in the J/105 class at Block Island Race Week.

BALTIC SPRINT CUP WINNER

The Judel/Vrolijk 41 INSHALLAH and her crew. The Baltic Sprint course took crews through open ocean and narrow straights.

- Heiko Finn Preuss photo.

     In a convincing display of offshore racing, Hamburg owner/skipper Volker Andrae and the crew of the Judel/Vrolijk 41 INSCHALLAH won the second annual Baltic Sprint Cup. INSCHALLAH knocked off a fleet of 30 in the four-leg series that totaled 775 miles and took 12 days. The course took the fleet through the eastern North Sea, along the coast of Denmark and into the Baltic. The offshore race started in Stavanger, Norway, and then went to Gothenburg, Sweden; Aarhus, Denmark and then onto Copenhagen before finishing at Warnemünde, Germany. Congratulations to Volker Andreae and INSCHALLAH for being first overall with full set of UK-Halsey Ultra and Millenium sails!
NORTH SEA RACE WEEK DRAWS 170 BOATS
     Nordseewoche 2006 is the traditional German Offshore event. About 170 boats ranging in size from 25 to 100 feet came to the German island of Helgoland via feeder races from Hamburg, Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven. The fleet’s first race was the 40-mile round the island race. The big event was the 500-mile Round Skagen, which only drew 70 starters. The Round Skagen Race’s finish line was in Kiel, Germany.
     This year the round Helgoland race was rough with 35 knots of wind. IMS class 3 was won by the X 312 OUT OF THE BOX, which sailed with UK Halsey sails (Tape-Drive Silver mainsail, Tape-Drive Carbon No. 3 Genoa and a .9 oz Matrix spinnaker). The Tripp 40 AMOUSE BOUCHE (pictured above) finished third.
     The Round Skagen Race started with an 80-mile beat. At the start the wind blew 20 knots and then built on the second day for fast spinnaker reaching. For the last two days the wind calmed some.
     INSHALLAH, the Judel/Vrolijk 41 skippered by Volker Andreae, won IMS Class 1 and IMX 38 XENIA, skippered by Müller Röhlk finished second in IMS Class 1. Stefan Voss’s OUT OF THE BOX won IMS Class 3. All three boats used their superior upwind speed on the long 80-mile beat to get in front of the competition. Code Zeros on INSAHLLAH and OUT OF THE BOX were a big advantage on the tight reaching courses in the Baltic on the third day.