Fresh from the water — page 14

COMPANY

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…

September 9, 2020

RESULTS

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…

September 9, 2020

RESULTS

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…

September 9, 2020

COMPANY

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…

September 9, 2020

COMPANY

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…

September 9, 2020

COMPANY

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…

August 21, 2020

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…

August 20, 2020

TECHNIQUE

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…

August 20, 2020

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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 --…

August 14, 2020

COMPANY

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,…

August 14, 2020

COMPANY

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…

August 14, 2020

TECHNIQUE

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…

August 7, 2020

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…

July 16, 2020

TECHNIQUE

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…

July 16, 2020

COMPANY

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…

July 16, 2020

COMPANY

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…

July 16, 2020

COMPANY

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…

July 16, 2020

TECHNIQUE

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…

July 15, 2020

RESULTS

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…

July 15, 2020

COMPANY

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…

July 15, 2020

COMPANY

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…

July 15, 2020

COMPANY

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…

July 15, 2020

RESULTS

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…

June 18, 2020

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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…

June 18, 2020