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Successful Australian 52 Series for Doyle-powered yachts

Racing in Stockton Bight, with sand and surf stretching beyond sight, Matador, the CYCA entry took home the TP52 victory at SailFest Newcastle Regatta. Winning overall by 8 points on line and the IRC title by 4 points. 

David Doherty’s Doyle-powered 52 has shown her true colours of late, winning Act 1 of the Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup series hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club Of Australia in March. A victory that highlights the hard work being done behind the scenes by boat captain James Corrie. Corrie is credited with modernising most systems to make life easier for the racing team.

“Racing was super tight again; 3 seconds in the last race of the series was the difference between 3rd and 5th overall. The Matador guys are setting an extremely high standard for the fleet – they are sailing near flawlessly in a boat that has been prepared meticulously by James Corrie. Smuggler continues to impress, even though she is an older boat, she has been well-optimised for 8-13 knots. The Structured Luff jibs have certainly helped these older boats where maximum forestay tension available is considerably less than a modern yacht,” says Doyle Sails Sydney owner Shane Guanaria. 

It was a hectic first race on Sunday for Geoff Boettcher’s TP52 Secret Mens Business, with a quick exit of a foredeck crew member when they went overboard during a bottom mark rounding. Fortunately, the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club mark boat quickly retrieved the sailor and deposited him safely back aboard in less than a minute, with the SMB team finishing 3rd on IRC in the 10-boat strong fleet. 

Sebastian Bohm’s Smuggler narrowly missed the podium places, with Doyle Sydney’s apprentice sailmaker Garth Bickford on board, with a 4th place on IRC. 

“It is great to see Doyle boats dominating the 52 circuits here in Australia, claiming 4 of the top 5 places overall. The work that the global design team has been doing with the 52 Super Series boats has been filtering through to our clients here, and with Justin Ferris taking a hands-on role with each of the boats down here, we are really seeing some significant forward steps,” said Shane. 

SailFest Newcastle © Salty Dingo

Meanwhile, Darryl Hodgkinson’s Victoire claimed first place in Div 1 on IRC. Hodgkinson’s regatta team comprises mostly crew who won the 2013 Sydney to Hobart race on board the Carkeek 40 of the same name. 

Shane continued, “It was great to see the Carkeek 40 Victoire up here; they sailed very well all weekend. Darryl is setting up for another northern campaign this year, and we are adding a few new sails to the inventory, including a new main, J1 and spinnakers. Also great to see our local Newcastle customers on Rob Howard’s Schouten Passage get on the podium for their home event”.

The next Australia 52 event is the IRC State Championships; they will be run in conjunction with the Sail Port Stephens regatta on May 5-7 2023. 

Gordon Kettleby’s Doyle-powered Zen is the defending 2 times champion for this event and is looking forward to stepping it up again, Shane Guanaria has been a long-term crew member and friend of Kettleby “We are a heavier, wider boat and have been struggling in the lighter events so far, we are definitely more favoured towards the windier corner of the box in this fleet”. said Shane. 

Newcastle Sailfest DOYLE results :
TP52s
1st IRC Matador
3rd IRC Secret Men’s Business
4th IRC Smuggler
5th IRC Zen

Div 1 IRC
1st Victoire
3rd Schouten Passage
FULL REGATTA RESULTS 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.

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