Bull Sails. Sailmakers

It has long been accepted Polaroid sunglasses help see the shifts. What Sunny’s are best for your sailing. I always liked yellow. From Sailing World.

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Saving Sails and Canvas from Mildew It can be a rust stain caused by a loop of chain that spent the winter lying on a sail. Perhaps a bird crawled under the sail cover and built a nest, pooping on the sail for weeks. Laminate sails present a particularly vexing problem, since mildew likes the adhesive that bond the layers, resulting in stain that is sealed between waterproof layers. Some of these just look bad (rust stains), but others can slowly weaken a sail (mildew in the laminate adhesive). But in all cases, overly aggressive cleaning can make things even worse, weakening the sail more than the mildew ever would. Stains can be removed in three general ways. They can be physically removed, dissolved, or bleached (made invisible). Each requires different chemistry and a different mindset, so it helps to understand the stain. Most stains are linked to moisture. Good ventilation prevents condensation, and consider taking sails home for the off-season. Canvas should be water repel...

Cruising Asymmetric So you have been sailing for a little while in your new boat, discovering the joys of sailing as a recent convert or re-embracing the sport of your youth now you have a settled lifestyle. Coming more familiar with the nuances of your craft and developing confidence in your boat handling. The fun of participating in twilight or lower level recreational racing is apparent. What better than a bit of competition? As the racing bug takes hold, we develop the desire to improve our results and start to cultivate rivalries and greater challenges. Sound familiar! A lot of sailors go through this change of role for their boat. I have had more than one boat owner say to me twelve months into a boat ownership, “I should have got the taller rig/ spinnaker /racing sails option”. One of the more frustrating aspects these sailors encounter is running downwind in light to moderate conditions watching the fleet moving further away under spinnaker. Once you have decided...

                                                                                            A few years back we began to hear of a ship being built down Warrnambool way inspired by the famous mysterious "Mahogany Ship". It turned out to be an authentic Caravel crafted by Graeme and Felicite Wylie. Having a strong and passionate interest in maritime history fuelled by family The  sail took up our entire small loft association I was v...

Cataloguing your settings A lot can happen when we are sailing around a race course. I don’t think I have ever sailed a race where the adjustments of sails, trim and crew placement have not been adjusted on scores of occasions. But a lot of necessary performance orientated adjustments are often overlooked with the hurley burley of the race going on around you. I am a big fan of having a set routine for a crew to adjust the sails and trim for different conditions. Due to the likelihood of some aspects of this being overlooked it is imperative these changes need to be catalogued and accessible. It can be invaluable for a new crew or to act as a simple refresher for existing crew.  Even the experts When you step on even a brand new racing boat, you will nearly always see a chart stuck somewhere in the cockpit with the relative speed, angle and VMG (Velocity Made Good) for that particular boat. These numbers are often supplied by the designer and act as a guide of what the crew...

The first of three designated weekends for winter training for the International Cadet Class was held at Royal Geelong Yacht club. Day 1 We had a great turnout of 16 boats, it was great to see such a concerted effort to attend. Some boats were unavailable for both days but chose to do one which was fantastic commitment. The weather was very fickle with little zephyrs appearing and then disappearing, it was felt it was best to keep the sailors ashore for the morning. The sailors were split up into two groups based on experience and aspirations. Alanna field took the less experienced group and gave a talk on sail controls with particular emphasis on being able to de-power your boat to a manageable level in fresher conditions. Your scribe took the other group to talk about the value of training and looking after the little things like tacking and gybing etc. Shave 1 second off each manoeuvre and it is worth a lot more than a new jib or shiny fashionable sailing jac...