J70 etc) all have a place of reverence in the world of sailing. Where sailmaking reputations are made.
I should, and will, note here that Doyle One Design in the US has pointed out that they are remaining independent and are not under the Blue umbrella. Also that there are many other great sailmakers building great one-design sails.
Left: not the ultimate sailmaker’s dream (a windy day and a long postponement) but a sight to gladden the hearts of those who put together these big black beauties. Less cheery, in our opinion, is the absence of reefs in such magnificent sails, telling a story of inshore-only racing for boats that could smash oceanic records; worse still of a culture of not going racing in winds of over 25kt. Above: a Finn sail may be smaller, less expensive and at the top end last fewer hours even than at the sharp end of the maxi fleet, but small boats are where the most intense detail development still takes place and where talented new sailmakers make their mark. In the class heyday the biggest North Sails account was for Star sails from the original San Diego loft; as one of ‘Lowell’s Tigers’ the writer was then based just up the coast at Huntington Beach
buys four or five of each sail to pick the best one to use. The rejects are sold on or used as practice sails. Expensive game this sailboat racing when you are uncompromising.
Oh, and another thing, production and standardisation really don’t agree with innovation and rapid development. You can have one or the other, but not both.
The good news is sailmaking in the one-design world is a more open market, with a larger field of sailmaking competitors. Com- petition among the sail brands is the source of faster and better sails coming through on a constant basis. By and large these sails are made in more local lofts. Where you can go and see your sail being made. One-design sails (Star, Dragon, OK, Finn, E-22 and
In the OK dinghy we have half a dozen sailmakers or more whose sails have all won world championships in recent years. It will be interesting to see how the Blue-umbrella-Asia experiment plays out with the everyday OK sailor. Hopefully well, and everyone wins, but there are some big challenges to make that work. I do worry what happens when you eliminate competition in business. Be it airlines, banks, sports or sails. Does the motivation to be the best in the world, as in the best each and every day, wear a bit thin if you know no one is pushing you?
When I was a kid working in the sail loft I remember Lowell North saying, ‘Just build the fastest and best sails, the money will come or not, but it all starts with the very best sails’. That philosophy sticks with me today. Whatever you do give it your all – be the very best at it. That is where it all starts. Old-school thinking in a modern world. Still maybe how things get pushed forward. I think I will stick with it. So what else happens with Doyle and Quantum Sails coming under the North Tech umbrella? Predicting the future is always fraught with danger. If I could I would have invested in Apple and Bitcoin. Still I will have a go, because I am passionate about sailing and about sailmaking…
Over the next few years we will probably see consolidation and business functions combined under the Blue umbrella to create a synergy that has less duplication and more efficiency and profits. That is how private equity purchases and how the business plans work. The 30ft+ racing sailmaking market sees no real challengers outside the North Tech family. A monopoly. The one-design world and grass-roots sailmaking might have a wee boom as competition pushes hard and delivers rapid pace improvements. Will the customers get better sails and more services while benefiting from these reduced costs? That is the challenge for the teams under the Blue umbrella. Hopefully… We will see.
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ROBERT DEAVES
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