A Bermudian's pioneering technology in sailboat rigging has been featured in a major article in this month's issue of Sailing World.

Published by the New York Times Group, the magazine, which is considered America's leading sailboat racing publication, is read by sailing enthusiasts all over the world.

Mr. Alex Wadson, who only established his Rhode Island company -- Aramid Rigging -- just over two years ago, has developed the use of fibre rather than traditional metals, to provide rigging that is both safer and lighter, as well as greatly reducing chaffing on the mainsail.

Speaking from his Portsmouth base last week, Mr. Wadson said that his revolutionary product has already been extensively used in major sailing events -- notably in the 1992 America's Cup.

"I did the rigging for both of the defenders -- America and Dennis Conner's Stars and Stripes (the eventual winner) and all of the challengers, except France.'' This was a particular triumph for Mr. Wadson because, initially, use of the new fibre had been banned.

Now, he says, his aim is to get aramid used more widely, particularly on smaller boats. Already, however, several of the competitive, high-tech 50-foot racers are enjoying its benefits.

While the advantages of low-stretch material, such as aramid cable (sold under the trade name of Kevlar) have been known for some time, cost and proven reliability had prevented its general use.

Success came for Mr. Wadson when he managed to fine-tune a technique for eye-splicing the cable which eliminates the necessity for a heavy stainless-steel termination. The eye-splice, he said, made the whole procedure cheaper and slightly lighter.

"Usually,'' he explained, "rigging terminations are fairly heavy, cumbersome pieces of equipment so, obviously, anything that can be done to make them lighter, is a distinct advantage.'' The good news for serious sailors is that his new technique has reduced the cost of a set of Kevlar runners for a 35-foot boat by one-third.

And even without the splice, says Mr. Wadson, there is an impressive 5.5- pound weight reduction using aramid runners made with stainless terminations rather than the rod equivalent.

For larger boats, the saving is proportionally greater: On the International Americas Cup Class (IACC), the rigging may be 130 to 150 pounds lighter.

Mr. Wadson, who attended Saltus Grammar School before going off to boarding school in England, has a diploma in hotel management from the Bournemouth School of Technology. While his gifts in the culinary department made him a popular crew member on many a sailing vessel, he has long been recognised as one of Bermuda's leading sailors.

He was a member of the British America's Cup team in Newport, Rhode Island in 1980 (when Lionheart was eliminated by the French in the semi-finals). In 1983, he was the pitman aboard their entry, Victory , handling all the rigging and halyards. As the pitman is generally recognised as being the most important job on the boat apart from that of the helmsman, this constant exposure to the problems and challenges of improving rigging gave him a unique opportunity to hone his knowledge.

Mr. Wadson also raced in the fourth leg of the last Whitbread Round the World Challenge in 1990 aboard the New Zealand entry, Fischer & Pykel . This took him from Auckland, New Zealand to Punta del Este in Uraguay, via the dreaded, if legendary, Cape Horn. He, however, took this experience in stride: "It actually wasn't too rough, so we were quite lucky. When you're racing a boat, you're so busy you don't have time to worry about it too much!'' He has also chalked up an impressive record in the Newport-Bermuda Race. The famous Gulf Stream dash became even more memorable for Alex Wadson when he was part of the 1982 crew which broke the record for Nirvana , owned by Marvin Green of Tucker's Town.

Mr. Wadson's expertise is not confined to rigging, however. He has built several boats from scratch, including Jim Kilroy's Kialoa V , the fifth in a series of famous maxi-boat, ocean-racing vessels, in Spain. Some years ago, he built Condor of Bermuda in Cornwall for Bob Bell.

In Bermuda, he was responsible for the rigging on the new Contest fitted dinghy for the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and, this year, for the newest fitted dinghy Port Royal , which is owned and operated by the White Knights syndicate -- the White family of Southampton.

At his Portsmouth company, Mr. Wadson supplies general rigging as well as the aramid variety. And racing is still a vital part of his life: Last week he participated in the New York Yacht Club Cup Cruise, sailing from Bar Harbour to Camden in Maine, with fellow Bermudian, Tony Reaper.

ON THE CUTTING EDGE -- Alex Wadson has developed a new lightweight rig that is being used in competitive yacht racing.