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 Melges 24 News | Sail Information | Tuning Guide | Order Now! |
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- Sorth
- North Sails take Top Amateur Owner Driver at Melges
24 Worlds
- Melges 24 Nationals... 8 boats on top 10 used North!
- North on top of the 2000 S.O.R.C.!
- North Update on Melges 24 sails used in Key West!
- Key West 2000: Top 11 Melges 24 were powered by North
Sails!
- COOL! Quick Reference Guide by World Champion Vince Brun! (pdf format)
- North Sails win 1999 Melges 24 Worlds!
- North finishes 2,3,4 at the 1999 Europeans!
- North Sails One Design Win 1999 Melges 24 Nationals!!!
- North customers 1,2,3 at the Los Angeles One Design Regatta!!!
- North customer win the Puerto Rico Coors Light!
- North Sails 1-2 at Melges 24 St. Francis Y.C. Memorial Day Regatta
- North Sails and Tim Hahnke win SDYC One Design Regatta!
- North Sails win 1999 Rolex Cup!
- North Melges 24 sails - Speed out of the box!
- North Melges 24 sails score 1,2,3,4,5 at the 1999 S.O.R.C.
- Thank You North Sails! - Letter from a Melges 24 customer.
- 1999 Key West Race Week - The Great North Speed !!!
- 1998 Melges 24 North American dominated by North Sails !!
- North Sails win on the East and West Coast !!
North Sails Wins Sailing World's Dupont Sailmaker Challenge
Competitive
debut of 3DLx sails
10/17/2000
A four-man team
representing North Sails has won the seventh annual Dupont Sailmaker
Challenge, sailed over October 6-8 at the US Sailboat Show in Annapolis,
MD. The event is organized annually by Sailing World magazine and pits
competitive sailmakers against one another for three days of racing
in Melges 24's. At this event, class rules are amended to allow entries
to use any material in their sails, provided they are fabricated from
materials manufactured by DuPont.
Skipper
Scott Nixon led the North Sails team with tactical help from Matt Reynolds.
North Sails Chesapeake employees Aaron Serinis (trimmer) and John Moran
(bowman) rounded out the team. North took and maintained a narrow lead
throughout the series, which consisted of 12 races inside the Spa Creek
anchorage adjacent to the Boat Show, and nine windward-leeward races
held on courses set in the Severn River. The inside races were worth
a single point, whereas the outside races were worth five points. Conditions
ranged from very light and fluky on the first day to blustery on the
last day of the series.
North used the event to debut sails made from Dupont's Mylar and Kevlar
Edge products, arranged in a new sail design type known as 3DLx™.
Fiber layouts in the mainsail and jib radiate along load paths which
are markedly different from those seen in 3DL™.
"These sails were extremely light, and I think we had a bit
of an edge in speed in the light air early in the series,"
said Nixon. The team was also adept at the complex boat handling and
tactical skills necessary to get around the difficult courses in the
crowded anchorage.
Besides allowing sailmakers an opportunity to showcase their products,
the event also featured such innovations as on-water umpiring, similar
to that used in match race sailing, and an announcer at the Show broadcasting
live commentary on all the racing action. The North team pushed hard
throughout the series, earning their share of penalties but recovering
to win the series by just a few points.
Final results:
1. North Sails (Scott Nixon, Skipper)
2. Ullman Sails (Max Skelly, Skipper)
3. Quantum Sail Design Group (Geoff Ewenson, Skipper)
4. UK Sailmakers (Andy Horton, Skipper)
Report by Eric Hood
The third annual Melges 24 World Championship was held this past August in La Rochelle, France. A record 136 boats attended this year's event. For a class that has 500 boats in 15 different countries this certainly proves the strength of this high performance, highly talented class of owners and sailors.
The Societe des Regates Rochelaises and the French Melges 24 Class hosted a truly impressive opening parade and ceremony to formally start the third Melges 24 World Championship.
North Sails had several representatives including Harry Melges of North Sails Zenda, USA and Nigel Young of North Sails UK in attendance. North Sails also had a majority of sails on the 136 boats sailing in the event.
Racing was exciting with the 136 Melges 24s being divided into four fleets and sailing round rounds during the first six races. The series included a total of 10 races with one-drop race after the sixth race was completed. At the end of six races the four fleets scores were totaled and the four fleets became Gold and Silver fleets for the last four races.
Three American teams dominated after the first six races. These teams included Morgan Reeser and Dave Chapin on Scott Elliot's "White Loaf" sailing with a North Pentex Main and Jib, as did Argyle Campbell of California (winner of two races back to back) and finally Brian Porter on "Full Throttle" with a full North inventory.
When it came down to the end on the last day both Reeser and Porter were tied with sailmaker Giorgio Zuccoli only four points behind with race 9 and 10 to go. Reeser pushing very hard and going faster than any other team during the last day pushed a little to hard and broke his mast ending his chance at the championship. Brian Porter had a tough day with a penalty turn that ended his championship run. In the end pro sailor Giorgio Zuccoli and his consistent sailing won the overall championship.
Kenneth Thelen from Finland was awarded the overall Amateur / Owner / Driver World Championship. Kenneth and his all-amateur team were using a complete inventory of North Sails.
North Sails besides winning the AOD World Championship also had sails on five of the top ten overall boats. For more information regarding North Melges 24 sails click here and more information on the Melges 24 Class go to the class website of www.melges24.com
Congratulations to Kenneth Thelen of Finland for his AOD World Championship and all of our other Melges 24 customers using North Sails.
8 boats on top 10 used North!
Report by Eric Hood
Charleston Yacht Club
March 25-27, 2000
Forty-five Melges 24s attended this year National Championship. Chuck Rushing and Scott Bartley organized a great regatta that provided eight races and fantastic social events. The event was sailed out of the City Marina and Charleston Yacht Club. All eight races were held in Charleston Harbor between the Cooper and Ashley Rivers.
Current was the big factor in this regatta with currents running between two and four knots. Winds varied from very windy the first day, to medium winds the second day and light winds the third day. The strong current also gave the competitors several general recalls in the beginning until the race committee diplayed the "Z" flag for the last five races.
In the end consistency proved to be the key to winning this series where understanding current proved to be a little more important than shifts and pure boat speed.
Former Two time Olympian and Collegiate Star - Morgan Reeser won the event, with current SORC and Key West Champ Dave Chapin coming in second. Harry Melges finished third and top AOD skipper Argyle Campbell was fourth.
Results for the top ten boats are listed below.
1 - Morgan Reeser USA 20 "M-Fatic" 30 pts.
2 - Dave Chapin / Scott Elliot USA 450 "White Loaf" 42 pts. North Sails
3 - Harry Melges USA 409 " Full Throttle" 51 pts. North Sails
4 - Argyle Campbell USA 418 " Rock N'Roll" 52 pts. North Sails *
5 - Colin Smith GBR419 "Loaded" 55 pts. North Sails
6 - Mike Toppa USA 18 "Buzzard" 68 pts. North Sails
7 - Dave West / Kieth Musto GBR 359 "Chippewa" 101 pts.
8 - Tony Wetherell GBR 420 "Snickers Workwear" 101 pts. North Sails
9 - Brian Harrison USA 447 " No Name" 104 pts. North Sails
10- Rout Reigart USA 40 "Suzanne" 107 pts. North Sails
* Partial
North Notes:
For a complete report, visit North Sails UK web site.
Click here to visit the 2000 SORC Gallery courtesy North UK.
North Update on Melges 24 sails used in Key West
Report by Andy Burdick
The Melges 24 Midwinter Championship (Key West) was another successful regatta as we had 46 boats competing from 7 different countries. North Sails dominated the event for the second season in a row. Upwind and downwind, the North Sail speed was superior. Dedicated design work by Harry Melges and Vince Brun along with other North Team members has proven to be the answer to North's clear dominance in the class.
