Bunnings

by John Curnow on 14 Nov 2016 Yep. The juggernaut rolls on, with another new store coming to a former paddock near you. So you get to see that their expansionist policy does more than resemble that of a great dynasty. They have managed to obliterate the opposition, which makes you wonder what’s going on with all those leases…

So with that film all about the Golden Arches, The Founder, starring Michael Keaton about to start, you do pause to consider what will happen to all those properties. Actually, I am kind of more interested in the millions that have been shredded. Gees, I would not mind being one of the select few clipping the ticket there.

Anyway, where we are actually going with it all has nothing to do with real estate, lawyers, merchant banking, boardroom decisions or marketing strategy. It is entirely wrapped up in popular culture. Need help on that segue? It is the retort, ‘Go down to Bunnings, get a bag of cement, and harden the hell up!’

Sailing, like all the great sports teaches you a lot of things. Well before our particular idiom was known to all, man’s oldest challenge was teaching many about the need to grunt up, and do so smartly. Usually, very smartly, indeed! One crew did that extremely well, only recently. They, and the entire fleet know a lot about the subject, actually.

It was the crew from the 18-footer, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers. Well done Mike, Dave and Trent. We were at North Sails to check out their 3Di RACE™ product for sub 40-footers, and especially club racers (luff = <16m). As you can see, they were working on a new mainsail for the crew at the time, so many thanks to Alby Pratt for letting us grab this image.

North Sails’ 3Di RACE™ costs only ever so slighty more (10%) than the famous 3DL laminate sails, and that makes it way under the normal cost of their existing composite sails. North’s say the lower price is achieved by changing the layout to better suit smaller boats, and having a lighter skin, which also has the added advantage of making the sail softer, and therefore suppler. The benefit is that the working sails will be more responsive in lighter winds and lower loads.

On the record the say “3Di RACE™ is available in black or gold, and comes with an improved boat speed guarantee!” YeeeeeeHaaaaaa or what!!! Reckon you’d also have to ask for three sail training days to make sure you got all the good oil, BTW…. Just don’t tell ‘em you saw it in print somewhere – OK. (Argh. Argh. Argh.)

Now down the road at Quantum Sails, they were actually working on Lisa Blair’s Trisail. We do hope she can get away soon and make it round to WA and get set for the circumnavigation of Antarctica in the Summer season. Matt Fraser is the son of one famous sail maker in Bob Fraser, and also at the Sydney loft there is Matt Pearce, with multihull expert, Ben Kelly, being based out of Brisbane.

OK then, onto the other election the world is presently talking about. Seems King Carlo Croce tried to put down his Champagne flute long enough to listen and then truly communicate. Of course, I reckon he’s more likely to favour the Marie Antoinette kind of vessel for the bubbles, but the real point is that it did not make any difference to the final outcome. Kim Andersen defeated Carlo Croce in the second round of Presidential ballot, after Paul Henderson was defeated in the first. After the other, ‘other’ election, anything was possible, and you could argue that there was almost as much intrigue and characterful individuals occupying World Sailing’s version, as the one for world domination did.

The Vice Presidents elected were Jan Dawson (NZL), Anna Sanchez (ESP), Torben Grael (BRA), Gary Jobson (USA), Quanhai Li (CHN), W Scott Perry (URU), and Nadine Stegenwalner (GER).

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