Doyle Sails Newport and one very busy summer racing season!
This summer in Newport has been one for the books, with a huge array of both inshore and offshore racing, matched with the 52 Super Series events and the ORC Worlds still to come. The Doyle Sails Newport loft have been kept busy with their team of experts sailing on Doyle-powered yachts and through the loft floor with more sails than ever being finished there.
The Newport loft, renown for their attention to detail on Grand Prix sails have seen a raft of fantastic results. But in addition to that they have also had fantastic results with many of their customers across the fleets.
The well attended NYYC ANNUAL REGATTA and NYYC ROUND THE ISLAND RACE saw teams from all over join for a weekend of close racing alongside the 52 Super Series held in conjunction. Doyle-powered teams taking podium spots in the Round the Island race
Classics 2 – 2nd Gesture / Alexander Mehran
52 Super Series – 1st Interlodge VII / Austin Fragomen
ORC A – 2nd Vesper / Jim Swartz
ORC B – 3rd Azulito
ORC C – 2nd Impetuous / Paul Zabetakis
ORC C – 3rd Interlodge IV / Gwen Fragomen
PHRF 3 – 2nd Divided Sky / Vincent and Kristina McAteer
“We’re honoured to work with so many talented and dedicated sailors and to support these teams across the range of events that sailing in Newport is renowned for. Congratulations to these teams for their achievements and all who participated in these regattas for continuing to raise the standards for our sport. We look forward to seeing how the competition unfolds during the ORC Worlds later this month.” says Dave MacMillan, Managing Partner of Doyle Newport.
And the following day they were back on the water showing a great range of podium results in the NYYC Annual Regatta, including the high stakes racing in the 52 Super series.
Classics 2 – 3rd Gesture / Alexander Mehran
52 Super Series – 2nd Platoon / Harm Müeller-Spreer
52 Super Series – 3rd Interlodge VII / Austin Fragomen
ORC A – 1st Proteus / George Sakellaris
ORC A – 2nd Vesper / Jim Swartz
PHRF 3 – 3rd Divided Sky / Vincent & Kristina McAteer
IC37 – 3rd Menace / Howard Spencer
Doyle-powered teams were treated to a great weekend of racing in Newport during the 2024 Annual event, customers and their crews enjoyed fantastic on and off the water events hosted at the event, and supported by their local experts and the Doyle Sails International team with a customer experience and merchandise.
Following on with the success stories was the NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE which saw Doyle-powered yachts claim first in three of the major divisions.
Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division was won by Andrew Berdon’s JV52, which was in a shed in Germany just five months before, the strong crew sailed impressively to secure both class and division wins. Navigator Chris “Lew” Lewis also celebrates consecutive victories in the Gibbs Hill Class. The experienced crew, including Doyle Sails experts Stu Bannatyne and David Gilmour, skilfully navigated through challenging conditions, avoiding the pitfalls that hindered many teams on the first night, characterized by lighter winds.
It was Doyle-powered Amadeus V secured the Alfred E. Loomis Trophy, clinching 1st place in the St. Davids Lighthouse Division 3, marking a significant achievement for owner Jay Turchetta. A long-standing relationship with local Doyle Sails Rhode Island loft owner Todd Johnson has meant in 20 years Turchetta has never built a sail without Todd.
In St Davids Lighthouse Division Class 8 Doyle-powered teams took both first and second places, with Boudicca taking home the top spot ahead of Siren.
NYYC RACE WEEK was another week of brilliant class racing for many Doyle teams with Jim Swartz taking home the Queen’s Cup for 1st placed team onboard his Maxi72 Vesper, while again Andrew Berdon’s Summer Storm placing on the podium with a 3rd in ORC B and home town knowledge paid off in ORC C with Interlodge IV skippered by Gwen Fragomen winning just ahead of Paul Zabetakis local team on Impetuous.
IDA LEWIS DISTANCE RACE saw past commodore of the New York Yacht Club Paul Zabetakis win their division ORC 2 and the ORC overall. “This was my first Ida Lewis Distance Race,” said Zabetakis. “I applaud the Ida Lewis Yacht Club for all the hard work that clearly went into pulling this event together. Meeting us at the finish with a bottle of Prosecco was a delightful and wonderful touch. Well done all around!”
Impetuous crew Peter Cronin mentioned that it was most difficult on the way to Montauk. It was touch-and-go with the shifts “…but we kept moving, connecting the dots,” he said, adding that it was the “perfect course” for practicing for the offshore races in the ORC Worlds coming up this September in Newport.
This year the forecast for the race was light air, and the RC chose a course of 135 nautical miles for all three ORC classes, Zabetakis’s Swan 42 Impetuous won ORC 2.
Also in ORC 2 was James Coffman & Laura Heiss on their Doyle-powered Gemini 2 take the second place and rounding out the podium was Peacemaker owned by Leo Vasiliev.
SAFE HARBOR REGATTA saw the results continue for Gwen Fragomen and her team in ORC B claiming the top spot, and Doyle-powered Azulito right behind in second place.
CAMDEN CLASSIC event was well attended with a beautiful display of both classics and modern classic yachts, but no match for the Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s Blackwatch a S&S Custom Yawl, claiming their Vintage division win and the Camden Classics Cup.
Next week sees the start of the ORC World Championship which will bring top sailing teams from around the globe to battle on Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay for one of four coveted world titles.
This edition they have added a new class, Maxi yachts which will see Doyle-powered Bella Mente and Vesper go head to head.
Doyle Sails Newport will have their loft open to all who require service during the event.
ABOUT DOYLE 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.
CONTACT DOYLE NEWPORT HERE
ABOUT DOYLE SAILS // Doyle Sails strives to deliver success through high-performance, high-quality, custom sails that continue to redefine the boundaries of sailmaking technology and innovation; whilst connecting sailors to inspire, support and encourage sailing.
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 with the same passion. Sailing is in our DNA, and we are the custodians of a legacy that has been supporting sailors for four decades and counting.