Quantum Sails Newport

Originally from Sydney, Australia, Joe Cooper (aka Coop) grew up learning to sail and race on his father's boats. Success in the 1974 Sydney-Hobart Race and Finn sailing led to an invitation to Newport to sail on the 1977 America’s Cup challenger Gretel 2. He returned to Newport in 1980, this time as boat captain and then racing on Australia. Following the America's Cup and two Congressional Cups, he stayed in the U.S. sailing on all manner of cruising and race boats through the 1980's and into late 1990's.
 
Coop's experiences in the ocean cover the spectrum, from delivering an engineless 30 foot to the UK to sailing as Mate on the J-Class Endeavor, sailing her from France to the Caribbean. He has been a skipper or mate for various boats and several short-handed trans-oceanic passages. He has raced and cruised boats, sold them, rigged them and built them. Coop has been instrumental in promoting short-handed sailing and establishing the double-handed class in the annual Block Island Race on Long Island Sound in which he sailed the first edition with the late Bob Derecktor's on his 80 footer. He continues to be very involved with the Short-Handed sailing scene in Newport through the Bermuda 1-2 community.
 
Coop has over 30 years of experience as a sail consultant working with Hood Sailmakers and now with Quantum Sails as well. He is an active coach, writer and very popular speaker on a broad range of sailing topics. With such a wide and varied level of experience, Joe is exceptionally adept at understanding client needs.

Carter White began sailing before he could walk, going on trips in the family's Lightning and then their J/24. He has experienced the beauty of the Gulf of Maine in a variety of cruising and racing boats. Having sailed and raced on multiple continents and at hundreds of locations, Carter considers the Maine coast of one the best places in the world to sail.

An accomplished junior sailor, Carter competed on the national level in multiple National Championships including the U.S. Sailing Bemis and Sears competitions. He then took a chance on an upstart college program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where he majored in Economics and joined an aggressive, young, and new sailing team. He helped build the program into a national contender almost immediately; by his senior year, the program was ranked number one in the country. Carter was named All American for outstanding performance in inter-collegiate sailing competition.

After college, Carter worked for a local sailmaker in Maine where he learned to design, build, and repair sails; install marine rigging; and manage a small business. He enjoyed helping the company grow into the leading local source for sails, canvas, and rigging. During this time, Carter sailed with many customers, helping them win major championships such as the PHRF New England Championships and Key West Race Week.

Carter ultimately started his own business, managing sailing regattas and providing custom apparel and marketing products to marine businesses and events. Originally started in 2007 as Regatta Promotions, Carter set out to help yacht clubs and sailing organizations run better regattas. The business is still going strong today. Having successfully accomplished his mission, Carter and his wife, Molly, are now offering their years of product knowledge and expertise through You Regatta. You Regatta is located in the same facility as Quantum Sails Downeast in Falmouth, Maine.

One-design sailing is where Carter has showcased his sailing talents, winning three U.S. National Championships in three different one-designs. He won the prestigious U.S. Sailing Mallory Cup in 2017, skippering a J/70 at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club as a representative of the Portland Yacht Club and SailMaine. He has skippered his J/24 You Regatta to many top finishes including fifth at the 2017 J/24 Worlds and second at the 2019 J/24 Midwinter Championships. Carter has won events sailing a variety of boats, including Swan 42, J/24, Lightning, Hinckley 51 SW, Custom 27’, Frers 36 & 41, Farr 30, Beneteau 36.7, J/80, J/70, 420, J/105, Etchells, Laser, Vanguard 15, and S2 9.1

While Carter has been working with Quantum, he has enjoyed the opportunities and rewards to reconnect with past clients in new ways that continue his true passion of helping sailors get more out of their boats, whether on the race course, gunkholing down the coast, or making a long ocean passage.

David Simmons started sailing when he was 10 years old because his father wanted his children to know how to handle the boat. Though he originally started sailing to help his dad, David stuck with sailing because of the challenge. “Sailing as a sport can be anything from peaceful and calm to thrilling and exciting,” said David. After taking sailing lessons at Mystic Seaport in Dyer Dhows, he continued racing at his home yacht club throughout school, and even during his college years.

He eventually took a job as an apprentice sailmaker and enjoyed it completely. He’s been doing it ever since. In June 2015 he joined the Quantum team as the Service Manager at the Quantum Newport loft. With 40 years of experience working on all sizes and styles of sails, he can usually diagnose problems on the spot and let customers know exactly what needs to be done.

