SAIL.SailMagazine

The Pittman Innovation Awards are named after Freeman K. Pittman, SAIL’s widely respected technical editor of 14 years, who succumbed to Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1996. Although it’s not easy living up to Freeman’s high standards, we think he’d be impressed by this year’s selection.

Most boats today have a single permanently hoisted headsail with a roller-reefing unit on the headstay. This arrangement works well, but becomes problematic when there is more wind than the sail on the furler can handle.

Liz Clark, 32, longtime sailor and surfer, spent the last six years fulfilling her lifelong dream of sailing around the world, or just about. While Clark didn’t make it all the way around, she navigated most of the South Pacific Ocean solo on board her Cal 40 Swell.

Six experts weigh in on the best ways to improve a boat’s sails and sailhandling systems.

“We’ll only be out for an hour,” he promised, and I decided to believe him. The wind out on Lake Ontario was light, the seas were calm, and despite there being some dark clouds in the distance, it looked like a great afternoon for a sail.