UK-Halsey�s Multihull Guru Dave Calvert Reports on Racing his Own Boat in the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race
This year''s 160-mile Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race was a great sleigh ride. Forecasts predicted 15 to 20 knots from the northeast at the start, veering to the east and increasing to 20 to 25 knots later that night. This was the recipe for the perfect downwind race since the course starts out heading south and then follows the arc of the Florida Keys to the southwest and then west.
We sailed with one of the first production sails from UK-Halsey�s FST (UK-Halsey�s Fiber Sail Technology) production facility. Unfortunately it was a press to get the sail finished in time. And that meant it was a press to move the boat north 100 miles to the start of the race. We made it with about 12 hours to spare. After a short night of sleep we were back on the boat and out to the starting line. We won the start of Multihull Class A convincingly. We were ahead of everyone, including the 60-foot catamaran STARS AND STRIPES. With the high apparent wind at the start, we opted for the full main, full batten jib and carbon screacher. Twenty-five miles into the race we were sailing above our PHRF numbers. I called for the asymmetrical spinnaker as the apparent wind angle freed-up 15 degrees. The sail change felt great but, after five minutes the head of the spinnaker blew out. This was a three-year-old Airx 900 sail and the loads were just too high. For the remaining 130 miles we had to make the best of it with the close-winded screacher on the downwind course to the finish. Loosing the spinnaker cost us the chance of winning. We finished second, just over an hour out of first on the handicap. Next time I�ll be more patient and I�ll build a stronger spinnaker.
On the other hand, the FST mainsail was great. It has a massive square head that is over eight feet wide. Even with a layer of protective polyester taffeta, this main is much lighter than the tri-radial sail it replaced � and that sail was just film-on-film. Even though we haven�t reefed the sail yet, I can see that the reef points were made to be used. There are plenty of yarns going between the reef tack and the reef clew, and they go way up into the body of the sail. Tri-radial sails tend to rip when reefed because of the off-threadline loadings.
I�m really looking forward to using this sail hard since it was designed to be used racing and cruising. Stay tuned for future reports.
|
