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UK San Diego: Sales Representative
We're looking for a motivated and personable individual to join UK Sailmakers San Diego. This role includes sail and canvas sales, customer service, onboard measurements, installations, and…
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UK Miami: Sewist and Loft Floor Worker
UK Sailmakers Miami, located in the Coconut Grove area, is seeking a motivated individual to join our team! We’re looking for someone who enjoys hands-on work, can sew, assist on the loft…
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UK Northeast: Loft Floor Manager
We’re looking for an experienced sailmaker to head up our loft floor staff at the UK Sailmakers Northeast loft, located in Mamaroneck New York. This is a hands-on leadership role that…
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UK Northeast: Sales Representative
UK Sailmakers Northeast is seeking a Sales Representative to serve the Metro New York area. The ideal candidate will be an experienced racer with strong communication and sales skills. This…
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UK Fremantle: Sailmaker
UK Sailmakers Fremantle is looking for a new team member to join our busy sail loft in Fremantle, Australia. We’re seeking a motivated individual who is interested in a hands-on career in…
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WHEN TO COVER AND WHEN TO SAIL YOUR OWN RACE
The strategy of winning sailboat races involves knowing how to control your competition— when to cover your competition and when to sail your own race. I was reminded of both during last…
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JKP 45 SIRENE FINISHES 15,000 NM DELIVERY FROM FRANCE TO FREMANTLE
Bill Henson and son Alexander have just completed their 15,000 nm trip from France to Fremantle to cap off the building and delivery of their new boat, the JPK 45 named SIRENE. When Henson…
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CHRISTOPHER DRAGON WINS NORTHERN OCEAN RACING TROPHY
The Northern Ocean Racing Trophy (NORT) is awarded to the top boat that has competed in the 630-mile Newport-to-Bermuda Race, the 240-mile Vineyard Race and at least one of the other…
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IT'S NOT JUST THE TOOLS
Seahorse Magazine is renown for its coverage of high-end sailboat racing and often includes articles focusing on and explaining the various technologies that support the leading edge of our…
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HOW HE WON HIS CLASS IN BERMUDA RACE
Andrew Weiss talking about his class win in the 2022 Newport to Bermuda Race. Andrew and Linda Weiss’ Italia 11.98 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON finished first in Class 12 (14 boats) and fourth…
RESULTS
A3 INSTEAD OF CODE ZERO FOR ORC ASTOUNDING VICTORY
Shown here is the Italia 11.98 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON sailing with her new A3 instead of code zero before winning the ORC class at the 2022 Larchmont Yacht Club Edlu Race. Two weeks later,…
TECHNIQUE
Spinnaker String Takedown
The Stretch-and-Blow Spinnaker Douse allows you to sail practically right up to the leeward the mark with the sail drawing fully. When it is time to drop the spinnaker, the pole is eased to…
TECHNIQUE
How to Center your Rig
The first and most important step in tuning the rig is to get the tip of the mast over the center of the boat. If the mast is off to one side, even just a little, it will cause the boat to…
TECHNIQUE
Gaining Extra Height With Inhaulers
Barry H ayes of UK Sailmakers Hong Kong For decades, most top racing boats had great big overlapping headsails, which develop a lot of power as the overlap of the main by the genoa slows…
TECHNIQUE
How to Rig an Outboard Sheet
For years UK Sailmakers has been helping sailors learn the racing rules of sailing with our animated Rules Quiz program. Now we are taking on teaching sail trim and sail handing with a new…
RESULTS
BLACK SEA PIRATES MAKE OFF WITH PLATU 25 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2021 EUROSAF Platu 25 European Championship in Odessa, Ukraine, finished in style with two decisive races held on the last day. The BLACK SEA PIRATES, UKR62, skippered by Rodion Luka…
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SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON INHAULERS
Published on October 14th, 2021 in the Sailing Newsletter SCUTTLEBUTT Maximizing the performance of our boats requires the utilization of the sail trim adjustments and an understanding of…
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AVOID SEVERE SAIL FAILURE: BRING YOUR SAILS IN FOR WINTER SERVICE
UK Sailmakers’ Winter Service Program is more than just washing and storing sails. Your sails will go through a comprehensive inspection to make sure they will be up to the job in the…
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Tips for Better Anchoring Techniques
The three-strand rope snubber becomes a shock absorber. By Darren Seltzer who is sailing around the world with his wife Amanda on their Amel Sharki, a 39-foot ketch. For those seeking to…
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HOW TO SURF FASTER
Asymmetrical spinnakers require more active trimming than symmetrical spinnakers when surfing in any kind of waves. The key is to trim the spinnaker sheet tighter as the bow goes down the…
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SAILING SOLO TO HAWAII
View fullsize Perhaps the most challenging race to Hawaii is the 2120-mile Singlehanded TransPac from San Francisco to Kauai. (UK Sailmakers is a longtime co-sponsor of this event). UK…
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FATHER/SON TEAM WINS ROUND DENMARK RACE
The father and son team of Lars and John Kämpfe won the 650-mile Round Denmark Race 2021 in doublehanded division sailing their older 26-foot Dragonfly 800 trimaran named TRI. This was a…
TECHNIQUE
Better Furling | Tips on Starting | Easier Spinnaker Handling and More
View fullsize X-Drive Carbon/Polyester: the best balance of price and performance for smaller and mid sized performance…
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42 Meter Super Yacht Powered by UK Sailmakers
View fullsize This past April, Turkish Mengi Yay Yachts launched the 42-meter (138’) super yacht L’AQUILA II, the latest of the yard’s flagship NB 99 design. This luxurious motor sailing…
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More Than Just a Pretty Sail
View fullsize Here is a pretty looking X-Drive Silver roller-furling main sail on an Island Packet 485. Notice how good the aerodynamic shape looks even though the sail has no battens. Also…
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The Power of the Port Tack Start
In a recent Thursday night race, the smallest boat in the fleet was the only boat to read the wind on the starting line correctly and as a result won the start and the race. On the skewed…
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SWITCHING TO ASYMMETRICAL SPINNAKERS FOR SPEED AND EASE
There are many reasons people prefer boats with asymmetrical spinnakers over traditional symmetrical spinnakers flown from a spinnaker pole. The asymmetricals are easier to sail since you…
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WINNING IN ONE-DESIGNS: ALBIN EXPRESS
Despite all the tightened Corona virus precautions, the Albin Express one-design season opener took place in beautiful Vejle, Denmark, May 8-9, 2021. Albin Express was designed by Peter…
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REEFABLE HEADSAILS: PERFECT FOR SHORTHANDED SAILING
View fullsize A SwedeStar 37 showing her X-Drive Carbon sails with double-sided black taffeta. Even though the jib has a luff tape that goes into the headstay foil, this jib can be slab…
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JUST PLAIN FASTER
By Adam Loory Andrew Weiss and Lawrence Cutler's J/88 ONE TOO MANY was just faster than all the others in the J/88 one-design fleet at the American Yacht Club Spring Series held over the…
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Sailing Panda - A Solent Winter
View fullsize Darren and Amanda Sellzer set off to sail around the world on their 39-foot Amel Sharki PANDA just as the world went into the pandemic lock-down. Instead of going from the…
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Racing the 1968 Golden Globe in 2022
View fullsize Could Guy DeBoer be the first American to win an around-the-world, non-stop yacht race? Guy deBoer has chosen UK Sailmakers sails in his attempt to be the first American to…
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NINE BULLETS AT CHARLESTON RACE WEEK
View fullsize Ken Horne’s J/105 FINAL FINAL scored nine firsts at Charleston Race Week in 2021. His Charleston Race Week scoreline was a picket fence: nine firsts. Texas J/105 sailor Ken…
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FLYING INTO THE NEW SEASON
View fullsize Andrew and Linda Weiss’s Fast 40+ CHRISTOPHER DRAGON hit speeds up to 24 knots flying out of Newport Harbor last summer in the 2020 Ida Lewis Distance Race. Her main is the…
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SERVICE IS WHY SHE CHOSE UK SAILMAKERS
View fullsize Last summer, when they couldn’t get the rental house they wanted as a COVID escape, NY Sailor Perry Burgess and her husband bought a pre-owned Catalina 36 MKII. UK Sailmakers’…
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DOUSING SOCK DRAMATIC STORY
View fullsize Modern furling systems have come a long way in handling spinnakers and Code Zeros. But the humble dousing sock is still a very reliable and cost-effective way for shorthanded…
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THE POWER OF SEEING
BSG Development’s Sailcom program offers the power of seeing new sail flying on a boat before the first inch of is material cut. The program models proposed sails in crystal clear 3D…
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PROPER COURSE RULES QUESTION
View fullsize Charles Taus, skipper of the J/33 SIRIUS, sent the following email the day after the video of Butch Ulmer’s rules webinar was posted. Charles wrote, watching the video…
LOFT NEWS
MEET THE TEAM
Sail Fast and Stay on Budget. That’s our motto at UK Sailmakers Northeast (formerly UK Sailmakers New York). While it may sound like a simple catchphrase, the dizzying array of options for…
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THE 75TH ANNUAL BLOCK ISLAND RACE
View fullsize Inaugurated in 1946, the Storm Trysail Club’s Annual Block Island Race is one of Long Island Sound’s oldest distance races. Although the race has started and finished at…
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THE SAM WETHERILL RACE AN OLD RACE WITH A NEW, LONGER COURSE
View fullsize The 69th Annual Sam Wetherill Race with its new 140-mile course will be Long Island Sound’s first distance race of the 2021 season. In fact, since most of the race takes place…
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THE EDLU: A DAY RACE THAT’S A DISTANCE RACE
The 32-mile Edlu Race Course The course of the Edlu Race runs from Larchmont Harbor, almost straight down the middle of Long Island Sound to its single turning mark off Eatons Neck 16 miles…
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FOUR GREAT RACES TO START THE 2021 SAILING SEASON
View fullsize By Charles “Butch” Ulmer Unlike a year ago when everything was being cancelled, things are on the upswing and 2021 is going to give those of us who sail a chance to make up…
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NEW RULES AND OLD RULES, WE HELP YOU LEARN THEM ALL
View fullsize Every four years the Racing Rules of Sailing get updated. In these updates, most of the rules remain the same; however, there are usually some minor fixes to close loopholes…
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SOLVING THE DURABILITY EQUATION
View fullsize An Arcona 435 with a partial taffeta layer up the leech of the main and just on the lower leech and foot of the jib. Peter Gustafsson photo/blur.se View fullsize Hallberg…
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UK SAILMAKERS SWEDEN – FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA
View fullsize Mikeal Olesen is one of the three partners at the helm of UK Sailmakers Sweden. Started already 1888, UK Sailmakers Sweden is one of the oldest sailmaking companies in the…
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30-YEAR-OLD J/44 TAKES ISLANDS IN THE STREAM SERIES
View fullsize KENAI before the start of the Eleuthera race. Winning the Miami-to-Eleuthera Race locked-in the 2020-21 SORC Islands in the Stream Series for Chris and Karen Lewis’s J/44…
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SUPER YACHT CHOSE DACRON
View fullsize Outfitting a boat, no matter if it is a J/24 or a super yacht, is all about balancing priorities. The owner of this super yacht chose dacron for the massive sails on his…
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FOLLOWING A PLAN TO VICTORY
View fullsize CHECKMATE (F66) crossing OBSESSION (F1245) just after the start of the Bunbury and Return race. Fremantle, WA, Feb 12, 2021: Geoff Bishop, owner of UK Sailmakers Fremantle,…
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HONORING FRONT LINE WORKERS
View fullsize In Canada, front-line health and rescue workers are getting honored as “heroes” with signs where a heart replaces the maple leaf in the Canadian Flag. UK Sailmakers…
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Bye Bye Roller Furling…Back to Hanks
View fullsize Doublehanded racing has been growing in popularity for over a decade. With the interruption to big boat racing caused by the worldwide pandemic, doublehanded racing has taken…
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WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME THE OLDEST GROUP OF SAILMAKERS IN THE USA?
