Nigel Young, manager of North Sails Ireland (NSI), gives an overview of a successful 2018 sailing season for the sailmaker.

What an amazing year 2018 was for North Sails Ireland and its clients! We are extremely proud of these results and it's really great to play a part in the success of so many winning teams around the country and beyond. The depth of these accomplishments and the spread of classes is down to the hard work and dedication of the North Sails Ireland team, our products and of course our great clients. It is almost impossible to pick stand-out results from the 2018 list but I asked my North Sails Ireland colleagues Prof O'Connell and Shane Hughes for their thoughts. Over to you guys!

North Sails Ireland team on the water with Prof (left) and Nigel Young at the helm of a support  boat at the J109 Nationals off Howth Photo: Afloat.ie

Maurice "Prof" O'Connell (started with NSI Oct 2007)

"It was impossible to pick but I had to try. Stand out inshore boats for me were Dave Cullen's team on "Checkmate XV" and Andrew Algeo's team on "Juggerknot". Standout offshore results were in ISORA with "Mojito", "Aurelia" and "Windjammer" taking overall and class wins".

J109 Mojito Photo: Afloat.ie

J122 Aurelia Photo: Afloat.ie

J97 Windjammer Photo: Afloat.ie

Dave Cullen has been a North Sails client since 2007 and Andrew Algeo since his J24 days in 2001.

The Half Ton Cup was a particular highlight for "Checkmate XV" and of course their ICRA Boat of the Year award.

Modified Half-Tonner Checkmate XV Photo: Afloat.ie

Dave had these kind words to say............."North Sails have been powering "Checkmate XV" and my previous boat "King One" for many many years. I am constantly impressed with their superb quality and attention to detail in design, production and after-sales service. Our 2018 season was a great success - we are always fast. Keep up the good work Prof and the North Sails Ireland team".

J109 Juggerknot Photo: Afloat.ie

It was also fantastic to see Andrew and his team (including my Olympic Star class crew-mate Ben Cooke) taking the J109 Nationals 2018 title this year (in addition to winning the inaugural WAVE Regatta and the J109 East Coast Championships). It was the icing on the cake for him in a very competitive One Design class.

"We have no hesitation in returning to North for 'Juggerknot 2' in 2019"

Andrew said, “The team on Juggerknot enjoyed the 2018 J/109 and IRC1 season immensely. Better than expected results certainly helped in that and the advice and after-sales service from Prof O'Connell and the North Sails Ireland team played a large part in our achieving those. The products and after-sales support is fantastic, and we have no hesitation in returning to North for "Juggerknot 2" in 2019. Keep up the great work guys!"

Shane Hughes (Started with NSI Oct 2016)

"As Prof says its hard to choose but the standout result for me was with Eleuthera GS44 Owner Frank Whelan. Frank has been a North Sails client since 2014 and the turnaround from a slow start at Cork Week to finishing with FIVE straight wins and taking Class Zero / One victory was fantastic. He also lifted trophies in Dublin Bay and in Schull at GAS Calves week. The upwind boat speed was the difference and the new 3Di 780 J2 (Medium Jib) was a big part of that.”

Grand Soleil 44 Eleuthera Photo: Afloat.ie

Frank said, “Working with North Sails has offered the Eleuthera team some real advantages. The New 3Di medium jib performed really well for us in a variety of conditions and the service and support from the North Team is ever present and valuable to us.”

Nigel Young (Founded North Sails Ireland in March 2004)

"What an amazing list of results. Great credit must go to Prof and Shane for making so many of these happen. Stand out for me personally was the Mermaid "Innocence" owner Darragh McCormack who was a new North Sails client in 2018. We had the absolute minimum amount of time to meet, consult sail, photograph, re-design and build his new sails for the 2018 class Nationals. For Darragh to win the Championships was the highlight of the year for me. See the full story here.

Mermaid Innocence Photo: Ted Kelly OF Foynes Yacht Club

Darragh said: "When I contacted North Sails they treated me as an equal and when we discussed my needs, they listened. I quickly felt comfortable working with them and the sails worked amazingly well from the start. Winning the first race with the new sails gave me immediate confidence to go on and win the Nationals. Thanks guys for a great job"

The Final Word from Jonny Swan!

Jonny had this to add: "I made the decision in 2018 to move to North Sails Ireland. Nigel Young and Shane Hughes have been superb. I cannot thank them enough for all they have done and having Nigel on board in Cork Week and the recent Half Ton Cup in Belgium was a great addition to Harmony. His input contributed to the best result I have achieved out of the 4 half Ton Cups I have competed in and also a significant result in Cork Week where we won the prestigious Harbour Race by a comfortable 2 minutes from over 90 boats that started on the one start line. The expertise and quality of the North Sails product have significantly improved the performance of the boat"

Modified Half Tonner Harmony Photo: Afloat.ie

What can I say except a big THANK YOU to all our clients and for their kind words. As one of my old mentors used to say, "nothing happens until someone sells something!", but the selling of the sails is just the beginning of the journey when you work with us".

Next time you are thinking about new sails there is only one place to go.........North Sails Ireland.

Take a look below for all our clients' results from 2018 or download the PDF file

Sail FAST.