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Mark Hansen's J/145 Sweet Lorraine on its way to an IRC 50 class win in the Block Island Race.
See story below. www.photoboat.com image. |
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| MatriX VE: UK-Halsey’s Proprietary Continuous String Sails |
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MatriX VE was developed by UK-Halsey Sailmakers Sydney, Australia, to meet demand from the UK- H Group for modern, continuous string sails. Continuous fiber membranes have no joining seams where weak points can develop, so the uninterrupted fibers transmit loads to the reinforced corners. This construction method combines extra strength while saving weight and gives it an ability to hold the intended designed shape for longer.
Over several years, the membranes have proven themselves to be more than up to the task with the original, fat fiber pre-production sails still on the water and showing no signs of de-lamination or failure. They have competed in the Sydney to Hobart Race the Asian Yachting Circuit and in many other regattas.
Today, narrow fiber MatriX VE skins are made up of scrim, or taffeta combinations depending on the sailor’s requirements and the membrane layers are engineered to address the secondary loadings. They are produced in a dedicated facility in N. Sydney using a 5 step process -
1. Design, can be in-house, or from a local UK-H loft. Sydney accepts a variety of software programs
2. Cutting, using a Maxxis computer controlled plotter cutter
3. Fiber Laying, with Aeronaut’s latest equipment mounted on an 11m carbon fiber gantry. The head keeps the fibers under constant tension to ensure the sail shape is locked in. Once the matrix of load-path fibers have been bonded to the base skin, the cover skin is then applied over the top and in between these layers is a flexible bonding and thermoplastic agent to assist the next step of
4. Lamination, the process ensures the fibers are extremely flexible, which inhibits fiber breakage sometimes seen in stiff laminates with impregnated fibers. The laminator is computer controlled with pressure, infrared heat and speed settings. The ram has the ability to press down with 10 tons in a localized area as the sail passes through, while a mixture of infrared heat and pressure combines the thermo-bonding agents to create a strong membrane.
5. Finishing, can be carried out either in Australia, or in the local UK-H Loft
The end result is a sail with a soft hand that is very light, yet has great shape holding ability and it comes from one of only two companies world-wide that manufactures continuous fiber membranes.
To meet the needs of every sailor, membranes are produced from the following combinations -
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• Scrim, a layer of Mylar with a polyester mesh for fore and aft shape retention with clear Mylar bonded over the top to encapsulate the fibers.
• Single Taffeta, a layer of polyester taffeta with a centre facing Mylar film for extra strength and clear Mylar bonded over the top of the fibers
• Double Taffeta, a Base layer of polyester taffeta with a centre facing Mylar film and a second layer of polyester taffeta sandwiching the fibers.
Talk to your nearest UK-Halsey loft for pricing and more information on MatriX VE.
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| NEW INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS FOR LEARNING THE RULES |
 UK-Halsey has just produced three new instructional videos on the rules of sailing, but they are only viewable by owners of the UK-Halsey Rules Quiz program, which is available from our online store for $55. Since the program is a download (not a physical CD), UK-Halsey updates the program often with new quizzes, instructional PDFs and videos – at no extra charge. Owners of the UK-Halsey Rules Quiz program are continually reaping the benefits of their purchase. The new streaming videos have been posted to the Lifted Tack section of the program.
Theses three videos were shot at rules seminars that Butch Ulmer taught this spring. We have edited out nuggets from those seminars to give viewers compact lessons. The first new video is not so compact; in fact, it’s 21 minutes. This video is so long because it covers the very important definitions that are the basic building blocks for understanding the buoy room rule (Rule 18). This video goes through the ins and outs of the definitions of “room,” “mark-room” and “zone.”
The second new video covers when Rule 18 applies and when it “shuts off.” The third new video shows Butch teaching Quiz 18, which is a quiz about two boats returning to the starting line after being over early. Many experienced sailors have gotten this one wrong.
