There are lots of fantastic racing opportunities in Ireland as well as milebuilding delivery trips to the Emerald Isle, as the biennial and ever popular Cork Week and Round Ireland Race feature on our 2012 race calendar.

Round Ireland Race

Wicklow Sailing Club hosts the start and finish of the 704nM Round Ireland race, which starts on Sunday June 24th. Whilst the route is simply to leave Ireland and all its islands to starboard, the reality isn’t sosimple, with open ocean on the South and West coasts, tidal challenges on North and  East coasts in addition to many outlying rocks and sandbanks to keep navigators on their toes and not forgetting the vagaries of the Atlantic weather systems! Phew! 

With true Irish hospitality, a Round Ireland ‘Sail Fest’ will be organised for the few days before the race start to complement the race preparations and add a welcome level of fun and entertainment for all coming down to Wicklow for the Race start, and on race day the walls of the Wicklow port are filled with spectators waving the crews off!

The Round Ireland campaign is the highlight of our offshore racing calendar, and the Sailing Logic campaign in true style, combines two training weekends, two practice races with a competitive yacht and a top racing skipper.   We won this race in 2010, so if you’re looking for a challenge, we’re looking for you! Contact us to book your place.

Cork Week

Cork Week is also known for its legendary hospitality, and Guinness is definitely on the menu, as well as a week of high-octane racing! The Royal Cork Yacht Club host the most prestigious regatta in Ireland, and preparations are underway already for the 7-day party extravaganza and the 10 races running from 7-13^th July 2012. This year, the regatta will coincide with the Cork Week Festival, which will be a celebration of Cork’s cultural heritage. Cork has a vibrant and artistic community and the festival will showcase that, making Cork Week a unique experience

Our Cork Week package includes racing, a few days training beforehand (making the most of the festivities!), accommodation in a nearby crew house and optional free deliveries. Skippered by Tim Thubron, we came 2^nd in 2010 and preparing to return to take both the race fleets and the shore-side entertainment by storm!  Contact us to reserve your place!

For the milebuilders and delivery trips, click here.

The crew are confirmed, flights are booked, t-shirts are at the printers and everyone is getting ready for the RORC Caribbean 600 and preparing to defend our title at the Heineken St Maarten Regatta. Scarlet Oyster, once the boat used by the Ellen McArthur’s Sailing Trust for their Round Britain event  in 2009, is an Oyster Lightwave 48. She has benefited from continuous improvement, a major refit in 2008 and on-going investment in high-quality racing sails including North 3DLs.

Owner Ross Applebey told us “She has also been optimised to the IRC handicapping rule with a new keel in 2011. While she sails well in lighter winds, above 15knots she is a formidable contender and should prove very effective in typical Caribbean conditions!”. Her race results speak for themselves, and she won most of the JOG series in 2011, as well as several RORC races and finished 2^nd in class in the Fastnet 2011 – just pipping our own Quokka on corrected time!

She'll be racing as 'Scarlet Logic' with Tim Thubron skippering, who in 2011 finished 4^th in the RORC Caribbean 600 and won the Heineken St Maarten Regatta!  Tim and Ross make a great team too - the last time they raced together they won Antigua Race Week - so we think we have all the ingredients for an exciting Caribbean season!  

The RORC 600 is the only offshore race in the Caribbean racing season, following a course that weaves in and around the Leeward Islands. With consistent trade winds but challenging local effects – it is only in it’s 4^th year but is has already become a firm favourite, anticipating 500 entries from 24 countries!

As well as tracking our Scarlet Logic, there are a number of other interesting entries to keep an eye on, including Hetairos  - the worlds largest carbon conmposite 200ft yacht - favourite to take line honours, but the Spanish Volvo 70 Gran Jotiti (former Telafonica Black) is also super-fast!  

The race starts on 20^th February 2012 and can be followed live on the RORC website fleet tracker. 