UK Sailmakers celebrates our 75th Anniversary Charles “Buster” Ulmer sitting along with Charles “Butch” Ulmer standing left and his brother-in-law Chuck Wiley. This photo was taken in 1967…
TECHNIQUE
Doublehanding Tips | UK Sailmakers at 75 | Job Opportunities
With the explosive interest in doublehanded big boat racing, UK Sailmakers is happy to announce a new instructional section on our website dedicated to tips on how to sail with just two…
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WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER
Congratulations to the winners in our Christmas time raffle. For the 12 days of Christmas, we raffled off three UK Sailmakers duffel bags and nine UK Sailmakers caps. The winners were a…
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Helping Western Australia Sail With Confidence
Geoff Bishop at the wheel of his King 40 CHECKMATE approaching a starting line. Geoff Bishop has been helping sailors in Western Australia sail with confidence as the head of the UK…
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Job Openings at UK San Francisco
UK Sailmakers San Francisco is looking to hire a part-time or full-time loft service / repair person as well as a salesperson. This is a great opportunity to work with Sylvain Barrielle,…
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UK Sailmakers 12 Gifts for Christmas Giveaway for 12 Lucky Winners!
Congratulations to the 12 lucky winners: davideccles… palmer781… olleape… dbjleath… frankdesmond… bay… fgl… originally… karlolofedl… jginn… tdaley12… gbla… All the winners will be contacted…
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Season’s Greetings, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
View fullsize Here is hoping that 2021 will be much better for all. Even with all the missed sailing events and sickness in 2020, there were plenty of bright memories, let’s keep thinking…
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WIDER HEAD MAINSAILS: A NEW TREND
View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Small fathead mainsails, where the roach of the sail is increased due to a considerably wider head of the sail are becoming a new trend on the race…
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THAT NEW BOAT LOOK AND SMELL
View fullsize Her full-batten X-Drive Carbon main with partial taffeta on the leech. A new boat, like a new car, has a great look, feel and, yes, smell. Here is a new Linjett 39 performance…
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THE LAZY CRADLE SIMPLIFIES SAILHANDLING
View fullsize UK Sailmakers' Lazy Cradle is a combination of a sail cover and lazy jacks. It simplifies sailhandling; just lower the halyard letting the sail settle between the lazy jacks…
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ULMER SAILS TO UK SAILMAKERS AND ALL THE LOGOS IN BETWEEN
Established in 1946 in New York City as Charles Ulmer, Inc., UK Sailmakers is one of the oldest groups of sail lofts in the world. While the company’s logo has changed over the last seven…
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FLOWER POWER: THE DAZY STAYSAIL
In the right conditions, a spinnaker staysail will increase your speed up to three quarters of a knot, without changing your rating one bit. Staysails are free sail area. The spinnaker…
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KNOW YOUR REACHING SAILS OPTIONS
Videographer Warner Nickerson got these terrific drone shots of a J/111 doing some testing with her Large Roach Headsail. A Large Roach Headsail (LRH), or “Tweener,” is defined as having a…
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CODE ZERO CRUISING AND DAYSAILING
By Adam Loory General Manager of UK Sailmakers International In mid November, I got to enjoy the warm fall day with a late season daysail on New York’s Long Island Sound. While the code…
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X-DRIVE SAILS POWER OCEAN YOUTH SAILING'S CATAMARAN CLASSROOM
View fullsize View fullsize The goal of Switzerland-based Ocean Youth Sailing is to teach kids and young adults about the environment and sailing on the ocean. Their two-hulled floating…
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UPDATING THE VENERABLE J/109
View fullsize The J/109 WHISKEY JACK sailing fast and deep with her A2, which is slightly bigger than the class’s one-design asymmetrical spinnaker. All photos by Guy Nowell. The J/109…
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PROTECTED PERFORMANCE CRUISING SAILS
View fullsize View fullsize UK Sailmakers makes X-Drive performance cruising sails with at least one full side is protected by a layer of finely woven taffeta or a layer of…
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ALL SQUALLS PASS
View fullsize Andy Green's entry in the 2019 Mirabaud Yacht Racing photo contest. About the image he wrote, "This was a cool shot of the J/125 JACK KNIFE from the IRC Regatta in Pwlhrli…
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LEARNING THE SINGLEHANDED GYBE
By Adam Loory General Manager of UK Sailmakers International Thanks to Covid 19’s requirement to sail socially distanced, I discovered the fun of doublehanding and singlehanding my boat.…
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UPDATING A CLASSIC SPEEDSTER
View fullsize With the high cost of new boats, many boat owners are looking to update the boats they havel, or at low priced classics. Here is an example of Irish sailors Mel and Kieran…
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Scotland - A Wild Watery Expanse
View fullsize Darren and Amanda Sellzer set off to sail around the world on their 39-foot Amel Sharki PANDA just as the world went into the pandemic lock-down. Instead of going from the…
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UK Sailmakers Duffel Bag Giveaway
The UK Sailmakers Duffel Bag Giveaway has officially ended. The winner of the giveaway is E. Rieder. congratulations! We have contacted the winner by email. Stay tuned for the next UK…
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RECENT RACE RESULTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
St. James's Place China Coast Regatta : Nick Southward’s J/109 WHISKEY JACK won IRC Class 3 with four firsts and two seconds. Her upwind sails are Titanium. Guy Nowell photo. View fullsize…
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X-DRIVE SILVER SAILS: PERFORMANCE WITH A TRADITIONAL LOOK
View fullsize X-Drive Silver sails, made with continuous, corner-to-corner, S-Glass yarns are a good solution for sailors who want sails that look white, but need better shape-holding and…
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CROSSING THE ATLANTIC — THE VIKING WAY
View fullsize View fullsize Darren and Amanda Seltzer set off to sail around the world on their 39-foot Amel Sharki PANDA just as the world went into the pandemic lock-down. Instead of…
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NEW STUDY SHOWS THE DIFFERENCES IN DACRONS
It’s one of life’s truisms. You think you’re doing yourself a favor buying based on a low price...and you end-up disappointed when what you receive is low quality. This is particularly true…
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HEAVY AIR RACING — PRACTICE MADE IT PERFECT
View fullsize Geoff Bishop’s King 40 CHECKMATE sailing wing-on-wing with her No. 4 genoa and reefed main. Photos by Lindsay Preece, Ironbark Photos. Racing is just starting up again in…
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UK SAILS TAKE FIRST AND THIRD AT PLATU 25 UKRAINIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Rodin Luka’s Platu 25 BLACK SEA PIRATES. ODESSA, Ukraine, Sept 24-27. The Ukrainian National Championship for the Platu 25 one-design class drew 21 boats to the Odessa Racing Yacht Club on…
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News From UK Sailmakers
The L30 One-Design is the lead contender to be the boat used in the 2024 Olympics for mixed offshore doublehanded event. Kassian Jürgens photo:…
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CUSTOM PERFORMANCE CRUISER POWERED BY X-DRIVE
View fullsize The owner of this brand new Berckemeyer Yachts 53 express cruiser wanted both: a deck saloon yacht as well as speed. Although hard to combine, his wish was granted: This…
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THE VINEYARD RACE – STEPPING UP OUR DOUBLEHANDED PROGRAM
View fullsize SOULMATES shortly after the start of the 2020 Vineyard Race. Photoboat.com photo. As told by Gerard Girstl Over the years, my racing experience has largely been on fully…
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TWO GUYS, A BOAT, AND A SLEW OF VINTAGE UK SAILS
Mike McLaughlin and Will Beery are a pair of Connecticut sailors who sailed with each other for years. Importantly, as you chat with them, you quickly learn that in addition to being…
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A SPRIT OF A DIFFERENCE
Cruising spinnakers designed to fly off a sprit are larger than ones tacked to the bow. With spinnakers, bigger means faster. This video shows two people sailing an Acorna 345 fast downwind…
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SAILING PANDA's Northern Adventure - Greenland
View fullsize Darren and Amanda Seltzer set out to sail around the world just when the world started to lock down its borders due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Instead of sailing their Amel…
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X-DRIVE® OPTIONS
View fullsize Beneteau Oceanis 51 showing a grey taffeta on both sides of the sail. X-Drive® continues to be a sound economical choice for big, performance cruising boats. X-Drive sails are…
TECHNIQUE
JIB TRIM PRO TIP
Barry Hayes (UK Sailmakers Ireland) and Pat Considine (UK Sailmakers Chicago) explain headsail vertical camber and why it’s so important to boat speed and. Understanding headsail vertical…
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UNDERSTANDING LUFFING BEFORE THE START
View fullsize Luffing before the starting signal is often mis-understood. Sailors should know that the rule makers give a lot of defensive and offensive powers to leeward boat on the…
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CUSTOMER PROFILE: SAILING SCRIBE CHISTIAN WILLIAMS
View fullsize Christian Williams is an author and journalist living in Southern California. His current boat, THELONIUS is an Ericson 381, which he has sailed to Hawaii and back --…
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COVID CRUISING, TRY THE CHANNEL ISLANDS
View fullsize By Brendan Huffman With so much of the world off limits to cruising this year, many cruisers can find adventure here among Southern California’s Channel Islands. To be sure,…
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Del Rey Yacht Club Single/Doublehanded Race #3
View fullsize Brendan Huffman’s Santa Cruz 33 SIREN finished second in the PHRF Singlehanded class with X-Drive Endure sails. Rick Ruskin photo. View fullsize Thomas Lehtonen’s venerable…
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DOUBLEHANDED RACING TIPS: SPINNAKER PEELS
By Adam Loory, General Manager of UK Sailmakers International This spring, I created a doublehanded social distancing racing series so that sailboat racing could restart safely. An…
TECHNIQUE
HOW TO TAME YOUR FULL-BATTEN MAIN
A massive full-batten X-Drive main on a Swan 60. Every other reinforcing fiber is carbon next to an Endumax fiber. The mix of carbon and Endumax (a relative of Spectra and Dyneema) gives…
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TIPS FOR SAILING SHORTHANDED
By Brendan Huffman In recent months, UK Sailmakers has helped a growing number of our customers by designing for them sail plans and rigging layouts to help them sail better either alone or…
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X-DRIVE: FAST ENOUGH TO FINISH FIRST, DURABLE ENOUGH TO CRUISE
View fullsize View fullsize Left : Clive Svendsen’s X-Drive Endure sails on his Catalina 42 STARLIGHT. The roller/furling main has vertical battens allowing the sail to have much more area…
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X-DRIVE ENDURE MAKES A HAPPY FACE
View fullsize After flying his brand new X-Drive Endure sails on his Beneteau Oceanis 45, Steve Young sent the following email message: Happy 4th of July Oliver. Our new sails are…
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CRUISER PROFILE: Conner Family Aboard SILVER HEELS
View fullsize By Oliver McCann View fullsize Following the 2018 Baja Haha cruiser rally, George, Ann and Brett Conner of Ventura cruised their Norseman 447, SILVER HEELS, even further to…
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WHAT IS THE ANTI-BARGING RULE?