The sailors in the Melges 24 class can see and feel the difference in boat speed with these new North Sails. Our new sails are easy to tune, set up and prepare to race with. The new tuning guide prepared by two time World Champion Vince Brun makes it very clear as to what you need to do in order to make your Melges 24 go fast. Thus the results that you see above. North Sails are #1 in the Melges 24 class!
We feature an All-Purpose Pentex Mainsail that has been truly versatile. For Key West we featured brand new batten adjustment arrangement which was to every North customers liking. A screw tension device allowed you to vary the tension for the different wind and water conditions. This improved our sail shape versatility and speed. The Pentex material proves to be the way to go for a long lasting, durable mainsail.
The J-5 Pentex Jib is quick in all conditions as well. How easy is this sail to set up? Very easy as we kept our jib leads in the same position the entire regatta. From the aft end of the jib track we moving forward - the back of our jib car splits the third bolt on the track.
Our jib luff was adjusted for the different wind and water conditions. Soft with wrinkles in the 3-8 knot range. A smooth luff (no wrinkles in the luff) in the 9-12 knot range and a lot of tension in the 13-20 knot range.
Melges 24 Asymmetricals - North Sails VMG and the North Sails RUNNER
We see the largest advancements in the North Asymmetricals for the Melges 24. The downwind speed with either design is far ahead of any other competitor. Design and material set out by Melges and Brun has taken our sails to the next level.
Many sailors question when to use the two North designs. Allow me to provide a brief description of what we have seen on the water in the past few championships.
The North VMG: This sail features the ability to heat it up while in all wind conditions. The boat feels fast and free with any pressure. Preferred winds for this sail: 0-8 knots & 14-30 knots.
In the lighter air you can reach up, gain speed and pressure and use this to sail low if you choose. You can also maintain your reaching course and achieve great speed with this sail.
When in the breeze you really see the advantage of this sail. You can reach up without the feeling of consistent pressure. The boat wants to break free and go fast up and over the waves. A big key in these conditions is sliding your skipper and crew as far aft in the boat as possible. - Example Brian Porter and crew: From front to back the crew weighs 175, 175, 215,220. We slide the aft crewmember all the way to the back stanchion. The boat planes quickly and the boat breaks free over the waves. As you sail hotter increase your backstay tension. This is particularly important for winds over 15 knots. The boat will settle down in a groove when you do this. The North VMG brings out the top speeds for this boat.
The North RUNNER: When it is time to sail low and carve out a passing lane you will have a distinct advantage over the competition with the North RUNNER. This sail gives you the ability to sail low and surf waves in lumpy conditions. Preferred winds for this sail: 6-15 knots. Really likes big waves or swell. The luff of this sail really rocks around giving you a deep, full appearance. The sail has a lot of power for lumpy conditions. A quick tip when using this sail is to keep your vang soft when sailing deep. Ease the main out virtually all the way, keep your boat flat, weight forward and allow the luff to rock around. Easing the tack line a foot has even proven to be fast at times.
The new North Melges 24 sails have clearly dominated. The sails are easy to sail with an are fast in all conditions. This gives the customer the best bang for their buck. When investing in your 2000 Melges 24 campaign why not invest in a proven winner. North Sails has the advantage and the customer service to make your program successful. If you do not have North Sail now, freshen up and experience the speed advantages. Call a North Expert today.
Andy Burdick
Top 11 Boats Powered by North Sails!!!
Report by Nigel Young
The final day of the Key West Race Week was sailed in fantastic conditions. The wind was blowing offshore at around 20-22 knots with the standard blazing sunshine.
The Porter Brothers just had to sail conservatively to take the regatta and barring any disaster the event was theirs. Harry Melges also had a comfortable cushion over the 3rd place boat. We also had a nice points gap on 5th so every body in the top 5 was just playing a covering game.
All of the above sounds so simple when you write it down! With the wind velocity and direction operating to a random pattern the whole race was to prove very tricky for all concerned!! Shifts of around 20 degrees were standard for the day keeping all the crews on their toes.
By starting prematurely we didn't give ourselves the best start! Having returned and restarted last we started to work the shifts and moved up to 15th by the first mark! Our closest rival for 4th overall was leading the race which made things a little uncomfortable for us!! However by the end of the long race we were up to 7th place and secured our 4th place overall by a comfortable margin.
The Porters were sailing conservatively and staying close to Harry, finishing second in the race guaranteed their second Key West regatta in a row, nice sailing guys. With Harry finally finishing 3rd in the race also left him as the runner up overall. Sailing with Kristian Neergard and crew this team really showed some classy sailing.
With this being my third Key West regatta in a row now, I have to say that this is one of the best run regatta's in the World. The race management is flawless, they have a total understanding of the sailors needs and the start lines and courses are always 100%.
If you ever want to start sailing in the states you couldn't go far wrong in attending this regatta in 2001. On board Snickers Workwear team moral is good. Our 4th place overall is a great result for us, a little disappointing that we had a sticky patch of results in the middle of the week but came good in the end.
Thanks to Dave Clarke and the rest of the crew for a good weeks sailing, and also thanks to Henri Lloyd for using us as a test bed for their TP 2000 range. Guys the new kit is just great, thank you.
Full results for the regatta below:
1. USA - Full Throttle - Brian Porter - 25 points - All North Sails
2. USA - Zenda Express - Harry Melges - 32 points - All North Sails
3. USA - RockN'Roll - Argyle Campbell - 44 points - North Main
4. UK - Snickers Workwear - David Clark - 51 points - All North Sails
5. USA - Buzzard - Chris Rosenberg - 63 points - All North Sails
6. USA - White Loaf - Scott R. Elliott - 73 points -North Main and Jib
7. FRA - Zig Zag 16 - Henri Samuel - 76 points - All North Sails
8. USA - Monsoon - Bruce Ayres - 80 points - North Main and Jib
9. USA - Typhoon - Tony Wattson - 87 points - 9th North Main and Jib
10. NOR - Planet Loaf - John Platou - 2 points - All North Sails
11. UK - Loaded - Roger Peacock - 113 points - All North Sails
Over 34 of the 45 competitors had North Sails on board. North Sails were on board for 6 of 8 race wins during the series. Quality Service: North Sails provided great support for North and other sail customers at this event with several North employees attending. In attendance were Harry Melges, Mike Toppa, Nigel Young, Eric Hood, Steve Calder, Jeffery Todd, George Durst and his South Carolina crew providing service from their Charleston North Loft.
Final Results 1st White Loaf North Main and Jib 2nd Alize 3rd Snickers Workwear All North Sails 4th Rock & Roll 5th Full Throttle All North Sails.
Key West Midwinter Statistics:
North Sails Zenda, Wisconsin USA
Andy@melges.com
Click here to see some cool pictures and get a complete report on the event by Nigel Young - North Sails UK.
Report Submitted by Nigel Young
North Sails One Design UK
The 1999 Melges 24 European Championships were held last week in the town of Arendal in Norway. The local boats were out in force making up approximately 50% of the fleet. 55 boats took part in the 10 race series in a variety of conditions.
With 12 countries represented this was truly a European event with some of the hottest competition seen in the class since the Worlds in Torquay last year. The regatta started in very light and changeable winds which led to some really mixed results for some of the top teams.
Regatta favorite Georgio Zuccoli had a great start to the regatta winning the first race in style, unfortunately for him the second race was not good and he posted a 34 for race 2! This was not to be Georgio's regatta and and two DSQ's under the black flag left him uncharacteristically down the final order in 11th place at the end of the week.