The 32^nd Heineken St Maarten Regatta promises more ‘serious fun’ with 4 days of racing and partying scheduled! The racing is a mix of inshore and passage races, and each evening has a musical event in a different location. Having won in class last year, Tim Thubron comments "It really is serious fun and I’m excited to be back defending our win from last year!" and with 4 of the crew staying on after the Caribbean 600 to race in St Maarten, we hoping to have a good chance at some great results!

Follow Scarlet Logic's progress on our web-blog, twitter feed and facebook page! 

And if you'd like to register your interest for next year, drop us a note and we'll keep you informed!

Whilst out racing do you ever stop and look at the sails and wish you knew more about them?
There are a huge variety of sail cloth types and also a huge variety of sail makers offering the latest design and the latest technology to boat owners. It is literally a minefield! What sail fabric is best for racing? How will the sail will be built? and of course, how expensive will it be?!  

Sail Cloth

Sail cloth types can be broadly categorised into cruising or racing. The key difference is that cruising sails are built for endurance and racing sails are built for speed!  The most popular cruising sail fabric is Dacron, which is a woven cloth and is very durable but heavy. However, it is prone to stretching after a season or two’s use and therefore loses its shape very quickly.  Dacron sails will last forever if looked after well, and serviced regularly. Normally, cruising sails will made by stitching or gluing together cut panels to make an overall aerodynamic shape.

Racing sails are far more technical - with endless variations availble. But generally they are made of a laminate membrane which is a combination of a film plus a fabric (such as Taffeta) or low-stretch, low weight internal fibres (such as Carbon or Aramid; the main aramid fibres are Kevlar or Mylar).  The fabric and fibres can be used in combination with each other to make either a more durable sail or a more lightweight sail. The laminates that use internal fibres (rather than just fabric) are the most expensive to make as the fibres themselves and the production process are at a very high cost.

The picture below shows sail-cloths in increasing durability.

Type A is a film-aramid-film construction. The film restricts stretch in all directions, and the kevlar fibres provides a low-weight shape. This sail cloth is lightweight and high-performance - but only in inshore racing in light-airs. It isn't very durable and doesn't last too long. Where the fibres appear black they are carbon. Carbon is stronger and lighter-weight than kevlar, but shatters easily and needs to be treated gently. The cheapest of the three.

Type B incudes a layer of taffeta within the sandwich ie film-fibres-taffeta-film. The additional layer of taffeta adds increased stregnth and durability to ths sail, but it only a thin layer of fabric helping to keep the sail lightweight. This sail produces great results in both inshore and offshore racing conditions - and is the most expensive of the three.

Type C is taffeta backed, it has a thicker layer of taffeta which is so strong it doesn't require the extra layer of film, so it is only 3 layers thick; film - fibre-taffeta. This thicker taffeta is highly puncture and chafe resistant and perfect for heavy weather or offshore sailing. However, it is a heavy cloth and limits performance in llighter airs. It is mid-priced.

Sail Construction

Racing sails can be built using panels, but also can be made in one piece using a specific process called thermo-molding. As sails are not built to be completely flat, this molding process makes it possible for sails to be made three-dimensionally.

North Sails, one of the world’s leading sailmakers, uses a moulding process called 3DL, which had become the benchmark in high-quality racing sails. As they are not made of panels, it means that there is less stitching, less glue, and therefore less weight. The shape of the sail can also be adapted to suit each yacht type specifically, and therefore sail design becomes an even greater art! Their latest innovation 3Di, uses tapes made of micro-filaments (thinner than a human hair), layered and thermo-moulded using the 3DL process, thus removing the need for the film coating. These state-of-the-art sails are hideously expensive, ultra-high-performance, but not very durable.

Whilst a set of cruising sails will last a decade or more, racing sails are only expected to last 2-3 years, dependent on the amount of use and how they are treated. Laminate and carbon fibre sails will break down almost immediately if badly treated, but careful use can easily see them last a couple of seasons!

