the forestay – and to be honest, guys are simply not used to seeing that, so this feedback from the owner and crew on their observations is pretty powerful. The trimmers and drivers see this very quickly but probably the first guy to notice is the person in the pit, who doesn’t have to load up the tack line so much; as soon as these sails unfurl, everyone gets to see the benefits of the luff projecting and it’s easy to understand why that’s faster. It’s a game changer really, just remarkable.’
Looking further back in 2018, for Alex Thompson on Hugo Boss during the Route du Rhum, it was clear that racing with less sag in the cable-less sails provided him with a real performance gain, allowing Alex to perform better in such a broad range of tough conditions. And with reduced weight and improved durability critical to the next Vendée Globe plus the Ocean Race 65s and Ocean 60s – the two classes in the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race – this will be hyper-critical on the foiling Ocean 60s. Defining the structure early for the loads on the fully crewed foiling Ocean 60 will be pivotal to the overall design, and so immediately the cable-less sails lend themselves to the equation. With the performance gain on the sail itself, let alone what it means for the rig compression due to the lower tack and head loads, there is no doubt that it will be a big deal. Chris Nicholson is perfectly placed to understand the demands placed
Above: one of the key factors in Hugo Boss’s remarkable performance advantage over the rest of the fleet during the recent Route du Rhum – a particularly tough edition of the race – was the lack of forestay sag with Alex Thompson’s cable-less headsails. Weight
saving with extreme
durability will also be key come the next Vendée Globe Right: The 100ft Maxi InfoTrack also reported strong
performance gains with her new cable- less Doyle sails in the Hobart
on both sailors and equipment from this foiling technology. ‘These foiling boats have such tight apparent wind angles, they really need to have these straight luffed sails,’ he says. ‘And if you can achieve that straight luff without the massive loads on the structure, there are obviously huge weight savings in key areas of the boat and rig. This is true for all boats, but a particually big deal for the foiling Ocean 60s. The benefits apply across the board, be it a superyacht or a 16ft skiff; if you reduce the tack loads you don’t need that additional structure. And if you are foiling – or considering foiling – then engage us in that conversation and you will rapidly see the benefits.
‘Moving into 2019 and beyond, with all projects including the Ocean Race campaigns, people aren’t just looking to next season, but two or
three years in front – or further if it is a multi-race campaign. In these situations, it’s clear that people will be drawn towards these sails, particularly after talking with individuals and teams who have used Doyle’s sails and having received honest feedback.
‘That is the true test of any product out there in the marketplace: have the conversation with people who have used these sails, then get their response on shape, weight saving and durability, which have been extensively proven in campaigns such as Alex Thompson’s Hugo Boss. Then come and talk to our team about how we can improve your overall performance, by offering you more weight saving, more resilience in shape, more performance and more durability – for less.’
www.doylesails.com
q SEAHORSE 63
LLOYD IMAGES
ANDREA FRANCOLINI
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