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Displaying items by tag: North Sails Ireland

Happy new year everyone!

North Sails Ireland is continuing to further push the boundaries of sail design and construction using our Helix load sharing technology.

Helix is being continuously developed and refined by our designers at the very highest levels of the sport. It is of note that 2021 TP 52 World Champion and Super Series winner "Sled" was powered 100% by North Sails.

Like all industries, there is a "trickle-down" effect and North Sails Ireland customers, as always, will benefit from this technology with our first Helix sails appearing in 2020 and 2021.

Sunfast 3200 "All or Nothing" charges upwind flying her North Sails HELIX J2 on Strangford Lough. Pic: Maurice O'Connell / North Sails IrelandSunfast 3200 "All or Nothing" charges upwind flying her North Sails HELIX J2 on Strangford Lough. Pic: Maurice O'Connell / North Sails Ireland

We have Helix load-sharing headsails, staysails and Code ZERO's in build this year for Sunfast 3600's, J109's, Cape 31's, X302's and a JPK 1030 and we cannot WAIT to see our customers in action with these sails.

On a slightly larger scale, please click here to read about Sydney Hobart line honours winner "Blackjack" and how HELIX was integral to her recent success.

For more information on HELIX and any aspect of cruising or race sails please contact your North Sails Ireland team here. We'd love to chat!

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2021 was a busy year at the North Sails Ireland service loft. With a more regular sailing schedule back in play, we had unprecedented demand and it was such a pleasure to re-connect with so many of our clients and more importantly, help keep you all on the water enjoying your sailing!

We have seen everything from Optimist sails through to Grand Prix yacht sails come through the door with some exciting projects to challenge us along the way. For myself and Matthew O’Gorman (who works with me at the service loft), it has been a super busy year, trying to balance all the service work, as well as new sails delivery and set up along with getting out on the water as often as we can!

Over last winter we helped Project manage the new J/99 ‘Snapshot’ for Mike and Richie Evans, with the boat being staged and prepped at Noonan’s Boatyard (next door to us!), so it was especially gratifying to see and help that project get off to a flying start with an overall win at Sovereign’s Cup as well as some other very notable performances throughout the season.

On the sail modification side, we were especially busy working with our clients to upgrade or re-work their sails to help either extend the usable lifespan or simply fit a modified onboard set up. We recently undertook some sail modification work for Conor Fogerty’s Beneteau Figaro 3 ‘Raw’. It was so nice to get out and test the mods with Conor before he headed off to France with the boat, to make sure all the work had gone to plan and operated as expected.

J2 with Reef point and hanks added using 3Di 5 Ply Spread filament tapes(Above and below) J2 with Reef point and hanks added using 3Di 5 Ply Spread filament tapes

We also had time to light the Figaro 3 up a little which was nice! It is always great to work with Conor and we wish him all the best in 2022 with his upcoming sailing.

With the 2022 season on the horizon, it is time to get your sails in to us for servicing, so you are ready to hit the ground running. At North Sails, we have access to specific materials and technology that are unique in the sailmaking industry. Our proprietary 3Di product range is industry-leading and requires specific materials and understanding to repair properly. So, it is important that our clients protect their investment in the world’s fastest sails by keeping them maintained with us.

We also offer a full sail cleaning service which can include special anti-fungal treatments as well as water-repellant coatings for older soft sails so get in touch with us to discuss getting your sails and/or covers cleaned up and looking good for 2022.

"Our close proximity to the Dublin clubs and marinas makes collection / drop off easy"

Our close proximity to the Dublin clubs and marinas makes collection / drop off easy, however, we have good processes in place to collect and deliver sails nationwide so no matter where you are located please get in touch.

We are standing by to discuss your specific needs and work with you on your timeline so that you are 100% ready to go in 2022 for what is sure to be another exciting year on the water!

All the best from your North Sails Ireland service team!

The end-of-sailing season is the right time to get in touch with your North Certified Service loft for annual maintenance.

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North Sails is a unique sailmaker, built on a champion spirit. We make history by looking ahead and that's what sets us apart from other sailmakers.

We’re proud to introduce Loft 57, a conversational podcast (below) that opens the doors to the world’s leading sailmaker.

With host Ken Read, this series goes behind the scenes with product creators and the passionate sailors who trust us to power their adventures.

This will be a really interesting series of interviews with key North staff and industry leaders. 

All North Sails sold in Ireland are made using all of the features and systems discussed in the podcasts. 

We hope you enjoy the Podcast series!

Welcome onboard.