FRA-382 is a sail number very familiar to any one who took part in this regatta! Stamping their mark on the event from race 1 this young French team stole the regatta in style with a 2,4,12,2,1,2,3,4,6 score line. Not the fastest boat on the water in pure boat speed terms, but certainly the smartest crew in the variable conditions for the week. Congratulations to Christian and his Team.
The fight for second place overall was very very tight! Herman Johannessen sailing for Norway was locked in battle with Kenneth Thelen from Finland. Herman was at his strongest in the lighter shifting winds at the start of the week with Kenneth coming good at the end. After nine race's the pair were equal on points with Herman claiming 2nd overall on count back.
4th overall for the regatta was Dave Johnson and Roger Peacock. This team have been threatening a top International result for the last few seasons and this year everything clicked! The boys put together a very strong series to take 4th place by a point from Keith "Atom Splitter" Musto who also sailed to a very consistent standard to take 5th overall.
All in all the event was very well run with the exception of one or two race management errors. Despite these the general opinion was that all the competitors had a great time and would be happy to return to Norway for the next major event.
This regatta I was sailing for Team Henri Lloyd. We set ourselves the target of top 5 before the event started and spent most of the week in 4th overall. Not quite realizing our full potential we ended up slipping down to equal 6th overall at the end of the week and on count back we dropped to 7th.
On reflection during the 31 hour trip back from Norway I was quite pleased. Sailing with a new crew and arriving with only one day for preparation was not the ideal way to prepare for an International regatta. This result is the best performance ever by Team Henri Lloyd in an International Regatta and in such a high quality fleet I feel that we achieved a very creditable result.
I would like to say a personal thank you to Rob Smith, Angus Peel, Sam Gardener for their efforts and of course to Paul Strzelecki and Henri Lloyd for funding the campaign.
The next big regatta for the class is in Guernsey as a lead into the French Nationals which promises to be a big event. I hope to see you there.
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RESULTS: 1st Overall Christian Roman 2nd Overall Herman Horn Johannessen -- North Sails 3rd Overall Kenneth Thelen -- North Sails 4th Overall Dave Johnson -- North Sails 5th Overall Keith Musto 6th Overall Pierre Loic Berthet 7th Overall Henri Lloyd -- North Sails |
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MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM A HAPPY CUSTOMER: Eric (and the rest of the guys at North Sails) thanks a lot for getting us the sails in time for the Europeans! We finished 2nd overall and we are very happy with our speed. The bronze medal did also use North sails. (I believe 5 of the top 10 boats used North!) Once again thanks a lot, it would not have been possible without the North Sails..... Peder Nergaard |
Click here for the Europeans complete results.
For the latest class news, look on the web site: www.melges.com
LOS ANGELES ONE DESIGN REGATTA
July 17-18, 1999: Below are the results from last weekend's regatta at the Los Angeles Yacht Club. On Saturday all three races had planning conditions, 15+ knots of breeze. Sunday brought around 7 knots for the first race, building to planning conditions by the end of the second race.
Congratulations to Bruce Ayres on Monsoon, edging Mark Golison/Steve Flam for the win. Argyle Campbell on Rock N Roll finished third followed by Mike & Carol Stone's, Not the Family Buick, then Steve Maseda's Hardcore in fifth.
The next Gold Coast Circuit regatta is the PCC's on August 21-22 in San Francisco. Shortly after that is the SF NOOD on September 3-5. We hope to see everyone there. Don't forget to plan for the Worlds, October 1-10.
Contact your North representative to help you to get organized for the upcoming regattas !!! Good luck!
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Hi Vince, This is Stanley from Puerto Rico.I just wanted to say thanks for everything you did for me in such a short time. At the Coors Light Regatta we won 1st place in Melges24 class and 4th place in overral in a 55 boats fleet. All 3 sails trimmed perfect!! Thanks again and wishing to see you sailing with us here in Puerto Rico.
bye!
CONGRATULATIONS !
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by Chris Snow
Top amatuer Melges 24 sailor John Oldham is deep into preparing for the 1999 Melges 24 Worlds to be held this October in Long Beach, CA.. John and crew will be in the running as 60+ boats line up to decide who will be the 1999 World Champion. As part of his preparation John has been filling in his sail inventory and last weekend that included taking delivery of a new AS-7 medium/heavy air jib for the St. Francis Yacht Club's annual Memorial Day event raced on San Francisco Bay.
Oldham and crew used his new jib to win this event over the team of Sean Bennett and Mike Stone in "Not the Family Buick" who also flew sails from the North San Diego loft. Oldham gave some credit to the new sail saying "It was a lot easier to keep the boat flat especially in the big breeze we had on Sunday. I really felt like the boat was driving forward more of the time and not going sideways".
For more information on how to make your Melges 24 fly call your closest North One Design loft or e-mail info@od.northsails.com.
WIN SDYC ONE DESIGN REGATTA
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1st Place: Tim Hahnke - North Pentex Main / J5 Pentex Jib 2nd Place: Steve Maseda - North Pentex Main / J5 Pentex Jib
CONGRATULATIONS !
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CONGRATULATIONS ! We would like to congratulate Chris Rosenburg and his team, winners of the 1999 Rolex Cup in St. Thomas in his Melges 24 using North Sails. He won the Melges 24 class as well as the being 1st overall in Fleet (beating Peter Holmberg in a M24).
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SPEED OUT OF THE BOX!
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Vince, Thanks for getting my Melges 24 main out the door for the NOOD, and for your words of advice on setup. We had a steep learning curve considering none of us had ever sailed an asym kite boat before and only had 1 hour of practice on the new boat (crew from the east) -- but we ended up 13th and really felt great about our speed out of the box. We definitely always had equal boat to boat speed upwind and down with just about anyone on the course, and simply gave away 3-5 boats in each race by our "learning" boat handling. The new Norths put us on the pace out of the box! Thanks for the great help getting us going!
Cheers |
AT THE 1999 S.O.R.C
by Nigel Young
S.O.R.C.
March 1999
Coral Reef Yacht Club
Miami, Florida
The 1999 SORC started in ideal sailing conditions for the 30 boat Melges 24 fleet. The wind was blowing 15-18 knots from the NE with a small chop created by the shallow waters of Biscayne Bay. A small, but quality field of Melges 24 teams was competing and hot favourite to win the regatta had to be Brian and John Porter, sailing 'Full Throttle'. They have won the last 3 Melges 24 regattas, including the Key West event held in January.
Team 'Full Throttle' have been using North Sails for the last 3 seasons and have constantly given the credit to North for their outstanding boat speed, across a wide range of wind and sea conditions. 'White Loaf', owned by Scott Elliot and helmed by Dave Chapin for the 1999 season, has recently made the switch to North Sails, having previously been a fan of the Ullman product. In a quote from Scott after the Key West regatta, he commented that the time had come to give himself a chance to compete on level terms with the Porter Brothers; he bought a full suit of North Sails for this latest regatta. Second place for 'White Loaf' in Key West, put them as another of the favourites for the Melges 24 SORC Regatta.
The racing got underway on time and the conditions proved very shifty as the race progressed. Brian Porter sailing 'Full Throttle' immediately showed the same outstanding pace that won him the Key West regatta, and sailed off into an unbeatable position. Second place was a race between ourselves on 'Snickers Workwear', Keith " Atom Splitter" Musto and Kent Haeger sailing USA 412. At the end of the first run, we had moved into a strong second, but the final beat saw the winds dropping and shifting. By the end of the second and final run it was Keith Musto second, ourselves third and Kent Haeger fourth.
Race 2 started in extremely light and shifty conditions, and after a premature start we worked our way up the beat, with a good view of the sterns of most of the fleet! Looking up the track we opted to hit the right hand side of the beat, to launch ourselves into 4th place at the top mark! It is hard to say what happened in the rest of the fleet as we were out on our own for most of it!
