I was talking to Martin Lee this morning from North Sails UK. Martin has been in charge of the sail production floor for NSUK since 1994 and is one of the world's most experienced sailmakers. We were discussing manufacturing in general and then we started talking about the spinnaker for Perseus^3 which was the largest sail ever built.......
This sail was really something special and it's hard not to be impressed by the numbers! The fact sheet below makes some really interesting reading.......If you think that the average size spinnaker in Ireland is something like 120sqm that will put things into perspective when you realise this sail is 2604sqm!! That requires some very specialised handling.
There has been a strong Irish connection to this yacht for a number of years now but she has only recently switched over to using North Sails. Peter O'Flynn and James Fegan from Cork were both on the crew and it was interesting to talk to them about the new spinnaker and sailing a boat like this in general.
Very interesting comments from Peter onboard the boat:
“When you’re on a superyacht such as Perseus^3 going downwind at close to 17 knots you want your sails to do what they should do without any additional complications. Going through the first gybe with a new Kite (A-sail) the foredeck is a dangerous place and tension levels are high, you are looking up at the biggest sail in the world and any mistake can cause mayhem and injury. This is how we unfolded the new North Sails Kite on Perseus, the crisp feel and shape of the sail when hoisted gave us some encouragement. Gybe called and we fall into it fully powered up, an outside gibing manoeuvre with almost 300 feet of new sheet to take on, clearing the old sheet as the sail goes through the wind and she flips like you are on a sportsboat, a beautiful sail and a memorable moment for all 55 people on board.”
Next time you are struggling with your spinnaker and finding it hard to handle, just imagine if it was over twenty times bigger!! Then you might have a real problem.
For the full story on the building of this sail please check out the link here, It's hard not to be impressed.....
For more info about North Sails please check out the website.
From us all here at North Sails Ireland SAIL FAST
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