Lying in 15th place on day three out of a field of 109 boats is Seattle’s Dalton Bergan. With all top 10 finishes except for a DNF in the final race, Bergan is doing a great job in this highly competitive class.
While most of the field at the Belmont, Australia based world championship are using KA Australian made sails, Bergan is using Port Angles made Raptor Sails. Dan Kaseler, owner of Raptor, until recently made the fastest sails in the world as a windsurfer using Raptor Sails broke the world sailing speed record. An excellent sailor in his own right, Kaselar’s team won the Melges 24 PCC’s in San Francisco in August of 2010. On top of everything else, Kaselar is involved with the development of the Velocitek portable sailing GPS.
The Moth sail is quite interesting as it has its roots in windsurfing. The sails are full batten, flat headed and feature an aerodynamic luff sock. One other noticeable aspect is how far the draft is pulled forward. The max draft 50% aft is certainly not true here but of course these boats fly in every sense. After the break is a picture of a Raptor Moth sail.
photo by Raptor Sails