Now with Quantum's resources available to him, David can provide the highest level of service and expertise. “I like the fact that Quantum takes the idea of team seriously,” said David. “There’s a real structure to how the business operates. There is always someone to bounce ideas off of. The amount of support coming from the organization is amazing.”

Neal O'Connell began sailing with his family in the 1960s before he discovered racing in the '70s. He competed locally in PHRF races while also trying some longer distance events at the western end of Long Island Sound. Crewing for many of the best sailors in the area, he caught the racing bug.

He started making sails in 1978, but took 15 years off to manage a small manufacturing shop. The water called him back, however, and Neal returned to sail production, service, and finally sales. When the loft where he worked closed, Neal started looking for a company that provided a high level of service in addition to providing a top-quality product. He found that in Quantum Sails.

Neal joined the Quantum team in February 2014. With the company's many lofts and employees, he’s able to help all of his clients through his own knowledge or by tapping into Quantum's resources. "I strive to provide my customers with the best service, both before and after I make a sale," said Neal. "I sail with each of my customers so they can get the best performance from their new sail. If something isn't correct, I work hard to correct the problem as soon as possible." A seasoned racer, Neal has sailed a variety of PHRF boats, C&Cs (from 30’-40’), J/29, J/40, J44, J/105, J/109, Baltic 38, and Tripp 37. Previously he's owned and raced Thistles, Interclub, and Blue Jays, though he's currently racing Vipers 640s, Shields, and Etchells.

Dawn started working for Hood Sailmakers in Newport in 1991 as an Accounts Receivable Clerk. As the needs in that loft grew, she took on additional responsibilities and eventually moved into the General Manager position. In 2017, Dawn came on board as Quantum Newport's Office Manager. Now, she has earned a seat at the Regional Manager's table and will run day-to-day operations of Quantum Sails Newport. Sales, service, and production, in Newport, will report to Dawn, and together, we anticipate great things for this loft.

Jessica "Jessy" Nees grew up in Port Washington, NY. Her family sailed their Frers 33 around Western Long Island Sound or other harbors further along the Sound for overnight trips. As she got older, Jessy joined the Port Washington Yacht Club junior sailing program and began racing Optimists at eight years of age. When she was 12, Jessy's coach, who was from New Zealand, showed her how open the world can become within the realm of sailing. Inspired, Jessy continued to race Club 420s. In her early 20s, Jessy moved to the eastern end of Long Island where she taught yoga and paddleboarding, even mixing the two together. It was when she was teaching junior sailing at Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett that Jessy was able to fuel her passion for the sport to the next generation of sailors.

Jessy has always been drawn to the community aspect of sailing. Many tight-knit relationships and growth and supportive competition are formed and fostered on the water. When she moved to Eastern Long Island, Jessy joined a group of J/70 sailors racing out of Breakwater Yacht Club, where she found not only a fun fleet but also a group that was always up for a chat to discuss events on the water, making sure everyone felt supported to do even better next time around.

Quantum has been part of Jessy's life since she was a child. Her father was good friends with the local sailmaker, who often raced on his boat and had dinner at the Nees home. Jessy's first job during high school was at the Quantum loft in Port Washington, where she punched grommets and ripped seams or delivered a finished sail to a client. And 13 years later, she's joining Quantum again as a service and production technician. "The Newport team has been so supportive in fostering my education and development and giving me the tools to tackle work effectively and efficiently. I admire the technical artistry that sailmakers display and am excited to continue to learn at Quantum."

Joel van Wyk was born and raised between Durban and Cape Town, South Africa. He now calls Newport, Rhode Island, home after living in New York for a few years. Joel comes from a long line of sailors who got him out on the water in a variety of small boats from as early as he can remember. That instilled in him a deep love for the ocean from a young age and led to Joel becoming a lifelong surfer, fisherman, paddler, and obviously, sailor. One of his fondest sailing memories was leisurely cruising the east coast of Australia for a few months with his family on their catamaran.

While in South Africa, Joel studied business and commerce and has had a successful career in sales and customer service. Recently, Joel has been honing his seamanship skills aboard numerous tall ships and schooners and has been competing in classic yacht regattas. He also joined the Quantum team in sail service and production.

"I love being hands on with the sails every single day. It's an art, a craft, and a science all in one, which is exceptionally rewarding and satisfying. I don't think I'll ever stop learning something new, which makes every day an exciting challenge."

Thomas Braisted is an avid, life-long sailor and talented sailmaker. He is known not only for his sail repair skills, but has been tapped for a number of custom projects ranging from canvas for cruisers to defense contract projects. Tom has been living aboard his own boat for nearly 30 years.