The Official
Website of the
International
Sailing Federation

During the four day visit, the North Sails team undertook a training course in sail measurement and following the successful completion of the subsequent audit of procedures, ISAF is pleased to announce the first ISAF In-House Certification License in the United States has been issued to North Sails One Design in San Diego.

Located near the Midway District of San Diego, North Sails One Design produces a large number of sails approximately 100 different classes including the International Melges 24, the International Finn and the International J24 classes. Vince Brun, General Manager at North Sails One Design, is pleased to be involved in the scheme: "We took the decision to get involved in the IHC scheme a while ago now. It's important for us that we work with ISAF on this project and that the sailors know they can buy a competitive, race-ready sail directly from us."

"ISAF has been working on the In-House Certification scheme for a long time now, and to see the development we have had this year is a huge step forward" said Rob Taylor, "Getting the first American sail loft involved is really positive progress. There are now [sail] lofts on three continents, producing certified sails for everything from Olympic campaigns to National Class races!"

How It Works
In-House Certification (IHC) centres around a Certification System allowing the manufacturer to self-certify the equipment they produce at the point of manufacture - but only once their have met a designated standard. Each nation or region has an IHC Authorizing Authority (AA) approved by ISAF (normally the MNA), which approves, contracts and audits manufacturers with Certification Systems. Classes involved in the IHC scheme ensure their class rules are suitable for IHC and assist the development of control methods.

Get Involved!
Classes wishing to be involved in the Programme will need to ensure that their class rules and other equipment controls lend themselves to IHC. The most positive way to achieve this is by the application of the ISAF standards for class rules (SCR) and the Equipment Rules of Sailing (ERS).

Any class association wishing to become involved in the ISAF In-House Certification Scheme should read Section 8 of the Criteria and Responsibilities document before contacting the ISAF Technical Department for further information

MNAs and manufacturers wishing to become involved or find out more about the ISAF In-House Certification scheme should also contact the ISAF Technical Department , visit the ISAF IHC microsite or check out the ISAF IHC Facebook page for further details.