to 45 foot, and is a clean, easy system to use. Larger boats
require much more Velcro contact area to hold the packed
sail together during the hoist”
The larger boats that Pratt mentions are grand prix
racers such as RC44s, TP52s and Mini Maxis. The sails
on these boats are larger and heavier and are typically
hoisted by the grinders, almost three quarters of the
way just before the mark. In this setup the sail has large
Velcro patches sewn on to the luff tape and also on the sail
around 1 to 2 foot back from the luff. Packing involves
“rolling” the sail into a tube between the two Velcro
patches and sticking the Velcro together.
North Sails third system is becoming a favourite on
the Mini Maxi circuit this year. The sails are fitted with
a zip on the sail that can quickly and easily be zipped up.
This offers security during the hoist but also allows easy
opening when the sail is hoisted.
Pratt notes “I have used this system successfully on the
mini maxi circuit. We have also been fitting it to some of
the MC38’s and also to the TP52 Shogun V. When there
is a lot of water getting thrown around it is a good option
as it gives peace of mind and security.”
Mike Sanderson, winner of the 2005/06 Volvo Ocean
Race, and director of sales at Doyle Sails New Zealand
believes the trash rule is a good one, commenting that in
years gone past “rounding the top mark in the mini maxi
fleet you would see lots of wool floating in the water.”
Doyle Sails also have placed a large amount of research
and development time into finding ways of packing
spinnakers and gennakers over the past few years. They
have two main solutions that they believe are working well.
Up to Mini Maxi size they have implemented a Velcro
solution placing one half on the luff tape and then rolling
the sail on itself as you would when packing with wools.
The other side of the Velcro is then placed wherever it is
required to maintain a tightly packed chute.
Once the sail gets bigger, or is intended for high wind
strengths, such as an A4 gennaker, Doyle Sails goes down
the zipper path with a very similar setup to North Sails.
Sanderson, who is also the crew boss on the Mini Maxi
Bella Mente, says they were forced to find a solution so
they could race at Key West, which they did and now he
is “quite annoyed when the sailing instructions rewrite the
rule as ISAF’s intention is clear, and we have put a lot of
time and effort into developing a solution that complies.”
It is expected that Australian regattas will follow those
in rest of the world and no longer offer the “biodegradable
sail stop exemption” in the sailing instructions.
This is particularly likely for races in and through
environmentally sensitive areas such as the Whitsundays
on the Great Barrier Reef. There are now a number of
effective, cheap alternatives to wooling of sails that are
actually faster and more secure. The sport needs to move
with the times, and in five years time when telling stories,
the young guys will just not believe what we got away
with when setting sails. ✵TRASH TALK
30
AUSTRALIAN SAILING (^) + YACHTING
APRIL-MAY 2015 MYSAILING.COM.AU
“Many clubs and sailors have long thought that the rule
only prohibited non-biodegradable trash in the water.”
FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
Grand Prix racers are
favouring a zipped system.
Larger sails require much
larger Velcro contact area to
hold the sail together during
the hoist.
The sail is “rolled” into a tube
and the Velcro is stuck, giving
a similar packing to the old
“wool” banding method.
North Sails’ Velcro / shock
cord bands.