With a race starting on the 7th of June, there are a little over three weeks to the start of this year’s edition of the challenging Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race. So what should boats and crews be thinking about?

Kenny Rumball, who has competed in the race many times, taking class wins and line honours, has some top tips in collaboration with UK Sailmakers Ireland and Offshore Racing Academy.

Boat prep…

Although the weather is unlikely to be too harsh for this race, it can be… one year we actually had to pull out on a J109 into Dunmore East after an upwind hammering the night before all the way from the start. As such, now is the time to check your rig, standing and running rigging, winches, clutches etc. A lot of time, money and effort goes into a race, so let’s control the controllable, one of which is the boat. A few solid days on the boat with the crew in the sun, checking crucial items could mean the difference between finishing or not.

Sails…

‘The powerhouse of our boat, they are what will get us there under sail or not. Those who have competed in the first few ISORA races have been pretty light…. Have we had all the sails in the air and checked them ahead of the race? The last thing we want is to hoist the J3/J4 when we really need it to find its missing battens or, worse still, has a massive hole in it! For those seeking that extra edge in performance and trying to optimise their rating, it’s no secret that sails shrink! When was the last time your sails were re-measured? You never know how much they have shrunk, and this can lead to a few key crucial points on the cert!’

Now is the time to log important waypoints and dangers into your chart plotter or computer

Navigation & Routing

‘Something that is talked about in the bar more than anywhere else, routings, ETAs, going inside our outside banks etc. The most important part is to look at the safety side of things navigation-wise. Now is the time to log important waypoints and dangers into your chart plotter or computer rather than the night before! In the most basic part, we can predict the tides with confidence. The start is scheduled for 1400, and with high water that day at 1504; this is the perfect time if you wanted to catch the south-going tide past Wicklow head; worth looking at a tidal atlas to see where the tide runs fastest inshore or offshore….

To help competitors on this, I will be running a weather briefing and some routing simulations the night before the race in the National Yacht Club, where I’ll be able to answer some last-minute questions.

Logistics

Logistically offshore races such as the D2D can be a challenge, finishing in a different port to the start and away from home. Don’t forget the basics to allow you to enjoy the event fully! Dingle is busy; book accommodation early!

For those boats looking to save weight on board, we in the Offshore Racing Academy are providing our bag drop service, checkout this link for more information!

We’ll have more information soon, however, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact the loft…

Earlier this month, we ran a successful training day in Dun Laoghaire for all cruiser racers leading up to the busy Dublin Bay Sailing Club season. Kenny Rumball from the Offshore Racing Academy was on hand to coach along with Barry Hayes and Liam Glynn of UK Sailmakers Ireland.

The day was a great success in challenging conditions making it all the more worthwhile for the sailors and, indeed, the great team on board the committee boat. The race committee led by the diligent Michael Tyrrell dealt with wind from the North, South, East and West which changed direction every 5 minutes…. When the rain came in hard, and with a 1500 kick-off looming on a certain Heineken Cup Match, it was time to head for home!

Nick Holman gets set up for the start of Race 2 of the UK Sailmakers Ireland Dublin Bay Sailing Club Training Day

Michael Tyrrell got the mixed large fleet of everything from First 21.7 up to Cruisers 1 of boats off all sizes and classes in one of 3 starts. With 180-degree wind shifts the DBSC race committee were well under pressure to get us away, with Michael keeping on top of it all.

The classes were treated to light windward-leeward courses starting off slowly and getting on-the-water advice from Liam, Kenny and Barry. With video and drones in action for the debrief after sailing.

Retiring to the wet bar of the Royal Irish Yacht Club with glasses charged and sandwiches in order, the video and drone footage was put to good use and picked apart to see where every boat could improve. This was a constructive session with everyone working together! We need more of this in sailing!

