All bases covered
Volvo Ocean Race winner and Doyle Sails CEO Mike Sanderson did not mess about when he went looking for the biggest talent he could find to drive forward Doyle’s fast-expanding European operation
Things were already changing at Doyle Sails before the company’s new CEO stepped aboard. But when Mike Sanderson took on the role at the New Zealand-based global sailmaker business, the pace ramped up even further. For Sanderson, one of the main changes and the clear key to future success lay with people. ‘I have always believed fast people make fast boats,’ he explains. ‘Good ideas come from good guys. When some of these new people came on board, they cautioned me that they were not salesmen. But that was exactly why I was talking to them. They had hands-on experience. They know what you need to win campaigns, about managing budgets, about building sails that will last and be race-fast for a long time. I didn’t want them to be salesmen, I wanted them to be experts.’ And experts is precisely what he has got in the trio that has recently been announced as heading up the latest new loft in the Doyle Sails group. Based at Universal Shipyard on the River Hamble, UK, Brian Thompson, Peter Greenhalgh and Adrian Stead will need little, if any, introduction to their clients. Each of them has an impressively long list
68 SEAHORSE
of successes across many different areas of the sport.
Brian Thompson has been one of the world’s most accomplished long- distance racers with four non-stop circumnavigations including a Jules Verne Trophy win and a Vendée Globe under his belt.
Peter Greenhalgh has also spent a great deal of time aboard high-speed multihulls and is the most successful sailor in the Extreme Sailing Series. In 10 years his worst season finish was third, every other time he has either won or finished second. He is also a past master in one-design classes and is one of the most sought-after trimmers in the racing scene aboard grand prix racing boats including Mini Maxi 72s, Fast40+, TP52s, D35s and MOD70s. Adrian Stead also has an
impressive track record that includes 14 world championship titles with teams such as RAN, Bella Mente, Mascalzone Latino and Quantum Racing. The two-time Olympian and America’s Cup sailor also has an Admirals’ Cup victory and many offshore race wins to his credit including a Middle Sea Race, two overall victories in the Fastnet and four wins at the Caribbean 600,
Above: Peter Greenhalgh, one of Doyle Sails’ recent recruits for its new UK sail loft at Universal Shipyard on the Hamble River, has an unrivalled record of success in the Extreme Sailing Series. One of his key areas of expertise is sailing at high apparent wind speeds and working with sails that are designed to perform with the wind well forward of the beam
providing a snapshot of the level of his success.
While each of the three brings a particular set of skills to the company, the overlap in their knowledge and skills generates even greater benefits and ensures a good transfer of information, both across the business and to clients and their racing teams.
‘One of my main areas of expertise is in sailing at high apparent wind speeds where the breeze is usually well forward of the beam,’ says Greenhalgh. ‘So I’m very used to working with sails that are designed to cater for that. My experience aboard one-designs also means that I’m very used to trimming these kinds of sails and understanding what it takes to achieve the right sail to deliver the right performance.’
‘Boats are generally getting faster which means that new techniques are required to get the best out of them and a good deal of this learning is coming from faster boats in the sport. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Fast40+ with a code zero or the kind of multihulls that I’ve been sailing, the knowledge required to improve performance in either
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