Barging is the most common foul that happens on the starting line, yet there is no “anti-barging” rule in the Racing Rules of Sailing. Barging is when an inside windward boat takes mark…
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THE TALE OF TWO STARTS
View fullsize There’s old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Basically, it means you should have situational awareness. In a recent Thursday night beer can…
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YOUR BOAT MAKES A PERFECT SUMMER VACATION
John A. Lever photo Summer is finally here, and many sailors have found that their boats can be the perfect vacation home/hotel/resort. Going for a cruise on your boat doesn't require…
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NEW FINISHING DEFINITION IN 2021-2024 RULES
UK Sailmakers, as one of the world’s most established groups of sailmakers, has long been on the forefront of teaching the Racing Rules of Sailing. So with the 2021-2024 Racing Rules of…
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IT IS HARD TO KEEP A GOOD SAILMAKER DOWN
View fullsize View fullsize Shown above are two pictures taken recently of Charles "Butch" Ulmer -- the "U" in UK Sailmakers -- still at work even though he celebrated his 80th birthday…
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LESSON LEARNED: STAY IN THE WIND
View fullsize When racing in light winds, make sure to stay in the wind. Last Thursday, we took the lead in a race by taking a few extra tacks sailing beyond the layline in order to stay in…
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WORKING TOGETHER TO BEAT COVID-19
Leslie Travis, a Chicago sailor, retired public school teacher, and, yes, a self-proclaimed sewer, stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemic to help make PPE for her friends that worked in…
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X-DRIVE DELIVERS IT ALL: PERFORMANCE, DURABILITY, VALUE
The Oyster 575 Lisanne with X-Drive double taffeta sails. She is currently cruising around the world and this picture was taken at the Oyster Regatta in Spain, where she won her class. UK…
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UK SAILMAKERS SAILS DOMINATE IN TEXAS
View fullsize Kevin Dirksmeyer photo Congratulations to Doug Weakly and Ken Horn for winning big at last weekend’s Surfings’ Safari Regatta at Corpus Christi Yacht Club. Weakly dominated…
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SAILING PANDA'S NORTHER ADVENTURE: DOWNEAST MAINE
View fullsize Amanda Seltzer keeping a lookout as the Amel 39 PANDA goes through a notorious Maine fog bank. We thought the saying was to sail south until the butter melts and then turn…
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ONE TOO MANY TAKES FIRST IN FLEET IN SOCIAL DISTANCING DISTANCE RACE
View fullsize Andrew Weiss and Lawrence Cutler’sJ/88 ONE TOO MANY sailing before the start. Click on any image to enlarge. View fullsize With organized racing on New York’s Long Island…
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ONE SIZE DOESN'T FIT ALL … BUT ONE SAILMAKER CAN
View fullsize UK Sailmakers has the right sail for you, regardless of the boat you have, the type of sailing you do, or you…
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RULE 18.3 EXPLAINED
Most protests between sailboats on the racecourse come from situations where boats are going around marks, which is Rule 18. Rule 18.3 (mark room when a boat tacks in the zone) was written…
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THE MEXICAN — KIWI STYLE
View fullsize On April 9, UK Sailmakers on our website posted an instructional How-To article about how to execute a Mexican spinnaker takedown. Click HERE . As an aside at the end of that…
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SV PANDA CHANGE OF COURSE
View fullsize Here's a post from Sailing SV Panda, a 39-foot Amel Sharki that is on an around the world voyage. Check out their Facebook page and YouTube site, which is Sailing SV Panda. We…
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PAYING IT BACK — NOT FORWARD
View fullsize By Buttons Padin, Co-chair of the Robie Pierce Regattas and UK Sailmakers’ marketing advisor We like to think that volunteers who organize and run regattas for sailors with…
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NEW ANIMATED RULES QUIZ POSTED
UK Sailmakers just posted an animated rules quiz that deal with rules 18.3, 17, 16.1 and 13. This quiz is an example of how UK Sailmakers will be reviving our popular Rules Program that was…
TECHNIQUE
HOW TO DO A MEXICAN SPINNAKER TAKEDOWN OR THE KIWI DROP
The best way to pass boats when rounding a leeward mark to port is to do a Mexican takedown. The Mexican allows you to carry the spinnaker right into the rounding while also preventing the…
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SOCIAL DISTANCING — CLEAN YOUR WINCHES
Winch cleaning is a perfect social distancing activity...crew members always scatter when this dirty but necessary chore needs to be done, so you’re bound to be doing it alone! All kidding…
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SOUTH PACIFIC BOUND
View fullsize We are Darren and Amanda on Sailing Panda. We’re a couple of new liveaboard sailors who saved our pennies and left a comfortable life on land to explore this great world by…
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LEARN THE RACING RULES
For the last two decades, UK Sailmakers has been on the forefront of teaching the Racing Rules of Sailing. Unfortunately, our popular animated rules quiz program was discontinued last year…
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SCRAMBLING TO DO THE RIGHT THING, ONE STITCH AT A TIME
View fullsize Claire Morgan of UK Sailmakers Ireland. View fullsize Andy Longarela of UK Sailmakers Spain. UK Sailmakers lofts are supplying Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health…
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CRUISING SOLUTION FOR IMPROVED JIB REACHING
View fullsize Above is a great shot of the Marten 49 SUMMER STORM on her delivery back from racing in the Caribbean. This shot of a racing boat on the ocean is beautiful and inspiring. It…
TECHNIQUE
HOW TO DO THE MEXICAN TAKEDOWN OR KIWI DROP
The best way to pass boats when rounding a leeward mark to port is to do a Mexican takedown. The Mexican allows you to carry the spinnaker right into the rounding while also preventing the…
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TIPS FOR STAYING IN THE GAME
View fullsize We will all be back on the water once Covid-19 threat is mitigated. This newsletter brings you tips to improve your cruising and racing skills. UK Sailmakers will continue to…
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UK SAILMAKERS STAYING SAFE WHILE STAYING OPEN
View fullsize We are living in unprecedented times as the world comes to grip with Covid-19 and the trickledown effect it is having on all of our lives. The impact this virus is having on…
TECHNIQUE
HOW TO AVOID ROLLER FURLING FAILURES
View fullsize View fullsize UK Sailmakers realizes that, regardless of how deep your pockets are, sails are an investment, so here are some tips for how to avoid roller furling failures.…
TECHNIQUE
Top Ten Tips for Doing The Bow
View fullsize The bowman at work on the bow of the Reichel/Pugh 76 JELIK. Barry Hayes of UK Sailmakers Ireland gives his top tips on how to be the best bow crew . Any bow crew worth his or…
TECHNIQUE
HOW TO DO the Stretch-and-Blow Spinnaker Douse
In past posts, we’ve discussed two well-used spinnaker retrieval methods: the letterbox, which is highly recommended in the ocean or when the sea state is up, and the string drop, where you…
RESULTS
SWAN RIVER PSYCHO SAILING
We all know that fast is fun. Here's a video of sailors having a ton of fun on the Swan River off Perth, Western Australia. Photographer Lindsay Preece captured this great downwind action…
TECHNIQUE
How to Sail Fast: Top 10 Sail Trim Tips
View fullsize Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland gives his top ten sail trim tips for the coming season 1. Know your sails, know your settings Many boats sailing inshore with a…
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3-D SAIL DESIGN PRODUCES VIRTUAL WIND TUNNEL
UK Sailmakers uses very powerful 3-D CAD/CAM software for sail design, which create virtual 3-D molds that can be digitally sliced into two-dimensional panels that when joined back together…
TECHNIQUE
How To: The String Drop Takedown
When executed properly, spinnaker takedowns are arguably the most satisfying and most fun maneuvers to be part of. When they are done properly, they’re great. When they go left on you,…
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COME MEET THE YOUTUBE STARS OF ODD LIFE CRAFTING
Meet the YouTube Stars of “Odd Life Crafting” at UK Sailmakers New York on Saturday, February 22, 2020 from 4 pm to 6 pm. Duca and Roberta are coming to the UK Sailmakers New York Saturday…
RESULTS
REACHING THROUGH LIFE AT 10 KNOTS
Shown here is my custom designed 40-foot racer/cruiser Soulmates. To get your frozen blood flowing in the midst of the northern hemisphere winter, here are a few clips of Soulmates jib…
TECHNIQUE
HEAVY WEATHER TECHNIQUES, BETTER BALANCE AND MORE FROM UK SAILMAKERS
View fullsize The Beneteau First 30 MINKE sailing in the Indian Ocean off Fremantle, Australia. In the summer, the strong sea breeze there is so dependable that it is called the Fremantle…
RESULTS
MEETING THE DEMANDS FOR DURABILITY