Steve Hayes's First 34.7 Black Magic getting his team set up for the season at the UK Sailmakers Ireland Dublin Bay Sailing Club Training Day

Feedback from all participants was that of the worthiness of getting out training ahead of the season. It’s no surprise that those boats out training with us were at the top of the results board after the first few days of the DBSC season!

From a wide range of boats racing in both sizes and differing skill levels, we were able to assist everyone on the course and get a wide range of technical issues, which we were able to iron out in the Debrief after sailing.

Rowan Fogerty's First 211 Ventuno at the UK Sailmakers Ireland Dublin Bay Sailing Club Training Day

Below is a youtube video from the day:



We look forward to working with DBSC to do more training days for their members to improve the racing in Dublin Bay.

UK Sailmakers Ireland, in conjunction with Dublin Bay Sailing Club and the Irish National Sailing School, will be on the water this month with an innovative pre-season race training day on Dublin Bay on Saturday, April 22nd. 

A series of short races will be held with on-the-water coaching provided.

Windward Leeward course simulations with between three and five starts (depending on numbers).

The first race start, which is open to all, is at 10.45 am. 

Afterwards, a video debrief will be held in the Royal Irish Yacht Club with Kenny Rumball and Barry Hayes.

More details in this flyer below and booking form here

Irish Laser ace Liam Glynn will be in the Royal St. George Yacht Club on Thursday evening when he and offshore sailor Kenny Rumball, along with UK Sailmakers Ireland manager Barry Hayes deliver a lecture at Dun Laoghaire's biggest yacht club.

The open talk is titled; 'Optimising performance through the lens of sailing physics' and starts at RStGYC at 7.30 pm on Thursday, March 30th.

The talk is part of a series of UK Sails countrywide talks that began in February at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough and last week at Howth YC and the Royal Irish YC, both recording some great turnouts.

A good turnout for Kenny Rumball at the RIYC

Glynn talks chiefly about Lasers and tactics, while Rumball intends to cover offshore tactics and navigation.

Liam Glynn at the Howth Yacht Club UK Sails talk 

Irish Laser ace Liam Glynn will be in Royal Irish Yacht Club on Thursday evening when he and offshore sailor Kenny Rumball, along with UK Sailmakers Ireland manager Barry Hayes deliver a lecture at the country's biggest IRC club.

The open talk is titled; 'Optimising performance through the lens of sailing physics' and starts at RIYC at 7.30 pm on Thursday, March 24th.

The talk is part of a series of UK Sails countrywide talks that began in February at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough and this week at HYC.

Glynn talks chiefly about Lasers and tactics, while Rumball intends to cover offshore tactics and navigation.

Irish Laser ace Liam Glynn will be in Howth Yacht Club on Wednesday evening when he and offshore sailor Kenny Rumball along with UK Sailmakers Ireland manager Barry Hayes deliver a  lecture at the country's biggest yacht club.

The talk, which is open to everyone, is titled; 'Optimising performance through the lens of sailing physics' and starts at HYC at 7.30 pm on Wednesday, March 22nd.

The talk is part of a series of UK Sails countrywide talks that began in February at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough.

Glynn talks chiefly about Lasers and tactics, while Rumball intends to cover offshore tactics and navigation.

Irish Laser ace Liam Glynn will be on home waters when he and UK Sailmakers Ireland manager Barry Hayes deliver the first of a series of UK Sails countrywide talks beginning in Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough later this month.

The talk, which is open to everyone, is titled; 'Optimising performance through the lens of sailing physics' and will be held at BYC at 7.30 pm on Thursday, February 23rd.

When it comes to reducing the area of your headsail (HSA) as a way to improve your IRC rating, Barry Hayes from UK Sailmakers Ireland has the low down. you’ll learn how complicated while also straightforward the process can be and different approaches to achieve the same objective. Here’s what Barry shared:

I know everyone wants the lowest rating possible for their boat and I often get asked if shortening headsail luff a little can I bring down my rating. Basically, the answer is yes; almost any reduction in sail area, if done in the right places, will lower your rating. However, there is a fine line between the net gain of a lower rating vs losing power. This can be tricky business; let me explain why.

