Blog | upffront.com

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Dave Proctor. I am a freelance journalist and the proud owner of a classic 27 ft yacht. A 1971-built sloop rigged Albin Vega. I have been invited to write a series of articles on my wishlist of the things that I would like to buy for my boat. 

Spinlock Ltd., is a British company, based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, where for the past 40 years they have been designing and manufacturing their market-leading range of rope control devices. The company emphasises that all of their products are still produced at their own facility. 

Calypso Instruments are a manufacturer of portable and small-scale installation wind meters. Based in Spain, the company provides anemometers to a range of industries where wind data is important, including marine, agriculture and renewable energy. In the world of sailing, Calypso Instruments offers the possibility to have a low cost, low impact wind meter for small sports boats and day sailors where a full-blown marine electronics package isn’t practical. In this blog we highlight the key features of the portable wind meter range which is now available at Upffront.com. 

We have previously reported on the benefits of composite backstays: to reduce weight aloft and increase performance. An effective control system to finely tune backstay load is equally important, particularly for a race yacht. In this blog we look at 3 popular configurations for backstay purchase systems using block and tackle. 

Ronstan have just launched an all new range of Aluminium Self-tailing Orbit Winches in 3 sizes plus an innovative new QuickTrim feature which allows the line to be eased without removing the handle or the line from the self-tailer. In this blog we highlight the main features and benefits of this exciting new sailing winch range which has been 4 years in the making.

Image credit: Amory Ross / 11th Hour Racing / The Ocean Race 

We recently published the Stacking Bag range from French manufacturer Outils Oceans. In this blog we take a brief look at why these are the number one below deck stowage solution for offshore race yachts. How many can you count in the above image taken on board 11th Hour Racing during The Ocean Race?