Care Top Tips

The top tips for keeping racing sails in the best possible condition are:

·        Avoid flogging at all cost. Hoist the sails quickly and trim accurately. Once a fabric has stretched there is no going back!

·        Don’t exceed recommended wind range for the sail. This is the quickest way to destroy a sail, full stop.

·        Minimise chafe. Make sure that your spreader patches are in the right place and don’t drag the sails across the deck or car park!

·        Protect from the Sun. U/V light degrades laminate film so keep the sails out of the sun when not in use. Always remember the boom cover!

·        Store sails dry and folded in their bags.

Sailing Logic's Choice

Our Reflex 38’s have a sail wardrobe of 5 headsails, 1 mainsail and up to 4 spinnakers. A good quality racing Mainsail will cost up to £6500, a No 1 Genoa  £4500 and a spinnaker, £3000. 

We have just ordered a new main and No1 for Visit Malta Puma - and we have chosen a Type B (from above), combining a mix of both aramid and carbon fibres. It is a North 3DL sail, created using the thermo-moulding process for optimum shape, strength and durability.

Jaguar's main which was bought in 2011 is also a North 3DL, but more similar to sail Type A (no fabric) but with an increased density of fibres for additional strength.

So, the next time you are helping to sweat the main up or are changing a headsail on the foredeck, remember that you are hoisting a sail that is worth a similar amount to the average family car!!  

Sailing Logic are proud to welcome a new skipper into the family for our Round Ireland 2012 Campaign. James “Chippie” Gair has been a regular on the competitive racing scene since 2004. He is no newcomer to the Round Ireland race, having skippered ‘Incisor’, a Corby 45 in 2010. He  achieved a 3^rd place in class zero – an outstanding result for a crew consisting of members of a youth section of a sailing club, with little or no previous offshore racing experience!

After many years of successful racing himself on a range of racing yachts, including winning the Double-handed series overall in 2010, competing in several Sydney-Hobarts, many Caribbean races as well as inshore racing (winning Dartmouth in 2010) he has also proved himself a successful skipper. As well as many RORC wins with experienced crews, his clear communication and ability to motivate a team has seen him achieve great results with novice crews too – including  3^rd overall in the RORC series on a team on the Beneteau 40.7 Below Zero, again a novice crew with little or no previous offshore racing experience.

Equally at home amongst professional or novice sailors and able to generate consistently fantastic racing results Sailing Logic are delighted to welcome James “Chippie” to our team and believe his breadth of experience will be a great credit to us and he is certainly capable of helping us retain the Round Ireland Race Trophy!

“Sailing Logic are the market leaders - always at the front of every fleet with a success rate matched by none. I am delighted to be skippering their Round Ireland Race Campaign 2012 and I believe I have the skills and experience necessary to ensure the best chance of winning this offshore event – whilst ensuring we all cross the finish line with big smiles on our faces!” comments James.

We have a couple of places remaining for the Round Ireland campaign which will include two training weekends, two qualifying races – The RORC Morgan Cup and RORC Cervantes Trophy race before the Round Ireland race starting in June. 700nm of competitive offshore racing to circumnavigate Ireland, this race is one of the offshore classics!

If you’d like to join us and Chippie for this bi-annual event – contact us now for more information. 

Sailing Logic are proud to offer a unique and comprehensive range of yacht training courses, but with so many to choose from, it can be hard to decide which one is right for you. So choose which of the listed 'experience levels' best describes you, to see which of our courses you are most likely to enjoy and benefit from. 

More details on each course can be found on the relevant webpage, along with dates. And for all race training event bookings made by the end of February we are delighted to offer a £50 discount per person, per event (so yes - book two race training events and save £100!) 

If you're not sure which category you fall into or would like to make a group booking for your sailing club or yacht crew, simply contact us and we'll find the right course for you.

We also offer own boat tuition opportunities, so if you have a boat and a crew, but feel you could benefit from some expert tips - get in touch and we can arrange a professional racing coach to come out for the day with you - either a coaching day or even during a race!