Whether you live to sail on weeknights, or save your energy for the weekend, we’ve assembled a collection of articles to help make your next club race the best it can be. Tips from the North experts on helming, sail inventory suggestions, downwind communication, and DIY sail care methods– all contribute to improving race results at your next weeknight ‘worlds.’
Best Sails for Club Racing
For some, “club racing” means a casual jib-and-main evening race aboard a well-stocked boat carrying roller furlers. For others, it means a no-holds-barred weekend race aboard a Melges 32 with a full crew aboard. Hear from material expert Tom Davis as he lays out your inventory options.
Sticking To Your Senses
Remember when your spinnaker was new—how crisp and clean the material felt and the way it crinkled going into the bag? The colors were sharp, and it even smelled like brand new nylon. When the kite filled and snapped in the breeze, you knew it was pulling your boat forward for all it was worth. Your senses knew that the sail was new, and if you allow them, they’ll help you understand when that same spinnaker is ready for replacement.
New Sail Technologies Set The Tone
Black has not always been the fast look for sails, but lately more and more black sails are showing up on the water. Why? The simple answer is that many sails are now made with carbon fiber and carbon is black. Read how 3Di was this trendsetter and why it is unique to North Sails technology and stands out (results and color!) from the competition.
Code Sails: The Ultimate Speed Addition
Did you know that North Sails is the originator of the Code Sail concept? What started out as a straightforward but innovative concept has rapidly evolved into a whole new category of sails, including sails with the Helix structured luff. While Code Sails may look and perform quite differently from one another, there is one common theme: Code Sails are fast, flat, free-flying sails, designed for close reaching angles.
Make The Most Of Each Upwind
The most important element of upwind boathandling is tacking. Tacking seems like a minor thing, but the difference between a good tack and a poor one can be measured in boat lengths. In a race where you tack ten times, well-executed tacks can provide the margin of victory. And in a close duel, superior tacks will allow you to break free from or keep control of a rival. Find out more on each crew position and how you can together improve your uphill sailing.
All About Battens
Thinking about battens? Preparing for a new season is something that is on everyone’s mind. Whether you’re staging your boat to launch, planning an extended cruise, or hoisting your sails for a weeknight club race; It’s important to make sure you’ve got your battens installed properly and tensioned correctly. Checking your battens will provide better sail shape and performance – and ensure you don’t lose them after the first tack or jibe!
Steering Downwind: Less is More
Steering off the wind, on reaches and runs, requires a coordinated effort between helmsman and spinnaker trimmer. Your trimmers and tactician can sometimes conflict in feedback which makes things tricky. Here are some tips on how you can acknowledge and respond to direction, while maintaining optimum speed downwind.
DIY Sail Care & Maintenance Tips
There are many ways you can help prolong the life of your sails. Our Certified Service experts wrote down pointers to keep you aligned with our sail care maintenance practices, which can be part of your regular routine while you are at home, or on your boat.
Create Your Own Club Race Playlist
Want to learn more about boat prep, sail care, and optimizing your rig for your weeknight race? Scroll through our webinars and personalize your own club race webinar playlist. Simply find the webinars you want to collect and under video, click ‘save’. From there you can ‘create your own playlist’, and use the drop down menu to select your privacy settings, if you want your playlist to be private. Rewatch and rewind whenever you like.