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.