We were in need of new cruising sails, but this race gave us an excuse to get them sooner than later. We ordered them while in Brazil through UK Halsey, who made our current sails and spinnaker. We specified that we needed them in Antigua no later than April 25th so that we would have time to install the luff hardware and fit them before practice day.

Having been in "the islands" now for a few weeks, we now know that we should have asked for them about five days earlier. The sails left the loft in time, but unfortunately got delayed in Barbados for two days. On top of that I spent about three days calling the various agents and shipping companies involved trying to figure out who would clear them and get them to us. Nobody wanted to take much ownership, but Antigua Yacht Services was quite helpful in the end.

We finally got the sails at 5pm on Friday, leaving us with the morning to fit them and only a few hours in the afternoon for practice. But better late than never. They look great and we can't wait to see how they sail!