These three new videos bring the total to 10 instructional videos in the Lifted Tack section. Click here to see a sample.
The cost of the program is $55, $40 for owners of the Rules Quiz CD. We also sell the program in a bundle with the two best books on the Racing Rules of Sailing: Dave Perry’s “Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing 2009-2012” and Bryan Willis’ “The Rules in Practice, 2009-2012.” These two books teach the rules from complementary perspectives. Perry explains the rules in numerical order, while Willis shows common race course encounters and explains the rules that apply to each boat. We call this package the Ultimate Rules Bundle. The cost is $100, $85 for owners of the Rules Quiz CD.
To buy the Quiz Program or the books, click here and visit the UK-Halsey online store.
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| Big wins for UK-Halsey in this year’s Newport to Ensenada Race |
The big winner in this year’s Newport to Ensenada Race was Cleve Hardaker and crew on the 1981 Catalina 30 SOJOURN. This popular 125-mile race between Newport Beach, California and Ensenada, Mexico is known as the biggest international yacht race in the world. Cleve won the race with a full inventory of UK-Halsey sails, none of which was new this year. SOJOURN didn’t just win, she took home a bundle of trophies — so many that Cleve was worried about how to get them home on his boat. The crew won “President of the USA” for best corrected time, “Tommy Bahama” for overall corrected time, “Frank Butler” for first corrected Catalina, “Converse Wurderman” for first in Class K, and the icing on the cake was a fancy Corum watch for first overall. Cleve’s crew included Kathy Spencer, her husband Mark Spencer, Buz Boyd, and Ensenada rookie Brendan Inglis. Congratulations SOJOURN!
 Close friends Larry Wilson and Tim Coker, who sailed the Catalina 27 CARPE DUMANI to second overall in PHRF and first in the Doublehanded Division and provided close competition throughout the race. Cleve and the CARPE team have sailed with and against each other for 19 years, including a TransPac race; their rivally in this race was intense.
CARPE DUMANI hit the line with four new sails from UK-Halsey San Diego after being out of a commission for a year-long refit that was completed just days before the start of the race. Larry was very happy with the performance and the cost of his new sails as well as the service he received from sail designer Luis Gianotti. “The sails were really wonderful”, said Larry, “ They looked great, were easy to trim and they caused the boat to perform extremely well.” TO put their incredible performance in perspective, the average age of Larry and Tim is 62.
For a longer version of this article, click here.
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| CENTERING YOUR RIG: THE LATEST UK-HALSEY FREE EDUCATIONAL VIDEO |
 With the season just starting out, many sailors are getting the boat tuned up for the new season. The one thing that you can do to improve the tuning of your boat’s rig is to make sure the tip of the mast is centered over the boat. If the rig is off to one side, just a little, your boat will go better on one tack than the other. To help get this crucial setting right, UK-Halsey has produced a short video to show you a simple, fool-proof way to center your boat’s rig. Click here to see the free video. (You will need to login to the UK-Halsey site to see this video.
If you have created a login to see the Rules Quizzes, Safety At Sea Videos or downloaded our screen savers or AccuMeasure program, just login with your e-mail address. If you have not created a login yet, we only ask for a little bit of information to sign you up. Rest assured that UK-Halsey does not share, sell or lend this information with any other company or person. We will simply send you our online newsletter once a month, and you can always remove yourself from our database at any time.) |
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| KATE II NOT SHOWING HER AGE |
In cool, cloudy and typical San Francisco Bay conditions Mr. and Mrs. Roger Emerick’s Seaborne 46 KATE II won the Ocean 1 division in the Master Mariners regatta. As a result, she won the coveted Baruna Cup for the second year in a row. KATE II has a complete sail inventory from UK-Halsey. This year, UK-Halsey San Francisco’s Sylvain Barrielle designed and delivered, on short notice, a “Blade” genoa to cope with the brisk winds of the Bay. “Besides being good looking, (and looking good is important for an old Lady) the boat was nicely balanced in 20-25 knots of wind and she stepped out smartly upwind with the new jib,” said Emerick. Peter Szasz who led the outstanding crew from the St.Francis YC said, “Being able to point when needed, and foot off in the chop proved the sail very adjustable. As the course provided also lots of reaching, the A-kite was the prefect choice for KATE II.”