At the windward mark a huge shift meant that we could almost lay the leeward mark in one, and this helped us to roll two more boats and move up into second place by the bottom mark. Leading at this stage was Scott Allen (USA-112) who sailed a perfect final beat, to win in style after a very tricky race. Second place had our name written all over it, but unfortunately on the final run, the race track turned inside out and we had dropped to 7th by the the time we arrived at the finish line. Atom Splitter pulled up the field to take 3rd and Scott Elliot on 'White Loaf' just sneaked in, to take 2nd having also had a premature start. Brian Porter was unfortunate to finish 14th , a reminder of just how testing the conditions were in this race.
Overall Placing after 2 races:
| Keith Musto | 1st. | North Sails |
| Scott Elliot | 2nd | North Sails |
| Kent Haeger | 3rd | North Sails |
| Us | 4th | North Sails |
| Brian Porter | 5th | North Sails |
Day 2 brought nice conditions, a little warmer and the wind was in the more normal southerly quadrant. Team Snickers had a fantastic start near the committee boat and sailed straight into a strong position. The wind was shifting to the right throughout the race and we found ourselves caught on the wrong side of the beat, in the final phase into the mark. Then generally uninspired sailing collected us a really average 16th place in race 3. At the front of the fleet Keith Musto (USA 364), wearer of the Yellow Jersey after day one, was also finding the going a little hard, finishing 8th. The Porter Brothers won the third race, followed by Karen Gotwold in second. Karen, one of the two female helmsmen at the regatta, almost took first place, but the pressure of being chased by the Porters got too much and she was passed on the second and final beat. Third place was 'White Loaf' to make things very interesting for the leaders on points.
Race 4 started promptly as the OOD intended to get 3 races in that day. The conditions were now 10-12 knots from 100 degrees, temp 75 degrees with a little chop, completely ideal! Having sailed so badly in race 3, we were keen to get back into gear. A good battle was on the cards and the race was between the 'White Loaf' Team, 'Full Throttle', ourselves and Michael Dekok (USA 400). After a close race, Michael managed to hang on and take first place from the Porters in 2nd, Scott Elliot 3rd and Team Snickers 4th. Team morale had now risen considerably, as we realised that we had not forgotten how to sail after all!
Race 5 got underway in identical conditions, with the top four teams at the front looking very similar except that Michael Dekok had been replaced with Jessica Lord sailing 'Twist and Shout'. Scott Elliot took the final race of the day from the Porters, with us on Team Snickers in 3rd and Jessica Lord in 4th. A great day's racing.
Results overall in the series so far, with one race left to go:
| White Loaf | 13.75 points | North Sails |
| Full Throttle | 19.75 points | North Sails |
| Snickers Workwear | 33 points | North Sails |
| USA 364 | 37 points | North Sails |
At this stage in the regatta all of the top five were sailing with the latest generation of North Sails, so I was quite confident of being able to write a good report for the regatta overall!!
The final day again brought fantastic sailing; wind blowing 12-15 knots from a wind direction of 100 degrees - perfect. From the moment the gun went, 'White Loaf' starting in the middle of the line maintained full control on the race. Chased hard by the Porters and ourselves, there was no chance of catching them and the regatta was deservedly theirs. Porters were trying all the tricks in the book to throw them off their stride but it was just not working. They also had to keep an eye on us in 'Snickers Workwear', as we were giving them a real hard race right up to the line. They beat us by two boat lengths, which gave us a third for the day and a secure third overall for the series.
Keith Musto, with his brand new suit of North Sails had suffered a little during the final 3 races and an 11th in the last race placed him 4th overall.
The Melges 24 class in the USA is going strong and this final event in the winter circuit was as good as the first. I have been lucky enough to sail with the Snickers Team for the last 12 months and we feel that the team is now working really well. In the last year, sailing with the same team we have achieved the following results:
Key West 98 14th SORC 98 4th UK Nationals 98 2nd Kiel 98 2nd Norway 98 3rd Worlds 98 10th North Americans 15th Key West 99 7th SORC 99 3rd All in all, not a bad set of results. I would like to say a personal thank you to Dave Clarke and Snickers Workwear for funding the campaign, and for his commitment on the boat. Also for making the last twelve months, some of the best sailing I have experienced. Our boat has now been sold due to time commitments for Dave and Tony Weatherell our skipper. The plan now is to have a new boat for the Worlds in Long Beach, California and in the run up to this, we intend to compete in the French Nationals, just prior to flying out to do the Worlds.
One of the greatest benefits from competing in these winter events, is that it gives us at North Sails One Design essential time to keep on top of the analysis and developments in sail designs and fabrics at the top end of extremely competitive fleets. We have enjoyed a great relationship with the San Diego loft of Vince Brun, current Melges World Champion and together we have developed the best Melges 24 sails on the market. The top 5 boats at the SORC were exclusively using our sails and these designs can be bought from either the UK or the US loft.
Nigel Young
Nigel Young, manager of North Sails One Deisgn UK reports on the latest major Melges 24 regatta, the SORC held just last week in Miami. For more information on North Sails for the Melges 24 contact your closest North One Design loft.
Letter received from Bill Rogner, Scott Endicott and Gary Trimmer
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Dear North Sails: I bought a new North main and jib and went to Key West for Race Week. We did not do well at all, finished last place. Being very discouraged I called Harry Melges from North Sails Zenda and he told me what we were doing wrong and helped with rig tension as I know he got two firsts at Key West. Our local North sailmaker called up and asked if he could go out with us and help us out. That was Ethan Bixby of St. Petersburg. FL. We entered the NOOD regatta in St. Pete. Ethan went out with us the day before to help us go fast. We had a five-year-old North spinnaker so Vince Brun from San Diego shipped up his spinnaker just so we could borrow it for the weekend. What a nice thing to do! We ended up first overall in the NOOD regatta. It is such a great feeling to go form last to first place. We owe it all to the fine quality of the sails, the outside help we got from Harry Melges and Vince Brun, but my special thanks to Ethan Bixby of North Sails St. Pete. If I had to rate the quality and service I received from North Sails on a scale of 1 to 10 I would have to give them a "10". Thanks again Ethan, Harry and Vince from Melges 24 #82. Bill Rogner, Scott Endicott and Gary Trimmer |
"THE GREAT NORTH SPEED!"
By Eric Hood
The 1999 version of Key West Race Week provided another great venue and regatta for the Melges 24 Class. For the fifth year in a row the Melges 24 Class was the largest class with 50 entries of the total 280 entries.
Peter Craig and his team from Premier Racing did an outstanding job as usual. The new location of the tent also seemed to attract a much larger group to the evening gatherings after each day of racing. With round table discussions everyday the sailors who were interested in learning got their moneys worth. Our own Vince Brun sat in on the Monday Day 1 discussion on Key West tactics. Vinces best comments were that "Speed Rules and everything else falls into place".
Weather was fantastic! This was probably the nicest weather we have seen in Key West during the last twelve years the regatta has been held. Day 1 was very light wind and heavy current, day 2 & 3 were light medium with heavy current, day 4 we saw medium air and we had a very nice 22-25 knot breeze for the final day of racing. No rain all week.
The class was treated to an outstanding party thrown by Melges 24 owner Karen Gottwald and her crew from USA 137 "Cagey". Crowd estimates were between 250 and 300 people at the "Cagey" house in Key West. A guest appearance of the man who started it all, Lowell North and his wife treated the group. Dick Jennings owner of two Santa Cruz 70s Pied Piper and Pied Piper South (ex-Blondie) flipped the burgers, fish and chicken for three hours for the Melges 24 group. Thanks to "Team Cagey".
