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North Sails Ireland Clients Dominate Half Ton Cup

29th August 2018
Dave Cullen and the Checkmate XV crew Dave Cullen and the Checkmate XV crew Credit: Fiona Brown

North Sails Ireland congratulate clients Dave Cullen, Jonny Swan and both teams crews for taking first and second overall at the Half Ton Cup last week in Belgium writes sailmaker Nigel Young.

The Half Ton Cup has been well supported by Irish Teams for the last number of years and 2018 was no different. The week started with light winds and flat water and the breeze and waves slowly built throughout the week until the final two days saw some gusts of over 20 knots to test the crews.

Dave Cullen and his experienced team were a little slow out of the blocks in results terms early in the week but once the breeze came in there was no stopping them. Congratulations to Dave and all the crew for a great performance and dominating the racing as the regatta unfolded.

Harmony North SailsJonny Swan's Harmony Photo: Fiona Brown

I was lucky enough to be sailing with our latest Half-Ton client Jonny Swan who recently made the step up to North Sails. Jonny sailing with his regular Team from Howth with the addition of yours truly mirrored the performance of his club mates starting off a bit shaky in the light airs but again showing great form when the breeze was up.

Second overall Jonny's best HTC result to date since purchasing Harmony and his first major Half-Ton class regatta using North Sails.

Only three and a half points separated the top two boats in the end but to be fair we never really felt like we could beat Dave as he often had a tiny edge we struggled to match.

Both boats were sailing with 100% 3Di upwind sails and V-Series Symmetrical spinnakers downwind.

For more information about North Sails 3Di please take a look at the link here

Published in Half Tonners
Nigel Young

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Nigel Young

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Loft Manager and One Design Expert, Nigel Young started sailmaking in 1981 in Cowes and opened North Sails Ireland in 2004. He races regularly with Irish clients and has competed in Melges 24s since their introduction into Europe in 1994 and has competed in 18 of 20 World Championships, with his best result of a third overall. Nigel also races Dragons Internationally, RS200s and Yachting World Dayboats.

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North Sails Ireland is operated by Loft Manager and One Design Expert Nigel Young at his Cork Harbour base at Myrtleville. The company specialities include Bend on / Bend off, Canvas, Certified Service, Sail Hardware Upgrades, Sail Inspection / Evaluation, Sail Measurement, Sail Repair, Sail Storage and Sail Washing. Working with Nigel are Maurice O'Connell, Shane Hughes and Richard Marshall.