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What if your race result was based on the actual forecast instead of a guess?

That’s exactly what Weather Routing Scoring does, but does it actually work?

Weather Routing Scoring (WRS) explained If you were wondering why your rating changed for the Chicago Mac or another major ORC race, here is the explanation. The Chicago to Mackinac Race has been run under several handicap rules over the years, switching to the current ORC system in 2021 alongside the Bayview to Mackinac Race. Over the pa...

Structured Luffs Explained: Why This Technology Is Changing Code Zeros and Headsails

Code Zero technology is advancing at a breakneck pace. Every year we discover better shapes, better materials, and better construction techniques, and the progress shows no signs of slowing. One concept that has steadily gained traction and is now becoming a standard option is the structured luff. Structured luffs have gone by several names and evolved through a few iterations, but the underlying idea has remained consistent. A structured luff places more of the vertical load into the sail’s luff itself, reducing the load on the torsion cable or forestay. This gives designers far more control over shaping and performance. There are several ways to achieve this.

What the Heck is a Structured Luff Sail? Structured Luffs Explained: Why This Technology Is Changing Code Zeros and Headsails Code Zero technology is advancing at a breakneck pace. Every year we discover better shapes, better materials, and better construction techniques, and the progress shows no signs of slowing. One concept that has ste...

We have upgraded mainsails and headsails, added Code Zeros, and created more types of spinnakers than you could shake a stick at, but one sail still seems stuck in the past for most sailors: the light air windseeker. Whether you call it a drifter, a windseeker, or a daisy staysail, this light air sail is generally an afterthought. It sits in the bilge and only gets hoisted as a last resort. We decided it was time to bring this sail into the current century and fully modernize it.

First, a quick refresher on what this sail actually is. Called by many names, a windseeker or drifter is the sail you put up when the speedometer is showing goose eggs and the windex has turned into a merry go round for the birds. These sails were traditionally made out of very light spinnaker nylon so they could fly in the faintest breeze. They were small to keep the weight down, stretchy, and had almost no defined shape. As soon as the breeze increased, they became inefficient and we rushed to get them down.

Not Your Daddy’s Daisy Staysail We have upgraded mainsails and headsails, added Code Zeros, and created more types of spinnakers than you could shake a stick at, but one sail still seems stuck in the past for most sailors: the light air windseeker. Whether you call it a drifter, a windseeker, or a daisy staysail, this light air sa...