View fullsize Sail durability is on the minds of most cruisers and club racers. They use their boats 3-4 times a month and their sails last 6-10 years and UK Sailmakers more than satisfies…
RESULTS
DON'T FORGET YOUR SPINNAKER POLE
View fullsize Joe Mele’s Swan 44 TRIPLE LINDY sailing dead downwind in the 2017 Middle Sea Race. The instruments are reading: Heading: 152° Boatspeed: 12.4 knots Apparent Wind Angle: 169°…
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BETTER BALANCE LEADS TO BETTER SAILING
Barry Hayes, owner of UK Sailmakers Ireland, explains what Lead is and why it is so important to sailmaking. In sailmaking terms, the “Lead” is the distance between the sail plan’s Center…
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IT'S SUMMER IN JANUARY! THINK TORONTO BOAT SHOW
At least it is in our hearts and minds. That’s why UK Sailmakers Ontario will be exhibiting at the 2020 Toronto International Boat Show from January 17-26 at the Enercare Centre. Come to…
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UK ASYMMETRICALS: RUN FASTER RUN DEEPER
View fullsize Here is a great shot of the A2 on the King 40 CHECKMATE sailing downwind. Notice how well the sail projects to windward. According to Geoff Bishop, owner of UK Sailmakers…
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HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY BUTCH ULMER
View fullsize The top-10 things you need to know about Charles “Butch” Ulmer. Butch Ulmer turned 80 today. Along with that major birthday comes the realization that his legacy of sailing…
RESULTS
SURVIVAL MODE OR DISTANCE RACE ZONE OUT
View fullsize View fullsize You’re on a distance race. The mark is somewhere over the horizon and hours of sailing away. The wind strength and direction are steady so the sails don’t need…
LOFT NEWS
UK Sailmakers Welcomes MAURIPRO Sailing to Worldwide Loft Network
UK Sailmakers International (UKI) is pleased to announce that MAURIPRO Sailing has become part of UK Sailmakers. With over 50 lofts around the world, the addition of MAURIPRO is one more…
RESULTS
J/44 KENAI BASHES BEST TO NASSAU
View fullsize Tom Leutwiler’s famous 1976 photo of the 38-foot One-Tonner LOVE MACHINE in the Miami-Nassau Race. Congratulations to Chris and Karen Lewis and the crew of their J/44 KENAI…
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UK SAILMAKERS EXPERTISE NOW AVAILABLE IN HUNGARY
Tamas Bakos UK Sailmakers has expanded its worldwide group of lofts by adding a new sales office in Budapest, Hungary. Tamas Bakos, who has more than 20 years of experience as a sailmaker,…
RESULTS
ON-THE-WATER HOME COMING
View fullsize Jacksonville University leading a tight pack of J/109s in the 2019 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta. Stephen R. Cloutier photo All of us at UK Sailmakers work to help grow the…
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10 THINGS TO DO WHEN PUTTING AWAY YOUR BOAT FOR THE WINTER
View fullsize Howard McMichael Photo courtesy McMichaels Yacht Yard. Even if your boat is out of the water, it may not be ready for the long cold winter. Make sure your boat will be in good…
LOFT NEWS
UK SAILMAKERS LOFT OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCED
View fullsize Stuart and Joy Dahlgren (second and third from the left) with UK Sailmakers Northwest’s staff. Every year UK Sailmakers recognizes one of our group members as “Loft of the…
RESULTS
J/105 ONE-DESIGN DOMINANCE
Ken Horn’s J/105 FINAL FINAL dominated the 10-boat J/105 class at J-Fest Southwest sailed Oct. 26-28 out of Lake Wood Yacht Club on Galveston Bay. Horn’s team crushed the fleet by 10 points…
RESULTS
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM
Congrats to Joachim Isler and Drew Taylor for winning IRC Class 1 in the 673-mile Hong Kong to Vietnam Race, an epic downwind ride from Hong Kong to the Asian paradise of Nha Trang,…
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BETTER ROLLER FURLING MAINSAILS
Cruising sailors with roller furling booms or roller furling masts who want their furling systems to be more reliable and easier to handle should replace their worn-out mainsails with a UK…
RESULTS
MINIMIZE PROBLEMS WHEN THE WHEELS FALL OFF
As aviation crash investigators know, airplane crashes are seldom the result of one mistake; they are usually the result of a cascade of events. When the wheels start to fall off, you need…
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KING 40 CHECKMATE CROWNED WA IRC STATE CHAMP
View fullsize Congratulations to Geoff Bishop and his crew on his King 40 CHECKMATE for being crowned the 2019 Western Australian IRC State Champ. After sailing the first year mostly with…
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LETTERBOX TAKEDOWN VIDEO UPDATED
A while ago, we posted an instructional video on the letterbox spinnaker takedown, which is the safest and most controllable way to douse a spinnaker at sea. In the original video, you saw…
RESULTS
A WELL DOCUMENTED GYBE BROACH
View fullsize By Adam Loory Facebook sent me a reminder of this sequence of photos from a post many years ago. It was back in the day that I sailed my Express 37 in a very competitive PHRF…
RESULTS
THE JOYS OF OCEAN RACING
View fullsize The Waarschip 36 HUBO power reaching in the 2019 Fastnet Race. Below are two articles about this fast, innovative…
RESULTS
LEVERAGE ON THE COURSE -- USE IT OR LOSE IT
View fullsize Think of “leverage” and its fleeting nature this way: you buy a stock at a low price and it goes up. Rather than selling it for a comfortable profit, you hold it in the hope…
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HYDRA NET® RADIAL: THE PREMIUM WOVEN CLOTH FOR CRUISING
With the boat show season upon us, now is the time to talk to your local UK Sailmakers loft about new sails for 2020. For owners of cruising multihulls and large cruising monohulls who…
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THE LIFESLING: THE SAFEST MOB RECOVERY METHOD
After multiple, well-reported incidents of failed man overboard recovery attempts, the thought leaders within the world of safety at sea are evolving their thinking regarding the best way…
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A PIECE OF 2019 HISTORY IS FOR SALE
View fullsize When racing in Europe this year it is impossible not to have come across Erik van Vuuren’s winning yellow monster Waarschip 36 HUBO. As of day one, Team UK Sailmakers was part…
RESULTS
HUBO DOMINATED 2019 IRC DOUBLEHANDED NATIONALS
View fullsize Sailed on the English Channel and the Solent, the RORC IRC Doublehanded Nationals was sailed over the first two weekends of September. The Dutch W36 HUBO dominated the IRC…
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Womens’ World Match Racing
View fullsize The Women’s Match Racing World Championship was sailed in Lysekil, Sweden this August in Fareast 28Rs equipped with UK Sailmakers sails. Shown above is one of the Swedish…
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SECRETS OF THE LATE MAIN GYBE
The “Late Main Gybe” method is the key to the fastest possible asymmetrical spinnaker gybe. Delaying the boom’s crossing avoids the main blanketing the spinnaker as it is trying to re-fill.…
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X-DRIVE: SOLVING THE SPEED, DURABILITY AND PRICE EQUATION
View fullsize X-Drive Carbon Black main and genoa. Carbon reinforcing yarns run continuously between the corners of the sails and the cross cut laminate panels are made with black aramid…
RESULTS
PASSING LANE IN THE 2019 FASTNET RACE
View fullsize The MC 34 AZAWAKH sailing with her Titanium main and No. 3 jib. View fullsize The 620-mile Fastnet Race is one of yachting’s most challenging competitions. With most of the…
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A STARTING LINE TRICK
By Adam Loory Here is a recount of a good start I pulled off at the Governor’s Cup of Western Long Island Sound. The starting line was heavily skewed with the starboard end very favored.…
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THE CIRCLE OF LIFE -- NOT THE LION KING -- SAILING
View fullsize Ken Horne’s J/105 FINAL FINAL racing upwind with her UK Titanium class jib and dacron class main. There is a circle of life for sailing that we’ve all unconsciously…
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FASTNET FLEET APPROACHING FINISH
View fullsize Perhaps it is because people are becoming increasingly time-poor, or because it neatly side-steps the problem of keeping a large crew together, but one area of offshore racing…
RESULTS
BIG = GOOD ... SMALL=BAD. NOT NECESSARILY WHEN IT COMES TO SAIL SELECTION
View fullsize The Swan 36 FINOLA (GBR 23806) and the S&S 41 WINSOME (NED 118) on the starting line of the 2019 RORC Channel Race. By Graham Curran, UK Sailmakers Ireland Walking through the…
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TURNING A DOUBLE PLAY
By Buttons Padin In baseball, players get traded today and are starting with a new team the next day. At first you wonder how they can integrate that quickly into a new team; however, if…
RESULTS
JIM LINCOLN CROSSES HIS LAST FINISH LINE IN FIRST
View fullsize Jim Lincoln, UK Sailmakers’ representative in Long Beach, California, passed away in his sleep at the age of 61 in Hawaii after finishing the 2019 Transpac race first in class…
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ISLAND GIRL FAMILY STORY
View fullsize ISLAND GIRL before her refit that included new topsides. If the family that sails together stays together, the Burkhart family are clearly staying together. When Frank…
RESULTS
DETAILS ON SIN DUDA!’s MAC RACE VICTORY
