News

Peter Wright with crew John Baxter convincingly won the District 4 Blue Star Championships sailed out of Michigan City, Indiana June 25-27. Conditions were shifty ranged from 5-13 knots. Racing Sunday was canceled due to strong storms that rolled through at what would have been the start time.

Tom Londrigan Jr. finished 3rd overall using all Doyle sails. Tom Jr. is the 2007, 2008 and 2009 District 4 Champion.

Complete Results

Doyle sails continued their domination in classes during the 2010 Chicago NOOD Regatta.

In the Beneteau 36.7 Class, Peter and Dan Wrights Maggie Mae won the 17 boat class with Finishes of 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2. Maggie Mae used a full set of Doyle sails including a 2010 Class Genoa and .5 Runner.

Third place was taken by Steve Pelke's Stingray also using Doyle sails and was the only boat to beat Maggie Mae in a race. Stingray was closely followed by Mark Norris's Split Decision also using Doyle sails. Doyle Sails were used on 7 of the top 10 boats in the Beneteau 36.7 Fleet. Doyle sails have also won the 2010 Detroit and San Diego NOOD Regattas with Chuck Bayer's Grizzley winning both events. Dave Steffen and Vitesse placed 2nd at the Seattle NOOD using all Doyle sails.

In the J-109 Class Len Siegal's Lucky Dubbie took home 1st place using all Doyle sails. This is now the 4th year in a row the J-109 class was won using Doyle sails.

In The Big Boat PHRF 1 Class Bruce Aikens B&C-58 Talisman won the class using a partial inventory of Doyle sails including a Carbon Stratis Mainsail and A-sails.

In the GL-70 Fleet Lance Smotherman's Details placed 3rd using a complete set of Doyle Stratis sails.

Complete Results

Over 180 boats in 5 divisions raced in the 635-mile 2010 Newport Bermuda Race.

Congratulations to Jim Shaughnessy and crew on Arbella, a Beneteau First 44.7, for a terrific Class win and 3rd Overall in the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race under IRC Scoring.

Under ORR Scoring, Sarah, Greg Manning's X-41 from Warwick, RI, placed 1st in Class and an impressive 2nd Overall.

Congratulations to John DeFilippo and crew on The Jackal, a Beneteau 40.7, for their performance under both ORR and IRC Scoring. Under IRC Scoring, The Jackal finished 2nd in Class 4, and 3rd in Class 4 under ORR Scoring.

Complete 2010 Newport Bermuda ORR Results

bermudarace.com

British solo sailor Alex Thomson’s new HUGO BOSS IMOCA 60 is the most powerful boat in the IMOCA 60 fleet and is equipped with all Doyle Stratis sails. Thomson has one dream: to be the first non-Frenchman to win the Vendée Globe. Over the next few months, Thomson will undertake a rigorous testing and training schedule which will involve a transatlantic and Mediterranean sailing program before heading to Spain for the start of the Barcelona World Race in December.

The boat has undergone a dramatic redesign over the last four months under the guidance of yacht designer Juan Kouyoumdjian. At the end of May, Thomson’s new HUGO BOSS IMOCA 60 was officially unveiled at an exclusive launch event at the East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf. Hollywood leading lady, Diane Kruger, joined F1 racing driver David Coulthard, and a host of other celebrities, as Thomson’s new yacht was christened in front of an audience of 650 guests.

www.alexthomsonracing.com
www.hugoboss.com
www.hugoboss-sailing.com

Doyle Sails Sydney is to undergo a significant transformation with the announcement of a strategic partnership with Doyle Sails New Zealand and the re-opening of its Rushcutters Bay loft. The partnership will see Doyle’s presence in Sydney grow considerably enabling the company to give better service to its customers and to give its local customers direct access to Doyle’s patented Stratis laminated sails, developed and custom built at Doyle’s Auckland plant exclusively for Doyle lofts worldwide.

John Hearne, a name long associated with Doyle in Sydney and well known identity in the Sydney sailing scene, is a key partner in the expansion heading the customer relations team as Sales Manager. John has 30 years experience in the sail making industry and has been involved in all facets of the business. He remains an active sailor with many regatta wins to his credit and has competed in almost every race on the east coast of Australia numerous times.

