dinghy news
latest dinghy development and race news from Hyde Sails
Click here for more news stories
Merlin nationals victory for Hyde Sails
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Glen Truswell and Olly Turner scoop victory in WhitstableA healthy turnout of 57 boats gathered in Whitstable, Kent for the 2009 Merlin Rocket National Championship. The first race took place in 12-14 knots of breeze with a slight swell. The event started steadlily for Glen and Olly, who finished third in the first race, which was won by Matt Biggs and Rob Kennaugh.
Glen and Olly went on to post wins in the next two races, which left them with a five piint lead at the head of the table, with Tom Stweart and Liam Dempsey lying second and Richard Whitworth and Sally Townend third.
With no racing on day four of the championship, two races were held on day five. The Hyde Sails-powered boat posted a 6,2, which left them just one point ahead of Richard Whitworth and Sally ownend going into the final day.
The fleet was greeted with champagne conditions for the final showdown, with 18 - 20 knots from the west, and a short chop. Richard and Sally led the fleet up the first beat, but a capsize at the leeward mark pushed them back into 23rd place. Andy Davis and Ellie Bremner claimed the lead in their absence, with Glen Truswell and Olly Turner in second. The Hyde-powered duo sailed a conservative race and crossed the line in third place, ahead of Richard and Sally who had worked their way up to 6th - enough to secure the runner-up spot. It was a well-deserved victory for Glen and Olly. The pair are also currently leading the class's competitive Silver Tiller circuit with a range of results in a variety of venues and conditions, showing consistency and speed throughout the wind range.
Glen and Olly were using a complete suit of Hyde’s sails, developed by the company's experienced design team over the last few seasons. It is typical of the way that Hyde approaches its sailmaking, working closely with the sailors in a wide range of classes to develop ever improving designs that make the most of the latest developments in technology.
Hyde Sails prides itself in its continual sail development, Hyde's Merlin Sails are available direct from the company's online shop, www.hydeshop.com
posted by Hyde Sails at
13:20
Click here for more news stories
Speedy '3 Rivers' for Hyde-powered A Rater
New sails prove fast as record time is recorded by the first two boats to finish.
Just because a class looks beautiful, it doesn't mean that performance isn't important. Hyde Sails Cowes loft manager Rob Larke has been working with the Thames A Rater class to deliver first class sails for these beauties, which enjoy close and competitive racing.
In the recent Navigators and General Three Rivers Race, Thames A Raters set a new race record, with the first two boats to complete the course finishing just two minutes apart. The second placed team of Kevin Pearson, Nick Fribbens and Melanie Hardman were racing with a brand-new set of sails on 'Lady Jane'. Kevin Pearson enthused: "They have made a dramatic improvement to our boat's overall performance already, although we are only just beginning to find out how to get the best out of them.
The race, which runs annually from Horning SC, is approximately 55 miles long and teams have to drop the mast four times to go under bridges. This year's event saw a record entry of 135 boats, which enjoyed moderate, sometimes fresh, south westerly.
Kevin explained: 'We completed the race in the second fastest time ever (although unfortunately two minutes behind the leader) having lead for half the race. Our time was six hours 59 minutes and 45 seconds and beat the previous record by about half an hour."
Rob Larke explained: "When Kevin came to us and showed us his current sails we thought that we could definitely improve the shape and profile. Kevin asked for a bigger head on the mainsail so that he could get more area above the trees! The A Raters usually race on the Thames, which is surrounded by trees. The big problem we had is that the class rules only give an overall sail area of the main and jib combined so we had to work out the best place to take the area from so that we could add the area to the head of the mainsail and also create a roach profile that will work."
For more details see www.hydeshop.com or contact Rob Larke (T: +44 (0)7737 853914) to find out how Hyde Sails can help your boat find that extra bit of boatspeed.
Just because a class looks beautiful, it doesn't mean that performance isn't important. Hyde Sails Cowes loft manager Rob Larke has been working with the Thames A Rater class to deliver first class sails for these beauties, which enjoy close and competitive racing.
