Light winds were the forecast for the Scorpion Open at Staunton Harold S.C, the top 5 boats were all using Speed Sails. Well done to Andy Mckee & Tarren Jones for winning, Tom Jeffcote & Barry Rawlins 2nd, Nigel Potter & Jerry Hannabus 3rd, Chris Massey 4th, Jack Banks & Penny Jeffcote 5th.

When film/mylar sails first started making an appearance in the late 1970s, the development of the new materials was heralded as being a breakthrough for sailmaking technology. Despite a few trials and tribulations, most sailmakers soon mastered the new skills needed to work the film based panels, with Mylar sails quickly becoming an exciting option for those forward looking classes who were happy to adopt the new technology. What soon became clear however was that using Mylar was far from simple, as it was not just a case of substituting one material for another. The change to the new material should have brought about a sail making revolution, but the end result was far more a case of cautious evolution, as the sailors themselves would take time to change their understanding of their rigs. What was needed to drive the next step forward was a technique that would allow sailmakers to fully utilise the advances offered by the new generation of materials. The end goal had to be sails that were constructed with panel shapes and thickness dictated by the loadings within the sail itself.

This is just was has happened thanks to a recent development by the team at Speed Sails. Taking inspiration from the way spiders naturally engineer their webs, so that the area of maximum loading at the anchoring points have the greatest concentration of fibres, the developers at Speed have found a way to maximise the inherent strength of a sail whilst using lighter materials. The resulting development, Aero Web, is still in the trial stages but the results to date have been encouraging. When applying the Aero Web technology, the sail is built up from cross cut panels, onto which are glued a series of load bearing tapes that can be positioned along the paths of the identified stress lines. The tape material can therefore be concentrated at the head, tack and clew, whilst in the middle of the sail, where the loadings are lighter, the construction here can be lighter too. The results seen to date with Aero Web construction suggest that it will produce sails that will be lighter, yet at the same time, significantly stronger.

With their eye firmly on their existing strong position within many of the UK’s popular two man dinghies, to date Speed have applied the new development to a Merlin Rocket jib and a GP14 main. Speed’s was very upbeat about how the first sails had been received by these two very knowledgeable fleets. Looking first at the Merlin jib, J pointed out that the high aspect foresail on a Merlin can take something of a hammering when the boats are sailed hard in breeze, they have been keen to see how the sail would stand up to an accelerated programme of use. J went on to say that the Merlin main, with its extended roach, would benefit greatly from Aero Web technology, the next move would be to complete his sail wardrobe with a new main.

The GP14 main is another interesting development as here the roach area is less and with the class using a lower aspect rig, the immediate benefits will be less apparent. The GP14 rules do not allow for laminate genoas, but we think that the mainsail could be an interesting development for the resurgent GP14s who are not only enjoying their 60th anniversary but are seeing growth in depth ahead of the World Championships scheduled for Sri Lanka. J stressed that the key to the development was that it was not just a gimmicky ‘fad’, nor would it be a development that would add significant extra cost to the sails. Indeed, we believe that the opposite may actually be the case, as although there is a great construction cost, there may well be savings from a reduction in the materials bill.

More importantly, Speed are confident that not only will the tight control of the panel shapes result in sails that are quick, but they will also be lighter. In the past, sailmakers have produced light weight sails, but these have not had a particularly good reputation for longevity. Not so with Aero Web, as the understanding is that these sails will actually last better and hold their shape for longer than the traditional alternatives.

With Speed now looking at creating Aero Web sails for other classes, plus other Speed Sails favourites, including the Fireball and Scorpion, Aero Web sails should soon be seen at the front of the fleet in powering many more winning boats.

For more information on AeroWeb, www.speedsails.co.uk or by email on sales@speedsails.co.uk / phone 0845 50 40 600

Speed Sails have an enviable record in the Scorion class and the new laminate design introduced in 2008 was an instant hit winning the 2008 National championships at Abersoch. The sails have already claimed 3 open victories in the first few months of 2009 with both the laminate and dacron mainsails tasting success.

SAILS:         

Laminate mainsail:   Dimension Polyant ODL06 - produced with Technora© Black in the warp and fill achieving an unmatched strength and durability, longer than any other Kevlar cloth. With the extra wide X-PLY angle of 22 degrees and Technora© Black as X-PLY material this cloth shows very low stretch levels and outstanding shape holding durability. Sail comes complete with sail bag, battens, numbers & cunningham block.

Mainsail: 180 HTP+ Dimension Polyant - Excellent all round mainsail that has proven successful across a range of crew weights. A cost effective alternative to the laminate mainsail, it comes complete with sail bag, battens, numbers, cunningham block and Speed Scorpion tuning guide. 

