Technology
Sometimes only the (very) best will do
SailGP is one element of the latest inroads Doyle Sails is making in the field of ultra-high sailing performance
Doyle Sails’ selection as official sailmaker to SailGP represents a significant step in the brand’s steady rise to international prominence in the past several years and reflects a cornerstone aspect of the company’s philosophy. Under the leadership of CEO Mike Sanderson since 2017, the emphasis has been on recruiting excellent people with frontline experience at the highest levels of the sport into the Doyle team combined with a strong focus on innovative, leading-edge design and manufacturing technology. With fellow directors Richard Bouzaid and David Duff, Doyle Sails International set about populating its global network of 50 lofts in 18 countries with topline sailors across all aspects of the sport who add their own considerable experience and expertise to the products and service delivered to customers.
The SailGP partnership is a central part of the next step to get alongside major campaigns and events and turn their players into ambassadors for the brand. ‘We have worked hard on getting really good people working inside the brand,’ says Sanderson. ‘Now we want to grow our international network of believers using our brand. When somebody
80 SEAHORSE
like SailGP’s CEO Sir Russell Coutts is a supporter, that is a powerful thing. Everybody knows about his engineering pedigree and his incredible attention to detail.’ As part of a separate arrangement, Doyle Sails has entered a support role with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke who are heading up the New Zealand SailGP Team, the newest signing in the SailGP global line-up. Add them to the likes of Tom Slingsby, Jimmy Spithill, Sir Ben Ainslie, Nathan Outteridge, Phil Robertson, Kyle Langford, Chris Draper and others and you have a star-studded pool of potential believers helping to spread the gospel.
Although Doyle Sails supplied SailGP for its inaugural season, the company had to compete against other applicants when the contract came up for renewal. After a comprehensive selection process, Coutts announced: ‘We had no hesitation selecting Doyle Sails for SailGP. We knew they had the expertise, technology and commitment to deliver on such a project. We also knew success would be just as important for them as it was for us. The result was that we had nothing but praise on the quality and service Doyle delivered.’
Above: the SailGP fleet recently selected Doyle as
its sailmaker of choice, marking another significant step forward in Doyle
Sails’ steady rise to
international prominence. The global racing league’s ultra-strict one design requirements include a strict limit on headstay tension,
which creates an ideal application for Doyle’s Cableless headsail technology
‘Doyle Sails is all about supporting sailors who share the same passion for sailing as we do,’ says Sanderson. ‘SailGP is the most exciting global racing league with a fleet of world-class sailors. It’s a partnership we’re very proud of. ‘These relationships often develop into win-win situations,’ Sanderson says, referring to the dialogue and exchange of ideas that inevitably flows when people passionate about the sport work alongside each other in major campaigns. ‘We can use their input to improve the product, which helps their programme and also helps us deliver improvements back into the sport. That excites me and that’s what we want to be about.’ Australian wing trimmer Kyle Langford is one example of how these relationships flourish and grow into diverse projects. Langford was part of the team that won the inaugural SailGP Championship in 2019. He was also part of the crew on Comanche, which was the first grand prix supermaxi to adopt Doyle’s Cableless sail technology. That involvement led to Langford and Tom Johnson (wing trimmer for the Denmark SailGP Team) working with Doyle Sails to develop a new Moth sail, which they raced at the
BOB MARTIN
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