Nigel Young

Loft 57 with Ken Read

Advanced mathematical modelling complements the North Sails innovative spirit. In Episode 1, we talk design, simulation, and the bespoke North Design Suite with three generations of sail engineers. Michael Richelson, Marco Capitani, and Brodt Taylor all bring their unique skills to the table and help create cutting-edge products that give North Sails its signature competitive edge.

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The North Sails One Design Black Friday promotion is running this week and if you are in the market for OD sails please contact us in advance to get a quote and see what you can save!

North Sails are dominating the results in hundreds of classes worldwide as well as here in Ireland.

1720

The North Sails Ireland staff are all active on the International and local stage in many OD classes. This way we remain current and able to offer the very best advice on your chosen class.......

J/80 MojoJ/80 Mojo

Please do not hesitate to contact us here at North Sails Ireland for the best advice possible on all One Design Sails. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sail FAST!

Nigel Young

Dayboat at speed

Promotion valid for all Inshore One Design sails delivered in North America and Europe. Excludes OffShore and Grand Prix One Design classes. Excludes all custom sail orders. Valid for orders placed between November 25-29, 2021. Sails will ship as soon as order is complete. This offer cannot be combined with any other discount/promotion. 

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Only one week left to get the best savings on North Sails One Design products.

The North Sails One Design promotion will end on the 31st of October so please contact us before that date to secure the lowest prices.

North Sails are dominating the results in hundreds of classes Worldwide as well as here in Ireland. In the North Sails Ireland staff, we are all active on the International and local stage in many classes. This way we remain current and able to offer the very best advice on your chosen class...

J/80

Please do not hesitate to contact us here at North Sails Ireland for the best advice possible on all One Design Sails. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sail FAST!

Nigel Young

17201720

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Here at North Sails Ireland, our one-design (non-IRC/ECHO) clients have had a fantastic season.

North Sails powered championship winners in the J24, Puppeteer 22, Dragon, Flying Fifteen, J80 and many many other classes.

For these one-design classes, our winter pricing goes live today - October 1st for one month only.

So if you want the FASTEST sail, at the BEST price to you, then please get in touch with us. We'd be delighted to chat!

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Following on from the success of our wonderful North Sails Ireland customers at events all over the country last weekend, we bring you some more good news:- 

Our PPD (price period discount) programme will be going live on October 1st for a limited time only.

This is specifically aimed at helping owners and sailors who wish to avail of special pricing and take delivery of their sails in early 2022.

Whether you are cruising, handicap racing or one-design racing - this is good news for all!

So, whilst on the subject of good news, it was another smashing weekend for North Sails race clients..........

J/109 Nationals

On Dublin Bay, "Joker II" won the North Sails-sponsored J109 National Championships, powered 100% by North Sails as reported here.

The pic above is of the "Joker II" team mid-celebration with yours truly assisting them!

"Chimaera!" at the 2021 J109 Nationals flying her 3Di RAW Main and North Sails 3Di RAW Code 1 jib - Pic: Maurice O'Connell / North Sails Ireland"Chimaera!" at the 2021 J109 Nationals flying her 3Di RAW Main and North Sails 3Di RAW Code 1 jib - Pic: Maurice O'Connell / North Sails Ireland

J/24 Northerns

In Carrickfergus on Belfast Lough, JP McCaldin's great team on "El Roccicio" won the J24 Northern Area Championships - also powered in part by North Sails.

'El Riccio' winning the J24 Northerns flying her North Sails 'Fat Head' Main and SDTH Genoa'El Riccio' winning the J24 Northerns flying her North Sails 'Fat Head' Main and SDTH Genoa

Cruisers Three Championships

Back on Dublin Bay, "Cartoon" won the Cruisers 3 championships also powered in part by North Sails.

"Cartoon" flying her north Sails 3DL mainsail and her Contender Superkote A GRADE S2 symmetric spinnaker"Cartoon" flying her north Sails 3DL mainsail and her Contender Superkote A GRADE S2 symmetric spinnaker Photo: Afloat

Flying Fifteen East Coasts

Finally, again on Dublin Bay, under the auspices of the National YC, long time North Sails client Nigel Biggs with team-mate Peter Evans won the Flying Fifteen East Coast Championships, powered 100% by North Sails.

Nigel Biggs and Peter Evans rounding the top mark at the Flying Fifteen East Coasts flying their 100% North Sails inventoryNigel Biggs and Peter Evans rounding the top mark at the Flying Fifteen East Coasts flying their 100% North Sails inventory Photo: Afloat

"Biggzee" and Peter flew their FR-3 main, NXG-3 genoa and RS-1 spinnaker to win the event by a point from current Irish champions John Lavery and Alan Green. Well done guys!