Jib: 180 HTP+ Dimension Polyant; Comes complete with window, t ell tales & sail bag. Tack of jib can be cut for either stuff luff or standard raking system. 

Spinnaker: AirX 700; Radial foot helps to provide extra stability in the sail. Seams are glued for boats with spinnaker bags or glued & sewn for chute systems to provide extra durability. Sail comes complete with sail bag & sail numbers.

To design your own spinnaker click the link below:

http://www.speedsails.co.uk/docs/designaspinnaker-scorpion.doc

Speed Scorpion Tuning Guide: Click Here

SPARS: 

Our workshop has a large stock of Proctor Cumulus & Superspar M7 Scorpion masts ready to dispatch either as bare sections or fully rigged. We also keep a large supply of spinnaker poles and manufacture replacement shrouds, halyards, cascade kickers etc. for delivery by our mail order department.

Prices include VAT and sails come complete with sail bags, numbers, logos, windows, tell tales, battens, all eyelets and fittings where appropriate. Jibs can be cut for either standard or stuff luff raking system and spinnakers are finished to suit either bag or chute systems.

For more information on Speed Scorpion sails please phone us on  0845 50 40 600  / sails@speedsails.co.uk.

Alternatively contact us through our website at www.speedsails.co.uk

Speed Sails have put together this tuning guide to help you set your boat up close to its ideal settings. These settings should be regarded as a starting point for fine tuning as individual boats and crews may need to alter them slightly for best performance. When you have your boat set up, remember to mark everything so that the settings can be reproduced quickly.

SpeedSails Scorpion Tuning Guide

The past 6 weeks at Speed Sails have been extremely busy as the business has adapted to the loss of Richard. Ben has been gradually increasing his involvement with the day to day running of the business and in the mean time there have been some new (and old) arrivals. Andy Farmer, a successful Enterprise and Flying 15 sailor, has recently joined the company to help with mail order and the online shop. At the same time Tom Jeffcoate, who worked at Speed Sails from 2005 – 2008, has also returned to help in the office.

With the new staff in place Speed Sails are looking to move forward and are pleased to offer a summer sale on all our championship winning sails. For the next 2 weeks all Speed sails are available online or over the phone with 10% off. Lead time is currently 2-3 weeks giving you plenty of time order now ready for the main summer season and all sails come ready to win. A wide range of tuning guides are available online to help you get the most from your new sails or, alternatively, we are happy to offer any advice and information we can on 01922 455503 or in person.

Speed sails have had successful spring already winning events in classes ranging from the Mirrors through to Merlin Rockets. 

Speed Sails have been working closely with Mirror sailors Tom Lovesey and Milly Pugh over the last year and 2009 has seen the pair performing well. After winning the Eric Twiname Championships and reporting good downwind speed (read Tom’s report here) they recently finished 2nd on count back at the Western Championships held at Looe SC after a last beat decider.

In the Solo fleet Andy (sponsored by Gill) has once again been on the pace following his domination of the Welsh Championships with 2nd place finishes at the Scottish and Spring Championships. 2 other Speed powered boats claimed top 5 positions as well.

This spring has seen victory for Speed GP14 sails at 2 area championships already. Mike  and Luke Shaw won the Welsh Areas in Aberdovey ahead of 3 other Speed powered boats and then followed it up by claiming the Midland Areas title at Staunton. The last week in May saw an early Fireball Nationals to allow time in the calendar for the 2 week European and World Championships in La Rochelle this Summer. DJ Edwards and Simon Potts discarded a 5th place in the 65 boat fleet as they finished 3rd overall. Speed Sails / Gill race team sailors Tom Jeffcoate and Mark Hogan were also regulars at the front of the fleet as they finished 9th overall.

The Merlin Inlands saw 2 Speed sails boats in the top 5 as they continue their impressive form after winning at Rutland the week before. William Warren and Chris Robinson led after the first couple of races but struggled in the fluky conditions on the Sunday. Matt Biggs and Andy showed good speed throughout to finish 2nd and 5th respectively.

Speed Miracle sails development has moved on significantly in recent years. Following a 3rd at the North East championships, the Puddleduck trophy at Girton saw Gemma and Tracy Amos claim their first championship win of the season just weeks after receiving their new Speed sails. With other strong performances at Delph and open meeting at victory at Taplow in 2009 Speed Miracle sails are becoming the sails to beat.

In the Scorpion class the new Speed laminate main has made a real difference for Andy Mckee and Tarren Jones. Just weeks after claiming their maiden open meeting victory in the class at Shotwick Lake they claimed their 2nd at Bala over the bank holiday weekend. Andy was really impressed with the extra pointing ability they had compared with their old sails without any loss in boat speed.