Lets talk about the racing, it was fantastic. We are happy to report that all of the hard work of 1998 , preparing for the Worlds and the North Americans really helped in getting the North customers ready for Key West . The introduction of our new Pentex Mainsail clearly was a huge success as was the introduction of our new Code1a Runners. The J5 Pentex jib already in place was used by over 50% of the competitors. The breakdown of full inventories for the first thirteen boats was 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 12th, 13th. Second and ninth place had partial North inventories.
Early in the regatta Dave Chapin sailing Scott Elliots USA 150 was tactically very smart and sailed to an early but narrow lead over Brian Porter on USA 409 "Full Throttle". This was after five of the total eight races held. This was the light air portion of the event. Next was Melges 24 World Champion Vince Brun followed by Argyle Campbell and Kieth Musto who sailing Dave West’s GBR364 "Race Master". G. Zuccoli and Charlie Ogletree came next with Tony Watson and Harry Melges just behind them. Speed was very important during these first five races but tactics seemed to be a little more important as the light airs were not strong enough to offset the strong Key West currents. Starts seemed to be the most important thing in getting into the top group during the first critical minutes of those first five races.
As the wind increased during race 6, 7 and 8 we saw that "Need for Speed" issue come into play. The North Sails used by a majority of the top boats now started to move up through the standings. Harry Melges who struggled in the beginning with starting problems won the last two races by large margins and helped him move from 8th to 5th. Top female Karen Gottwald jumped from 16th to 12th. Karen was quoted as saying "The switch from our Dacron main to the new Pentex Main gave us that edge in speed that we have been looking for the last two years, it really made a difference".
Tony Wetherell from England moved from 11th to 7th. Brian Porter went from second to a clear and convincing 1st during the last race over the Chapin / Elliot team on USA 150. Brian Porter is quoted as saying " We knew we were faster than the Chapin team and all we had to do was match their tactics to beat them in the final and deciding race. The wind was strong and our Pentex main was a clear difference in speed and height when going upwind. It is the best mainsail I have ever used."
Another very fast team was the Kieth Musto/ Dave West team who were lightning quick in the light airs but struggled as the wind increased. Dave West has ordered a new North Pentex main and J5 jib along with a code 1a Runner for the 1999 S.O.R.C . . In closing it was a great week, great fun and it always helps when you have "Great North Speed" . Here are the results for the first group of boats. For complete results contact Premier Racing or Melges Boat Works.
| Sail # | Skipper / Owner | Points | Place | Sails |
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409 |
Brian Porter |
29 | 1st |
North |
| 150 | D.Chapin / S. Elliot | 33 | 2nd | Ullman / North Jib |
| 162 | Vince Brun | 46 | 3rd | North |
| 351 | Argyle Campbell | 60 | 4th | Ullman |
| 399 | Harry Melges | 62 | 5th | North |
| 88 | G.Zuccoli /C. Ogletree | 70 | 6th | Ullman Italy |
| 402 | Tony Wetherell | 87 | 7th | North |
| 364 | Musto / West | 95 | 8th | Hyde / Ullman |
| 52 | Tim Hahnke | 118 | 9th | Ullman/North Runner |
| 35 | M. Brink / J. Lord | 123 | 10th | Ullman |
| 412 | Kent Haeger | 130 | 11th | Ullman |
| 137 | Karen Gottwald | 131 | 12th | North |
| 777 | Chris Rosenberg | 131 | 12th | North |
contact one of our North Melges 24 team.
By Eric Hood
Melges 24 North American Championship
December 4-6, 1998
Fort Lauderdale Yacht Club
Melges 24 Fleet Size: 40
Conditions: East Winds from 8-15 knots, choppy
The Melges 24 North American Championship proved to be another dominating event for North Sails. In the 7 heat series North Sails won every race but one and clearly the new sails showed superior speed in all conditions. The North Main (AP Mylar) and J-5 Jib were the same sails used this Fall that dominated the World Championship, Atlantic Coast Championship and Jacksonville Winter Regatta. These sails were very quick uphill at the North Americans in the choppy conditions as the final finishes were 1st, 2nd*, 5th.
What is interesting with these sails over the past 4 major Melges 24 events is that they are quick in the steep chop of the World Championships, quick in the short choppy conditions of the North Americans and very fast in the flat water conditions of Annapolis and Jacksonville. They really are great for all wind and water conditions. We have not seen a wind speed that the sails are not noticeably faster.
Downwind the new North 1A Runner was clearly faster than the competition. Great gains could be made downhill at the NA’s and the 1A Runner certainly allowed us to do this. The sail allowed us to reach the boat when we were in the 15knot wind conditions. In this wind range you can plane and make the boat go fast zipping by the other kite manufacturers downwind. When sailing in the 8-12 knot breeze we were able to slide and sail low off the waves really hurting the competition by sailing so deep. Easing the vang slightly while sailing deep really helps here.
Brian Porter racing Full Throttle won the North Americans. He is also the first amateur, owner/driver in the fleet. Brian along with Vince Brun, Harry Melges and Andy Burdick has been intregal in the North Melges 24 sail progression program. “No question, these are the best sails North has put out. It just shows you that constant work and dedication to a product really pays off. If you are investing in new sails, you have to realize that North has dominated the ‘98 racing season. They are on top of the Melges 24 market.”
These are the sails used in the past events and they are obviously superior. Mylar AP Main, J-5 Jib, Code 1A Runner.
Here are settings that we used to win the North American Championship:
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1. Set your mast rake at 36’61/2” while your tension gage is at 18 (Loos B
Model Gage)
2. In the 8-12 knot range we were at 20 on our tension gage. 12-15 we went to 22 on the gage.
3. Jib track setting for all conditions: Splitting the third bolt(measured from the back of the track forward) In the 15 knot range you could move your car back one hole.
4. Mast sag: 1/2” in all conditions.
5. Traveler: Centered to down 2”. Minimal backstay in the 15knot range. Only in the puffs and flat water areas.
*partial inventory.
by Vince Brun
Hi Team,
We had a great weekend as far as Melges 24 results, with a full inventory of North Sails being on the winning boat on both East and West Coast events.
West Coast, Turkey Day Regatta:
In Long Beach California, we had our customer Mark Gollisson winning with
sailmakers Mark Reynolds (Sobstad), sailing with Rick Rajewski, and Dave Ullman (Ullman Sails) in second and third respectively. Gollisson used our Pentex main and jib, with the VMG spinnaker.
East Coat, Jacksonville Regatta:
1st - Harry Melges - North
2nd - Mike Toppa - North
3rd - Argyle Campbell
Harry won the regatta with ease over a field of 26 boats. The good news is that Harry used our new developed Runner for the first time, and showed unbelievable speed on the down wind legs. On a phone call with Harry he said, DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING, sail is easy to trim and very fast. Thanks for the help we got from Nigel at the NS One Design UK loft, for spearheading this project, and Ched for the design changes. The new sail will be replacing our old San Diego Runner, and will be also called Code 1A Asymmetrical Runner.
For more information on M-24 sails, contact Harry Melges, Vince Brun, Eric Hood, Nigel Young or send e-mail to info@od.northsails.com.
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The North Sails team headed by North One Design's Chris Larson
topped the fleet at this year Dupont Sailmaker's Challenge. This regatta
pits the top US Sailmakers against each other in evenly matched Melges 24's.
Each sailmaker is challenged to bring his best and fastest product to the
regatta. The regatta is held during the U.S. Sailboat show in Annapolis, MD. Chris and crew used new "metalized" 3DL sails based on the molds perfected by Melges 24 World Champion Vince Brun. Vince just won the 1998 Melges 24 World Championships using North's Latest designs. The results from the regatta are:
For more information please drop us a line at info@od.northsails.com. |
by Nigel Young
The first ever World Championships for the Melges 24 Class was held in Torquay England from the 21st to the 26th of September. With 95 boats this was the largest fleet of Melges 24 ever assembled in the World. 14 Countries competed in the 10 race series in winds ranging from 8-25 knots.
