The other
Dobbs Davis and Lowell North reflect upon the evolution of North Sails from a single loft in San Diego to the era of the ‘Technology Tigers’
The transformation from when North Sails was just one of dozens of small sailmakers in southern California to being a global force in the industry was almost inevitable given the ethos of its founder and how it was run in those early days. It was Lowell’s objective and open-minded attitude towards any idea that might make sense, a relentless focus on speed and an engineer’s enduring faith in science as the pathway to progress that would help North lead sailmaking into the technol - ogical age that lay ahead.
First… Olympic glory
But to get there and have the credibility for greater mass appeal to the racing market, Lowell would need to branch out from his proven success in the Stars and get onto other platforms and larger stages. This he achieved, starting with a bronze medal earned in 1964 in the Dragon class at the Olympics in Tokyo, followed by a seemingly inevitable gold medal earned in the Star class in the 1968 Olympics in Acapulco. This success brought accolades and opportunities to grow and expand his sailmaking business beyond its modest start in San Diego into a new and burgeoning marketplace.
While on an invited trip to New York City organised for the 1964 US Olympians, Lowell met and was immediately impressed with the Finn silver medallist, and a fellow engineer from Pewaukee, Wisconsin named Peter Barrett. It turned out that Barrett was tinkering with making sails in his basement, and Lowell managed to talk him into coming aboard with him to learn the trade. Barrett came to San Diego to get
So Cal – fertile ground for growth The 1960s and ’70s in southern California were boom times: numerous sectors of the region’s economy were growing fast, including aerospace and related industries, fuelled by lavish Cold War spending in defence and space race projects. With this growth came a ballooning middle and upper class with the disposable income needed to enjoy the many leisure activities the region offered.
With its mild year-round climate, hundreds of miles of coastline and plenty of demand for new real estate projects, marinas were being developed throughout the area… and along with them demand was growing for boats of all sizes and types. Production builders were tooling up for mass production of glassfibre boats from 20ft to 40ft to meet this demand, with companies like Cal Yachts, Catalina, Erickson, MacGregor, Santana and many others arising to meet this demand. These boats all needed sails, and in an era when no one had thought yet to
Pope – Part 2
Kenwood Cup 1986 and Lowell North receives the traditional Hawaiian welcome – by now the legendary sailmaker and helmsman had made the transition to ‘owner-skipper’!
a crash course, then opened and managed a North loft up the coast in Newport Beach. With Barrett’s help Lowell North was taking the first decisive steps in building his company outwards from its roots.
centralise operations to achieve efficiency and consistency in production, there were dozens of small local sailmakers through- out the region who made sails for their local cruising and racing customers. Soon there were at least a dozen or more brands serving the local racing community.
Enter the Tigers
It was on this fertile ground that Barrett, who later crewed with Lowell in the Star in Acapulco, and then Lowell’s Olympic Dragon crew Dick Deaver (who took over from Barrett after he returned to Pewau- kee) were the first of many ‘Tigers’, hired over the next couple of decades who would help to build the North empire into what it is today. ‘Tiger’ was a term used to describe those whom Lowell found were impressive for their sailing abilities, tech - nical training and prowess, and a certain personality of ‘go for it’ positivity that mirrored his own innate belief that anyone armed with these skills and a hard work ethic would succeed both personally and professionally.
About the same time Lowell met another important early Tiger while at the Tokyo Olympics: Eckart Wagner, who was on the fifth-placed German team in the 5.5 Metre class. Wagner told Lowell that he would
SEAHORSE 27
DAN NERNEY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72