North Notes continued
WORLD UPDATE:
- NORTH SAILS NEW ZEALAND
has constructed a twisted wind tunnel in conjunction with Team New
Zealand to test IACC gennakers and spinnakers. The tunnel is 30 meters
long (98.4 ft.), providing the engineers and sailmakers with the ability
to twist the wind from top to bottom. To date, 150 sails have been tested.
The results of this testing will most likely be evident on the race course
in the way of faster more application-specific asymmetries and spinnakers...Also
pending are new sails for the 125' classic ketch, Hetairos,
designed by Bruce King, and inventories for a Dubois 118' and 122'
mega yachts. Sagamore, a new S&S 32' IMS fractional rigger
is under construction at New Zealand Yachting Developments in Auckland
with an eye on records for major events such as the SydneyHobart race.
Due to launch in May '95.
- A custom Spectra/Dyneema
laminate recently produced by North Cloth for one of NORTH SAILS U.K.'s
largest projects to date is the strongest sail fabric ever made! The
fabric, a 78,000 dpi combination of Spectra/Dyneema and Vectran
for the 42m (138 ft.) schooner Adella, designed by Gerald Dijkstra
Naval Architects of Amsterdam, and under construction at Pendennis Shipyard
in Cornwall. Launch is scheduled for April, 1995.
- NORTH SAILS BUFFALO reports
that after three years of intense effort, John Schimert, owner of the J-27
Bird of Prey, won the J-27 North American Championship.
Schimert's North inventory featured a variety of fabrics and technologies:
Main and genoa are 3DL; the No.3 jib is GATORBACK KEVLAR, and the spinnaker
is made of North's TRANSPAC polyester. All are standard-class sails developed
in J-27 Fleet #2 in Buffalo.
- NORTH SAILS EAST reports
a strong summer season, including great success at the NYYC Sesquicentennial
Regatta. Especially gratifying was the performance of a number of traditional
yachts with North Dacron inventories...High Noon, a new
Tripp ILC 40 sailed by Art Conway, won the Vineyard Race using new 3DL
sails that were dropped off at the boat 11:30 p.m. the night before the
race. High Noon also went on to win the Greenwich Cup and will race
at Yachting's Key West Race Week in January...Dr. Skip Sheldon's
Tripp 55 Aurora won the coveted Northern Ocean Racing Trophy, representing
the best combined score in 3 of 5 designated top offshore races. For '95
Skip is going cruising after purchasing Arthur Santry's 68' Pleone,
re-named Isbjorn. Isbjorn has a Gatorback Spectra/Dyneema inventory
enhanced with a new staysail and Yankee. Rumor has it that Aurora will
be on hand to sail the Fastnet Race next summer...Mumm 36 Conspiracy
won racing division and overall in the Newport-Bermuda Race. The
owners (regular guys, no sailing pros) opted for involvement at every level
of the program. Congratulatons!...The vintage 73' Herreshoff racer turned
charter yacht Ticonderoga purchased a new NORDAC; mainsail,
#1 and #2 this past summer complete with handworked rings, details and
jumbo hanks...The 110 ft. Holland design Sensation, flagship for
Sensation Yachts NZ, purchased a new Gatorback Spectra/Dyneema inventory
in preparation for winter sailing and chartering in the Caribbean...While
we're on the subject of big boats, NORTH SAILS FT. LAUDERDALE is developing
a Gatorback Spectra/Dyneema inventory for the
Perini-Navi 40m (131 ft.) Felicita.
- North Sails Chesapeake recently built sails for Nathan
of Dorchester, the latest and possibly the last working skipjack
ever built. The 20-odd
Chesapeake
Bay skipjacks form the only working sail fleet in the United States. While
most of the fleet ages close to 100 years, Nathan is
brand new, and works as an oyster dredger and tourist tripper. Skipjacks
work through the cold, windy Chesapeake winters and sails need to be durable
yet easy to handle. The sails for Nathan were made of North
NORDAC FORCE 10; sailcloth, a modern polyester fabric made with 50% recycled
polyester materials. The tightly woven, lightly resinated cloth maintains
the look and feel of traditional canvas with far superior strength and
durability.