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UK-Halsey Newsletter
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UK-Halsey Internationall
April 2008
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KNOCKED DOWN BUT NOT OUT
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The Circuito
Atlántico Sur Rolex Cup is an annual regatta that is distance
race from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Punta del Este,
Uruguay, followed by buoy and short distance races off
Punta Del Este. Usually there is a mix of weather conditions
from strong winds and big waves to medium winds and nice
waves. Off Punta Del Este this year there were huge waves
created by a strong current flowing against strong winds.
That mix generated enormous waves and one of the turning
marks was close to a point were the waves became tall
and dangerous.
The 30-foot
Frers-design FIRULO is pictured here getting rolled over
by a massive breaking wave. The crew saw a couple of big
waves coming over the boat and the helmsman did a good
job taking them, but these pictures show a huge wave that
broke over the boat that they could not do anything about.
Most of the crewmembers got to the safety of the cockpit,
but two didn’t make it. One got washed off the boat onto
the mainsail and the other was washed clear of the boat.
When the boat started come back up, the guy on the mainsail
just jumped to the deck. The guy in the water was rescued
by the photographer Matias Capizzano who got these shots.
FIRULO continued racing with only minor damage to the
sails and everyone was ok. In the South Atlantic racing
in strong winds and big waves is nothing new around here
but this year it was just a little bit harder.
– Ricardo Vocaturo, UK-Halsey Argentina
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| VICTORY SAILS IS THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE UK-HALSEY
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 UK-Halsey International is happy to announce the
latest addition to the group. Victory Sailmakers
in Halifax, Nova Scotia has just signed a licensing
agreement to become UK-Halsey Maritimes. The loft
was founded in 1995 by Erik and Angela Koppemaes.
The loft is the only full production and service
sail loft east of Toronto in Canada.
Erik
started his sailmaking career in Southern California
before joining the North Sails production facility
in Milford, Connecticut. From there he joined
Doyle Sailmakers in Marblehead to head up their
Research and Development in One-Design sails.
After a leave of absence to do the Canadian Olympic
Trials, Erik moved back to Bedford, Nova Scotia
to start Victory Sailmakers. Thirteen years later,
Victory Sailmakers grew into a strong business
that has become an integral part of the sailing
community in the Atlantic Provinces through meticulous
attention to product detail, customer service
and support of local regattas through sponsorship.
“I have worked closely with countless customers,
boat owners and sailing pros to assist their programs.
I work with racers and cruisers so that their
aspirations are reached successfully and within
budget,” said Erik.
“Many of our customers are looking for the latest
in technology and by joining the UK-Halsey group
I will be able offer MatriX and Tape-Drive sails,
which are the latest and most durable string sails
on the market. Being able to buy sails from other
UK-Halsey lofts will free me from the production
floor so that I can spend more time helping my
customers, while knowing that the sails I’m delivering
are as good or better than anything I made in
my own loft,” said Koppernaes.
Koppernaes has an extensive racing background that
includes three Olympic Campaigns in 470's and
Solings along with National Championships in the
Cadet, Laser 2, Etchells, and Soling classes and
second-place finishes in the Etchells Worlds and
NA's, J/24 Canadians, Melges 24 US Champs and
York Cup Match Racing. This year Erik plans is
to race in the J/24 US Nationals, J-22 Worlds
and Shark Worlds.
Stop
by the loft or give Erik a call to learn about
the new step forward.
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| NEWEST SAFETY AT SEA VIDEO POSTED: FIGHTING SHIPBOARD
FIRES |
 The United
States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New
York, continues to set the bar higher and higher
for safety at sea training. In early April they
ran their second hands on seminar where 140 sailors
took the helm during crew overboard exercises with
a real person in the water, shot off flares and
fire extinguishers, inflated life rafts and climbed
in from the water in full foul weather gear with
life jackets on and more. UK-Halsey was proud to
be one of the sponsors that helped make this event
happen.
