UK-Halsey is in the midst of delivering a full suit of sails for the China Team�s new America�s Cup challenger, CHN 95. Our sails will be the only ones on the Cup course not made by North. True, the China Team is the underdog, but both the Chinese sailors and UK-Halsey are standing out on the world stage. UK-Halsey won the right to make sails for the boat after winning a design trial with North and Incidences Sails. The delivery of these sails represents a worldwide effort by the UK-Halsey group. Sylvain Barrielle (UK-Halsey San Francisco) is the project manager and sail coordinator for the China Team. John Fries (UK-Halsey Mystic) is the sail designer and created the construction standards. Sail production man-power was supplied by UK-Halsey Hong Kong, which is one of the largest sail lofts in the world with over 60 employees. Said John Fries, �We are making the most of our large and diverse sailmaking group. UK-Halsey Hong Kong has been an enormous asset in building these large and complex sails.�
San Francisco Bay area magazine �Latitude 38� ran an article about Sylvain in their February 2007 issue and here�s a quote from that story:
Life on a low-profile team with a small budget isn�t easy. The top teams have been practicing through the winter around the world. China Team, on the other hand, only resumed training late last month. And while Alinghi BMW, Oracle and Prada will build upwards of 20 sails to test the right shape, Sylvain and his team don�t have that option. �We have to get it right, maybe not the first time, but the second time for sure,� he says.
For the complete Latitude 38 article, click here.
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