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by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
The extent of Naples Sabot racing is limited to about a 100-mile range in Southern California, with several prominent sailmakers getting their start in the Class. So it was with some surprise that my new sail came with a shipping charge, as it was not built locally but rather in Asia.
I hear how it is hard for sailmakers to find qualified workers, which makes sense when even sails for this 8-footer are manufactured overseas. But this idea of seeking cheap labor now comes with a shipping charge, let alone the environmental impact of transporting sails from across the globe. Sounds like regress, not progress.
To address this problem, the prominent offshore racing IMOCA Class enacted a rule implemented in 2023 for all teams to have one “Green Sail” among the eight sails authorized on board during races. There is a points-based scoring system, designed to minimize harmful emissions, with the reduction of air transport being a variable.
Nine months after being introduced, the rule has led to an average 30% reduction in CO2 emissions for every kilo of finished sail produced under its restrictions. I don’t know what this really means, but seems like some kind of progress to me. Maybe the Naples Sabot Class needs a similar rule.
Now the plan is to expand the rule and make it more stringent, as Imogen Dinham-Price, IMOCA’s Co-Sustainability Manager, explains: “Since January, we have had frequent round-table discussions with the sailmakers to see how to improve the rule and how it works within sail production. The mission now is to work towards a potential carbon cap for the Green Sail…
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