To help educate
sailors who did not make it to the seminar, UK-Halsey
Sailmakers video taped some of the sessions and
we will continue to post new clips in our Safety
at Sea online library.
The latest video
covers fighting shipboard fires. Brook West, a life
long sailor, volunteer fire fighter and staff member
of Landfall (formerly Landfall Navigation) is was
the main presenter during this session.
Brook’s main
advice is stay calm, get your crew on deck ready
to abandon ship if the fire gets out of control,
keep the fire from getting behind you and always
have a way out of the boat. If possible have some
help you get combustibles like sails, cushions,
and crew gear away from the fire. When you use a
fire extinguisher remember PASS: Pull the safety
pin, Aim at the base of the flames, Squeeze the
trigger handle and Sweep the spray across the base
of the flame. He also recommends using up the whole
extinguisher to make sure the fire is out.
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| ATTENTION CRUISING SAILORS: VERTICAL BATTENS MAINS
ARE A TREMENDOUS UPGRADE. |
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The increased sail area of the vertical batten
sail can be seen clearly when the old Dacron
batten-less sail is laid over the Tape-Drive
replacement sail.
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For decades,
boats with in-mast furling mains have been sailing
around with under performing sails. These hollow-roach
sails are starved for power and the boats end up
with leeward helm since the mainsail is too small
to balance the genoa. BUT, the roller-furling mains
are convenient for setting and stowing the mainsail.
Now sailors
with roller-furling mains can replace their poorly
performing sails with a main that has positive roach
supported by vertical leech battens – the UK-Halsey
VB MAX Mainsail. The vertical partial-length battens
are parallel to the luff so that the sail can be
rolled into the mast. The battens are staggered
so that they will not roll on top of each other
making the sail too fat to fit into the mast cavity.
Now you can have the convenience of an in-mast roller-furling
main with the performance of standard mainsail.
The
finished sail with its roach and vertical battens
rolling into the mast.
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These pictures shows that you can have a
larger, stronger sail that holds its shape
better, which is lighter than a smaller, less
efficient sail. Just look at the readings
on the scales.
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To get an idea
of the difference between a Tape-Drive vertical
batten main and a Dacron batten-less sail, see the
picture to the left of the old Dacron main on top
of the new vertical batten main. Both sails are
for a Beneteau 411. Notice how much bigger the new
sail is. The black lines are the tapes of the new
sail underneath the old Dacron sail. The added roach
that is possible as a result of the vertical battens
makes the sail about 15% larger. The extra roach
makes the top of the sail almost 50% wider, which
is much more aerodynamically efficient. The extra
roach and wider upper sections will increase boatspeed
and helm balance greatly.
This sail was
built for an owner who uses his boat for daysailing
on Galveston Bay, some long-range cruising, as well
as some offshore coastal races – basically everything
except around the buoys racing. The sail of choice
for this application is UK-Halsey’s Platinum-Drive,
which is made with a polyester or Spectra laminate
with Carbon Fiber reinforced tapes. The benefits
of a higher tech sail for cruising sailors are many.
Tape-Drive sails, are lighter than Dacron, hold
their shape much longer, and since the tapes all
converge in the corners, they do not need big, bulking,
stiff corner patches, which allows them to roll
easier.
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A
UNIQUE SAILOR’S RACE: Halifax to St. Pierre
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Not often do
you get a chance to create and participate in a
new offshore race. Well, here is a new race that
we will be talking about into the next Millennium!
It is a sailor’s race – not yet tainted by protocol,
politics, sponsorship requirements, club ties or
big bucks of other more established events.
Born in 2002,
the Route Halifax - St. Pierre is the emerging gem
of the sailing season. Careful, this race is not
for the faint of heart – covering 360 nautical miles
of North Atlantic rollers, fog and untainted wind,
to arrive in a foreign land full of the unknown.
Maybe I am getting a little too fanciful, but not
so very far from the truth.
The race starts
in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada) under the auspices
of the oldest yacht club in North America - the
Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron (http://www.rnsys.com/)
- follows the coastline northeast until it runs
out and then it's open ocean on to the Gulf of St.
