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Above is CIAO!, a sister ship to TCHIN-TCHIN (see story below). She is the first Archambault 35 imported to North America. Days after commissioning, CIAO! finished third in IRC Class 7 at the New York Yacht Club's Annual Regatta off Newport, Rhode Island. In this shot, she is on her way to a first place in the Around Conanicut Island Race.
Photo: Allen Clark; Photoboat.com |
| DAVID VS. GOLIATHS |
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The Archambault 35 TCHIN-TCHIN |
Sporting UK-Halsey Titanium sails, Jean-Claude Bertrand maintained this season's winning streak with his Archambault 35, TCHIN-TCHIN, by dominating the IRC B inshore portion of the Giraglia Rolex Cup, as well as correcting to third overall in IRC in the 243-mile offshore Giraglia Race. Coincidentally, an Archambault 40 corrected out to first in fleet.
With the inshore and offshore results combined, TCHIN-TCHIN emerged as winner of the IRC B division.
Bertrand said, “I enjoyed the challenge of racing against the larger yachts in the long offshore Giraglia Race. We sailed well and corrected over all the huge boats. Offsetting the joy of conquering the big guys is the memory of the painfully slow progress in the typically light winds in the Bay of Genoa (thus the name for an oversized jib).”
This 56th edition of the race was also to be remembered for Neville Crichton, whose powerful 100-foot Super-maxi ALFA ROMEO finally broke the Giraglia Race record in his third attempt. The New Zealand skipper took line honors with a new time of 18 hours, 3 minutes, 15 seconds. |
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| HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE SETS OUT TO BE YOUNGEST CIRCUMNAVIGATOR |
Zac Sunderland, aboard his Islander 36 INTREPID, returning from a sea trial with his new sails . |
Zac set off on his record-breaking attempt with a reefed mainsail. |
Zac Sunderland (center) and his mother Marianne and father Laurence.
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UK-Halsey is proud to be a sponsor and sailmaker for Zac Sunderland, who set off this weekend to be the youngest person to sail around the world alone. At the age of 16, Zac plans to make the passage, which includes rounding the Cape of Good Hope, in 11 months, on his massively-refitted Islander 36 INTREPID. The six-foot teenager has been a sailor all his life – literally. When he was born, he was brought home to the family’s 55-foot boat.
Zac is the oldest of the seven Sunderland children. His father is a shipwright and delivery skipper who has employed Zac as a watch captain. The family has spent many long months on cruises and even did a three-year cruise when Zac was 9-11. As Zac got more experience and read about other circumnavigators, he dreamed of sailing around the world, by himself.
Zac bought INTREPID with $6,500 of his own money. With the help of his family and some sponsors, he's spent much, much more to re-rig and refit the boat. The boat was strengthened with new bulkheads and ports, running and standing rigging, wiring, a hard dodger, and more new fittings. Along with a state-of-the-art navigation and computer system, Zac has a full inventory of brand new UK-Halsey sails as well as a new engine – with both propulsion systems he can get out of any trouble. Zac’s sail inventory includes Dacron working sails (Batmain with three reefs, 135% Passagemaker genoa, roller furling forestaysail, storm jib) and a Flasher cruising spinnaker.
Zac is excited to have his sails fitted out by UK-Halsey. He is very happy with their performance. He has been reefing in higher winds and has made great speeds in lighter winds.
From his California starting point, he'll head to the Marshall Islands, some 2,000 miles west of Hawaii. That 4500-mile leg will take him about a month. Then it is on to Tarawa, Kiribati; to the Solomon Islands; to Thursday Island and Darwin, Australia; to Cocos (Keeling) Islands and across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, Durban, and Cape Town, South Africa. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope, Zac will sail north across the Atlantic and pass through the Panama Canal. The final leg will include a visit the Galapagos Islands before setting a northward course home.
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He'll have until January 2010 to break the record held by David Dicks, who left Australia when he was 17, in 1996, and returned nine months later when he was 18 years, 41 days old. Sunderland plans to be back long before he turns 18 on Nov. 29, 2009. He'll spend his 17th birthday, if the wind cooperates, sailing across the Indian Ocean.
Most mothers worry about their teenagers when they go to the mall. But Sunderland's mom, Marianne, says she's confident her son has a good boat, excellent sailing skills, and the maturity to stay out of trouble.
