Hey everyone,
Last Saturday I was racing on my Isotope when on a suicidal jibe in 18knts of wind a gust hit me a broadside angle at 24knts. The boat with only the jib cleated off sent me flying towards the sail. Everyone has heard this story before but this story has a twist. At the 3rd panel my feet went straight through like tissue paper. As I started sinking at shoulder depth the trapese hook tangled the sail started pulling me under. It took a half second contemplation before ripping. Suprisingly the three year old Pentex Sail shredded in my hands like tissue paper and I swam away.
Has this happened to anyone else? I thought pentex was superstrong but not lateraly. The sail is toast in my opinion not competative anymore. There where several spectators that commented on my grand finaly.Smartasses.
J.P.Ayers
Isotope 186
Shark Boat.
Pentex sails are mostly Mylar. (They are a Mylar / Pentex scrim / Mylar laminate.)
Mylar is super tough, but once it starts to split, it doesn't have much resistance to stop splitting (thus the Pentex reinforcing).
Sounds like your sail delaminated after it split. My condolences 
Depending on how big the rip is and where it lies in relation to the seams, it might be worth a consultation with a sailmaker. See the pic; the long bright white strip in the bottom panel "V" (and the small strip on the luff rope) is a complete body pass repair; the darker white stip on the second panel aft is a head-only repair. Sail still seems competitive to me and the people I beat once in a while. Lot cheaper than a new one...