In the recent Navigators and General Three Rivers Race, Thames A Raters set a new race record, with the first two boats to complete the course finishing just two minutes apart. The second placed team of Kevin Pearson, Nick Fribbens and Melanie Hardman were racing with a brand-new set of sails on 'Lady Jane'. Kevin Pearson enthused: "They have made a dramatic improvement to our boat's overall performance already, although we are only just beginning to find out how to get the best out of them.
The race, which runs annually from Horning SC, is approximately 55 miles long and teams have to drop the mast four times to go under bridges. This year's event saw a record entry of 135 boats, which enjoyed moderate, sometimes fresh, south westerly.
Kevin explained: 'We completed the race in the second fastest time ever (although unfortunately two minutes behind the leader) having lead for half the race. Our time was six hours 59 minutes and 45 seconds and beat the previous record by about half an hour."
Rob Larke explained: "When Kevin came to us and showed us his current sails we thought that we could definitely improve the shape and profile. Kevin asked for a bigger head on the mainsail so that he could get more area above the trees! The A Raters usually race on the Thames, which is surrounded by trees. The big problem we had is that the class rules only give an overall sail area of the main and jib combined so we had to work out the best place to take the area from so that we could add the area to the head of the mainsail and also create a roach profile that will work."
For more details see www.hydeshop.com or contact Rob Larke (T: +44 (0)7737 853914) to find out how Hyde Sails can help your boat find that extra bit of boatspeed.
posted by Hyde Sails at
13:19
Click here for more news stories
Hyde Sails FD wins Northern areas
Challenging conditions saw Hyde's Toby Barsley-Dale take a hard-fought victory in Ullswater.
Conditions were varied for the Flying Dutchman Northern Area Championships held at Ullswater YC. A Force 1-3 greeted competitors on Saturday, followed by a Force 3-5 on Sunday, with significantly bigger gusts, particularly on Sunday. Both days were also very shifty providing plenty of scope for gains and losses!
Overall winners after seven races were Toby Barsley-Dale and Gareth Russell, second was Jon Williams and Ales Rogers, third was Tony Lyall and Colin Burns.
Toby Barsley-Dale describes the win: "The event as a whole was quite challenging for us. The conditions meant that consistency was going to be the vital with all boats potentially having to count bad results. In the end we won the first race and managed to follow this with a second and another first. This left us in a strong position until the majority of the fleet made a navigational error in the last race on Saturday and the results were turned upside down, we were fortunate to be able to fight back to third for that race. Sunday was much breezier and despite much place changing we managed to get another two wins to secure the event before posting a third in the final race after a big capsize!"
Toby explains: "The sails are the 2008 designs we have produced for other boats in the fleet. We have used them in a couple of events now and have always felt that the speed and height offered is great. This was our first opportunity to use the heavy weather genoa and we were particularly pleased with the speed of this sail. We are one of the lighter crews in the class, but feel the sails are very versatile and can be depowered very efficiently to allow us to remain competitive across the wind range."
The next event for the FD class is the Nationals at Royal Torbay YC in June. This is the first sea event for the year and is likely to be very fiercely contested.
Hyde prides itself in its continual sail development, Flying Dutchman Sails and accessories are available direct from Hyde's online shop, www.hydeshop.com
Conditions were varied for the Flying Dutchman Northern Area Championships held at Ullswater YC. A Force 1-3 greeted competitors on Saturday, followed by a Force 3-5 on Sunday, with significantly bigger gusts, particularly on Sunday. Both days were also very shifty providing plenty of scope for gains and losses!
Overall winners after seven races were Toby Barsley-Dale and Gareth Russell, second was Jon Williams and Ales Rogers, third was Tony Lyall and Colin Burns.
Toby Barsley-Dale describes the win: "The event as a whole was quite challenging for us. The conditions meant that consistency was going to be the vital with all boats potentially having to count bad results. In the end we won the first race and managed to follow this with a second and another first. This left us in a strong position until the majority of the fleet made a navigational error in the last race on Saturday and the results were turned upside down, we were fortunate to be able to fight back to third for that race. Sunday was much breezier and despite much place changing we managed to get another two wins to secure the event before posting a third in the final race after a big capsize!"