Lawrence’s unique, 100% territorial French archipelagos
of St Pierre et Miquelon.
I
call this event a “sailor’s race” for good reason.
Sufficed to say that in some races, and you know
the ones, the crews whom have given up their precious
vacation times and invested their blood sweat and
tears, sometimes feel forgotten, having to fend
for themselves after the race itself is over. Not
so here. This race has created a trophy for the
most valued crewmember and honors the youngest participant
by having him or her present a Canadian Maple tree
to the Island’s Mayor after a crew parade through
the town center. The local populous holds a spectacular
free sailor’s dinner dance that you would have to
be a real wallflower not to enjoy. Each boat is
assigned a local host whom invariably takes you
home and shows you the subtleties of good French
food and wine. If you play your cards right you
might even get your laundry done…
Anyway I digress from the racing itself… This summer
will be the fourth running of this biennial event.
Traditionally a downwind race, it has all the surprises
that the Atlantic can conjure. The cruising division
(non spinnaker) starts a day before the spinnaker
divisions, creating a more exciting finish with
the majority of the yachts arriving within 24 hours
of one another. The local TV station may be calling
you on board, if you have a sat-phone, for a live
televised update and everyone is glued to the Internet
yacht tracking, following the yachts progress. Local
boats come out to greet the yachts arriving between
the two islands, which form a natural amphitheatre. A harbour race
is also organized. The yachts show off their prowess
to the crowds that gather along the St. Pierre shoreline
to watch. This short race is considered more fun
but remains serious, and inevitably the crews hide
any possible hangovers and pull out all the stops
for a good show.
Nova
Scotia’s famous ambassador schooner, BLUENOSE II,
will be following the fleet this year into St. Pierre
(http://www.bluenose2.ns.ca/).
For
more information and photographs visit www.routehsp.com
Also
let them know if you need help booking flights or
accommodation in Halifax or St. Pierre. They will
also be able to provide information and a crew list
for cruising back.
After the race you can cruise the spectacular waters
of Nova Scotia and Saint Pierre. Visit the historic
seaports of Louisburg, Halifax and Lunenburg. Stay
and rest a while in the protected waters of the
graceful Mahone Bay. Stroll through the colorful
town of Mahone Bay, and drop in on the classic boat
festival. Have lunch in the seaside village of Chester,
have a corn boil on Beckman’s Island, flash up your
bar-b-que in one of the many hidden treasure coves
on the Bras d’or Lakes on Cape Breton Island and
watch the American bald eagles soar. Go back in
time while visiting the rustic and rugged south
west coast of Newfoundland.
From
the beginning to end, this 360-mile ocean race from
Halifax, Nova Scotia to the French island of Saint
Pierre will be a challenge for the adventurous and
a delight for the pleasure seekers.
JULY
13 and 14, HEAD NORTH FOR SOMETHING TRULY DIFFERENT.
Philippe G.Paturel
Co-Founder – Route Halifax St.Pierre
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UK-HALSEY SAILS FINISH 1,2,3, IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
CHERIB CHAMPIONSHIP
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 GO sailed by Phil
and Andrew Vance overtook CUNNING LINGUISTSAILED
by Cam Rule and Todd Montgomery in the last state
heat to become the latest WA Cherub State Champions.
The win was a great way to finish their career
in Cherubs before they move on to 14ft skiffs.
In a race characterized by a volatile and shifty
easterly, the lead swapped as many as five times
in the final heat, but the deal was sealed for
GO, after CUNNING LINGUIST jibed at the top mark
to try their hand at the other side of the course
and fell into a lighter breeze.
Before the last heat,
just 0.4 of a point separated the leading boat,
CUNNING LINGUIST and second placed GO. In addition,
there were three boats within a couple of points
of each other eligible for third place. In the
end third place was snapped up by FINE MESS sailed
by Brennan Stead and Josh Leslie. It was a fantastic
effort considering they had to carry a DNF and
won the last two heats. They will be the ones
to watch out for next season.
