Technology
The human factor
It is no longer enough for an ambitious sailmaker to fil its ranks with famous names – to rule the world these days they have to be current stars of the sport. Something Doyle Sails ‘recruiters’ are very aware of...
In parallel with a continuous process of technological development, Doyle Sails has made a huge human investment in sailing expertise and achievement which in turn has earned a seat at the top table when major new projects are planned. This reflects a determined
strategy to develop and produce top quality products while bringing top quality intelligence and input to the entire programme, from conception to design to performance on the water, based on personal experience at the highest levels of the sport. ‘The calibre of people wearing the
Doyle brand has never been stronger and we have been steadily growing that over the past five or six years and will continue to do so moving forward,’ says Doyle Sails CEO Mike Sanderson. This human investment lies at the heart of the company’s culture and is embodied in its “By Sailors for Sailors” credo. A sample poll of a dozen Doyle people across lofts around the world and spanning a wide age range supports the claim. Between them they represent a repository of experience and achievement including:
●12 America’s Cup campaigns
●30 Volvo Ocean Race circumnavigations (more than 1 million nautical miles)
●1 Olympic gold medal 66 SEAHORSE
●31 world championship medals from dinghies to maxis
●2 Youth America’s Cup campaigns ●Multiple superyacht regattas
●Too many national titles to list across a multitude of classes The collective knowledge accumulated in this level of experience cuts many ways. It makes a major contribution to the development and refinement of products, designs and technologies within the Doyle ambit. More importantly, it contributes to the overall success of an owner’s project. Nor is that contribution limited to the sail wardrobe, but to the rig, hardware, deck layouts, naval architecture, even the way the boat is sailed. ‘That is the cornerstone of our
entire culture,’ Sanderson explains. ‘It is all about your Doyle person being part of the team, not just the guy who drops the sails off at the boat. It is about personal relationships, about how you interact with the owner, the naval architect, the rig designer, the hardware suppliers, the build team, the afterguard. Whether it is a 75m superyacht, an 8m harbour racer, or a performance dinghy, the attention, involvement and experience should be the same.’ There was a time when new
projects began with commissioning a naval architect to come up with an overall design, which would be well advanced before the rig, hardware
Above: Doyle Sails is one of the brands most often seen aboard the world’s most advan- ced and innovative racing yachts such as the DSS foiling In niti 52R Tulikettu
and sails contracts were separately commissioned. Increasingly over the past two to three decades, this fragmented approach has given way to a much more integrated, co-ordinated process across multiple disciplines. Sophisticated inter-active
software programmes assist with modelling how variations in one area will impact all other areas. However, much still depends on human input, which is where hands-on experience is invaluable and provides the credentials to sit at what Sanderson refers to as the top table. As an example of how this early
involvement can help shape the entire strategy of a major campaign, Sanderson turns to the ABN Amro Volvo Ocean Race team he led to victory in 2006. ‘We built the boat 100 per cent around the concept of how we would sail it and how that would influence the design package. At the first design meeting, we cancelled the spinnaker pole. There was some push-back around the table, with some arguing that we should at the very least test it in real time. ‘Mark Christensen and I successfully countered that if the boat was slow enough to require conventional spinnaker poles, we were in big trouble. We saved time, resources and weight by ditching them altogether and put all our
TEEMU KIISKINEN
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126