Toby explains: "The sails are the 2008 designs we have produced for other boats in the fleet. We have used them in a couple of events now and have always felt that the speed and height offered is great. This was our first opportunity to use the heavy weather genoa and we were particularly pleased with the speed of this sail. We are one of the lighter crews in the class, but feel the sails are very versatile and can be depowered very efficiently to allow us to remain competitive across the wind range."
The next event for the FD class is the Nationals at Royal Torbay YC in June. This is the first sea event for the year and is likely to be very fiercely contested.
Hyde prides itself in its continual sail development, Flying Dutchman Sails and accessories are available direct from Hyde's online shop, www.hydeshop.com
posted by Hyde Sails at
13:18
Click here for more news stories
Albacore sail development proves a success
Hyde Sails-powered Albacore, sailed by Nigel Potter and Mark Fowler, wins the class Inlands
The Albacore Inland Championship, held at South Cerney on May 2-3 was hard fought on the water with a high calibre fleet and close racing throughout. A light, shifty Force 1-2 greeted competitors on day one, with Norman Halstead and Ruth Birkett taking the first two races. However, by race three, Nigel Potter and Mark Fowler in their Hyde Sailspowered boat made their presence felt, following their second in race two with a win to finish the day second overall behind Halstead and Birkett.
For the second day of racing, the sun had gone, but a welcome Force 3-4 made an appearance. The first race was won by Judy and Paul Armstrong, Potter and Fowler second and Halstead and Birkett third. Potter and Fowler then took the final two races to clain the inland title from Halstead and Birkett.
It was a well-deserved win for the duo, who showed good speed and consistency all weekend in their Paintcraft -rebuilt boat (sail number 7143), and their sights are firmly set on the class's International Championships in Largs this July. Mark Fowler explains: "We will be attending events at Lyme Regis and Ogston S.C prior to the International Championships, other weekends are spent sail tuning on the water at Notts County SC."
The sails have been developed in close collaboration with Potter and Fowler, and Hyde's Charles Devonport, a former Albacore national champion. Mark Fowler explains: "We are finding the sails extremely powerful, with work over the winter we now have the ability to manage the power with improved rig control, This is enabling improved off wind speed with the ability to maintain upwind performance. The final design is now with Charles Devenport who is a previous Albacore Champion, it is Charles's experience and feedback from Nigel and myself that has enabled the development to proceed quickly with only minor alterations to sail shapes."
Hyde prides itself in its continual sail development, Albacore and accessories are available direct from Hyde’s online shop, www.hydeshop.com
The Albacore Inland Championship, held at South Cerney on May 2-3 was hard fought on the water with a high calibre fleet and close racing throughout. A light, shifty Force 1-2 greeted competitors on day one, with Norman Halstead and Ruth Birkett taking the first two races. However, by race three, Nigel Potter and Mark Fowler in their Hyde Sailspowered boat made their presence felt, following their second in race two with a win to finish the day second overall behind Halstead and Birkett.
For the second day of racing, the sun had gone, but a welcome Force 3-4 made an appearance. The first race was won by Judy and Paul Armstrong, Potter and Fowler second and Halstead and Birkett third. Potter and Fowler then took the final two races to clain the inland title from Halstead and Birkett.
It was a well-deserved win for the duo, who showed good speed and consistency all weekend in their Paintcraft -rebuilt boat (sail number 7143), and their sights are firmly set on the class's International Championships in Largs this July. Mark Fowler explains: "We will be attending events at Lyme Regis and Ogston S.C prior to the International Championships, other weekends are spent sail tuning on the water at Notts County SC."