Most owners want to optimise their boat’s rating to suit the conditions they most regularly sail. Consider this example: a boat is fully powered up at nine knots and at its optimum healing angle, given the conditions and the amount of crew they have. If the owner still feels the boat has too much power despite being already maxed out on the backstay, by reducing the righting moment in the sails, and eliminating that unnecessary power may make the boat perform better and hopefully result in a lower rating. If this is the case, then reducing the headsail area is a viable option, but be careful this reduction in ( HSA )won’t change where the lead is set on the boat when sailing. 

IRC Genoa – XD Silver sails fully powered up

There are three main ways to reduce your HSA on IRC: 1) reducing the luff length, 2) reducing the LP, and. 3) hollowing the leech. Each has its pros and cons.

1) Making the luff shorter. This has a significant effect on reducing your rating but actually may increase your HSA. That may sound counter-intuitive, but if the luff is shorter, all the girth measurement points move further down the sail, so you may lose real headsail area, but it will increase your IRC HSA. In this example below, you can see how reducing the luff length will move the girths down the sail and the sail, but it will be larger in area when measured in IRC.

2) Reducing the LP. This will bring your rating down, but it will also greatly affect the shape of the sail as you are cutting/changing the leading-edge camber. This rarely works well as it totally changes the sail’s shape and aerodynamic design.

3) Hollowing the leech of the sail. This will reduce the area in terms of IRC measurements. While this process will take actual area out of the sail, usually it’s only a small amount, normally about a square meter or so, depending on the size of the sail. For most boats, that is all you need for IRC, and it won’t affect the sail shape. It’s also normally the cheapest options as well, given the amount of work needed in the other two options.

Oyster 575 Lisanne – Fully powered up. With her XD Endure sails

Here is an example of a genoa being recut :

Historically, when your sail is new, it will shrink a little, but today this effect is greatly reduced with new sail technology. The amount of shrinkage is tiny, but it is worth getting your sail re-measured for IRC a year after first use.

An even better option than the three I reviewed is to get a new headsail designed to the specific HSA you desire. I’m not saying that so much as a sailmaker, but a new sail that is designed and built to a desired size will deliver better performance than an older sail that has been recut. And, given you may need to sail with less crew with the reduced HSA, you can see the effect of this on Formula 28 ANIMAL IRL 6563. We worked with ANIMAL’s owner and reduced his HSA and increase his SPA, He reduced unneeded power he had upwind, and optimised his rating downwind.

IRC Genoa upwind

In contrast, if you need more power because your headsail area is too small and you don’t want a new headsail, try sailing with less crew as a means to balance the boat to the optimum power and weight ratio for the conditions at which you have your rating set.

Let me close by answering your email question before you ask it; the effect of the recut on your headsail changes I’ve discussed here will be the same on non-overlapping headsails as well before you even send the e mail. ;0)

If you’re thinking about optimising your boat for the coming season, give us a call, and we can help you get the best out of your rating.

Yachts racing upwind at Kinsale in County Cork

UK Sailmakers International’s loft owners and managers met at The Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire last month for their first in-person meeting since 2019, hoisted by UK sailmakers Ireland. The annual meetings bring together UK Sailmakers’ leadership from around the world for several days to discuss new advancements in the sailmaking industry, how those advancements can benefit UK’s customers, and how the group can continue working together to improve sailing. In the end, participants returned to their lofts with renewed energy to bring well-designed, well-built, and durable sails to their customers.

This year, the meeting drew 32 people representing 21 lofts from as far away as Hong Kong, Australia, the western U.S., and Canada,” said John Bennett, President of UK Sailmakers International. “In addition to having three days to share each loft manager’s thoughts on the current and future states of sailing and sailmaking, this meeting gave us the opportunity to share UK Sailmakers’ latest developments in sailmaking design, manufacturing, and marketing.” The main topics of discussion at this year’s meeting focused on how new technologies are shaping sailcloth performance characteristics, sail design software developments, new marketing initiatives and most of all, environmental sustainability sailcloths, which is a new market that UK Sailmakers are leading the way towards developing sails that are environmental sustainability for the future for all of us.