Zac’s trip has created a lot of media buzz. He has been interviewed by CNN, NPR, The Today Show, Fox News and has appeared on the front page of The Los Angeles Times. For a terrific article about Zac and his record-breaking attempt go to http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_9569647
You can follow Sunderland's adventure at his Web site, Zac Sunderland.com.
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| STOP SINGING THE BLOWN-OUT-SAIL BLUES |
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| These two pictures show very clearly why the Dacron sail will not make a boat go as well as the Tape-Drive sail above it. But since it took many years for the Dacron sail to stretch and distort, some sailors may not recognize the changes as they are happening. They just know that the sail is still in one piece. |
One of the reasons sailors don’t like heavy air sailing is that heeling excessively is uncomfortable. Boats with old sails end up heeling more than boats with new sails because sails stretch and distort as they get older. The distortion gets exaggerated as the wind builds. Baggy sails create more heeling force than flat sails do. The top picture shows a well-shaped Tape-Drive sail and below is a blown out (too full, draft aft and distorted) Dacron sail. |
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| The 140-foot luxury charter boat FRIDAY STAR |
UK-Halsey France has been chosen to make a light Tape-Drive roller/furling Gennaker for the 140-foot FRIDAY STAR. If the boat looks familiar, it’s because she is a sister ship to the famous 1972 OSTAR second place finisher FRIDAY 13 / VENDREDI 13 skippered Jean-Yves Terlain. This first order will be followed by a Spectra G2 and some other sails. |
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| In this case, it IS Rocket Science |
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Julien Dougherty's Beneteau 36.7 TENACIOUS flying downwind with her symmetrical spinnaker.
Allen Clark/Photoboat.com photo. |
At this year’s 185-mile Block Island Race, two grand prix behemoths were challenged in the overall
standings by a J/120 owned by Rick Oricchio named ROCKET SCIENCE. She came third in fleet and first in class, with not a single pro aboard in a fleet that topped 100 boats. The science was in her UK-Halsey sails. The IRC Class 1 winner, SIRENSONG, used the same science. Julien Dougherty’s Beneteau 36.7 TENACIOUS finished second in IRC 7 with an assigned rating, but would have finished first if her endorsed certificate was processed before the start. Real Boats, Real Sails, Real Fast. So, when someone says, “It ain't rocket science,” don’t believe them: more and more “rockets” are turning to UK-Halsey’s Tape-Drive and MatriX string sails: rocket science that’s winning.
Call your nearest UK-Halsey loft for a quote and more information. |
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| REGATTAS AND EVENTS FOR CRUISERS AND RACERS |
8TH ANNUAL SUMMER SAILSTICE HOLIDAY LAUNCHES JUNE 21 & 22
Inviting All Sailors to Join a Global Celebration of Sailing
SAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA (April 7, 2008)—Since 2001, sailors from around the world have come together on the summer solstice to create a global celebration of sailing called Summer Sailstice. This year’s event will be celebrated on the weekend of June 21st and 22nd by over 10,000 sailors worldwide. Founded as a way to unite the diverse and dispersed community of sailors, Summer Sailstice is now used by numerous sailing clubs, classes and organizations as a way to launch the summer sailing season, and to connect with others locally and globally.
Summer Sailstice is structured so any sailor can participate, regardless of what or where they sail. Sailors register on the Summer Sailstice website (www.summersailstice.com) to tell others about their weekend sailing plans, to find and organize events in their local areas, and to become eligible to win one of over 300 sailing industry prizes. UK-Halsey has been a sponsor of Sailstice since its inception.
Founder John Arndt has seen this annual event attract participation from every sort of sailing craft, from windsurfers and kite boards, to tall ships and multihulls. Sailors have registered to participate from 49 states and 20 countries. Arndt said, “The goal of the global event is to empty all the berths and harbors in the Northern Hemisphere, getting all sailors, friends and family out on the water on the first two days of summer."
As for this year’s event, Arndt continued, “The time is right for the world to see what sailing has to offer. With the price of gas over $4 per gallon and increasing concerns about global warming and protecting the environment, it’s time for sailing to bring attention to this more earth friendly way of enjoying life on the water.” One of Summer Sailstice’s key messages in 2008 is promoting the natural harnessing of wind power for recreational enjoyment with negligible impact on the environment.