Sixty-eight boats in 13 divisions sailed the race this year. Entries ranged in size from the 23-ft Bear Class to the 122-ft LOA topsail schooner LYNX. In age, they ranged from the 1891 scow schooner ALMA to ‘new’ boats built to prewar designs using pre-war materials and construction methods. |
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| UK-HALSEY’s ANIMATED QUIZZES AGAIN RECOGNIZED AS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN THE RULES |
 Since 2002, UK-Haley has been teaching the Racing Rules of Sailing with animated videos. We feel that it is much easier for sailors to understand a rule situation if they are watching a clear animation, rather than trying to visualize movement from static drawings and diagrams. Our animations have been recognized as the best way to learn the rules. Just recently the blog site Proper Course (http://propercourse.blogspot.com/) came to the same conclusion. The author of the site “Tillerman” wrote the following as part of a very long review of the UK-Halsey Rules Quiz program:
There is no doubt in my mind that it is much easier to learn the rules from animations than from static diagrams. UK-Halsey has done a good job of presenting common situations that you will run into on the race course and each quiz typically presents several situations illustrating different aspects of the rule or rules in question.
For the full review go to: http://propercourse.blogspot.com/2009/05/uk-halsey-racing-rules-quiz-program.html
The Proper Course Blog is a terrific blog that covers sailboat racing. It is fun, entertaining and a great place to learn about the game we love. Tillerman, while remaining nameless on this site, describes himself as, “I am a grandfather who sails a Laser. Even though I am over 60, I suffer under the delusion that it is not too late to discover how to sail smarter and faster. In this blog I write mainly about sailing and my endless pursuit to become a better sailor. Read this blog if you want to learn from my mistakes -- there are plenty -- and to share in the fun of Laser racing Tillerman style.” |
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| UK-HALSEY CUSTOMERS CLEAN UP IN PROMINENT DISTANCE RACE |
 UK-Halsey powered boats finished first in four classes and second in two more classes of the 2009 Block Island Race. UK-Halsey boats were either first or second in all but two of the eight classes. This annual Memorial Day weekend distance race runs 185 miles from Stamford, Connecticut, out Long Island Sound, around Block Island and back. This year was a fast race: the wind only flattened out for a short while as the southwesterly breeze gave way to a building easterly. Most boats had a very quick ride home on a dead run in 20 knots of wind.
First in class and first overall in PHRF was Rick Royce’s Tripp 33 PATIENCE. Rick is a professor of naval architecture at Webb Institute and sailed with a crew of students. Even with a 133% LP genoa as his No. 1, Royce was able to get through the mid race doldrums to finish more than two-and-a-half hours in front of his nearest competitor.
Under the IRC rule, under which all but two classes were scored, UK-Halsey boats won the IRC 50 class, IRC 35 class, IRC 30 class and were second in the IRC 45 class.
Richard du Moulin’s Express 37 LORA ANN not only won her class and corrected out to second in fleet, but also won the vintage boat trophy and the trophy for best IRC corrected time for boats rating less than 1.080.
Steve Cain’s Beneteau 36.7 SHOOTING STAR (See photo) entered the race after winning her class the week before in the 100th anniversary of the NYAC’s Stratford Shoal race. In the Block Island Race, the little stock boat won the IRC 30 class and scored an incredible third in fleet – four minutes behind LORA ANN. The only boat to top LORA ANN and SHOOTING STAR in the overall IRC standings was the brand new Reichel/Pugh 75 TITAN 15.