UK Sailmakers interviewed Lindsey Duda (Chicago Yacht Club) who skippered her Santa Cruz 52 SIN DUDA! to victory in Section 2 of the Chicago-Mackinac race. For Lindsey and her crew, this…
RESULTS
Reefing Downwind in 30 Knots
Here’s a great video taken in this year’s Race to Alaska that shows the crew of SHUT-UP AND DRIVE reefing their main while blasting down waves. The boat is a Figaro 2, which is a 33-foot…
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X-YACHTS 46-FOOTER AND X-DRIVE CRUISING SAILS
Shown above is a video of a new X4.6, a 46-footer by X-Yachts with a new set roller/furling X-Drive Carbon cruising sails. X-Drive® performance cruising sails are perfect for cruising…
RESULTS
COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN IN TRANSATLANTIC RACE
View fullsize The S&S 49 HIRO MARU at the start of the 2018 Newport to Bermuda Race flying the same X-Drive No. 1 genoa she used in the Transatlantic race. Notice the partial black taffeta…
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AVOID COSTLY GYBES BY SAILING WING-ON-WING
View fullsize Here’s a simple solution to a complex tactical leeward mark situation. We’ve all been there and done that: approaching a leeward mark but your line is too high to do a desired…
RESULTS
I WENT TO A REGATTA AND A VACATION BROKE OUT
View fullsize Adam Loory’s custom 40-footer SOULMATES. All photos by photoboat.com In late June I returned from sailing my ninth Block Island Race Week; this year turned out to be a totally…
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UK Sailmakers Customers Finish First in Four of Eight Classes
View fullsize UK Sailmakers customers stood out at the 2019 Sovereigns Cup sailed out of Kinsale Yacht Club in southern Ireland. Of the eight classes, UK customers finished first in four. •…
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EASY FURL CODE D CRUISING SPINNAKER
One of the biggest challenges cruising sailors face is how best to sail downwind with only your white up-wind sails set. The jib bangs against the mast and gets beat up and doesn’t provide…
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WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
You win some, you lose some, but when the right opportunity knocks, you have to be ready to pull the trigger and go! Here’s a couple of minutes of video shot by Stuart Lindow from Texas'…
RESULTS
ANOTHER CLASS WIN AND OVERALL TITLE TAKEN BY X-DRIVE
View fullsize DUX’s X-Drive mainsail has a lightweight 5X5 Liteskin for extra durability on both sides of the sail since her mainsail is used in winds from next to nothing to over 30 knots.…
RESULTS
RACE TO ALASKA – UK TITANIUM HELPED PUT TWO ON THE PODIUM
Team Pear Shaped Racing’s trimaran DRAGON. UK Sailmakers helped put the second and third place finishers on the podium in the 2019 Race to Alaska. The 750-mile course runs from Port…
RESULTS
RACING IN A GALE, A FIRST HAND STORY
By Morten Christensen This year’s Skagen Race, a 110-mile run south from Oslo, Norway to the town of Skagen at the northern-most point on the mainland of Denmark was sailed in horrific…
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MAST ABEAM — A BLAST FROM THE PAST
Sitting around the UK Sailmakers water cooler (technically a scuttlebutt) the other day, a bunch of us got talking about the Racing Rules of Sailing and some of the rules that were deleted…
RESULTS
FIRST CLASS, FIRST IN FLEET, BEST OVERALL PERFORMANCE
On May 25, we posted a story about Steve Gordon’s Alden 50 ELENA and how a new all-purpose headsail from UK Sailmakers had exceeded Steve’s expectations during the 2019 Edlu Race. Steve and…
TECHNIQUE
HAPPY HOLIDAY WEEKEND: ENJOY IT WITH A FEW GOOD "HOW TO" TIPS
View fullsize To all sailors in the United States, Happy Memorial Day Weekend from the sailors getting ready to set out of on the Pacific Circuit Rally, which will take them from New…
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STAY IN YOUR BOX - By Buttons Padin
In 2013, I was fortunate enough to be on the crew of Larchmont Yacht Club’s entry in the New York Yacht Club’s Invitational Cup. We were the “young” team (OK, my age was the outlier);…
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TOP 10 REASONS TO GO WEEKNIGHT RACING
View fullsize Top-10 Reasons To Do Weeknight Racing 10 – You can practice your tactics and maneuvers in a low-pressure environment. 9 – You can bring along and train your B Team so they are…
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X-DRIVE RACING SAILS IN ACTION
If you ever wanted to see X-Drive sails in action, check out this video. It shows the X302 XEBEC with with X-Drive Carbon sails sailing out of Howth Yacht Club in Dublin, Ireland. The both…
RESULTS
NOT JUST MEETING EXPECTATIONS...EXCEEDING THEM!
Steve Gordon’s Alden 50 ELENA needed a new headsail but he was asking for a lot — He asked for a good light-weight reaching genoa that would power the boat in this summer’s Marion to…
RESULTS
MAKING GAINS DOWNWIND: Your Instruments Aren’t Your Only Instruments
Last Thursday night during our evening racing series, I got pushed over the line early and had to restart. There were only three boats in our class—it’s still early in the season—but it was…
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FASTER FINISHES of ASYMMETRICAL GYBES
This video shows two sprit boats gybing their asymmetrical spinnakers and is a good compare and contrast exercise to learn about the best way to gybe an asymmetrical spinnaker. Watch the…
TECHNIQUE
HOW TO RECOVER FROM THREE SPINNAKER FAILURES
View fullsize Before heading to Australia in December 2017 for their first Sydney-to-Hobart Race, the crew of Andrew Weiss’ CHRISTOPHER DRAGON had a briefing session with renowned ocean…
RESULTS
SYDNEY HOBART RACE -- MAKING THE MOST WITH A RAW OFFSHORE CREW ON “ANGER MANAGEMENT”
View fullsize The Salona 44 ANGER MANAGEMENT rounding the Organ Pipes off Tasmania’s Cape Raoul. Storm Bay is living up to its name with the wind blowing 35 knots forcing ANGER MANAGEMENT…
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NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER’S RACE
View fullsize When you first learn about the Race to Alaska (R2AK), you quickly learn this really is not your grandfather’s yacht race. As the regatta’s website states: “No motor, no…
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MULTIHULL SAILMAKING SMARTS
Anyone who has been on the water in past years has seen the growth of the cruising (and racing) catamaran market. With many checking in at 50’+, these dual and triple hull boats have…
RESULTS
BIGGER IS BETTER! NOT SO FAST...
Here are two photos from the start of the 2019 Patos Island Classic race in Sydney, BC, on the east side of Vancouver Island. The winds were in the high-teens. On the left is a C&C 35 with…
RESULTS
SAIL ENVY
View fullsize Texan Mark Belanger sails his Hunter 430 out of Houston’s Lakewood Yacht Club on Galveston Bay. Mark is a cruiser who single-hands his boat regularly and has been sailing for…
RESULTS
PATOS ISLAND CLASSIC: A TALE OF THREE BOATS
View fullsize The Santa Cruz 70 WESTERLY coming off the starting line flying her Uni-Titanium No. 3 and X-Drive mainsail. The trimaran DRAGON is just to leeward. These two boats had a great…
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THE FINE ART OF MAKING TREES
View fullsize Tim Wright/Photoaction.com images View fullsize View fullsize Ensign Padin? BY Buttons Padin While in the Navy, we junior officers of the deck would monitor approaching ships…
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SAFER, FASTER AND EASIER BOTTOM SANDING
Sanding bottom paint is one of the least enjoyable elements of our sport, but it is a necessary evil for boats that are not dry sailed. With a lot of people about to go into the boat yard…
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TEXT BOOK MOB RECOVERY BY YOUNG HELMSMAN
Over the past few months, UK Sailmakers has posted on our website, newsletter, and Facebook several articles on safety-at-sea and, in particular MOB situations. That’s because many of us at…
RESULTS
L30 WITH UK SAILMAKERS SAILS CHOSEN FOR NEW OFFSHORE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
As the world of single- and double-handed sailing expands, World Sailing has created an Offshore World Championship. At first, you’d envision fully-crewed maxis or the like; but no... it’s…
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THE BEST USE OF WOOD SINCE…THE CIGAR BOX!
View fullsize This drop-dead gorgeous wood and epoxy Waarschip 1012 is named DE SIGARENKIST, which translates to CIGARBOX for obvious reasons. Wood can be gorgeous, strong and light The…
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SYMMETRICAL VS ASYMMETRICAL SPINNAKER LUFFING MATCHES
When the asymmetrical spinnaker was first introduced decades ago, it quickly became apparent that boats with different “poles” sailing together had to play the game a bit differently.…
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LET KIDS LEARN TO LOVE SAILING FIRST
View fullsize Left picture courtesy John A Lever and 420 picture courtesy Canadian Forces Sailing Association. Junior sailing programs overflow with kids, but after they graduate the sport…
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BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY WHEN RACING SAILBOATS
View fullsize Telephoto camera lenses can play tricks with our eyes and make boats and marks appear closer to each other than they really are. Here is such a compressed photo of two boats…
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NEW CODE ZERO SOLD BY UK SAILMAKERS GERMANY, DELIVERED TO PANAMA IN 9 DAYS!