What a weekend - thanks so much to all of you from the team here at North Sails Ireland.

If you would like to discuss your sailing plans for 2022, then do please get in touch with us. We'd be delighted to chat about our special PPD's! We have sails for all sizes, shapes and budgets.

Sail FAST.

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North Sails Ireland is again sponsoring the J/109 Nationals this year.

The event will be hosted by the Royal Irish Yacht Club and in talking to event organiser Damien Quinn from "Jalapeno", it is hoped that 12 boats will be competing this weekend.

That's TWELVE 35 foot one-designs racing windward leewards which is TREMENDOUS to see.

It is also wonderful to see the two Cork J109's "Artful Dodger" and "Jelly Baby" remain in Dublin after the ICRA's two weeks ago - fair play guys! You'll have to hurry back down for the RCYC Autumn League the following weekend!

12 J/109s will compete for National Honours at the North SAils sponsored National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht clubUp to 12 J/109s will compete for National Honours at the North Sails sponsored National Championships at the Royal Irish Yacht club

In addition to some lovely NS goodies for prizes, we will be providing on-the-water event support on Sat. I will be in the RIYC RIB with my video camera shooting the action. We will then de-brief it all in the wet bar in the Royal Irish on the big screen.

(Above and below) The J/109 event will include post racing debriefs(Above and below) The J/109 event will include post racing debrie

There might just be a few giveaways for those of you who execute a memorable (maybe for not the right reasons) manoeuvre!

DBSC supremo Eddie Totterdell and his team will be running the racing so the fleet will be in good hands.

Here at North Sails, we are delighted to support such a fantastic event.

Fingers crossed we get some wind!

Prof.

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The Mermaid National Championships were hosted by Tralee Bay Sailing Club recently. TBSC in Fenit is one of my favourite places to race. The majestic mountain backdrops surrounding Samphire Island make it an unforgettable experience.

Here at North Sails Ireland, we were thrilled to see the McCormack treble - Darragh, Mark & Noel in "Innocence" successfully defend their title that they won in 2020 in Cork. Brilliant stuff guys."Innocence" is powered 100% by North Sails.

2nd overall, also powered 100% by North Sails was Vincent & Roisín McCormack and Michael Lynch in "Three Chevrons".

Congratulations to this great class from all of us here at North Sails Ireland. The class is going from strength to strength!

The podium:-

1. "innocence" 100% North Sails

2. "Three Chevrons" 100% North Sails

3. "This Is It" - North Sails*

Full results are here

Sail FAST.

*denotes partial inventory

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Not for the first time, the super-consistent team of Neil Hegarty, David Williams and the evergreen Peter Bowring won the Dragon Irish National Championships in Kinsale YC over the weekend.

In a stunning series, they opened their account with three straight bullets and kept it steady after that to wrap up their series with a 4 point winning margin.

"Phantom" flew her 100% North Sails inventory which consisted of her A7+ mainsail, MH-8H genoa and CD-5 spinnaker.

2nd overall - Ghost IRL 1812nd overall - Ghost IRL 181 Photo: Bob Bateman

2nd overall was Colm Dunne, sailing with Colm Daly and Daniel McCloskey, in his new Dragon "Ghost". Colm split the tie-break with Brian Goggin, Daniel Murphy, Sean Murphy, and John O'Connor on "Serafina" (also 100% powered by North Sails) by virtue of winning two races to the one race won by "Serafina!".

Serafina IRL 1803rd overall - Serafina IRL 180 Photo: Bob Bateman

Talk about TIGHT racing!

Colm and his team only took delivery of the boat this year and this, coupled with their new North Sails inventory of their A14 mainsail, v6-M genoa and R9 spinnaker made them a new force in the class.

Congratulations to all the Dragon fleet on yet another great event by all accounts. The class looks like it's on the rebound and all of us here at North Sails are delighted to be a part of that.

Sail FAST.

Published in North Sails Ireland
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Howth Yacht Club information

Howth Yacht Club is the largest members sailing club in Ireland, with over 1,700 members. The club welcomes inquiries about membership - see top of this page for contact details.

Howth Yacht Club (HYC) is 125 years old. It operates from its award-winning building overlooking Howth Harbour that houses office, bar, dining, and changing facilities. Apart from the Clubhouse, HYC has a 250-berth marina, two cranes and a boat storage area. In addition. its moorings in the harbour are serviced by launch.

The Club employs up to 31 staff during the summer and is the largest employer in Howth village and has a turnover of €2.2m.

