Harnessing the wind
It is fitting that the sails for Ocean Watch were carefully sewn by hand in a loft in Port Townsend, Washington. In a long, narrow room on the water with large windows, the sailmakers can look up from their work and see the Olympic Mountains on one side and the Straits of Juan de Fuca on the other as they perform their labor of love. To be sure, love is no exaggeration because the women of Port Townsend Sails love what they do with their hearts and souls.
Carol Hasse started the company in 1978 and still can’t believe her good fortune. For her, sailing is a magical experience. “Moving on the water at three to ten knots an hour puts you in touch with nature like nothing else,” says Hasse. “It informs your heart and mind.”
The sails for Ocean Watch were made by hand by people who know the sea. In fact, almost every person at Port Townsend Sails is either a sailor, lives on a boat or owns a boat. This is rare in an age when most sails are manufactured off shore in factories by people who have never even been on a boat. Hasse in fact, learned her craft from master sail maker Franz Schattauer, whose lineage in the business goes back centuries.
The sails will be durable and easy to repair; an important issue on such a long trip. There is great care in the construction and, in keeping with the environment aspect of Ocean Watch, very little waste and easily re-usable materials.
Ocean Watch’s “working” sails (main, roller furling genoa, and stays’l) are made of the most tightly woven Dacron available, Challenge Sailcloth’s Marblehead. The sails are cross-cut and triple stitched with UV coated thread. They are heavily reinforced at the corners and edges. Hand-sewn leathers protect the head, tack, clew, and fabric at reef cringles from chafe. The mainsail has two top full battens and three partial battens. Antal luff slides and reef blocks (provided by Euro Marine) are hand-sewn in position with Spectra webbing. Ocean Watch’s storm jib is made from Challenge’s Spectra “pin-stripe” (a woven Dacron and Spectra fabric).
Sailmaking is both art and a science. But along with the computer-aided design to make sure the shape is correct, there is the power and grace of the sails. “Sailing for me is about sharing an amazing experience with people you love and care about,” Hasse explains. “This is so much more than a business for us. It’s a way of living that is spiritual and we feel blessed that we can work on the water.”
In the sailmaking business, your customers often become your friends. The crew of Ocean Watch is no exception. Hasse has known them for decades and felt a special responsibility when making their sails.
“It’s an honor that our sails will be carrying our friends on their journey,” says Hasse. “It’s also pretty darn exciting!”