View fullsize The Hanse 575 SEASIDE (GER 36) made it to the start of the leg from Panama to the Galapagos with her new Code Zero as shown above. “It flies well and brings good speed," said…
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J/109 INHAULING FSI STUDY TO GAIN SPEED & POINT
View fullsize During the winter of 2018, UK Sailmakers Ireland, in conjunction with Pat Considine of UK Sailmakers Chicago, carried out a Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) test cycle to…
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X-612 WITH NINE-YEAR-OLD UK SAILS WINS CLASS HEINEKEN REGATTA
Congratulations to Nico Cortlever who won the Maxi Class 2 at the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta sailing is X-612 NIX powered by nine-year-old UK sails. NIX scored three firsts and a second…
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SAIL OVER POWER — PERCEPTION VS. REALITY!
View fullsize We’ve all been there, a tug, tanker, ferry or some ship trying to cross our “proper course” while we’re racing. The overwhelming perception is that sailing vessels have right…
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X-DRIVE POWERS POGO 12.5 OCEAN RACING ACADEMY
Ocean Racers’ Pogo 12.5 HERMES racing at the St. Marten Heineken Cup. Laurens Morel/saltycolours.com The Pogo 12.5 HERMES is a performance sailboat used for teaching offshore racing and…
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GOOD SMART SAILING DOWN UNDER
View fullsize UK Sailmakers-powered boats won both IRC classes 1 and 2 and finished first overall in IRC in the 170-mile Bunbury and Return Ocean Race on Australia's southwest coast. The…
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THE CODE ZERO REALLY DEFIED THE CROSSOVER CHART
View fullsize Andrew Berdon pushing his Marten 49 SUMMER STORM through the Caribbean’s azure waters to second place in IRC 1 in the 2019 RORC Caribbean 600. Congratulations to the crew of…
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IT IS CALLED A LIFESLING FOR A REASON!
View fullsize Crewmembers on deck should be tethered to the boat when recovering a MOB. This is not a commercial; rather it’s a lesson learned the hard way. Those of us that work at UK…
PODCAST
CHILLING MAN OVERBOARD VIDEO AND LESSONS LEARNED
The lead video of the February 14, 2019 issue Scuttlebutt Newsletter shows a man overboard situation in a lot of wind on Dublin Bay. Luckily the crew was out with a coach who kept calm and…
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ANTICIPATION
That was the title and concept of a 70s Carly Simon song—and the concept of anticipation plays a key role in sailboat racing. Take a look at this photo or two 12-meters rounding a leeward…
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AND THEY USED EVERY SAIL IN THE INVENTORY!
View fullsize SIN DUDA! crossing the finish line off Montego Bay, Jamaica. Photo courtesy The Pineapple Cup. Congratulations to Lindsey Duda's Santa Cruz 52 SIN DUDA! taking PHRF line…
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FAMILY GUY STEPS OUTSIDE HIS COMFORT ZONE IN SEASCAPE 27 ESCAPADE
No, not TV’s Family Guy, we’re talking about Martin Oleson. A father and husband, Martin is an experienced sailor...but not a pro. He has offshore and singlehanded experience but on…
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PARTIAL TAFFETA PROTECTION OPTION
To help protect today’s laminate sails and extend their peak performance lives, UK Sailmakers has the option to build laminate sails with one or both sides of the laminate is fully covered…
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UK SAILMAKERS IS BACK IN ONTARIO
View fullsize View fullsize Randy St. Jacques on his C&C 30 II SCRUBS It is our pleasure to announce that UK Sailmakers is re-opening in Ontario under the ownership of long time Canadian…
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PACIFIC CUP SLEIGHRIDE
View fullsize Stuart and Joy Dahlgren’s Santa Cruz 70 WESTERLY leaving San Francisco Bay at the start of the 2018 Pacific Cup. Stuart Dahlgren, owner of UK Sailmakers Northwest, in Canada,…
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BRIAN KACZOR'S TARTAN 10 "ERICA"
View fullsize NUMBER 1 OFFSHORE, NUMBER 1 INSHORE, NUMBER 1 OVERALL ONE-DESIGN, ONE BOAT, ONE SAILMAKER Congratulations to Brian Kaczor and his team on the Tartan Ten ERICA for their…
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DON'T LET YOUR COVER MAKE YOU BLUE
Over the years, UK Sailmakers' service departments have caught many problems with the condition of sails that, when addressed early enough, saved the sails from developing catastrophic…
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THE STORY OF NINIX
View fullsize Photographer Gerhard Batur captured NiNiX reefed down off her home port of Nieuwpoort, Belgium. By Alain Ronse, Owner and Skipper The X-452 yacht NiNiX© is unique for a number…
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WEAKLEY TAKES TEXAS J/22 CIRCUIT
View fullsize Doug Weakley and crew with the Heritage Cup awarded to the winners of the Texas J/22 Circuit. View fullsize The new UK Sailmakers Radial J/22 Jib. Texas is a stronghold for…
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SIBLING RIVALRY IN BIG BREEZE
In the Indian Ocean of Fremantle, Western Australia, sailors are used to a “bit of breeze.” In this group of photos you can see a close finish in the Ron Warren Trophy Race sailed Dec.…
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A LESSON LEARNED WITH A BIT OF LUCK
The 2018 event that stood out for UK Sweden’s Mikael Olesen was the 350-mile AF Offshore Race also known as the Around Gotland Race. Olesen sailed this iconic race aboard the brand new…
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BRAVEHEART" THE GIANT SLAYER
View fullsize The 1995 IMX 38 BRAVEHEART sailing with an X-Drive No. 1 genoa and older Tape-Drive main. During every sailing season it seems like there was always one regatta or race that…
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A FAMILY AFFAIR
View fullsize Morten Ullmann, owner of UK Sailmakers Denmark has been specializing in one-design sails for years. When his son Jonas became active in the Optimist Dinghy, Morten not only…
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A LITTLE BLACK MAGIC
View fullsize Light winds dominated the 2018 Newport to Bermuda Race. Shown here is the starboard watch on the Marten 49 SUMMER STORM. From the wheel forward: Andrew Berdon, Alden Winder,…
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ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!
When the new sail you’ve ordered is delivered, you expect it to fit your boat properly right out of the bag. Unfortunately, in too many instances this just isn’t the case. To make sure the…
LOFT NEWS
New UK Sailmakers Loft in St. Petersburg Opened by MAURIPRO Sailing
Juan Mauri UK Sailmakers International (UKI) is pleased to announce that MAURIPRO Sailing has become part of the UKI network. With over 50 lofts around the world, the addition of MAURIPRO…
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MISS CONDUCT WINS 2018 TEXAS CIRCUIT
View fullsize James Freedman and his crew sailing MISS CONDUCT won the 2018 seven-regatta J/24 Texas Circuit that is sailed throughout huge state of Texas. His team was dominant, winning…
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UNI-TITANIUM: VALUE FOR MONEY
By Adam Loory, General Manager of UK Sailmakers International The English car designer Sir Frederick Henry Royce who, with Charles Rolls, founded the Rolls-Royce, once said, "The quality…
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Winning In One-Designs: MC Scows
Chris Brooks celebrating after winning race 1 at the 2018 MC SER. Phot by Mari Costea Johnson Five years ago the first set of UK’s MC Scow sails made their incredible debut at the 2013…
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BOOM VANG TUTORIAL
Graham Curran of UK Sailmakers Ireland wrote a very good article on using the boomvang for the Irish sailing magazine AFLOAT. He gives good tips, especially went NOT to blow the vang…
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TESTING CONTINUES - PUTTING OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTHS ARE
A test X-Drive Endure sail on the Reichel Pugh 77 JELIK. The Endumax filaments are white. New sails are expensive. A new experimental sail can be even more expensive if it fails to perform…
RESULTS
HARVEST MOON WINNER
Edelweiss, a Hanse 455 Ted Greak’s Hanse 455 EDELWEISS won the Overall Spinnaker award in the 150 mile Harvest Moon Regatta that sailed from Houston south to Port Aransas, Texas. EDELWEISS…
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CHICAGO OFF SHORE AND ONE-DESIGN SEASON CHAMPIONS
MOJO crushed the competitive Ben. First 40.7 fleet on Lake Michigan this year. Photo by Sara Proctor. Congratulations to Gary Powell and Scott & Yvonne Ruhlander and their team of the…
RESULTS
Prolong Sail Life with Partial Taffeta
View fullsize MILKY WAY, a Dufour 40E, uses her X-Drive carbon sails for offshore races. To make the sails bullet proof, the leeches of the sails have a taffeta layer. The leeches of sails…
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New White Performance Cruising Sails
UK Sailmakers is happy to unveil a new material for performance cruising sails that makes all-white sails that will not break the bank. After extensive testing around the world on boats…
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LOTUS, a Vismara 50 with Uni-Titanium Liteskin sails from UK Sailmakers
LOTUS, a Vismara 50, is a high tech, high performance cruiser racer built in Italy with a lifting keel and teak decks. Shown here she is racing for a good cause in the San Francisco…
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FIRST PLUS ONE RACE IN THE BOOKS
A Safer and More Fun Shorthanded Racing Option By Adam Loory, General Manager, UK Sailmakers International Those of us at UK Sailmakers have been working with sailors and sailing…
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THE DAMAGE MIGHT BE TO MORE THAN JUST YOUR SAILS
Never leave your sails exposed to the elements on the boom or furled around the headstay all winter. UK Sailmakers Winter Service is much better for your sails than abandoning them to the…
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WINTER SERVICE TIME
If you are thinking about ordering new sails that will be ready to use on the first day of the 2019 sailing season, now is the time to order. Most new sail delivery dates are delayed…