North Sails have been involved with this class from the word go on both sides of the Atlantic. Vince Brun from North One Design in the North America has been sailing in the class since it's conception and produces all of the sails for the American market. Nigel Young and the late John Merricks put in a huge effort over the 96-97 seasons and established North Sails in the UK as a major force in the class throughout Europe. Nigel, working closely with Vince, turned around the European market to put North Sails as the class leader for 98.
This event attracted many top sailors and to cement our relationship with the North guys in the states Nigel arranged a brand new boat for Vince to race at the event. His crew comprising of Ian Walker, Simon Fry (North UK), and Simon Russell, took the first ever World Melges 24 Championship for North Sails One-Design in an exciting climax to a well-fought series.
As well as the Hot shot teams of Vince and Brian Porter flying the North flag, many other not so well known guys on the Melges 24 circuit in Europe have turned to North Sails for their sail inventories. Team Henri Lloyd from the UK have been working with North sails in England for the last three seasons and have enjoyed some tremendous results from a amateur team.
Led by Paul Strzelecki and Rob Smith these guys have won pretty much every event run in the UK, with their crowning glory being taking the UK National and European title this year in Guernsey. Making sails for this team has been a good experience for me as we have gone from using the English designs three years ago, right through to the latest designs from Vince which have proven incredibly versatile in the hands of a pro or amateur team. Rob Smith's comment on the latest range of sails is that " Confidence in boat speed is everything and with the latest design of North Sails, we can forget about our pace and concentrate on the tactics".
Another success story for the sails is that of "Snickers Workwear" these guys were using competitor's sails in 96-97 seasons and having mixed results. A top dinghy and big boat helm Tony Weatherall steers the boat owned and sponsored by Dave Clark's company, and recognized the ease with which the North boats stayed on the pace in all conditions. Switching to North for Key West and the SORC 98' they have not looked back, placing 4th in Miami, 2nd in the UK Nationals and 2nd in Kiel Week Germany this year the guys are looking forward to the winter racing in Florida starting with the US Nationals in December. " Our plan is to check out the Dacron San-Diego main and see what the real differences are with the Pentex AP2, currently our favorite mainsail".
The event started with a bang and the competitors were subject to two races back to back in a strong 18-20 knot east to south easterly air stream, after 3 days of practice in less than 5 knots of wind! The start lines were very tight with the 95 boats all very keen to get a head start on their rivals.
Generally speaking the first start of the day was a general recall, however as the event unfolded the race officer flew the Black Flag from the first start of the day in an attempt to get things underway on time. This action certainly helped in reducing the number of starts before we all got away but it is safe to say that at least two competitors were disqualified on every start and on the penultimate day around 25 boats were DSQ before the start finally got away!
Having said all of the above the race officer and his team ran an excellent series of races and received a great number of compliments of a job well done at the regatta prize giving. The racing was held at the stronger end of the wind range with the average wind speed for the regatta being approximately 15 knots. This led to some fantastic surfing in the prevailing easterly breeze of the week and some serious hiking on the up-wind legs.
General damage to boats after the punishing series of 4 opening races was very limited, despite the strong winds and building seas. However I wish the same could be said for the sails! Throughout the field spinnaker damage was rife and the North Sails Service team led by Pauline West were stretched to the limit, with sleeping written out of the program for the first two days! All competitors were kept racing even if they did have to dig into the bank balance and relive us of new spinnakers from the stock shipped to the event "Just in case". We did not restrict our service to just North customers and repaired sails for all of the "Other sailmaker's" including some of their works teams, who were extremely grateful for our help.
At the end of a long series North Sails One-Design helmed by Vince and the crew from the UK triumphed over the fleet and took the event by 2 points in a nail biting finish to the best Melges 24 regatta so far. North Sails equipped boats took 5 of the top 10 paces and also 1st,3rd,and 4th overall to prove that if you want to be the fastest in the Melges 24 class then North Sails have to be on the top of your shopping list.
by Eric Hood
268 boats attended this years event and the Melges 24 for the first time had a class of ten boats. Five races were held with one med./heavy, one heavy and three light air races. Good courses!!
1st - Harry Melges - North Pentex Main, J5 jib, Code2 VMG and Code 1 Runner
2nd- Karen Gottwald - North Dacron Main, J5 jib and Code 1Runner
by Eric Hood
The Melges 24 Gold Cup Championship just finished this past weekend in Chicago and the results for North customers was great!
While we had a small turnout of only 17 boats the event was outstanding. Karen Gottwald and Karen Utterback of the Melges 24 "Cagey" were the regatta co-chairs and they put together an event that was very impressive. The event started with the boats at Burnham Yacht Club for day 1 and 3 while the boats stayed at Columbia Yacht Club for day 2. Great food and parties with great bands were all part of the event.
Eight races were held with day 1 having 3 races in medium air , day 2 with 3 barn burners and day 3 with two light air races. Art Brereton of Lake Geneva and London sailing "Madcap" USA 353 took top honors. The event went down to the last race and was a great shootout between Art and Robert Hughes "Heartbreaker" USA 32.
1st - Art Brereton - "Madcap" USA 353 - North Sails
2nd - Robert Hughes - "Heartbreaker" USA 32 - North Sails
3rd - Bruce Ayers - "Monsoon" - Ullman Sails
4th - Peter Wright - "Mental Floss" - USA 363 - North Sails
5th - Brian Porter/Bud Melges - "Full Throttle" - USA 349 - North Sails
All of the North customers in the top five used Pentex J5 jibs. Madcap, Mental Floss and Full Throttle used Pentex Mains while Heartbreaker used a Dacron main. Madcap, Heartbreaker and Full Throttle used the VMG Code 2 spinnakers while Mental Floss used a Runner Code 1 spinnaker.
by Chris Snow
Good OD news from San Francisco this past weekend. St. Francis Y.C. held their annual Memorial Day regatta May 23-24 off the cityfront with 8 one design keelboat classes attending, notably the J/24 and Melges 24 class.
Seattle's Keith Whittemore won the 14-boat J/24 class over Chris Snow. Keith used the North San Diego main, GP Genoa and Hybrid Spinnaker. Conditions on Saturday were 20-25 knots with a ebb tide creating big waves and on Sunday they were an uncharacteristicaly light 8-10 knots. Third in the regatta was Jeff Littfin using North sails as well.
In the 15 boat Melges 24 fleet John Oldham won using a brand new Pentex main and jib. John was the first to race with the new mainsail that has the batten pockets built right into the seams of the sail. He was super happy with his speed and sent us the following comments:
by Eric Hood
This past Friday, Saturday and Sunday the 25th St. Thomas Rolex Cup was held down in the USVI. Several classes and 100 boats total. Everything from Maxis, Sleds, a variety of J Sprit boats, Henderson 30s on down to J/24s participated.
Only three races were held over the three day regatta. The courses were identical each day with four five mile legs . W,L,W,L with 1/2 mile beam reach offsets were the courses. Wind conditions on day one was 18-25 knots, day two and three 22-30 knots. The class with the Melges 24s had all of the sprit boats like the Hendersons, J80s and also the 11 Meter. We had 10 boats in our class and three Melges 24s.
Chris Rosenberg of St. Thomas sailing "Frenchmans Reef" with North Sails dominated not only his class but the fleet as well. Peter Houtzagers and Fritz Buss of St. Martin sailing "Carib-Matra" with North Sails finished second in class B and was in the top ten overall in the regatta.
One special note the "Frenchmans Reef" at the Marriot in St. Thomas who sponsors Chris Rosenberg also gave everyone a great Rolex Banquet at the end of the event on Sunday night.
Chris Rosenbergs scores were 1,1,1 in class and 5,2,1 in fleet.