John Hearne comments, “Working with Doyle NZ gives us access to both their sail design team, headed by Richard Bouzaid, which is held in high regard internationally, and their Stratis plant, one of the largest sail laminating plants in the world. The company has invested heavily in the design and development of their Stratis laminates and they continue to push forward with innovation with two full time chemists at the Auckland plant. For me sharing resources in this way means I can provide my customers with the leading edge in sail technology and design and for my customers it means stronger, lighter, more efficient and longer lasting sails.

“In addition to supplying custom laminated sails out of Auckland, we will be running a full service and repair facility at our newly refurbished sail loft in Neild Avenue, very close to Rushcutters Bay along with a free pick up and drop off service for sails from all of the major yacht clubs. The location of the loft is important as it is convenient for the CYC; everyone is welcome to come up and have a look at their sails on the floor and discuss them with our staff.”

Guy Waddilove has been brought in as General Manager to implement the strategies which have proven successful in New Zealand. This will include improving levels of customer service, promoting Doyle’s Stratis products throughout Australia and ensuring that Doyle Sydney works closely with its sister lofts around Australia to provide a united front, which will give the group better bargaining power and therefore better value for customers. Guy Waddilove spent 15 years aboard large sailing yachts working around the globe, and has more recently been involved in the build and management of large yacht projects. He is a qualified marine surveyor and also writes technical articles for various yachting publications.

Doyle Sails New Zealand has arguably the world’s largest dedicated sail loft and one of the most technologically advanced sail making facilities with its 21,000 sq ft temperature and humidity controlled plant in Auckland producing its patented Stratis fibre-aligned laminated sails. The loft produced the sails for recently launched 58 metre sailing yacht Kokomo including the massive 2,227 square meter gennaker, the largest sail ever produced.

Doyle has seen success locally and internationally on the regatta circuit supplying sails for Neil Pryde’s Hi Fi – winner of many races on the Asian circuit, Bill Wild’s Wedge Tail and Geoff Boecher’s Secret Men’s Business 3.5 among others.

Doyle has kept ahead of the market with the development of Stratis as it recognises the increasing importance of composite technology in sail making.

Doyle New Zealand managing director Chris McMaster comments, “Investment in production has been an important part of our success and the reason for our rapid growth in New Zealand. The days when anyone could set up a sail loft in their garage and cut sails from a roll of cloth are gone; nowadays to produce sails that are going to win races or keep their shape for a considerable time you need to be looking at laminates. We have invested heavily in plant to produce laminated sails to the point where we can now produce them for a similar price to traditionally built panel sails. When you compare the two products it is like comparing a 1970’s car engine with a modern, computer controlled, fuel injected engine: the 1970’s version did its job and was good in its day but technology has moved on and you probably wouldn’t dream of putting a 1970’s engine in a modern car”.

Sailors in New Zealand have recognised the benefits of using Stratis and consequently Doyle Sails now has a major share of the NZ cruising and racing markets as well as internationally in the superyacht market. The strategic partnership means that sailors in Sydney will be able to benefit from the knowledge and experience of Doyle’s internationally recognised sail design team and the technology that has been put into building Stratis sails.

The expansion in Sydney will benefit local sailors providing them with access to state of the art, custom built racing and cruising sails that will perform better and keep their shape longer at a competitive price.

Doyle’s Sydney loft, close to the CYC in Rushcutters Bay has re-opened to allow the team at Doyle Sails Sydney to offer a high level of service for the area’s cruisers and racers as well as for visiting yachts.

Bruce Golison with crew Bill Lynn, Dina Corsi and Jud Smith won the 2010 Etchells North Americans held in San Diego June 9 - 12. 42 boats competed in challenging "Catalina Eddy" lumpy and confused conditions ranging from 5-15 knots. Knowing that they had good speed, Golison's team sailed conservatively through the entire series. The strategy paid off. They went into the final race with a 13 point lead, which was enough to hold onto a 2 point margin over Bruce Nelson's team that won the last two races in the fresher conditions.

