Young guns all set to fire for UK Sailmakers

by John Curnow on 12 Sep 2012 Fresh from a European stint on board the Ker40, The Peninsula Hotels Signal 8, Melbourne sail maker, Sam Haines, is taking UK Sailmakers in to the Sydney market.

Sam has run his Melbourne-based loft since 2007 and owned the Sandringham facility since 2010. This facility is close to many of the Bay’s clubs and directly adjacent to where the ISAF World Cup is staged.

Undeterred by commencing his ocean-racing career at age 16 in the ‘bad’ 1998 Sydney Hobart Race, he continued to compete in each race until two years ago, when his focus shifted more towards One Design classes. His experience includes the 2005/06 Volvo Ocean Race and sailing on many an iconic Australian offshore vessel, from Brindabella and Future Shock to Chutzpah, Wild Thing, Living Doll and Shogun. The more recent focus on One Design has seen Sam racing Etchells and 505s, as well as coaching customers in many OD classes and also keelboats.

Talking about the Sydney decision, Sam explains, 'We’re really excited about this, as it mirrors the trend in Europe. We’ll be offering dedicated, hands-on service from a team of qualified sail makers that is out there sailing and making sure our clients are using their new gear to the best of their abilities. This is why we’ve chosen Andrew Chapman of Chapman High Performance Sailing to be the UK Sailmakers Service Centre in Sydney, where he will provide our local service, advice, measuring, fitting and repair facility point of call operations for the highly regarded UK Sailmakers brand.'

'Certainly top-end club sailors are our sweet spot, working with current rating rules to optimise performance for all racing customers. We also have a very distinct track record with One Design, most specifically in Etchells, 505s, OK Dinghies, International 14’ Skiffs and the very charismatic Couta boats. Of course, that’s not to mention the many and varied cruising sails we have been or currently are involved in.

UK Sailmakers will be ensuring there are traditional methods still deployed and all the gear is going to be finished here at our loft in Melbourne. All the quoting and administration will also be done at the headquarters, as well. This is a little different to how it is performed elsewhere in the industry in Australia at present, however the reality is that the overhead of running two lofts is huge. I see this as being able to supply superior sails at cost effective prices and it certainly appears to be the future of sail making in Australia, given what is occurring in Europe, where you have service centres supported by a couple of manufacturing lofts', Sam added.

'Our focus into the next season is optimisation for our customers racing under handicap systems, particularly the IRC measurement category. The art of sail making with modern methods is that the sails will need some massaging for ratings to be at their best. By this I mean not only the quality of the craftsmanship on the sails, but also optimising the design stage for the IRC rules. This is the part that we really do love. All our sails are finished here in our loft in Melbourne and it is where the differences between a good sail and a great sail are put in, like tape tensions and finishing details', said Sam.

In a moment of great interest, Sam was on his hands and knees laying patterns, measuring and chalking marks for Dacron Couta boat sails as he made this comment, so real skills are very much part of the equation with this loft.

Whilst Andrew Chapman might not have cut as many sails as his Melbourne counterpart, he is every bit as aware of what it takes to make a good sail at his Atarmon loft, especially for his beloved Cherub and Flying Eleven classes, where he has been a National and NSW State title holder.

Today, Andrew is very much known as the Skipper of the 18 Footer, Fisher & Paykel, on which he’ll be back out this coming season with crew of Tim Baraclough and Ewan Duckworth. 'We’ve got two new masts and some new sails to utilise this season and there are also the 50th Cherub Championships to look forward to at Christmas time', said Andrew.

'However, this great involvement with Sam will certainly make things even busier and gaining knowledge from their experience in big boats is a hugely positive, additional element. I'm really looking forward to helping out a new group of clients and deploying my own skills, and experiences from both sailing and coaching.'

You do indeed get more than impression that these will be very hands on sail makers and that’s not only because they both coach. Andrew spent three years as the Flying Eleven Association coach and is the current Yachting NSW Emerging Talent Squad Coach. Sam is quite heavily involved with the International 14’ Skiffs and also One Design keelboat racing. For that matter, Sam is always out watching his client’s race on Port Phillip, including in the rain.

So if that kind of dedication to you and your crew is the kind of thing that you want in your sail maker, then perhaps the UK Sailmakers team is worth investigating. They may be wringing wet, but you can call Sam in Melbourne 03 9597 0857 and for Andrew in Sydney, call 02 9939 9828. Email either Melbourne(at)uksailmakers.com or Sydney(at)uksailmakers.com.