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Speedy '3 Rivers' for Hyde-powered A Rater
Sunday, 11 October 2009
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
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