Pinhole sized holes in sails

Whilst sailing last weekend, I saw tiny rays of sun peeking through my main sail. Upon closer inspection, I found between 20 and 30 pinhole sized holes within the main sail. They are no more than the size of a pencil point on a mechanical pencil (.5-.7mm). As a note, the sails sat in storage within a bag for 15 years.

So, my question is how concerned should I be? Will these tiny holes begin to form larger holes? What would cause these holes (bugs in the sail bag)? They seem to be concentrated on only the purple segments of the dacron. Do I inspect my sails too closely? (Yes)

The sails are still crisp due to a lack of use during their middle years, and I do not want to cover them with 30 small pieces of sail tape... Thanks for your help.

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Jeffrey

1983 - H14
1985 - H16

Pin Holes?

Could have been from tacking to the loft table when made? I would guess that these are areas where the threads are pushed aside by pins rather than torn threads. If that... then it is no problem.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Thanks, Matt. What you described seems like the perfect explanation. They are all uniform in their size and spacing; none the the threads are torn.

If only we had wind here, I could concentrate on sailing and not tiny holes in my sails.

_________________
Jeffrey

1983 - H14
1985 - H16