And finally back off the water, before Richard passed away, www.speedsails.co.uk were working on updating the online shopping process to make things easier for our customers. This is in the process of being finalised and should soon include clear information regarding postage costs, with accurate stock level information and delivery times for customer orders to follow later this year. We would still however welcome any thoughts and feedback our customers can provide as we try to make the new process as user friendly as possible.

The 2nd hand boat list on the www.speedsails.co.uk for sale has now been updated including 2 week old GP14s, a Championship winning Fireball and a brand new Fireball. There should also be a new Lark and the Nationals winning Scorpion available soon so don't forget to check for updates over the coming weeks!

The Gill / Speed Sails pairing of Tom & Andy have won the 2008 Scorpion Nationals after racing was cancelled on the last day with gusts reaching 45mph. After a week of predominantly light conditions Tom & Andy counted 3 firsts, a second and a fourth as they finished 2 points clear of former champions John Mursell & Nick Keast. The full results can be found here.

Over the winter the class voted in favour of new laminate mainsails in order to keep up development within the class and also to try and increase the competitive lifespan of the sails. Tom & Andy used a set of sails made at the beginning of the year suggesting that the cut and cloth used on the Speed Scorpion sails is not only exceptionally quick but has also increased the competitive lifespan of the sails.

Despite the light conditions and carrying several stone more than the recommended total in the boat the pair were able to outpoint most of the fleet and still maintain boat speed through the chop. In the windiest race of the week, which had to be abandoned half way round, they established a comfortable lead showing the sails can perform in the breeze as well.

Scorpion laminate mainsail - £570.21
Scorpion Dacron mainsail - £482.93
Scorpion jib - £219.42
Scorpion spinnaker - £358.69

Prices include VAT and sails come complete with sail bags, numbers, logos, windows, tell tales, battens, all eyelets and fittings where appropriate. Jibs can be cut for either standard or stuff luff raking system and spinnakers are finished to suit either bag or chute systems.

For more information on Speed Scorpion sails please contact us on 0845 50 40 600 / sails@speedsails.co.uk. Alternatively contact us through our website at www.speedsails.co.uk

Already the traditional summer holiday championship season is fast approaching so if you are looking for that extra bit of performance on the race course time is running out to get a new set of championship winning sails before the big event for your class. To help make sure you get the new sails you need in time we are also now offering FREE delivery to various championships around the country.

Not sure on whether to trust brand new sails? At Speed Sails we appreciate that some people like to test new sails a couple of times before a major event and, with this in mind, may also be able to arrange delivery to a local open meeting free of charge. However, we also have such confidence that all our new sails will be on the pace straight away that Speed Sails staff used previously unused sails at 3 National Championships and 1 World Championship in 2007. Overall victory in all 4 events emphasises the performance advantage available and the lack of ‘wearing in’ time required to get the boat up to speed. In fact, 2 of the Nationals titles were achieved in Speed Sails boats which had never been on the water before either!

All of our sails come ready to sail with the numbers, battens, tell tales and sail licences all attached wherever appropriate. Also included is a tuning guide to make sure your rig is set up to the optimum settings and for many classes we can even arrange to have the sails measured before they leave the loft meaning all you have to do is pull the sails up and go!

Standard delivery time on new sails is currently 3 weeks but with staff attending events throughout the summer this can grow very quickly; make sure you don’t leave it too late to get your order in by contacting us today on 0845 50 40 600. Alternatively, sails for all our major classes can be purchased online at www.speedsails.co.uk. If you need your sails by a particular date please remember to let us know either directly or by filling in the special instructions box during the online check out process. For those sailors not planning on attending open meeting events this summer all of our sails can be delivered to your door using a well known next day courier service.

Events with free delivery to the Championships available:

Enterprise Nationals –                Tenby                           August 9th – August 15th 
Fireball Europeans –                  Belgium                        July 5th – July 11th
Fireball Nationals –                    Mounts Bay                  August 16th – August 22nd
GP14 Worlds –                          Abersoch                     August 2nd – August 8th
Lark Nationals –                        Bridlington                    July 26th – August 1st
Merlin Rocket Salcombe Week –   Salcombe                     July 5th – July 11th
Merlin Rocket Nationals –            Looe                            August 16th – August 22nd
Scorpion Nationals –                  Abersoch                     July 26th – August 1st
Solo Nationals –                        Torbay                         July 19th – July 25th 

Delivery to an open meeting will depend on which events staff are attending, please contact us to see if we can arrange free delivery to your next event.