GREAT SEASON COMING UP!
by Eric Hood
The Melges 24 has achieved not only critical mass that certainly secures its future but also has achieved International Sailing Federation status more quickly than any other one-design fleet in existence.
The ISAF status brings with it the first ever World Championship this coming September in Torquay, England. The class will also have its Gold Cup Championship in the windy city , Chicago this coming June. The 1998 National Championship will be held in early December at Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Great venues like these seem to prove why this traveling band of high performance sport boats is so successful.
The North Sails One Design Team has been the out most active group in the world of Melges 24 sailing. The late John Merricks from the United Kingdom dominated the Melges 24 European circuit, a cause now taken on by his teammate Nigel Young from our UK One Design loft. Former Gold Cup, Key West and SORC Champion Harry Melges along with his teammates Andy Burdick and Eric Hood from Zenda have been involved from the day the boat was conceived. Lets not forget Buddy Melges who is very active in the class racing with customers like Argyle Campbell. Buddy has also been heavily involved in our sail testing programs. Vince Brun and Eric Doyle of San Diego who dominate the J/24 and Star circuits respectfully, construct all of our North American Melges 24 sails. Vince and Eric also participate in a large number of events as do our other team leaders . These are just a few of our team members. There are many more, for example Tyler Moore, John Spence of North Rigging who participates in a large number of Melges 24 events. The North teams hard work has paid off in Gold for our customers.
The team from North Sails One Design has been on a mission to train as many teams as possible. Success stories like 1998 SORC Champion Robert Hughes is a classic example. Karen Gottwald from Chicago is another example of a good club racer who has jumped into the mix , worked hard with North’s help and has seen huge improvement in a short period of time . It is an exciting boat and we are trying to truly make it a class for everyone. We are seeing many more women involved and not just in one area. We now have female skippers from Ohio, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Texas ,California, Europe just to name a few. The new weight limit of 793 pounds allows smaller teams to add a fifth person. This opens the door for teams who may have to rotate one or two members in and of the mix.
A new area of growth has been the Caribbean with four different islands now having at least two boats each. How about sliding down those Caribbean waves with a fresh 20 knot breeze on your tail and your boat is going 20 knots.
We have developed a sail program for the Melges 24 that takes you through the entire wind and water condition spectrum. One main, two jibs ( light/medium and medium/heavy ) and two spinnakers ( VMG and Runner ). Pentex@ now allowed for use in the jibs and mains, is a real breakthrough in the strength and longevity of these sails.
The latest North customers to be in the winner's circle are Robert Hughes , 1998 SORC overall champion. 1997 National Owner/Driver and 97/98 Midwinter’s Series Champion ( Jacksonville, Key West and SORC combined ) Brian Porter. Tom Freytag was the 1997 Gold Cup Champion.
If you are serious about developing your Melges 24 program to its maximum potential or joining one of the most competitive one-design classes in the world call your North representative today!
1998 S.O.R.C. Melges 24 Class ( 27 Boats )
Six Races were held over three days on S.O.R.C.s bay course - Biscayne Bay . Winds ranged from 7-18 with smooth to choppy conditions. Courses varied in length from 1.2 mile legs to 1.9 mile legs on the last day. Courses were all windward leewards. Offsets were added after several collisions at the weather mark on day 1.
Our customers did very well taking 1st, 2nd and 4th Overall. Many pros attended this regatta but all of the drivers were owner or amateurs. I think this says a lot for the North Melges 24 Sails.
Much like Key West 98 and actually all of the Melges 24 regattas there are always three groups. The wolf pack or first group included nine boats this week. This group was actually larger than at Key West were it seemed to be the first seven of the 53 boats at KW. The second group was 10-14 and the third group was 15-27.
As you know we have worked very hard on the Melges 24 designs. When I say we you can call any of these following North One Design sailors and they can help you with any Melges 24 questions you may have. These players are Vince Brun, Harry Melges, Ched Proctor, Eric Hood, Andy Burdick (Melges Boat Works-North Zenda), Chris Snow, Tyler Moore and for that matter Buddy Melges (Melges Boat Works - North Zenda).
For sail selection at this event all of our customers used the J5 Pentex@ Light Medium Jibs. This proved to be good with both the smooth and mild chop conditions. The first and second place boats used our Dacron AP mains while our fourth place boat used our Mylar AP main. The owners of the three boats all agreed that you could not tell the difference in those conditions. The big difference between Key West 98 and SORC 98 was that our first three boats all used the flatter VMG asymmetrics. This seemed to work very well against the fuller North Runner and the fuller Ullman AP asymmetrics. All of us thought the waves and wind were just not strong enough to use the big powerful runner.
Four of the six races were won by North Sails. The courses had no big dramtic wind shifts . Starting lines were exceptionally good with several recalls and also several individuals but no I flags or black flag starts.
Here are the results. (Top 4 of 27)
1st - Robert Hughes (Ada , Michigan ) North
The talk of the regatta was who is going to the 1st World Championship
to be held in England during the last week of September this year. We
know of at least five boats from the US who will ship their boats.
Nigel from UK North OD tells us there is a demand for used boats in that
part of the world. Pre-selling your boat or customers boat certainly
could help finance any of your owners trip to England and also grow the
fleets both here at home and abroad. Email either Nigel Young or Eric Hood
for more information on the world championship.
A spring flyer is in the works for the Melges 24 class but meanwhile
please do not hesitate to call any of us here in the OD group to help
assist you with Melges 24 customers in your area. Good Luck!!!!
2nd - Brian Porter (Winnetka , IL ) North
3rd - Scott Elliot / Dave Chapin -Driver (Charlotte,NC) Ullman
4th - Tony Wetherell ( Yorkshire, UK ) North
One Design is pleased to report a nice victory in the Melges 24 class at the San Francisco NOOD. John Oldham the local Melges 24 fleet captain and North customer won the regatta handily over a fleet of 32 boats that included many of the top pro drivers from Ullman, Quantum and Sobstad.
North's own Vince Brun finished second in the regatta 7.25 points behind John. On hand were Joe Londrigan from Sobstad, Seadon Wisdjen from Quantun, Charlie Ogletree and Nick Adamson sails separate boats for Ullman.
San Francisco doesn't cut you any slack and we feel that this victory by a true amateur is real proof that North Sails are faster. For more information contact any OD location. Top
1997 MELGES 24 NORWEGIAN NATIONALS
23 Boats
Final results :
1st Place - Harry Melges (North Sails)
2nd Place - K. Thelen/Karl Fazer (North Sails)*
4th Place - Tom Freytag (North Sails)
* partial inventory
Mark Golison is a real estate developer in Long Beach during the week. On his few free weekends (he and his wife have a small baby) he teams up with his friend and partner Wally Hollyday to go Melges 24 racing. In April they finished a close second in Southern California's Ahmanson Cup regatta. Last weekend in breezy San Francisco they topped a Melges fleet that included some of the class's best professional skippers to win the St.Francis Yacht Club's Leukemia Cup regatta.
Sailing against a strong fleet Mark and Wally together with Steve Flam and Pat McCormick used year old North sails to bring home finishes of 1,3,1,1. Not only does this speak loudly about the speed of North Melges 24 sails but it also says a lot about the durability of the sails we make. Mark and Wally have participated in every major event on the West Coast so their sails have seen plenty of miles.
In winning the PCC, Mark and Wally had speed to burn on the pros. For more information on the fastest and Melges 24 sails contact your closest North Melges 24 representative.
North's Vince Brun topped the Melges 24 fleet at the San Diego Yachting Cup held May 5-6 off San Diego, CA. Vince beat a fleet of 16 Melges 24 in conditions from 5-15 knots of wind. One of the biggest events of the year in Southern California, the Yachting Cup had 125 entries in various PHRF and one design classes.
