After an introductory year as partners, Doyle Sails has chosen to continue our support of the ever-growing Cape 31 fleets, this year coming on board as a Gold Partner to the International Class Association. The class, which has doubled in size in a 12-month period, has also now broken into the Australian, American and greater European sailing circles, with further expansion in the near future. It is in the Doyle Sails ethos for our sailors to support sailors worldwide who share the same passion for sailing as we do. Doyle-powered yachts have already experienced the success and support available when choosing to join forces with Doyle Sails. Antix from Ireland claimed the Irish National Championship late last year and shipped their yacht across to Key West last month to stake a claim at The Southernmost Regatta, where they successfully took home the silverware.
Doyle Sails Grand Prix designers and professional sailors, Jordi Calafat and Daniel Fong are the design leads for the Cape 31 fleet and are now into their 4th iteration of designs. These include Structured Luff headsails, a revolutionary development in sail-making technology pioneered by Doyle Sails. Although various forms of this technology now exist with other sailmakers, to this day, the Doyle Sails technology has been proven repeatedly to deliver results.
“This year we were really excited to see our Doyle Sails customers go from strength to strength. We have a direct feedback loop between our sailing teams and designers which enables us to consistently make steps forward for both the class and our owners,” says Doyle Sails Solent Director Peter Greenhalgh.
This year the fleet will see the inclusion of Doyle Sails training groups prior to UK-based events, which will ensure Doyle-powered yachts have access to tuning and set-up coaching where required. Doyle Sails Solent experts, Peter Greenhalgh, Will Alloway, Nin O’Leary, Jack Wetherell, and Chris Taylor will sail onboard with their clients throughout the six rounds of the UK Season Championship which kicks off in May.
Doyle Sails is proud to support the Cape 31 as it celebrates hull 50 being delivered, and with the order books well into the 60s the 2023 build slots are filling up quickly. The next ten boats are spread throughout the UK, Italy, the Mediterranean, Hong Kong and the USA.
ABOUT CAPE 31 // The Cape 31 is an affordable high performance 31 foot race boat. Conceptualised by Lord Irvine Laidlaw, designed by Mark Mills and built by licensed boat builder Cape Performance Sailing. The boats are built in Cape Town where there is a healthy one design fleet. This latest generation sports boat usually sails 7 or 8 up, with an owner driver/amateur driver and a mixed crew of amateurs and professionals. The boat has proven itself as not only a great one design boat, but also as a highly competitive boat under multiple rating systems, with some very impressive results that include two time overall winner of Les Voiles de St Tropez and a 1,2 and 3 at the UK IRC Nationals. Another great feature of the Cape 31 is that she (along with her 2 piece mast) easily fit into a 40ft container…. this comes in handy when you have the beautiful shores of Cape Town or the Caribbean awaiting you, while they also now have a ’tilt trailer’ option, that allows legal towing all around the Globe…. particularly handy for sailing in the Med!!
ABOUT DOYLE SAILS // Around the world, Doyle Sails has over 500 sailmakers in 46 different locations, all equally passionate about sailing – living and breathing our ethos ’Global Leaders and Local Experts.’
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 as competitors; it’s sometimes our home and always a place that unlocks our sense of adventure wherever that adventure might take us. Behind every adventure is a Doyle sailor who shares this same obsession as you. We put your journey at the very heart of what we do to deliver the ultimate enjoyment and performance, powering our constant need to push the boundaries in sail design and innovation, to reimagine sailing.
From dinghies, club racers and cruising yachts through to Grand Prix campaigns and Superyachts, we are your experts. Meet our team here.
.