The sails have been developed in close collaboration with Potter and Fowler, and Hyde's Charles Devonport, a former Albacore national champion. Mark Fowler explains: "We are finding the sails extremely powerful, with work over the winter we now have the ability to manage the power with improved rig control, This is enabling improved off wind speed with the ability to maintain upwind performance. The final design is now with Charles Devenport who is a previous Albacore Champion, it is Charles's experience and feedback from Nigel and myself that has enabled the development to proceed quickly with only minor alterations to sail shapes."
Hyde prides itself in its continual sail development, Albacore and accessories are available direct from Hyde’s online shop, www.hydeshop.com
posted by Hyde Sails at
13:16
Click here for more news stories
Hyde Streaker wins at Alton
A very shifty Force 4-5 greeted competitors at the Streaker Open at Aton Water last weekend, with Jonny Shuster's Hyde Sails powered Streaker taking the top spot ahead of Chris Woodard. Mike Haynes, also sailing with a suit of Hyde's, finished third.
It was a convincing win for Jonny, who recalls; "I felt good going into the first race, it was my kind of conditions so I felt comfortable in my ability to perform well. Halfway up the first beat I realised it was going to be a real battle against my body as my legs were on fire, despite the increase in my fitness recently. I went round the windward mark second. Went onto the long shifty reach, which is my forte, and pulled through into first. Stayed like that for the remaining two laps with no challenge, pulling out a bit towards the end."
However, the second race didn’t go to plan for Jonny as he was a bit keen at the start and had to work his way up from the back of the fleet. By the end of the first beat he was up into fifth, then the reach and by the gybe mark he was up into third. "Chris Woodard, who had a great start and had established a big lead looked un-catchable with well over a minute's lead, I grabbed distance wherever I could and by the finish was just over 10 seconds behind."
So it was all down to the third race. A good start for Jonny, but Chris got the better of the beat and rounded in the lead, however Jonny had the pace on the reach and held his lead to the finish. "An exhausting open," concludes Jonny, "I'm very satisfied with my win, it was a great first open meeting with the Hyde sail."
The new sail
We asked Jonny what he thought of his new sail. "It has a lovely shape to it and maintains its shape in the lighter airs which is something I really appreciate as it is my weakest in terms of conditions to race in. It performed brilliantly at the open, and I was able to depower it very effectively, whilst harnessing all the power I could manage downwind. I am still new to sailing with it but it has been great so far, and I look forward to continuing to race with it."
Jonny will be competing in as many of the Streaker events as he can this year, including the upcoming Northern Area Championships, the Nationals and the Inlands.
Hyde prides itself in its continual sail development, Streaker Sails are available direct from Hyde's online shop, www.hydeshop.com
It was a convincing win for Jonny, who recalls; "I felt good going into the first race, it was my kind of conditions so I felt comfortable in my ability to perform well. Halfway up the first beat I realised it was going to be a real battle against my body as my legs were on fire, despite the increase in my fitness recently. I went round the windward mark second. Went onto the long shifty reach, which is my forte, and pulled through into first. Stayed like that for the remaining two laps with no challenge, pulling out a bit towards the end."However, the second race didn’t go to plan for Jonny as he was a bit keen at the start and had to work his way up from the back of the fleet. By the end of the first beat he was up into fifth, then the reach and by the gybe mark he was up into third. "Chris Woodard, who had a great start and had established a big lead looked un-catchable with well over a minute's lead, I grabbed distance wherever I could and by the finish was just over 10 seconds behind."
So it was all down to the third race. A good start for Jonny, but Chris got the better of the beat and rounded in the lead, however Jonny had the pace on the reach and held his lead to the finish. "An exhausting open," concludes Jonny, "I'm very satisfied with my win, it was a great first open meeting with the Hyde sail."
The new sail
We asked Jonny what he thought of his new sail. "It has a lovely shape to it and maintains its shape in the lighter airs which is something I really appreciate as it is my weakest in terms of conditions to race in. It performed brilliantly at the open, and I was able to depower it very effectively, whilst harnessing all the power I could manage downwind. I am still new to sailing with it but it has been great so far, and I look forward to continuing to race with it."
Jonny will be competing in as many of the Streaker events as he can this year, including the upcoming Northern Area Championships, the Nationals and the Inlands.
