North Sails Interview and Offer

North Sails have a special offer on for us until the end of November 2017: Main, Spinnaker and Genoa for £1200 (inc VAT)! North have been doing a lot of developmental work on their GP14 sails in the past year as Lawrence Creaser explains in a Q&A session below.

Q. You debuted some new North Sails at the Nationals last year but I know they were very much in development, what work you have put in over 2017 to get to where you are now?

A. The main thing we needed to do early on this year was to get out on the water with myself and the design team. Without looking at the sails in action together it can be difficult to know what direction to take the sails in. So we spent a lot of hours on the Solent trying a lot of different ideas and working out what we liked and what we didn’t. We tried various different designs with different depth profiles, different battens and more, until we found the right combinations, which brought us to the product we have now.

Q. Were you happy with the sails performance at the 2017 Nationals?

A. On the whole we were quite pleased with how the sails performed. Sam Mettam and Darren Roach in particular were fighting at the front consistently all week across the wind range. Its a shame neither of us were able to put in a stronger overall result, were it not for breakages Sam and Darren would have been well up there! Nonetheless we had some very good individual race results. With more practice and hopefully some consistency I’m sure we will see North Sails fighting at the front in Mounts Bay.

Q. Tell us about the shape of the sails and what you feel the strengths are? 

A. This year we have really concentrated on the ability to hold a lane and have a comfortable “high mode”. The Genoa needed flattening a little in the middle to prevent tubing and create a fairer flying shape while retaining a good twist profile in the leech. We also worked on the spinnaker to give us more power on the run with shoulders as big possible and depth down low. We had to be careful to not go too far with depth down low and make tight reaches difficult but based on pace and race results, we are headed in a good direction!

Q. Are quality and consistency a big thing at North? 

A. Quality and consistency are hugely important here at North Sails. We meticulously check every measurement and every detail at every stage of the sail making process to ensure every customer gets the best product.

Q. Anything else you want to tell the class about North?

A. As a company we are committed to giving customers a full package when they buy a North Sail. “Customer First” and “Go Beyond” are our main philosophies. With a North sail you get more than just a sail. You get access to a wealth of knowledge gained through over 60 years of sail making and countless championship winning designers and sailors. Whether you see us in person, telephone us or email us, we are happy to help with any issues or questions you might have.

We are currently offering a great deal and there is potential for more discount if some wanted to combine together for a bulk order. Happy to answer any questions or queries if they get in touch with me on lawrence.creaser@northsails.com