(Newport, RI)- Here's one for the "why you sail a 'J' to learn how to sail
better, faster, smarter and move ahead in the world department"- J/24
World Champion Tim Healy has been asked by yet another J/24 World
Champion, Ken Read (now President of North Sails) to re-join "Team Blue".
Prophetically enough, North Sails announced that Tim would join in the
role of One Design Coordinator after Key West. Healy, who won the J/24
World Championship in 2010, worked for North Sails from 1998-2004 and
has been in the sailmaking industry for 14 years."Tim has proven himself countless times in a wide array of one design sailboats from J/24s and Shields to Lightnings and Etchells – and now in the new and quickly growing J/70 class, where he won top honors in the 39-boat fleet last week in Key West,” said North Sails President Ken Read. "Having Tim back at North Sails gives us an opportunity to work closer with clients through his experience and knowledge of how to prepare and win on the race course,” Read continued.
Healy, who was a three-time All-American Sailor at St. Mary’s College in Maryland, has earned his place in the world of one-design sailboat racing. He has won 17 major titles in the J/24 class since 1999 and 7 National and North American championships in other classes. Healy also won a Gold Medal at the Pan Am Games in the Dominican Republic in 2003.
"What I enjoy most about sailing and sailmaking is learning how to fine tune everything about the boat -- sails, rig tune, boat setup, tactics -- to make it go faster. Sailing our J/70 in Key West last week was a great example of how fulfilling it is to race in a brand-new boat and tweak our tactics and boat setup all week long until we found our groove. What we learned in Key West will be shared within the North Sails Group and will be applied to help our clients go faster on the race course,” he continued. “My love for the sport of sailing never seems to subside and rejoining North Sails allows me to utilize the best tools in the business to ultimately better serve my clients," Healy concluded.
"We are very excited to have Tim back onboard and look forward to his
knowledge and input on where we can improve our sail designs and client
outreach," said Vince Brun, head of the One Design division of North
Sails. "Not only is he an accomplished and talented sailor but he is
also committed to helping clients at regattas and he will work with our
team internally to make sure we are doing the best job possible with
regatta preparation and presence," continued Brun. "Our goal within the
One Design division of North Sails is to have a stronger presence for
our clients leading up to and during regattas and to provide better
client services across the board," Brun said. "Vinnie" should know, he
sailed one of the first J/24 Midwinters himself starting in 1979 as a
"newbie" just off the ship from Brazil. :)
* During Key West Race Week 2011, Kerry Gruson, a disabled sailor from Shake-A-Leg Miami, helmed John Smittle's J24 CLASS ACT for the first time Tuesday, then Wednesday and then again Thursday.
John Smittle who teaches at J/World Key West, has a local sail making and canvas repair loft and is also a Navy Pilot Veteran (a.k.a. a Top Gun/ Black Aces trainer on those little F-14 jets that only go a million miles an hour upside down over Havana--- just to check on Fidel).