Hyde prides itself in its continual sail development, Streaker Sails are available direct from Hyde's online shop, www.hydeshop.com
posted by Hyde Sails at
13:12
Click here for more news stories
New Osprey wins on first outing
Eighteen Osprey crews competed at Blithfield Sailing Club for the two-day open meeting event held over the weekend of April 18-19.
The local Osprey boat builders Mark and Richard Hartley, sailing their hastily fitted out new MkIV (which was only finished the previous day) started as they meant to go on, demonstrating outstanding form to win the first two races.
Viola and Mike Scott in 'Think Again' (1314) went on to win race three, ahead of the Hartleys, who were hampered somewhat when Richard Hartley partd company with the boat during a particularly determined tack on the final leg of the race.
After a lively social on Saturday evening, the competitors woke to much reduced wind and increasingly shifty conditions. The Hartleys posted second in race four, behind Viola Scott and then won the final race ahead of Dave Carroll and Jonno Baker in 'Doris' (1302).
Hyde prides itself in its continual sail development, Osprey Sails are available direct from Hyde's online shop, www.hydeshop.com
The local Osprey boat builders Mark and Richard Hartley, sailing their hastily fitted out new MkIV (which was only finished the previous day) started as they meant to go on, demonstrating outstanding form to win the first two races.
Viola and Mike Scott in 'Think Again' (1314) went on to win race three, ahead of the Hartleys, who were hampered somewhat when Richard Hartley partd company with the boat during a particularly determined tack on the final leg of the race.
After a lively social on Saturday evening, the competitors woke to much reduced wind and increasingly shifty conditions. The Hartleys posted second in race four, behind Viola Scott and then won the final race ahead of Dave Carroll and Jonno Baker in 'Doris' (1302).
Hyde prides itself in its continual sail development, Osprey Sails are available direct from Hyde's online shop, www.hydeshop.com
posted by Hyde Sails at
13:10
Click here for more news stories
Hyde Sails Merlin wins Salcombe Silver Tiller
Glen Truswell and Olly Turner sailing a Hyde Sailspowered Merlin Rocket continued their winning form with victory at the Salcombe Silver Tiller event.
Some 37 Merlin Rockets entered the event, which saw breezy conditions for Saturday's racing, followed by light winds on Sunday. Glen Truswell and Olly Turner started as they meant to go on, with a win in the first race, followed home by Matt Biggs and Rob Kennaugh in 'Two Pints of Lager'.Richard Adams and Ben Hollis in 'Loosed Cannon' were third. In race two, Truswell and Turner were relegated to third behind Tom Stewart/Liam Dempsey and Andy David/Elie Bremer. However, a win in race three was enough to give Truswell and Turner overall victory, finishing three points ahead of Biggs and Kennaugh who won the final race.
Truswell commented: "We remained competitive throughout though, sailed pretty well and had the necessary element of good fortune required to prevail at such an event!"
Hyde prides itself in its continual sail development, Merlin Sails are available direct from Hyde's online shop, www.hydeshop.com
Some 37 Merlin Rockets entered the event, which saw breezy conditions for Saturday's racing, followed by light winds on Sunday. Glen Truswell and Olly Turner started as they meant to go on, with a win in the first race, followed home by Matt Biggs and Rob Kennaugh in 'Two Pints of Lager'.Richard Adams and Ben Hollis in 'Loosed Cannon' were third. In race two, Truswell and Turner were relegated to third behind Tom Stewart/Liam Dempsey and Andy David/Elie Bremer. However, a win in race three was enough to give Truswell and Turner overall victory, finishing three points ahead of Biggs and Kennaugh who won the final race.
Truswell commented: "We remained competitive throughout though, sailed pretty well and had the necessary element of good fortune required to prevail at such an event!"
Hyde prides itself in its continual sail development, Merlin Sails are available direct from Hyde's online shop, www.hydeshop.com
posted by Hyde Sails at
13:00
Click here for more news stories
Flying Moth development
Hyde's new foiling International Moth mainsail proves a winner.