In preparation for the North Americans, Team Golison did two tuning sessions and three regatta's in San Diego over several months to measure their speed against the competitive Fleet 13. Starting in October, tuning with Tom Hughes and Keith Whittemore, Etchells teams from Seattle and with Will Stout and Artie Means from San Diego.

First came the development of a new Doyle VMG spinnaker and then we powered up the existing Doyle AP main for the lighter conditions. However, after giving up a 9 point lead in the last day of Midwinter's West in April there was still more work to be done. They changed their focus from spinnakers and mains to the development of a new fuller light air jib especially suited for the confused sea state in the 4-12 knot winds on Coronado Roads. Will Stout, Artie Means and Chuck Skewes also tested the new jib in the weeks leading up to the NA's.

The nine month preparation and Doyle One Design's sail development paid off with the Stout team placing 4th overall and powering Golison's team to the North American title. Golison remarked "Jud has done a fabulous job for us since day one and we continue to be one of the fastest Etchells with our Doyle sails!"

Complete Results

For more information on Doyle Etchells sails, click here.

(Left to Right) Commodore Peter McKenna with the winning crew
Jud Smith, Kurt Winkelmann, Brad Boston and Event Chairman Dan O'Grady

Congratulations to Kurt Winkelmann, Jud Smith and Brad Boston who won the Irish Etchells East Coast Championships hosted by Howth Yacht Club June 5-6, 2010. The regatta was held in conditions ranging from 0-12 knots in a changeable wind direction. Winkelmann and his team sailed an excellent series winning 5 of the 6 races.

Howth Yacht Club located in the beautiful and picturesque village of Howth in north County Dublin will be hosting the 2010 Etchells World Championships in August.

Event Results.

The beautiful 52m ketch Nazenin V built by RMK Marine has been honored with a Judges Special Accomondation at the prestigious World Superyacht Awards 2010. Reaching the finalist stage was a great achievement for Nazenin V. With 90 entries and just 53 as finalists within the different categories, Nazenin V was one of 5 finalists in the category for Best Sailing Yacht 45m+.

The judges commented “Nazenin v is a stunning Yacht and we are pleased to make this exclusive award to her. The outstanding design and finish quality on Nazenin V shows exceptional achievement by the whole team; from the designers and suppliers to the highly experienced RMK Marine workforce."

Nazenin V is an elegant, classic Sparkman & Stephens designed long distance cruising ketch. Her fine hull and long overhangs allow for comfortable cruising with the predictable and easy motion of the yacht. Nazenin V is built utilizing many modern materials and equipment, which enhance the performance of the ketch, allowing for easier handling when sailing. The masts and spars are all Carbon Fibre as is the rudder in order to optimize the performance and handling characteristics. The main mast carries a powered elevator/crow’s nest right up to the head of the genoa that apart from providing excellent access for the crew gives a quite magnificent view for guests.

Nazenin V is optimized to balance performance, seaworthiness, and comfortable handling on all points of sail. Nazenin's sail area pushes the upper limits for a boat 52 meters in length. A generous sail plan, including an oversized mizzen mast, gives Nazenin V numerous options and configurations for sailing. Furling head and staysails ease the handling of a full complement of D4 sails from Doyle Sailmakers. The end result is a yacht that  drives effortlessly and points incredibly well.

Below deck there is a modern interpretation of a classic raised and fielded teak paneled interior with all contemporary equipment that would be expected on such a yacht. The design of the interior is by Redman Whiteley Dixon Ltd (RWD) who interpreted the owner’s requirements to design a truly elegant interior for this large sailing yacht, encompassing all of his extensive yachting experience and love of the sea. The joinery was executed with great attention to the detail, with sycamore inlays in the doors and architraves being matched to the table tops and chairs, fluted columns and patterned marble floors using local stone and craftsmen. Extensive use was made of the local craftsmanship available to customize the details, such as considerable amounts of carving work onboard like the handrails and the corbel under the passageway console tables.

Throughout the yacht there are numerous artworks on display from the owner’s extensive and eclectic collections highlighting the owner’s wish to see Nazenin V as a means of expressing his passion for both sailing and the arts.