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DISASTER AVERTED WITH ANNUAL INSPECTION AND SERVICE
UK Sailmakers Winter Service is designed to look for the wearing effects of UV sunlight, luffing and flogging, tacking and jibing on your sails. We seek out the small problems before they…
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AVOIDING UNFORCED ERRORS
Many races, both handicap and one-design, are won or lost by a handful of seconds. A good way to insure you're not on the losing side is to avoid "Unforced Errors." These are errors we make…
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HUGE TEST PLATFORM
The Santa Cruz 70 WESTERLY going upwind with her X-Drive main and Tape-Drive No. 2 genoa. A big boat makes a great test platform for sails. Stuart and Joy Dahlgren are the owners of UK…
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HUBO WINS DUTCH IRC CHAMPIONSHIP
View fullsize Congratulations to Erik Van Vurren and his crew on the bright yellow Waarschip 36 HUBO for winning Class 2 of the Dutch IRC Championship and for being crowned the overall…
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Just Because It Has Three Corners Does Not Make It A Sail
View fullsize J/33 SIRIUS sailing with her new X-Drive Carbon main. Charles Taus bought an X-Drive genoa for his J/33 SIRIUS in 2017 from UK Sailmakers New York and noticed an immediate…
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VICTORIES IN THE NORTH SEA
UK Sailmakers Norway’s customers won two of the three fully crewed divisions in the first half to the 2018 Pantanius Shetland Race. Leg one was 194-miles from Bergen, Norway, across the…
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MENZNER ON GETTING GOOD STARTS
The online sailing magazine NO FRILLS SAILING ran a terrific interview with Martin Menzner on successful starting strategies last March. Menzner brings up a lot of good points about how to…
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EIGHT STRAIGHT FOR J/80 PIKE
Congratulations to Martin Menzner and his crew for winning the J/80 one-design class at Kiel Week for the eigth year in a row. This year the class drew 18…
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J/70 Kiel Week Podium Finish
Congratulations to BSC-Team Segel-Bundesliga for finishing third in the 45-boat fleet. After nine races, they had they had the second lowest score, but after the throwout, they fell to…
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Should I Stay or Should I Go: A Sailboat Racing Lesson Learned
UK Sailmakers International's Adam Loory actively races his own custom 40 foot sailboat. After racing he writes about lessons he's learned or relearned. Here is his latest installment.…
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VISIT UK SAILMAKERS AT THE SHOW: BOOTH # S2115
View fullsize Come ask us all your sail questions: new sails, Scow sails, sail construction, sail materials, sail design, sail trim, etc. Sailing is what we are passionate about and we love…
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PROTECT YOUR SAIL INVESTMENT WITH UK WINTER SAIL SERVICE
View fullsize Winter in the Northern Hemisphere is coming. Best to get your sails to a UK loft for the winter. View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 372 2125 UK-Halsey International 17 4 2609…
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TRIPLE LINDY SHARES SOME TIPS ON HER MIDDLE SEA RACE WIN
View fullsize Photo of TRIPLE LINDY finishing the 2017 Rolex Middle Sea Race courtesy of Rolex/Kurt Arrigo. Normal.dotm 0 0 1 554 3162 UK-Halsey International 26 6 3883 12.0 0 false 18 pt…
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DEPENDABLE AND AFFORDABLE: X-DRIVE®
View fullsize Carbon X-Drive on a polyester/mlyar base laminate that has a taffeta layer (light-weight finely-woven polyester cloth) on the side opposite the carbon tapes. This mainsail has…
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DEFIANCE WINS SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP
View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 49 280 UK-Halsey International 2 1 343 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false UK Sailmakers appreciates that racing sails…
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SAIL ANALYSIS
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 107 612 UK-Halsey International 5 1 751 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Normal.dotm 0 0 1 104 598 UK-Halsey International 4 1 734 12.0 0 false…
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SINGLEHANDED SAILOR LOOKING FOR SPONSORSHIP
Kirstin Songe-Møller sailing into the sunset. Normal.dotm 0 0 1 238 1360 UK-Halsey International 11 2 1670 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Kirstin Songe-Møller is one of the…
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Fast Exit
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 45 258 UK-Halsey International 2 1 316 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Finally, for those who have a need for speed, take a look at these two videos. The…
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HEJIRA WON IT ALL
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 110 631 UK-Halsey International 5 1 774 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false John Bailey and the crew of the S97 HEJIRA are celebrating their best season ever.…
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THE FLYING JIB, ANOTHER REASON TO CONVERT TO A SPRIT
View fullsize The Sydney 43 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON sporting her Flying Jib, double-head rig. Set from the end of the sprit along with a regular jib, the Flying Jib makes the boat significantly…
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CARBON FIBER: THE HIGHEST PERFORMING YARN
View fullsize The Reichel/Pugh Southern Cross 52 BANDIDO with Uni-Titanium sails made with 100% carbon fiber. Normal.dotm 0 0 1 308 1760 UK-Halsey International 14 3 2161 12.0 0 false 18 pt…
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WATCH FREE NEW RULES LESSONS
View fullsize Catch up with the changes in the Racing Rules of Sailing by watching these free videos UK Sailmakers has been posting to its Facebook page. There are currently five videos,…
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BUILDING BOATS AND LIFE SKILLS IN THE SOUTH BRONX
View fullsize Future sailmakers proudly posing with their finished product. Rocking the Boat is a non-profit educational program in the South Bronx that uses boat building as a way to…
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X-DRIVE SHINES ON THE SALISH SEA
View fullsize Overall winner on the medium course of the Southern Straits Race was Eldin Miller-Stead's BEATS PER MINUTE, shown above with her X-Drive No. 1 that is light enough for light…
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FARR 40 WINNERS
View fullsize Three Farr 40s racing in Acapulco, Mexico: FRENCH KISS, NITEMARE and AKELARRE. Congratulations to Antonio Luttmann and his family crew on FRENCH KISS for winning two of the…
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SEASON CHAMPION
GIDDY UP with her UK Sailmakers Titanium upwind sails. Congratulations to the Rob Halvorsen and the crew of his Farr 395 GIDDY UP for winning the 2017 Siska Trophy, which is Western…
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IMPROVE YOUR RESULTS BY KNOWING THE RULES
Click the image to see the features of the Rules Quiz program. UK Sailmakers' rules guru Butch always says that a good working knowledge of the rules will earn you places at major regattas.…
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NEW OWNERS BRING NEW ENERGY TO UK SARASOTA
Dalton Tebo (left) and Ken Tebo Normal.dotm 0 0 1 420 2398 UK-Halsey International 19 4 2944 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false UK Sailmakers raised the bar for sailmaking and…
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RESULTS TRAINING
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 131 748 UK-Halsey International 6 1 918 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Sometimes you race; sometimes you prefer to cruise. With UK…
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RULES TRAINING
Click image to play video To help sailors learn the racing rules of sailing, which are not necessarily that easy to learn by simply reading the rule book, UK Sailmakers has created an…
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SAFETY TRAINING
View fullsize Scenes from the Storm Trysail Club's hands-on Safety at Sea seminar. Normal.dotm 0 0 1 152 872 UK-Halsey International 7 1 1070 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false…
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CONRAD COLMAN MAKING PROGRESS UNDER JURY RIG
View fullsize After dismasting late Friday the 10th of February, Conrad is finally underway again. After dealing today with some more problems to secure the base of the boom, he's moving…
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A FEW TIPS FOR THE RACING RULES FOR 2017
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 456 2601 UK-Halsey International 21 5 3194 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false First off, start by brushing up on the Definitions. There are some new ones this…
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LONE AMERICAN IN THE 2016 HOBART RACE
View fullsize TRIPLE LINDY (dark blue hull) leading her class just after the start of the 2017 Sydney Hobart Race. Duff Paisley photo. Normal.dotm 0 0 1 388 2212 UK-Halsey International 18…
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NEW INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO
View fullsize UK Sailmakers has just released it newest instructional video in our TRICKS OF THE TRADE series. It is a two-minute tutorial on how to use leech and foot lines to stop sail…
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SAFETY AT SEA VIDEO LIBRARY ON SALE
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 165 943 UK-Halsey International 7 1 1158 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Available for the first time for all sailors, this 10-video library…
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UPDATE ON CONRAD COLMAN'S VENDEE GLOBE RACE
View fullsize Early in the race when Colman's FORESIGHT NATURAL ENERGY still had a full inventory of sails. Normal.dotm 0 0 1 838 4781 UK-Halsey International 39 9 5871 12.0 0 false 18 pt…
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UK's NEW J/105 TITANIUM JIB FASHION FORWARD?