Racing against two Santa Cruz 52s, Mark Hansen’s J/145 SWEET LORRAINE (lead picture of this newsletter) won the IRC 50 class while fellow Larchmont Yacht Club member Tom Carroll was second in the IRC 45 class with his J/133 SIRENSONG.
Garry Grant’s J/120 ALIBI finished second in the doublehanded division. For full results to Yacht Scoring Dot Com. |
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| ZEYDON Z60 LUXURY SPORTSCRUISER SAILING YACHTS |
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The Z60 concept is more than sailing performance. It's about the total experience. Based on the pleasure of being at sea this experience is maximized through the combination of easy handling and reducing visual complexity.
The result is a yacht with a powerful yet refined character, combining a muscular exterior design, exciting performance and bright and spacious interiors.
Looking down onto the bay, you want to feel that your yacht is the most seductive around... and that's exactly what the Z60 aspires.
It is no surprise that Zeydon chose a breathtaking shade of blue for their first yacht to be presented to the public last fall, a rather clear statement of the boat builder’s focus on innovation and the aspiration to bring a fresh breeze to the yachting segment. “Zeydon is different – we chose the color blue because it perfectly communicates the characteristics that determine our corporate identity: progressiveness, originality, courage, strict authenticity and infinite emotion.” |
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| ZAC SUNDERLAND ON RECORD SETTING PACE |
 Zac Sunderland is on the last leg of his around the world voyage, which is his attempt to be the youngest solo circumnavigator. In late May he made it through the Panama Canal and just has to make the upwind bash to Los Angeles, California, before November, 2009. His Islander 36 INTREPID has carried a full suit of UK-Halsey sails for the trip.
Like Robin Lee Graham’s trip on the boat DOVE in the 1960s inspired generations of circumnavigators, including Zac, this trip has already had a great effect on many people. Zac’s father Laurence wrote in the April 25, 2009 blog, “This has been an incredible experience for me. What started off as a quiet conversation between a father and son just over a year ago, God has blessed and many people both young and old have been encouraged and inspired. Check out this email that just arrived.
Hey Zac,
I just had to say hello. My name is Brian, I'm 28, and I'm a "door to door" salesman for a cable company in Cottonwood, AZ. A "door to door" salesman is usually considered one step lower then a used car salesman, but hey, it pays the bills.
I just wanted to let you know I've been following your story ever since I heard about your journey on NPR in early 2008. I was inspired, somewhat jealous, but mostly amazed at your willingness to tackle such an enormous goal.
Not long ago, I was working in a small neighborhood that was a 55+ community, when I knocked on a door of an elderly women (early 80's) and I preceded to give her my sales pitch when I noticed a beautiful painting of a large sail boat on her wall. I asked her where she got it and she explained to me she used to work on a sailboat as a cook for a tourist company. She had seen the painting somewhere and decided to purchase it.
I then mentioned a story I was following about a sixteen year old who was sailing around the world solo, and she became very excited and said, "Yes! I've been following him to! I don't have Internet so I go down the road to my friends house and we read this BLOG thing together!"
To make a long story short, she was very happy to get her Internet hooked up, and the first page we opened was your web site. We sat and talked for a couple of hours, and I got to say, it was one of the most interesting conversations I've ever had. It was like her youth was coming back to her just speaking about what you’re doing.
Not only are you an inspiration, but so are your parents. I am a father of two, and I'm the kind of dad who gets nervous just watching my kids on the swing, much less watching them sail off to conquer the globe. Your parents honestly make me want to be a more trusting and motivational father.
So thanks to you and your family for the Internet sale, and my new 80 something friend.
You’re almost there, and our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Brian
A major home coming celebration is in the works and the family is look for contributions to help offset the cost of Zac’s trip. To sign up for Zac’s newsletter or to donate to his trip, go to www.zacsunderland.com To make contribution, click on the link at the bottom of the left-hand column. UK-Halsey has been a corporate sponsor of this record breaking attempt.
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