The
long series was held over 5 months from November
to March, where competitors raced from Mounts
Bay Sailing Club, Perth Dingy Sailing Club, Koombana
Bay Sailing Club and South Perth Yacht Club. All
types of conditions were encountered, from one-knot
easterlies and flat water to 25-knot southerlies
with two-meter swells. The winner was truly a
master of all conditions, and they will be in
good stead to compete at the highest level in
any class.
The
outlook for the next season and the next State
Championships is looking excellent, with a great
deal of interest from junior fleets looking for
an exciting, cutting edge Skiff to sail that also
has a great social scene.
-- Cameron Rule for the Australian Cherib News
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SCUTTLEBUTT EUROPE NOW PUBLISHED SIX DAYS
A WEEK
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FIGARO! FIGARO! Not
just a Barber from Seville... It's a race and
a boat... the Figaro Beneteau II is an astonishingly
successful one design class both for solo sailing
(the infamous la Solitaire Afflelou le Figaro
where in four legs sailors travel more than 2000
miles) and double handed (the AG2R starts April
20 from Concarneau ending 3700 miles later in
Saint-Barthélemy.
Follow the AG2R,
la Solitaire, the Open 60s, Mini 6.50s, the European
TP52 circuit and much more by subscribing to the
free daily email newsletter Scuttlebutt Europe.
It's an English language newsletter that includes
translations from event reports and news from
around the world.
Founded in 2001
as a sister publication to the famed Scuttlebutt
newsletter, Scuttlebutt Europe is edited
by David McCreary, who has brought much of the
sailing industry online since 1994. Available
in either HTML or text-only format, "Eurobutt"
is published six times a week, with a new Weekend
Edition that focuses on editorials, photo galleries
and book reviews.
Sign up at http://www.scuttlebutteurope.com/UK-Halsey.html
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| SNAKES AND LADDERS AROUND MALTA |
Gordon Craig and
Paul Scicluna on board HARRY won the first ever
International Yacht Paint Double Handed Round Malta
Race run by the Royal Malta Yacht Club. HARRY is
a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 34.2 with a new set of Tape-Drive
sails. The crew needed to keep their focus all day
long as the breeze filled in and died through out
the long clockwise race around the island. Many
boats dropped out before passing the first mark
of the course because of the light wind in the morning.
The
boats had a battle royale towards the finish line
at the RMYC after passing through the South Comino
Channel. FALCON and ELUSIVE (see the Nov. 2007 newsletter
for an article about ELUSIVE's windy middle sea
race) match raced the whole coastline while STRAIT
DEALER was all alone at the head of the fleet. However,
the STRAIT DEALER’s lead was not enough and their
final corrected time placed them at the bottom of
the fleet.
The
tacking duel between the ten remaining boats continued
until the finish line in Marsamxett Harbour. It
was HARRY who claimed the best corrected time overall
finish. MYONA was second overall and MAARIAL finished
third -- a great result from all 3 boats.
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| UK-HALSEY RULES QUIZ CD: THE EASIEST WAY TO LEARN
THE RULES |
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 Instead of getting intimidated by the loud “sea
lawyers” or shying away from other boats, learn
the rules the easy way with the UK-Halsey Sailmakers’
Real Time Racing Rules Quiz CD. Our quizzes are
based on common situations that you are likely
to run into frequently on the race course. With
our Quiz CD you learn by watching animated movies
that you can start and stop and rewind as many
times as you need. All the quiz answers are written
clearly and in the same style that a protest committee
use to announce a decision. First you read the
situation and then the facts found followed by
the rules that apply. The text has hot links for
every rule citation and for all words defined
in the rule book. The hot links bring up the rule
or definition on the same screen as the movie
and answer to the quiz – every thing can be seen
together without having to flip pages in a book.
The cost for the CD is $US45 plus $6 for air mail
shipping anywhere in the world. Click
here to buy the CD.
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