EXPRESSLY FOR FUN
EXPRESSLY FOR FUN is an event that is just what the name implies. It’s races, parties and a whole lot of fun. The concept was created by two Express 37 sailors who wanted to find a way to boost participation in the sport they love. Their concept was based on the harbor-to-harbor races they both did on Lake Michigan. In those races, the whole fleet ends up rafted together along a city front. Finishing away
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| These girls understand Expressly For Fun as they hold up the prizes their J/44 HONAHLEE won. |
from home, everyone joins together for huge party and then spends the night on their boats. Boats that sail these races have fewer crewmembers since sailhandling is greatly reduced in point-to-point races. With all that in mind, the EXPRESSLY FOR FUN creators came up with a format that would attract inexperienced racers as well as create an event that would be different for those who were getting bored with windward/leewards. They named the event EXPRESSLY FOR FUN, after Carl Schumacher’s timeless Express 37 design.
To make the event simple and fun, there are no turning marks. Sailors can set their sails and go. Starting is made less nerve-wrecking by using the “pursuit format,” in which the slowest boat starts first and the rest of the fleet starts later, based on how much time each owes the slowest boat in the fleet over the length of course. This way, boats start one at a time, unless there are other boats with the exact same PHRF rating.
The regatta is designed to be fun -- and drifting around in the summer heat is not considered fun. Therefore, if there is no wind at the designated starting time, the fleet motors closer to the finish to start a shortened course. One year the course was shortened by two-thirds so that everyone got to the party on time! The party is designed to have a lot of good food and plenty of awards – and not just for placing first, second or third. Thanks to support from UK-Halsey Sailmakers and other sailing industry friends, practically half the participants end up winning something.
Huguenot Yacht Club in New Rochelle, N.Y., embraced and fine-tuned the concept for six years as an open event to all sailors in the area. This year their event will be held July 26-27. For the Notice of Race and entry form, go to www.huguenotyc.com.
In 2007, Sail Magazine became a sponsor of EXPRESSLY FOR FUN when publisher Josh Adams recognized the regatta’s potential to grow the sport. With the backing of the world’s largest sailing magazine the event continues to grow; in fact, Sail worked with the organizers of the Buzzard’s Bay Regatta to offer an EXPRESSLY FOR FUN fleet. The BBR is one of the largest multi-class regattas in the USA with approximately 450 boats and 1200 sailors.
BBR Chairman Jack Gierhart said, “EXPRESSLY FOR FUN will be a unique program matching current boat owners with experts and will introduce sailors to the basics of sailboat racing -- all within one of the top regional sailing regattas replete with regatta parties, awards and all the fun. EXPRESSLY FOR FUN removes the obstacles that may have kept you from racing in the past, and creates an environment where sailors can get out on the racecourse, get their feet wet and feel at ease.”
While an integral part of the Buzzards Bay Regatta, the EXPRESSLY FOR FUN fleet will follow a slightly different program. On Friday August 1, sailors and their crew will join former All-American sailor and renowned college coach, Ken Legler, for a seminar on Sailboat Racing 101. Following this orientation, sailors will take to the water on Saturday and Sunday for an opportunity to test their new knowledge on simplified race courses and starting lines, and get support and feedback from Ken and other experienced racers. There will be plenty of fun prizes and awards, and everyone will be encouraged and welcomed into all the festivities that come with one of the best regattas on the east coast! If all goes as expected, by the time Sunday afternoon roles around, these sailors will be looking forward to returning in 2009.
For more information and to register, visit: www.buzzardsbayregatta.com/fun |
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| CRUISER RACER KEEPS CRUISING TO VICTORY |
 David Rodarte’s Sabre 362 BUENA VIDA racing from Rockville to Charleston, S.C., in an annual off-shore race. “We had a great time on the water as we narrowly beat our rival ANDIAMO by 26 seconds over the 35 mile course,” said Rodarte. “Our UK-Halsey Tape-Drive sails have propelled us to the upper tier of our fleet. We just purchased the new UK-Halsey MatriX main for Regatta Time in Abacos in July. We hope the main and new No. 2 will help us earn a couple of bullets in that regatta.”
