Over ons

Growing up in the British Virgin Islands, Doug Stewart started sailing when he was four years old. He and his friends started on Sunfish, graduating to Lasers and Squibs as they grew up. Through the years, he went on to win every major regatta in the Caribbean, including the BVI Spring Regatta, the Rolex Caribbean Regatta and Antigua Race Week. After graduating from high school in 1981, Doug went to work with sailmaker Ted Hood. It didn’t take long for him to discover that sailmaking was something was something he wanted to do for a living. “Making something from a roll of fabric and a pair of scissors is pretty cool,” said Doug. “I found it easy to understand, and easy to teach others.” Doug was part of the team that started Quantum Sails, and has been with them ever since. His design experience includes Melges 20, Melges 24, Megles 32, Lightning, Escows, Interlakes, cruising boats, mega yachts, and catamarans. The passion of the Quantum team continues to invigorate Doug, and he enjoys interacting with customers on a daily basis. Having started as a sailmaker before computers and cutting machines, Doug said his unique understanding and experience helps him provide the best service to his customers. “They can expect me to listen first then advise them,” said Doug. “I understand all aspects of sailing, sailmaking, and sailing systems, so I usually have a solution if my customers have problems.”

George grew up in San Diego racing Stars, Lasers and Snipes. As a kid, he made sails for his model boats before eventually taking a part-time job with Quantum during high school and college. He came on full-time in 1993 as a sailmaker and designer.

Using the latest computer design programs, George is able to create the fastest, most efficient sails for smaller One Design boats. This technology, combined with his intimate understanding of One Design sailing, allows him to create the most versatile sails available. The San Diego loft designs a variety of One Design sails, including Thistle and Lido 14, but their specialties are Olympic Class Star and Snipe boats.

George is the 2009 Star World Champion, as well as an 21-time National/North American Champion. In addition to his sail-making abilities and wins, he is also an accomplished keelboat tactician and trimmer.

In 1982, A. Kaan Is and his friends were about to enter their last year of tennis school when a new sailing school opened nearby. He followed his friends to the sailing program so they could stick together, but it didn’t take long for Kaan to catch the sailing bug. “The wind and water are the best of nature’s forces,” he said. “I loved the sound of the wind and waves crashing on the bow.”

Kaan wanted to be part of the sailing industry. Without any formal sailboat design education, he took a job doing sail repair at a local loft in 1993. By the end of the first year he was making his own sails by hand. “I had to design them on paper and cut them on the floor,” said Kaan. “It was hard work, but I liked it.”

From 2001-2008, he managed production and design for all UK Sails in Turkey. In 2009, he joined the Quantum team. “Smiling faces are the most important thing in my life, and I found the same positive energy at Quantum Sails,” said Kaan. An experienced IRC racer, Kaan focuses his sail designs on cruising and IRC sails, playing with the numbers for optimization.

“I love creating a racing team for my customers and coaching them on the water,” he said. “These types of projects are special because you’re winning new friends and meeting new faces to say hello to on the sea.”

Adrien de Belloy started sailing at four years old, traveling around the North Atlantic with his parents on a boat they built themselves. As a family, they spent a year sailing across the Atlantic, from France to the Caribbean to New York and back. By the time Adrien was 12, he’d moved on to competitive racing. “I loved the sense of freedom, responsibility, team work and being out in nature,” he said. “Nowadays I still love reaching to the horizon and the technical aspect of it. I’m always searching for a way to go faster and trim better.”

With a degree in yacht and powercraft design from Southampton Solent University, Adrien joined Quantum Sails Barcelona as a sail designer in 2007. He left the loft in 2010 to work as a self-contractor for Quantum while he built the boat he and his wife sailed around the world, covering 44,000 miles from 2011-2013. He continues to design for Quantum at the France loft, and is back to racing IRC, Soto 40, and more.

Designing sails for everything from dinghies to super yachts, racers to cruisers, Adrien loves his work. “I love the never-ending improvement,” he said. “Getting to see my designs at sea, then analyzing them to keep on adapting to every situation.”

Working with the team at Quantum gives him the support and resources he needs to design the best sail for every sailor. “Working for Quantum means being part of a great team that is aiming for success at every endeavor,” said Adrien. “We work twice as hard to prove that we are ready for the next challenge.”

Involved in sail making for more than 15 years, Gildas started in production for Quantum Sails, then moved into design and management in early 2000. Gildas is involved in high-end sails for boats like the TP 52, Open 60 and megaboats. He also contributes to the development and implementation of One-Design standards worldwide.

His sailing resume includes match racing, Mini’s and big boat racing in the Mediterranean.

Designer, sailor and owner of Quantum Sails Melbourne, David has been sailmaking since 1981. He opened his own sail loft in 1988 under the name of Performance Sails, then joined Quantum Sails in 1998.

Having been involved in the sailing industry for so long, he has sailed a full range of boats, from skiffs and cats to One Design and offshore boats. He’s also been involved with everything from designing the America’s Cup sails to winning Sydney-to-Hobart races to helping up-and-coming youth as a coach, mentor, and sailmaker for off-the-beach classes.

David’s passion is to make yacht sails faster and give his clients the edge.

In his early years of dinghy sailing, Brent Fowler made his own sails during school holidays at Sobstad Sails in Western Australia. He saw the loft evolve from a dinghy sail manufacturer to big boat experts as they made the shift to Quantum Sails. After completing his apprenticeship, Brent took on the role of loft manager and client liaison.

During a short break from Quantum, Brent was part of many winning teams, updating sail designs for their IRC inventories and maximizing sails to OD rules, such as with the Bakewell White 36 fleet. He competed locally and internationally, winning Phuket Race Week and helming the Australian entry in the Audi Med Cup Cartagena event in 2011. In late 2011, Brent re-joined Quantum Sails as the Western Australian agent.

