North eNews Spring Edition

by . on 30 Sep 2008 A bumper edition this month, with plenty of news on all the racing at Hamilton Island Race Week, North Flags and North Covers. Check out the story on Brian and Margaret Baker's around the world cruising adventures and Harry Smith's testing of his new Optimist DR2+ sail on the Queensland waters.

Hamilton Island Race Week 2008

HIRW 2008 was another very successful regatta for North Sails and its clients who took the top placing in nearly all the race divisions along with a successful and convenient sail repair service provided for all boat owners on the island.

Grand Prix Division 1
Alan Whiteley has plenty to smile about the moment, with his recent win on Cougar II in the IRC Grand Prix Division 1, taking out first place by 2 points over Bob Steel’s Quest assisted by North Sails employee Julian Plante on tactics.

When speaking with Alan about his win, he expressed his delight for the crew effort particularly that of Peter Williams who steered superbly and was deeply involved in their race plan and strategy. Matt Turner called tactics and with boat captain Andrew Thompson together they took on the physical preparation of the boat. They combined together as a most professional team despite the fact none pro sailors; but enthusiastic weekend sailors.

The two Transpac 52’s fought a tight battle on both the race course and pointscore throughout the regatta with Michael Hiatt’s Living Doll and Geoff Ross’ Yendys. Both TP’s were sporting new 3DL inventory on their boats, with Quest carrying new jibs and Cougar II a new main and jib. The 50fters were dominant in the event taking out the first 4 places and giving the larger 60fters a run for their money.

Beneteau First 45’s dominate

Graham Jones built on his 3rd place at Airlie Beach RW08, by taking out the podium position with Bluewater, by a massive 10 points over a commendable performance by Michael Keough’s Spirit of Lexus. On board with Graham Jones was Peter Antill, distinguished Pittwater sailor, who enjoyed being part of the four first places the team received throughout the regatta.

Graham, who was an active RPAYC member, moved from Sydney to Port Douglas and picked up his Beneteau First 45 from VicSail in Rushcutters Bay only a few weeks before Airlie Beach. The boat is outfitted with a carbon mast coupled with 3DL 600M North Sails to create a winning combination for Graham’s new purchase and first serious racing series.

Ray Harris’ Honeysuckle also took home the glassware on Division 2 of IRC Grand Prix, winning in his first regatta after its early August launching. On board with prominent sailors from Sydney including Matt Allen; commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Michael Spies experienced sailing master on the Volvo 70 Ichi Ban and Nick Beaudoin from North Sails, the team took home first place by 2 points from dominant performer in the Audi IRC Championships Rod Jones in Alegria. The win at Hamilton Island is a huge feather in Ray’s cap, a great learning experience for the team, and provided a clearer picture for the exciting potential of the Beneteau First 45.

IRC Passage Racing

In the IRC passage division, Brisbane based Luke McGrath steered his Sydney 36CR to victory. Luke has had previous experience racing at the Hamilton Island event having raced his 36 footer 2 years prior. He finished with a podium placing but was hungry for a win. Vaughan Prentice from North Sails Brisbane helped to organise Luke’s 2008 HIRW campaign by helping to set the boat up for optimum IRC racing. North Sails congratulates Luke for steering his boat to victory by one point over Peter Sorenson’s Philosopher’s Club.

Off the water, the North Sails sail making team was hard at it in the Endeavour Room providing all competitors with the North Sails certified sail repair service. Over 70 sails were repaired by the North Sails team over the week long regatta with a massive influx of repairs on the Sunday night after the windward leeward courses sailed on Day 2. 12 sailmakers from the North Sails Australian team were hard at it into the wee hours of Monday morning repairing the damaged sails. Staff members including Alby Pratt and Richie Allanson who have long gone put down their sail making tools were found there amongst the younger generation sailmakers and apprentices, helping to get the repairs complete for the next day of racing.

Islands in the Stream for the Island Packet 485

Julian Plante from North Sails Sydney recently headed to Mackay to meet up with Brian Baker and his wife to outfit their new Spectra Gatorback sails for their Island Packet 485. The Bakers have been cruising extensively for a number of years now and should be credited for their five years of training on the Chesapeake Bay in the United States, where Brian and Margaret practiced long distance sailing with just the two of them on board before tackling cross Atlantic voyages.

Neither Brian nor Margaret had any experience sailing, but Brian mentioned he had always played with boats. Margaret opted to learn the ropes through a sailing course in the US, where as Brian opted for the 'learn as you try' approach. For many years the two of them practiced sailing 2 up with 3 hour watches a piece and high fiving each other in the galley way during change of watch.

I asked Brian what he missed the most when at sea, and like all experienced long distance sailors; he mentioned sleep, but enjoyed the rewards of arriving at a new destination and experiencing it together with his wife. Margaret misses the grandchildren, but thanks to wonders of modern technology, the Island Packet comes equipped with satellite coverage for phone calls and email, making the distance between the grandchildren a little less hard.

This is the Baker’s third cruising boat and after recommendations from friends, Brian and Margaret opted to outfit again their new investment with North Sails exclusive Spectra Gatorback. This product is based on taffeta substrates, which locks up the spectra yarns, anchors the seams and yields the highest possible performance. The sails are built using Spectra Gatorback to ensure a combination of inherent high stability while delivering a long term service life, rarely seen in other fabrics.

The Spectra Gatorback provides other great benefits to the Bakers as it is a fabric that is easy to handle, and its radial construction ensures load bearing and shape retention even when it is reefed.

Based in Mackay for the next few weeks waiting on custom clearance (the Island Packet 485 was built in Florida), the Bakers will be making their way down the eastern coast to Brisbane, taking a little over a month to complete the voyage.

For further information on Island Packet yachts, contact Mark Dent at mark@ipy.com.au

Staff Profile – Nick Beaudoin

Meet Nick Beaudoin, he is one of the boys you’ll find working on the loft floor at North Sails Sydney. Not only is Nick handy on the sewing machine specialising in repair and re-cut work, Nick is also a very handy sailor on Leslie Green’s Swan 601, Ginger.

Nick started working at North Sails Sydney in September 2006 after moving to Australia from Canada. He has been working in the sail making industry for over 6 years after graduating from the University of Windsor. He began his sail making apprenticeship in the Great Lakes and worked in that role for a number of years before relocating to Sydney.

Nick began his sailing career in Lasers before commencing his Olympic bid for Canada in the 470 dinghy class. Although his campaign for Athens was unsuccessful, it proved to be a crucial learning tool. Those four years he spent sailing across North America and Europe were an