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| UK-HALSEY POWERED NEWPORT TO ENSENADA RACERS TAKE HOME SILVER |
After the racing and the partying and the packing, the theme evolving from the 2008 Newport Ocean Sailing Association’s 61st International Yacht Race to Ensenada Sunday was that anybody who won something earned it. There were 391 entries, 380 starters and 307 finishers---none of the latter in distress but most in disappointment.
For the first day of the 125-mile offshore race, the daylight hours had light-to-moderate winds in the 5-12 knot range. The prevailing northwesterly sea breeze overcame the light offshore land breezes at night proved that, at least for this year, the far offshore course was the right strategic call. Racers who ventured 20+ miles offshore were rewarded with drifting pockets of 8-10 knot breezes with intermittent lulls, while those taking the inshore route were becalmed throughout the night. Day two of the race had the northwesterly filling in the 10-15 knot range with a brief shot of 18-20 knot winds close inshore near Todos Santos Bay. Those finishing after dark found the typical Todos Santos Bay shut down for the final 10 mile stretch, testing every crew’s light air skills going for the finish line.
Racers with UK-Halsey sail inventories who took home their share of silver cups and perpetual trophies included:
PHRF B Fleet -1st Place FRENCH BRED, Beneteau 44.7, Ron Coalson
PHRF E Fleet – 3rd Place MAEFICENT, Beneteau 42 S7, Chris Bennett
PHRF I Fleet – 3rd Place BESAME MUCHO, Beneteau 36 S7 Dan and Lyn Hannegan
Cruising Spinnaker A Fleet – 1st Place CHERIMARIE, Catalina 36, Brad Poulos
XS Racing Fleet – 3rd Place SEE YA, SEAWIND 1000, Joe Weathers |
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| MAKE YOUR BOAT FLY WITH UK HALSEY TITANIUM SAILS |
“Attached are a couple of action photos taken during the Antipolis race held over the weekend (May 10-11). At the time we were beating up wind just West of Le Chretienne in 25 knots and 3.5 - 4 meter waves. It got a lot worst!!!,” writes Dave Thomas, owner of the F25 WILDTHING, to Alain Janet of UK-Halsey France who made the sails.
“We've now been able to test your mainsail over 300 miles of racing, in wind conditions ranging from a whisper to 30+ and on all points of the sail. It works VERY well. Of significant importance is the ability of the sail to hold its shape in VERY light winds. This is very different to the old sail, which tended to dissipate what little energy was available by oscillating.
“On the Croisiere Bleue we had almost zero wind during the night on the return journey. However, due to the ability of the main (and the jib) to maintain their shape, we managed to take line honors.
“In heavy weather the sail performs well and enables us to out point a 55 ft, monohull, whilst achieving the same speed (we were performing this juggling act when the photo was taken).” |
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KATE II won the Master Mariners Regatta in late May on San Francisco Bay. She is a Seaborn 46 that was built in 1946. UK-Halsey inventory include a Dacron main, Tape-Drive genoa and an asymmetrical spinnaker (shown flying).
Ruth Summers photo |
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| RACE COMMITTEE FLAG KITS AVAILABLE |
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UK-Halsey Sailmakers now offers a set of code flags made especially for Race Committees. These flags are large enough to be easily seen, light enough to fly in light air, and durable enough to stand up to Race Committee use. They are sewn flags, not printed. Large grommets make attaching the flags to your halyards easy. These flags were designed by an active PRO for race committee use.
This special flag bag includes all the signals referenced in the rule book which are the following:
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Numeral pennants 0 thru 9 (18” x 48”) |
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Code Flags A, C, H, I, L, M, N, P, S, X, Y, Z (24” x 24”) |
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Flag AP and First Substitute (18” x 48”) |
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Blue Flag and Black Flag (24” x 24”)
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The UK-Halsey Flag Bag has six extra slots for other flags you may want to add. For instance, we have in stock the following flags for sale separately: F, N, R, Solid Yellow and Solid Blue. We also have replacement flags for the most commonly lost flags like C, M, P, S, AP, the first substitute and solid blue. The kit sells for $435 plus shipping. Single flags cost $21. All are available at the UK-Halsey online store. |
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