Yachts & Yachting – August 2019

The best race was saved for

last at the Hempel World Cup

Series in Marseille, as Hannah

Mills and Eilidh McIntyre

(GBR) faced Camille Lecointre

and Aloise Retornaz (FRA) in

the Women’s 470 Medal

Race. Just one point

separated the two teams

ahead of the start, meaning

the winner would take gold at

the event in June. As

expected, the pair match-

raced o‹ the start with the

French managing to loosely

cover the British in the fi rst

beat. At the fi rst mark, the

French had the advantage.

Using all the experience that

earned her gold at Rio, Mills

constantly looked for

openings but the French

managed to keep ahead in a

gripping chess match on the

water. Mills and McIntyre

eventually found a small

opening at the fi nal mark,

before a reaching fi nish, but

the French just held on to

claim a hard-earned gold. Mills

and McIntyre fi nished

seconds behind to take silver.

Lecointre said: “It was a very

intense race with the British

girls. It was real match racing

at the start and we got the

advantage but nothing was

confi rmed until the end.”

The Marine Accident

Investigation Branch has

published its report into the

death by drowning of Clipper

Race sailor Simon Speirs, a

60-year-old retired solicitor

(pictured below with his son

Mike) who fell overboard

during the last Clipper Race.

The MAIB fi ndings show that

Simon died after being

dragged by a long safety

tether alongside the 70ft

yacht. The failure of his tether

clip, which was subjected to

excess lateral loading after

being wedged under a deck

cleat, meant he was

subsequently swept away

from the boat. He was unable

to be resuscitated when

recovered and was later

buried at sea.

The MAIB report includes

a recommendation that

World Sailing seeks to raise

awareness of the danger of

lateral loads on tether clips.

Mills and McIntyre battle to

the last at Marseille

Report released on Clipper

Race fatality

JEREMY WHITE

Elvstrom Sails UK

Would Paul Elvstrom be happy with

how Elvstrom UK looks today?

I’d imagine he’d be amazed at how

much sailmakers have evolved over

the years. When I started sail-making

in the early 1980s there were only

a handful of sailmakers.

What is the advantage of your new

Cable Free Code Zero?

It can be fl own with signifi cantly less

halyard tension than a cabled Code

Zero, which enables the sail to project

further forwards. This helps create a

straighter, non-fl apping leech and

means the sail works across wider

sailing angles. Without a sti‹ , heavy

cable, the sail is lighter to move

around and storage is easier.

How do you test a new product

such as this?

It had a season of testing with the

Lady Mariposa Racing Team, on

board their Ker 46 and no doubt

contributed to their success with

overall victory in the 2018 RORC

O‹ shore Points Championships.

How can you confi dently guarantee

your EPEX laminate membrane?

EPEX membranes are constructed in a

humidity-controlled building attached

to the main Elvstrom loft in Denmark

and are checked at each level of

lamination. It is guaranteed against

delamination for life, with a sliding scale

of compensation after three years.

What are your favourite new

developments?

Most laminates are quite fi rm to

handle and can be di¤ cult to fi t in

to zip-packs. We now have Soft-Touch

EPEX, which simply fl ows into a zip-pack

• no wrestling needed! In addition, for
  maximum air-fl ow our new batten
  pockets on our EPEX sails are in the
  centre of the membrane, rather than
  a bulge on one side of the sail.

What sailing sectors does Elvstrom

work in?

Racing of course but our biggest sector

is the performance cruising market,

where we supply all the leading brands.

We also do superyacht sails, classic

sails and dinghy sails, including

championship-winning Contender sails.

How many sails does Elvstrom make?

More than 10,000 sails per year. The

majority are made in Denmark. We do

build sails in Hamble occasionally when

additional capacity is needed, or when

something is required urgently.

Has the Blue Water Runner been

a successful concept?

We’ve been delighted with the response

and the sales. It was launched as a safe

downwind sail you could fl y for days on

end – aimed at blue water cruisers. It can

be reefed or furled from the cockpit and

it doesn’t require anyone on the

foredeck handling sails or poles.

Your own sailing experience is very

varied – what is your ideal day afl oat?

I am very lucky, one day sailing a

wooden classic, the next doing the

Fastnet in a carbon machine with

a bunch of crazy Americans! I have

recently bought a Fusion dinghy with an

asymmetric. It’s the fi rst boat that has

put a smile on my face for a long time.

You teach sail-making at the Boat

Building Academy. Are there enough

people coming into sail-making

generally?

So many sails are now imported and

of course mechanised, people call

themselves sail-makers when in-fact

they are really sales people. Over the

years, six of my pupils have now started

their own sail-lofts manufacturing sails,

which is very gratifying.



Q&A

10 Yachts & Yachting August 2019