The Hyde Sails design team has been working hard on a new Moth sail design over the winter months, with a return to a radial panel layout, revised leech profile to promote pointing ability and a slightly bigger top. The sail also sports the suspended cam system for fast rotation during manoeuvres as developed on last year's sail.
A keen Moth sailor himself, Hyde Sails' Technical Director Mike Lennon explains: "Revised cloth layout and seam shape distribution allows the head to go "floppy" when you really go for it on the cunningham."
The sail has one less batten than most and is made almost entirely of ODL04 (2.8 OZ Technora by DP). Only the sleeve and window panel are from other materials. The result is a sail of less than 3kg in weight as opposed to the usual Moth mainsail weight of around 4kg.
Mike comments: "This is an all-round design but requires a strong cunningham system to get the most out of it in 14 knots and above." The sail (order code 2A 2009) is available from Hyde's online shop, www.hydeshop.com
Parkstone Open
The Moth class had its first class open of the year at Parkstone. Some 15 boats entered the event, which saw four 20-minute races were run in Saturday's 12-18 knot breeze. Hyde's Mike Lennon won every race on the water, suffering an OCS in the last race. Unfortunately Sunday's racing was cancelled due to no wind.
Foiling Moth ace Simon Payne had been favourite to win after stealing the show at the recent Australian Nationals with the debut of his new Mach 2 design, but gear failure stopped him from getting started. Mike takes delivery of a new Mach 2 any time soon, so combined with the power of the new mainsail, he should be a force to be reckoned with.
Moth accessories
Hyde has also introduced a range of covers and foil bags for the Moth class. For details on these and any other International Moth products see www.hydeshop.com or go direct to the Hyde Sails Moth page www.hydeshop.com/ moth-104-c.asp
posted by Hyde Sails at
12:53
Click here for more news stories
Flying 15s enjoy a battle at Bewl
New Hyde spinnaker design proves a winner on its first outing.Some 20 Flying 15s enjoyed a challenging weekend of racing, with Richard Lovering and Matt Alvarado taking overall victory, with the assistance of the brand-new Hyde spinnaker design.
Saturday's racing took place in a blustery breeze, which ranged from 8-24 knots. Big clouds added to the entertainment, with the wind direction predominantly northerly, but some large shifts up to 40 degrees at times - whacky inland sailing at its best!
A relatively short D-shaped course proved very testing with the pressure and angle changes, and the two five-lap races proved a real challenge.
Unfortunately Sunday dawned with just 2-4 knots at 10am, which dropped to zero at 10.30. Racing was eventually cancelled at 11.30 leaving Richard Lovering and Matt Alvarado in the Hyde-powered boat as winners, having won both of Saturday's races, with Robert Hogben and Glyn Morgan second.
Lovering and Alvarado put their win down to simple strategy with good starts, clean air and nice tactics from crew. Matt Alvarado commented: "The event was awesome fun given the massive changes in pressure and direction. Bewl is a beautiful place to sail. The main and jib combination was quick through the range, while the new Hyde spinnaker proved very stable and controllable on the tricky 3-sail reaches."
The first half of last year saw some intensive sail development by Hyde's in the Flying 15 class, resulting in a strong showing from Hyde-powered boats at the 2008 nationals. The main project over the winter and early 2009 has been the development of the new spinnaker design, which enjoyed its first airing at Bewl.
Hyde Sails is renowned for its success in working with one-design classes, and the last year has been a busy one. The Hyde team has been working hard to produce to best sails for each class to enable sailors to achieve their full potential. With the launch of Hyde's new webshop - www.hydeshop.com - you can browse the spec sheets and information for each class as well as being able to buy your sails direct online.
For more details on Flying 15 and other one-design sails, contact Paul Austin (T: +44(0)7872 816918) see www.hydesails.com or go direct to the Flying 15 class page: www.hydeshop.com/flying-15-143-c.asp
posted by Hyde Sails at
12:43
Designed & Built by ProAction Creative Ltd.