View fullsize Who knew that Titanium LiteSkin sails could be a fashion accessory. Wendy Oakes posted this picture on her FB pages saying, "The new jib matches my toe nails; we can keep it."…
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UK SAILMAKERS PHOTO CONTEST
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 111 635 UK-Halsey International 5 1 779 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Lighting, composition, action, mood, and from where to shoot, all…
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GET A DAILY SAILING FIX
View fullsize UK Sailmakers has been making daily posts to our Facebook page , and you can get notifications pushed to you automatically by "Liking" the page. On the page you'll find news,…
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SAIL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR SAFER DOWNWIND CRUISING
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 1090 6217 UK-Halsey International 51 12 7634 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false UK Sailmakers' customer Iain Simpson has developed a sail…
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UK SAILMAKERS ANIMATED RULES PROGRAM HAS BEEN UPDATED
View fullsize This image shows three different teaching tools that can be applied to the animated quizzes: Overlap lines, the zone and a grid where the lines are one boat length apart. Each…
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ARCONA 465: A TRUE RACER CRUISER
If you are looking for a new boat that is a true cruiser that can race well, read this review of the Arcona 465 from YACHTING WORLD magazine. Click here to watch their video report as well…
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PERIGEE WINS ORR EAST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 232 1328 UK-Halsey International 11 2 1630 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false CJ Bocklet, owner of the Beneteau First 42s7 PERIGEE wrote the…
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CONRAD COLMAN FIGHTING ON IN THE VENDEE GLOBE
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 166 950 UK-Halsey International 7 1 1166 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Racing alone around the world in a 60-foot flyer, Conrad Colman's…
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CHANGES TO THE RACING RULES FOR 2017
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 727 4148 UK-Halsey International 34 8 5094 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false The following is a synopsis of the changes to Part 2 the Racing…
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LONE USA ENTRY IN HOBART RACE
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 406 2317 UK-Halsey International 19 4 2845 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false View fullsize Joe Mele, who keeps his Swan 44 Mk II TRIPLE LINDY right across the…
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Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Best Wishes for a Great New Year
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 11 66 UK-Halsey International 1 1 81 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Everyone at UK Sailmakers wishes you and your families smooth sailing in…
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SMOOTH SUMMER SAILING FOR 2017 STARTS WITH WINTER SERVICE FROM UK SAILMAKERS NEW YORK
View fullsize It's been a great summer and unfortunately, old man winter is knocking at the door all too soon. Smooth summer sailing next year depends on proper preventative maintenance…
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DON’T LEAVE YOUR SAILS EXPOSED TO THE WINTER WINDS
View fullsize With the season drawing to a close, this is a reminder to have your sails serviced over the coming winter so they're ready to go next spring. Instead of leaving your sails…
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CLEAN SAILS LAST LONGER
View fullsize A big part of prolonging the life of your sails is keeping them clean. Salt and some airborne contaminates can cause mildew and actual damage to the fabrics/laminates so…
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ROLLER FURLING SAILS SERVICE ALERT
View fullsize The stitching and webbing at the head and tack of furling genoas and at clew of furling mainsails is exposed to sunlight all the time, which leads to deterioration.…
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SILVERRUDDER RACE: WORLD'S LARGEST SINGLEHANDED RACE
0 0 1 615 3506 SIENN USA, LLC 29 8 4113 14.0 Normal 0 false false false false EN-US JA X-NONE In four short years, Denmark's 140-mile Silverrudder Race has grown from 15 tough contestants…
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2300-MILE X-DRIVE TEST DRIVE
WESTERLY's X-Drive main and Tape-Drive No. 3. Jill Fitz Hirschbold photo. 0 0 1 219 1253 SIENN USA, LLC 10 2 1470 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE The 2016 edition of the…
LOFT NEWS
FEATURED LOFT: UK SAILMAKERS MARINA DEL REY
0 0 1 80 459 SIENN USA, LLC 3 1 538 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE For more than three decades Oliver McCann has been providing new sails and service to an ever-growing…
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HYDRANT RADIAL PERFORMING ON 60-FOOT CAT
0 0 1 13 80 SIENN USA, LLC 1 1 92 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE The new Dubois 60-foot catamaran with Radial HydraNet sails built by UK Sailmakers Turkey. The loft posted…
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FINN SEPTUAGENARIAN
Pictured above is 70-year-old Valery Gusenko who took second place in the Legend's Division of the 2016 Finn World Masters regatta at Torbole on the north end of Lake Garda in Italy.…
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OCTOGENARIAN KEVIN STACEY WINS CHAMPIONSHIP
0 0 1 167 952 SIENN USA, LLC 7 2 1117 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE Hillarys Yacht Club, Western Australia: At the Hillarys Yacht Club 2015/16 Trophy Presentation night,…
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UK WEBSITE FEATURED SECTION
View fullsize 0 0 1 99 565 SIENN USA, LLC 4 1 663 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE The driving force of UK Sailmakers' new website is to provide sailors with of information…
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OVERALL WINNER OF THE 240-MILE VINEYARD RACE
0 0 1 145 829 SIENN USA, LLC 6 1 973 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE Congratulations to Houston, Texas's Chris and Karen Lewis for finishing first overall in the 240-mile…
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WOMEN'S MATCH RACERS BEAT UP EACH OTHER, NOT UK SAILS
Stephanie Roble (white boat) leading Anna Östling in race two of the finals. Photo: Dan Ljungsvik LWM Lysekil Women's Match, with 250 000 SEK in prize money, is the world's largest annual…
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NEW INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO - HOW TO USE TWEAKERS AND TWINGS
View fullsize 0 0 1 3 22 SIENN USA, LLC 1 1 24 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE The latest video in our SAIL WITH CONFIDENCE series has just been released. It is a one-minute…
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Conrad Colman's IMOCA 60 getting ready for the Vendée Globe
View fullsize 0 0 1 90 516 SIENN USA, LLC 4 1 605 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE Pictured above is Conrad Colman's IMOCA 60 getting ready for the Vendée Globe singlehanded…
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The GP 42 SILVA NEO screaming downwind
View fullsize The GP 42 SILVA NEO screaming downwind with her huge UK Sailmakers asymmetric made out of Contender Dyna Kote 75 and Uni-Titanium mainsail taken at the Kieler Yacht Club's Mai…
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DOUBLE-HANDED OCEAN RACING LESSONS LEARNED
View fullsize The J/109 WHISKEY JACK crossing the finish line in Subic Bay after a windy China Sea Race. Normal.dotm 0 0 1 325 1857 UK-Halsey International 15 3 2280 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18…
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CONRAD COLMAN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC
View fullsize Conrad Colman is preparing to be the first to finish the grueling Vendee Globe Singlehanded Around the World Race without the use of any fossil fuels. With no time to spare,…
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ANTIGUA SAILING WEEK CHAMP POWERED BY UK SAILMAKERS
View fullsize Sir Hugh Bailey (in front of the mast) with his crew who took the Lord Nelson Trophy at ASW 2016. For the second year in a row, Sir Hugh Bailey's CS40 GYPSY-UGO has won the…
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PREDICTING THE NEXT WIND SHIFT
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 520 2964 UK-Halsey International 24 5 3640 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false The one wind instrument that never lies is the masthead fly -- the…
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EASY AND QUICK ON-THE-WATER SAIL REPAIRS
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 181 1032 UK-Halsey International 8 2 1267 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false View fullsize A Volvo 70 mainsail being patched with Dr. Sails while underway. Dr.…
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UNI-TITANIUM POWERS TURKISH NAVY YACHTS
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 115 658 UK-Halsey International 5 1 808 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Shown above are Uni-Titanium sails on one of the Turkish Navy's three…
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LOOKING GOOD, SAILING FAST
View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 190 1086 UK-Halsey International 9 2 1333 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false NAUTONCALL, Eddie Evans' Beneteau Oceanis 381, has pounced on the…
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FARR 9.2 VICTORY WITH OLD AND NEW SAILS COMBINED WITH CUNNING AND SOLID CREW WORK
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 243 1387 UK-Halsey International 11 2 1703 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false View fullsize Mark Hansen's ITINERANT sailing with second place finisher SEAHAWK.…
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COLD VICTORY
View fullsize View fullsize Normal.dotm 0 0 1 86 495 UK-Halsey International 4 1 607 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Congratulations to Morten Christensen and the crew of his…
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A Man of Unlimited Natural Energy: Conrad Colman
After a major refit, Conrad Colman just relaunched his Open 60 that he will race singlehanded, non-stop, without any fossil fuel in the 2016-2017 Vendée Globe race. If he is successful, he…
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FarEast28R Wins Sailing World Overall Boat of the Year Award
View fullsize To see some wild footage of this Boat of the Year winning tearing up Sydney Harbor and hitting 16 knots, click here . The sails were made by UK Sailmakers…
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Flying Ants: Small Champions With A Big Win
View fullsize 0 0 1 341 1946 SIENN USA, LLC 16 4 2283 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE Congratulations to Jeremy Kaputin and Isaac Pringle for winning the 2015/2016…
LOFT NEWS
Oscar Mead joins UK Sailmakers as sales and service agent in the UK
View fullsize 0 0 1 306 1747 SIENN USA, LLC 14 4 2049 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-GB JA X-NONE Oscar Mead, a well-known sailor on England’s south coast, has been appointed as the…
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Luka 30: Sport Boat Speed with Cruising Comforts
View fullsize 0 0 1 280 1597 SIENN USA, LLC 13 3 1874 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE UK Sailmakers in the Ukraine, one of the group’s newest lofts, has made sails for an…
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Lesson Learned: how to trim a trysail
View fullsize PHOTO 1. Sheeting the trysail with sheets led to the spinnaker blocks on the after quarter. 0 0 1 214 1224 SIENN USA, LLC 10 2 1436 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA…
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UK Sailmakers Customs Stand Out at Club Marine’s Geographe Bay Race Week 2016
View fullsize The Beneteau First 34.7 DYNAMIC saying deep in heavy air with her UK Sailmakers A3. (BUSSELTON, WA Feb 14-19, 2016) Western Australia’s premier keel boat regatta was sailed on…
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Alone Around Powered by UK
View fullsize 0 0 1 593 3386 SIENN USA, LLC 28 7 3972 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE Young New Zealand-American sailor Conrad Colman is out to be the first sailor to finish…
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SLEEPER TAKES TOP PRIZE AT ANTIGUA SAILING WEEK
View fullsize Jonty Layfield’s CS40, SLEEPER/U-GO scored eight straight race wins to win CSA 8, the Best Antiguan and Caribbean Boat in Start Boat B and the prestigious Lord Nelson Trophy…
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Sailing to Telltales
No indicator has been developed that approaches the sensitivity and effectiveness of telltales along the luff of the jib. These yarns or “ticklers” monitor the flow of wind across the sail.…
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STANDOUT SEASON FOR CHRISTOPHER DRAGON
View fullsize Andrew and Linda Weiss’s Sydney 43 CHRISTOPHER DRAGON has been having a standout 2015 season on the East Coast of the USA. She won two distance races, was first in her IRC…
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UK SAILMAKERS HIGHLIGHTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
View fullsize UK Sailmakers’ customers have been having some wonderful results this spring around the world. In Europe, Claus Lehmann won the J/70 Class at the Primo Cup in France, Tom…
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VIDEO RULES QUESTION
This video was shot by Sailing World at the 2015 NOOD Regatta and shows an incident at a windward mark involving two Beneteau First 40.7s. One boat is yelling, “No Room! Don’t go in there!”…
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UK POWERS FIRST ZERO EMISSIONS YACHT
Arcona Yachts of Sweden, Oceanvolt Electric Engines of Finland, and UK Sailmakers have teamed up to create the first zero emissions cruising sailboat: the Arcona 380Z, where the “Z” stands…
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UNI-TITANIUM UPDATE
Another impressive result came recently at the 2014 ORC World Championship, where Heinz-Peter Schmidt’s GP 42 NEO SILVA team earned a Bronze medal in the hard fought Class A. Schmidt and…
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SUCCESSFUL CREW OVERBOARD RECOVERIES REQUIRE PRACTICE, PRACTICE, AND PRACTICE
Lessons learned by Adam Loory, General Manager, UK Sailmakers International For more than 10 years I have been teaching sailors about how to rescue a man overboard. It was not until this…