We
know that boats like J-105’s or the recent Lipton Cup that was held
out here in Cali don’t necessarily mean that much to everyone. But
what I do think interests a lot of you is reading about the ingredients
that go into going fast, wining races, and putting together good teams.
A sailmaker (West Wind Sails) named David Bolyard (we didn’t know
who he was either) was instrumental in the upset win at the Lipton, and
has been one of the top Southern sailors for a long time. We got a few
words (well, more than a few!) from Dave on winning, teamwork, and his
sails. Enjoy.
Not
everybody knows about you or your sails. Fill us in.
DB
What
do you mean that everybody doesn't know about me and my sails?! I thought
they knew but just didn't like me. I'm just kidding. Way back when I was
kid growing up in Gulf Breeze, Florida my neighbor took me sailing. I
was instantly hooked. I'd like to thank Steven "Doc" Bellows
for that first experience. (I can still whip Doc's butt in basketball
and he knows it!) Shortly there after my dad, Bill Bolyard, bough the
first of many sailboats. ( I'd like to thank my family, especially my
Dad, for all the support and encouragement throughout the years.) We spent
uncountable hours sailing all over the Gulf Coast together. It was great.
I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life on the water sailing.
I got my first job in the business when I was 16 at Schurr Sails in Pensacola,
Florida. When I was 19 I went to the Flying Scot North Americans where
I met Benz Faget. He talked me into moving to New Orleans, Louisiana where
I went to work for North Sails. When I was 22, I moved to Mandeville,
Louisiana and along with Click Schreck we opened West Wind Sails on September
15, 1981. Click left after a couple of years to pursue his own dreams.
The rest is history. I traveled wherever I need to go and I still do.
I have quite a few frequent flyer miles to show for it as well as a high
mileage vehicle. I have built sails for boats as small as an Optimist
to as large as a Brigantine. I've always been a hands on sail maker and
always will be. I do not farm my sails out to other lofts, every sail
is made in my loft and every seam on every sail is stuck by me. I'd hate
to think about how far I crawl on my hands and knees everyday. I personally
measure each boat that the sail is for, hence the frequent flyer miles.
I like to measure each boat so I only have to cut once. I stick every
sail, I know every seam. I deliver the sail with customer service. I go
sailing with all of my customers to teach them about their sails and the
proper way to trim and care for them. And I don't charge extra for that.
It's all about bringing up the competition, if it's a racing sail. It's
all about enjoying the time on the water if it's a cruising sail. Back
in 1995 I got hooked up with David Ladurini at Sabre Sails in Ft. Walton
Beach, Florida. We are two independent sail lofts, but we share design
technology. Also with this pairing we share buying power and can get great
deals on cloth and are able to keep cost down. It's a win-win situation.
Personally, I'm 44 years old; I'm married to a beautiful wife, Julie,
and have a 14-year-old son, DJ. We are an all around sailing family. I've
sailed in nine US Sailing Championship finals. I have four first places
in the Mallory Cup, two second places (lost both times on tie breakers)
and two fifth places in the Prince of Wales. I'm most proud of last year
when Julie, Dj and myself all qualified and sailed in US Sailing Championship
semi-finals. I sailed in the Mallory's, Julie in the Adam's Cup and Dj
in the Sears. That was way cool.
Tell
us about the sails that you built for the J-105 in terms of material,
construction and shape.
DB
A lot
has gone into the design and research for the J -105. I started building
asymmetrical sails for the J-80 back in 1994. (That was the year we also
won the J-80 North Americans.) I started sailing the J-105 back in 1994
here on Lake Pontchartrain when Bobby Tassin first bought Green Jacket
(the J-105 that sank last June after winning the Gulfport to Pensacola
race. Julie was on board.) When Geoff called and said he was hanging up
the Melges and putting together a 105 program I was well prepared. We've
tried several different designs over the years and have found that the
Dacron tri-radial mainsails are not only a lot easier to trim, but they
are much faster and last a lot longer than the traditional cross-cut mains.
We could argue about this all day long and into next week, but this isn't
the first Dacron tri-radial main I've built. The jib. I'm not saying anything
about the jib except for the fact that it's Pentex cloth and tri-radial.
When we put the spinnaker up the first time, everyone laughed, even the
crew. The clew, to say the least, is extremely high. We are going to develop
a little different shape for the next generation of runner spinnaker,
but keep the high clew. (Thanks to Greg Jarvis at Contender Sailcloth,
he did a great job for us when we were picking our cloth selection.)
The
word is that you guys had a clear boat speed advantage in the Lipton Cup.
You were sailing against boats that had a lot of experience. To what do
you attribute the advantage?
DB
TEAM!
TEAM! TEAM! Team Nemesis is The Bear west coast style. It showed in the
fact that my wife said we were by the far the flattest boat out there
and we accelerated out of our tacks. It's all about being a team and thinking
and reacting as one. No one was asked to go below and sit on the keel
when the winds got light. They just did it. So not only do I attribute
our boat speed advantage to the team effort, it was working the sails
through the chop very aggressively.
You
told me that you learned a lot from the regatta. Give us three things.
DB
Short
and simple: Sail the boat flat. If the driver is not squealing, hike harder!
Stay focused. Keep your head in the game no matter how bad things appear
to be. Never give up. We were tenacious. When other boats thought we were
down, we would grind our way back up. That seemed to crush the other boat's
moral a little.
You
were behind a lot in the regatta. As a tactician, how do you get the boat
and crew back in the game?
DB
Whips
and chains! But they just kept on smiling. I think that if I answer this
by telling you about the individual crew members, you'll know what I'm
talking about. Everyone from their position called tactics. I can't stress
this enough. (again, it's all about the team.) Starting at the bow- Ian
Trotter, aka McGuyver. He can fix anything. Ian does a great job of calling
strategy upwind and downwind. He is one of the best bowman I have ever
sailed with. Mast and spinnaker trim- Mike Ford. Upwind he called wind,
waves and strategy. I'd never want to be on a boat with David Bolyard
and trim spinnaker because David is one cranky bastard. Mike was up to
the challenge and hung in there. He didn't even try to hit me! Pit- Mary
Coogan. She is the one that keeps us together. Upwind and downwind she
called the kelp and angles. At all the mark roundings Mary quietly got
all the sails up and down flawlessly while the rest of us, except for
Terry, were ranting maniacs. Mainsail- Terry Gleason. Calm. Did I mention
that he is extremely calm? Terry is extremely focus and even more upbeat.
He called some of the most incredible tactics I have ever seen. Driver-
Geoff Longenecker. He the Man! "How about that wheel!" "Can
I please get you some more spectator chop?" Geoff let everyone do
their job. Being that everyone stayed focus on what they were suppose
to be doing, we were never really out of the game. Everyone called tactics.
We went with our own gut. If it was right, it was right. If it was wrong,
well get on with it. We did not have any so called "rock stars"
on the boat, that seemed to help a lot.
Thanks
Dave. How do people get in touch with you?
DB
David
Bolyard
West Wind Sails
269 Atalin Street
Mandeville, Louisiana 70448
phone: 985-626-5638
Fax: 985-626-9173
email: westwindsails@bellsouth.net
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