Vince used North's well proven AP main, J-4 jib and Standard Asymmetrical spinnaker designs. North's Chris Snow showed good speed but ended up 7th after a last race PMS cost him second place in the event. New North customer Skip with showed great speed and ended up a respectable 10th in his second Melges 24 event.
Results top 10:
| 1. | Vince Brun | 10.5 pts. | North |
| 2. | D.Paudler | 20.00 pts. | |
| 3. | J Londrigan | 25.75 pts. | |
| 4. | Ed O'Sullivan | 30.75 pts. | North |
| 5. | C. Ogletree | 30.75 pts. | |
| 6. | Steve Maseda | 31.00 pts. | North |
| 7. | Chris Snow | 33.00 pts. | North |
| 8. | Jeff Brizes | 46.00 pts. | North |
| 9. | Wally Hollyday | 50.00 pts. | North |
| 10. | Skip Skipwith | 51.00 pts. | North |
Prior to Key West, Vince Brun and the North One Design team spent a lot of time refining our Melges 24 designs. Based on our experience at the Nationals in Long Beach where it is fairly breezy (14-18 knots), we knew we needed to work on improving our moderate to heavy air speed in anticipation of Key West's generally windy conditions. We have long been very confident in our light air speed.
Working from our standard main design and the J-4 jib design, Vince and team flattened the luff curve in the main to speed up the sail in a breeze without sacrificing power in the light stuff. This proved to work quite well in some events in San Francisco last fall. A side benefit of reducing luff curve (other than more speed) was found in that the boat became less sensitive to backstay pressure. As you trim the main harder the mast bends and the sail flattens. You still need to use the backstay but it's adjustment is much less critical. Simpler trim and more speed are the result.
We are still very happy with the design and speed of our J-4 jib. From the light air of San Diego to the breeze of San Francisco and the variable conditions of Key West, this sail keeps on performing for all who use it.
We've made some technological advances in the construction of our sails that all Melges 24 sailors will be interested in. Following the lead of Team New Zealand in the `95 America's Cup, the radial seams on all our spinnakers are now glued and not sewn. We still sew the horizontal seams (which have much more load) but feel that the gluing of the radial seams results in a much smoother and faster spinnaker. We've tested these with some serious shrimping and can vouch for their strength !!
The horizontal seams on our mains and jibs are now glued and sewn. In order to eliminate any chance of seam slippage all horizontal seams are now glued using 3M's heat sensitive Jet-Weld glue system and then sewn. This eliminates all seam creep (in tests the cloth breaks before the seam) keeping the shape of our sails locked-in in all conditions.
Our continual push to improve North Sails means higher performance and better value for all North clients. Please give us a call with any questions you might have.
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The Melges 24 Class proves once again that it is one of the hottest and most competitive classes going with 30 boats racing at this years SORC. The racing was held on the bay course in Key Biscayne. Some of the teams included former "Gold Cup Champion" Brian Porter, Neil Murphy and Dave Chapin off the always tough "Bird of Prey", Art Brereton from London on "Wicked Feet", Steve Benjamin, Finn sailors and new to the class were John Porter and Will Martin, Keith Musto from England, Michael Dekok from South Africa , Robert Hughes of "Heartbreaker", Joe"Mr. Consistency" Thompson, Scott Elliot, Charlie Ogletree and a cast of all-stars for crews on most of the thirty boats.
Day one saw three boats all with North sails jump out quickly on the rest of the fleet. Winds were out of the same direction they have been for the last 10,000 years at 150 degrees at 18 knots. 2.5 and 2.1 W/L2 courses were used. Brian Porter "Full Throttle" edged Robert Hughes "Heartbreaker" out at the finish line with Art Brereton' "Wicked Feet" a couple of boat lengths behind. Race two was almost the same at the finish except Brian Porter took third and Art Brereton took first with Hughes finishing second again.
Day two same wind direction and same course lengths and types. Brian Porter dominated this day with a 1,2 . Art Brereton sailed to a 5,2 while Robert Hughes won the first race and had fifth in the last race of the day. Robert rounded the first mark of that last race in 17th and with incredible downwind speed moved up to fifth by the first leeward mark.
The final day almost felt like a heavyweight championship fight was getting ready to take place. Brian Porter had to not allow Robert Hughes to put three boats in between, Art Brereton had to put one boat in between himself and Robert but five on Brian. Needless to say Robert and Art needed some help from anyone else in the fleet who until this point really could not keep up with these three boats. Dave Chapin and Neil Murphy finally had a good race going as they were mixing it up with the three leaders in this very windy 20-25 knot race. In the end with all four boats within 10 boat lengths of each other at the finish here is how it ended:
Brian Porter ( John Porter, Andy Burdick, Scott Norby ) Full Throttle 1-3-2-1-2 = 8.5
Art Brereton ( Bill Freytag, Harry Melges, Jeff Ecklund ) Wicked Feet 3-1-5-2-1 = 11.5
Robert Hughes ( Mark Brink, Eric Hood, Mark Lyon ) Heartbreaker 2-2-1-5-3 = 12.75 4th = 38 points.
One thing was very clear, these three boats had superior speed with their North sails. All three sets were new at Key West and
have been through 14 races plus practice days and practice on race days. Our new mainsail (mylar) and spinnaker designs clearly
work better in a wider range of conditions than those of our competition. For more information on SORC call or e-mail Harry Melges , Eric Hood or Andy Burdick in Zenda. For more information on Melges 24 sails in general call your local North One-Design sail loft today!
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NORTH SAILS TAKES TOP AMATEUR SPOT FOR 2nd YEAR RUNNING
We are very excited to congratulate Robert Hughes and the crew of "Heartbreaker" for winning the non--pro division of the Melges 24 class at this year's Key West Race Week. Robert topped a very competitive amateur fleet and finished 4th overall in the regatta beating many of the top pro sailors in the class like Harry Melges, Mark Reynolds, Joe Londrigan and others.
Results like Robert's are again positive proof that North Sails are your best choice for fast sails that are easy to use. Robert's results against a fleet stacked with World ,National and Olympic Champions is a real testimony to his preparation and the speed of his new North Sails. "Heartbreaker" sported a brand new North main and jib for Key West. See our interview with Robert elsewhere for more information on how he prepared for the regatta.
North's MELGES 24 products were the dominant choice of sails for the top boats at this year's Key West Race Week. Not only did North Sails finish 1st in the Amateur Division and 2nd in the Open Division(Vince Brun), but our sails were on 5 of the top 10 boats and more boats were using North Sails than those of any other sailmaker(check this out and make sure). It is clear that more people than ever have confidence in the speed, reliability and durability of North Sails.
For the world's fastest Melges 24 sails, contact :
| ONE DESIGN - WEST Vince Brun / Chris Snow Eric Doyle voice 619 226-1415 fax 619 224-7018 vince@od.northsails.com chris@od.northsails.com ericd@od.northsails.com |
ONE DESIGN - ZENDA Buddy Melges / Harry Melges Eric Hood / Andy Burdick voice 262 275 9728 fax 262 275 8012 harry@melges.com eric@od.northsails.com |
ONE DESIGN - RHODE ISLAND Chuck Allen voice 401 683 7997 fax 401 683 9121 tim@od.northsails.com billf@sales.northsails.com |
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ONE DESIGN - CHESAPEAKE Chris Larson / Matt Beck voice 410 269 5662 fax 410 268 8155 chrisl@od.northsails.com |
ONE DESIGN - CHESAPEAKE Greg Fisher voice 410 280-3617 fax 410 626-8445 greg@od.northsails.com |
ONE DESIGN - EAST Ched Proctor / Brian Hayes voice 203 877 7627 fax 203 877 6942 ched@od.northsails.com brian@od.northsails.com |
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