Jim Madden, a sailing and downhill skiing enthusiast from New York, USA, has been racing his “Stark Raving Mad” series of yachts worldwide since 2000.
Jim began sailing at an early age, seeing him progress through Blue Jays, Lasers, a C&C 30 and a Ranger 33, all on Oyster Bay, New York. From there, Jim’s passion for sailing and adventure hasn’t slowed – with the Stark Raving Mad fleet of yachts including a J160, a J145, a RP 66, a J125, a TP52, a Swan 42, and a Swan 601, where Jim and his crew won many national and international major yachting regattas.
Jim now spends most of his time racing on the West Coast of the United States aboard his Swan 601, while the latest addition to the fleet is Stark Raving Mad IX, a Carkeek 47, which is based out of Newport, Rhode Island. The Stark Raving Mad XI is designed to the HPR and IRC rules and proven to be fast. The third hull in the series was built in 2013 before being modified and added to the Stark Raving Mad campaign in April 2021. The modification included an upgraded Doyle Sails inventory.
The yacht has seen success straight out of the blocks, delivering impressive results during the 2021 ORC East Coast Championships, hosted by the Newport Yacht Club earlier this month, against a stellar fleet of yachts. Stark Raving Mad XI finished 2nd overall behind the Maxi 72, Vesper. The boat also secured 1st overall and 1st in their division at the Newport Cup (Around the Island Race).
Supported by Doyle experts Tony Rey and David Armitage from Doyle Sails Newport, the 2021 inventory includes a Doyle Stratis Mainsail, J1, J2 and a J3+, alongside a range of Doyle Cableless sails, including two code sails and a spinnaker staysail.
Doyle Stratis Cableless sails are the pillar of the Doyle Sails revolutionary technology and have been for several years. Every Stratis sail is 100% custom and structurally engineered for each yachts specific requirements, and Cableless sails are no different. Cableless and Structured Luff sails are respected within the industry as the epitome of high performance, lightweight, reliable sail, leaving competitors struggling to catch up.
Cableless technology sees an uninterrupted lens of unidirectional fibres designed in the sail’s luff to take the load from the tack to the head. The secret behind the concept is that the load is taken along the sails natural load path instead of requiring many tons of cable tension to try and keep the luff tight. In the Cableless Code Zero’s case, the luff is pushed to windward, creating a straight luff for a fraction of the load. With a luff that projects to windward, more driving force is created, delivering more speed.
FOLLOW STARK RAVING MAD // Here or on Instagram.
ABOUT DOYLE SAILS // As sailors, our obsession with sailing connects us to the water. The water is our playground, a sanctuary where we seek enjoyment, a competitive playing field where we race; it’s sometimes our home and always a place that unlocks our sense of adventure wherever that adventure might take us.
Our obsession with sailing takes us to every corner of the world and onboard every yacht. We become part of teams, share in the adventures of friends and families, sharing our knowledge and experience with those who have the same passion for sailing as we do. Sailing is in our DNA, where the water unlocks our sense of adventure. We are the custodians of a legacy that has been supporting sailors for close to four decades, and while our world changes around us, our commitment to sailors who seek the same enjoyment and adventure as we do hasn’t. From our sailors to yours, we are your experts in sailing. Your adventure starts with Doyle. By sailors, for sailors. Learn more here.
ABOUT DOYLE SAILS NEWPORT // Newport, Rhode Island is one of the primary hubs in American sailing – with a longstanding sailing history making it both a major destination and home port, with some of the most renowned sailing and motor yachts in the world.
Since 2019, accomplished Superyacht and Grand Prix Sailor Tony Rey has led the Doyle Sails Newport operations based out of the Newport Shipyard. Early 2020, has seen some exciting developments to our team and Doyle Sails are pleased to welcome Alex Clegg, Rob MacMillan and Dave MacMillan, who have all joined Tony this year as the newest members of the Doyle Sails North American group. Learn more here.