Barry Hayes of UK Sailmakers Ireland giving a presentation on design during the Loft Managers Meeting in Dun Laoghaire Harbour

The meeting was also an opportunity to introduce a few new faces to the group including Kevin Sproul, the owner of the new UK Sailmakers in Southampton, England; Marcel De Jong, new owner of UK Sailmakers Netherlands; and Heather Mahady, the new General Manager of UK Sailmakers International.

Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, the annual UKI Loft Managers Meeting has not been held in-person since 2019. “The choice of Dublin for the meeting was made back in 2019 and here we are, three years later, with it all coming together,” said Barry Hayes, owner of UK Sailmakers Ireland and the meeting’s host. The last time the UKI Loft Managers Meeting was in Ireland was 25 years ago, when the group met at the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

UK Sailmakers International’s loft owners and managers at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Hayes was excited to share Ireland’s history, culture, and sailing community with the rest of the UK group. Beyond the meeting itself, Barry planned team-building activities including trips to the Jameson Distillery, the Guinness Storehouse, and a selection of historic Yacht Clubs around Dun Laoghaire, Starting with welcome drinks in the National Yacht Club, meeting every day at the Royal Irish Yacht Club and a final dinner and drinks in the Royal St George Yacht Club. Barry’s plans were a great success and he received plenty of praise from the visiting loft managers for a well-organised fun meeting. Mehmet Taylan from UK Norway enjoyed his time in Dublin, saying it was, “A fantastic UK Sailmakers meeting,” and that it was great to see the managers from other lofts in person again. Taylan noted that “UK stands together even stronger, [with] new products and new technology.”

John Bennet said that this year’s voting and selection for the UK Loft of the Year Award was “a real tough one,” considering the great performances and contributions from many lofts recovering post-pandemic. Ultimately, the decision ended in a tie for the UK Sailmakers lofts located in Turkey and Ireland. Baris and Bulent Celik of UK Turkey received the award for their humanitarian work assisting the Ukraine loft, in addition to their efforts to develop new software programmes for the UK group, and maxi yacht sail production.

Barry Hayes from UK Ireland was also awarded the title UK Loft of the Year Award for his loft’s contributions to the UK group, including articles which raised the profile of UK Sailmakers both in and out of Ireland, plus an incredible post-COVID recovery for the loft, work on design and development. His work with PPE during Covid and Humanitarian work with Ukraine.

Barry Hayes from UK Ireland (centre) was awarded the title UK Loft of the Year Award for his loft’s contributions to the UK group

The next UK Sailmakers International’s Loft Managers Meeting will be held in Sidney, BC, Canada, home to the UK Sailmakers Northwest loft. Stuart and Joy Dahlgren, the owners of UK Northwest, look forward to hosting another great event in 2023.

Last month, UK Sailmakers Ireland announced the addition of two more sailmakers to their team, reflecting the increase in the loft’s business: Kenny Rumball and Liam Glynn.

Following-up on that announcement, UK Sailmakers Ireland was delighted to report that Kenny finished third overall in the Dublin Bay Turkey Shoot Series. Given that the sails were old test development sails, they are performing perfectly. Kenny and crew did well against a strong fleet, including some very competitive J/109s.

Both Kenny and Liam are having great success in terms of servicing existing sails and bringing in new UK customers.

Liam is selling and servicing a lot of new sail business in the Northern Ireland market.

Among the others doing well in the fleet, although not making the podium, were Colin Byrne and the under-25 INSS team, both using UK Sailmakers Ireland’s sails.

On behalf of Barry, Kenny, Liam and all the rest of the UK Sailmakers Ireland loft team, we wish you a happy new year.