HYC normally provides an annual programme of club racing on a year-round basis as well as hosting a full calendar of International, National and Regional competitive events. It operates a fleet of two large committee boats, 9 RIBs, 5 J80 Sportboats, a J24 and a variety of sailing dinghies that are available for members and training. The Club is also growing its commercial activities afloat using its QUEST sail and power boat training operation while ashore it hosts a wide range of functions each year, including conferences, weddings, parties and the like.

Howth Yacht Club originated as Howth Sailing Club in 1895. In 1968 Howth Sailing Club combined with Howth Motor Yacht Club, which had operated from the West Pier since 1935, to form Howth Yacht Club. The new clubhouse was opened in 1987 with further extensions carried out and more planned for the future including dredging and expanded marina facilities.

HYC caters for sailors of all ages and run sailing courses throughout the year as part of being an Irish Sailing accredited training facility with its own sailing school.

The club has a fully serviced marina with berthing for 250 yachts and HYC is delighted to be able to welcome visitors to this famous and scenic area of Dublin.

New applications for membership are always welcome

Howth Yacht Club FAQs

Howth Yacht Club is one of the most storied in Ireland — celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2020 — and has an active club sailing and racing scene to rival those of the Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Clubs on the other side of Dublin Bay.

Howth Yacht Club is based at the harbour of Howth, a suburban coastal village in north Co Dublin on the northern side of the Howth Head peninsula. The village is around 13km east-north-east of Dublin city centre and has a population of some 8,200.

Howth Yacht Club was founded as Howth Sailing Club in 1895. Howth Sailing Club later combined with Howth Motor Yacht Club, which had operated from the village’s West Pier since 1935, to form Howth Yacht Club.

The club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. In addition, Howth Yacht Club prides itself as being a world-class international sailing event venue and hosts many National, European and World Championships as part of its busy annual sailing schedule.

As of November 2020, the Commodore of the Royal St George Yacht Club is Ian Byrne, with Paddy Judge as Vice-Commodore (Clubhouse and Administration). The club has two Rear-Commodores, Neil Murphy for Sailing and Sara Lacy for Junior Sailing, Training & Development.

Howth Yacht Club says it has one of the largest sailing memberships in Ireland and the UK; an exact number could not be confirmed as of November 2020.

Howth Yacht Club’s burgee is a vertical-banded pennant of red, white and red with a red anchor at its centre. The club’s ensign has a blue-grey field with the Irish tricolour in its top left corner and red anchor towards the bottom right corner.

The club organises and runs sailing events and courses for members and visitors all throughout the year and has very active keelboat and dinghy racing fleets. In addition, Howth Yacht Club prides itself as being a world-class international sailing event venue and hosts many National, European and World Championships as part of its busy annual sailing schedule.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has an active junior section.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club hosts sailing and powerboat training for adults, juniors and corporate sailing under the Quest Howth brand.

Among its active keelboat and dinghy fleets, Howth Yacht Club is famous for being the home of the world’s oldest one-design racing keelboat class, the Howth Seventeen Footer. This still-thriving class of boat was designed by Walter Herbert Boyd in 1897 to be sailed in the local waters off Howth. The original five ‘gaff-rigged topsail’ boats that came to the harbour in the spring of 1898 are still raced hard from April until November every year along with the other 13 historical boats of this class.

Yes, Howth Yacht Club has a fleet of five J80 keelboats for charter by members for training, racing, organised events and day sailing.

The current modern clubhouse was the product of a design competition that was run in conjunction with the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland in 1983. The winning design by architects Vincent Fitzgerald and Reg Chandler was built and completed in March 1987. Further extensions have since been made to the building, grounds and its own secure 250-berth marina.

Yes, the Howth Yacht Club clubhouse offers a full bar and lounge, snug bar and coffee bar as well as a 180-seat dining room. Currently, the bar is closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Catering remains available on weekends, take-home and delivery menus for Saturday night tapas and Sunday lunch.

The Howth Yacht Club office is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm. Contact the club for current restaurant opening hours at [email protected] or phone 01 832 0606.

Yes — when hosting sailing events, club racing, coaching and sailing courses, entertaining guests and running evening entertainment, tuition and talks, the club caters for all sorts of corporate, family and social occasions with a wide range of meeting, event and function rooms. For enquiries contact [email protected] or phone 01 832 2141.

Howth Yacht Club has various categories of membership, each affording the opportunity to avail of all the facilities at one of Ireland’s finest sailing clubs.

No — members can join active crews taking part in club keelboat and open sailing events, not to mention Pay & Sail J80 racing, charter sailing and more.

Fees range from €190 to €885 for ordinary members.
Memberships are renewed annually.

©Afloat 2020