A New Main - A New Dawn?

With aspirations of moving up through the Club racing field and possibly entering the ISORA for the 2012 season, the decision was taken way back in the autumn to replace the 'well used' cruising main with something that might just swing the balance between lift and drag in favour of lift.  Three days before the first ISORA (and a month late, having replaced the mast track fittings that didn't) the new 'racing' main was fitted to instant acclaim as we cruised round the cans in the lead.  Truly a new dawn.  This view was enhanced when we beat a local rival in the subsequent Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead ISORA (we came last and second to last, respectively).  However, since then, some of the other Club boats have started racing and cruising round the cans in the lead has become a distant memory!  Of more concern though, is the fact that the 'main' has been returned to the manufacturers after we found it to be delaminating at the leech.  Sadly then, it seems this was a false dawn for our racing Pipedreamers.