Brent’s primary focus is designing IRC inventories for offshore and inshore racing, as well as sail evaluation for the greater Australian market. Recently, Brent has taken on designing overflow sails for the U.S. market and is involved in iQ Technology™ and Velocity Prediction Program analysis for new-build projects. It can be tricky to work within IRC racing rules, but with Quantum Sail’s design technology Brent can design sails to lower a boat’s rating without losing speed or speed up the boat without a rating penalty. Whether you have a 20’ or 80’ boat, Brent ensures the same care and thought goes in to each Quantum® sail.

Born and raised on Garda Lake, sailing has been Carlo Fracassoli’s favorite sport since childhood. It’s no surprise that he become a professional sailor in 2001. In 2003, he began collaborating in the development of racing and cruising sails for some of the industry’s best known sails brands. He designed sails for monotypes and had great results on the water.

In 2012, Carlo and Manlio Pozzoli opened their own sailmaking loft and affiliated with Quantum Sails as the Quantum Pro-Laghi S.N.C. loft. Since then, he has designed most of the sails sold by the Italian sales team. A One-Design specialist, Carlo designs many sails for Melges 20, 24, and 32 classes, Garda and European lakes monotypes, and ORC and IRC offshore boats.

An accomplished sailor, he won the Melges 24 World Championship in 2012, 2017 and 2019 and the European Championship in 2011 and 2018.

When Gary Leduc was five years old, his neighbor offered to teach him to sail if Gary would help him put together a wooden skiff. Gary agreed, and he’s been sailing ever since. A lifelong fan of the water, he spent most of his high school and college years sailing and surfing, even missing school to enjoy the water. When his neighbor, and owner of Manchester Sails, heard about Gary’s passion, he offered to teach Gary how to make sails. That offer turned into a career in the sailmaking industry.

Gary started making sails in 1969. He has been working at Quantum Bristol for more than 20 years, since before they joined Quantum Sails. He learned his trade the traditional way, making everything by hand. Today, his main focus is designing all types of cruising sails for yachts up to 60 feet.

As a member of the Quantum group, Gary has access to not only the best sail-making technology, but also to the most knowledgeable sailors in the country. “If you have a question, I can quickly Skype with or email someone and always get the answer,” he said. He uses those resources to make sure each of his clients not only get the best product, but also the best information and service. “I want to help educate them about the product and make them feel warm and comfortable,” Gary said. “In the end, they aren’t going to buy something from you if they don’t feel good about the conversation they’ve had with you.”

When Fernando Sallent was 10 years old, a friend of his father bought him an Optimist dinghy. From then on Fernando was hooked. As an adult, his first business venture was Technik Boats, a small Optimist shipyard, but it was the physics of sailing that really intrigued him. "I always had a passion for finding a way to make boats go faster," he said.

That passion led him to La Industrial Velera Marsal, a local sailmaker who made all of his sails by hand. Fernando worked there learning the basics of sailmaking while also running Technick Boats. After taking a year off to serve in the military, he decided to leave Technick and joined Toni Tio Sail Loft. Toni Tio was only designing cruising sails at the time, so Fernando came on board to lead the One Design section of the company.

In 1996, Toni and Fernando visited the Quantum Annapolis loft, and in 2000 they joined the Quantum Sails team. Fernando continues to design One Design sails as he works to help his clients improve on the water. "I love seeing how sailors do better when the product is improved," he said. "I love the fine tuning of boats and sails on the water."

An accomplished sailor, Fernando also works as a coach for many teams. He coached the 470 women's world, Olympic, and European champions in 1992 and the 470 women's world champions in 1995. Since 2000, he has advised the Norwegian, Swedish, Swiss, and Spanish Olympic teams.

Patroklos "Pat" Tachtatzis grew up around sound lofts. His father opened his own loft in 1979, and in 1998 Pat joined the family business making sails. The pair affiliated with Quantum Sails in 2000, and soon after Pat travelled to Annapolis, Maryland to learn the art of sail design from Quantum’s leading designers. Since 2004, Pat has been designing sails for a range of boats, from 30–60 foot racing boats to 30–140 foot cruising boats. Pat specializes in sails for the Beneteau First range, as well as fast, medium-size racing boats, like the IMX 38, IMX 40, ILC 40, Comet 41 and 45, Corel 45, Rodman 42, Mumm 36 and Grand Soleil 42R. His expertise is in VPP analysis and certificate analysis in ORC boats. “My favorite part of designing sails is when I see my designs on the water winning in high-level competition, such as at worlds, Europeans and local championships,” Pat said. Some of his completed projects have won the Rolex Middle Sea Race, including the Farr 52 in 2012. Pat enjoys big boat sailing, with many wins in local and European offshore regattas.

Since his teenage years, Pietro Pinucci has combined his love of sailing with the science behind it. After moving from Milan to Genova for a Master's in naval architecture, he balanced regattas on weekends with designing a downwind simulation model for his thesis. Following graduation, he joined Quantum Italy, mastering everything from repairs to modifications before advancing to sail design for projects ranging from dinghies like the Finn and Fireball to larger yachts. His expertise eventually led him to join the American Magic design team for the 37th America's Cup, focusing on advanced aero systems, performance analysis, sail design, measurement rules and sail management systems.

Pietro competes in the Finn class and on ORC boats in his spare time. "The only thing I know about sailing is that I don't know enough," he says. "Meeting someone or jumping on a new boat is always an opportunity to learn something new."

Notable/favorite projects:
New York Yacht Club American Magic
Finn
Southern Wind 102' Almagores II
Southern Wind 105' Satisfaction
RP 45 Lisa K
Ker 46 Lisa R