2019 world championships in Perth, with Langford finishing runner-up behind Slingsby in the 122-strong fleet and Johnson in the top 10. ‘As a result, Doyle have started producing that sail and marketing it in the Moth scene. They are just as motivated as we are as sailors, which makes it a fun collaboration,’ says Langford, who is also working with the 11th Hour Racing Team helping prepare an Imoca 60 entry in the 2022 Ocean Race.
‘Doyle are making huge inroads in the grand prix racing scene,’ Langford notes. ‘From my perspective, we have seen Doyle Sails produce results from supermaxis to Moths and also with SailGP. It is cool to see them developing in so many areas of the sport. They have an attitude of taking some risks and trying new things and it seems to be working well.’ In his SailGP role as wing trimmer, Langford may be expected to have a slightly disdainful view of the conventional soft headsails flying off the front of the hi-tech foiling cats. Not so, however. ‘The headsails are very important,’ he declares. ‘The jib is the first thing the wind sees as it comes onto the boat. The flow over the jib and how it interacts with the wing is crucial and that trim has to be absolutely spot-on.’ According to Langford, Doyle’s Structured Luff technology provides significant advantage on SailGP’s F50 cats. ‘Under the one-design rule, we have strict limits on headstay tension,’ he explains. ‘To be able to unload the forestay and transfer the load onto the headsails is a big gain.’ This feature played a significant part in Doyle Sails securing the official sailmaker designation with SailGP, according to the league’s tech team operations manager, Brad Marsh.
‘Catamarans tend to rack and twist under sail, which can transfer significant loads onto the headsail. Under those situations, standard jibs could just blow apart. From our point of view, the Structured Luff system ticks many boxes and is fit for purpose. It also enables their sails to operate through a wider wind range. ‘We have to keep a close eye on operating costs, so sails that operate
Above: Doyle has also
entered into a support arrangement with Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, leaders of the New Zealand SailGP Team, who have adopted a notably high profile stance on environ- mental
sustainability. Right:
according to wing
trimmer Kyle Langford, the conventional soft headsails flown by the hi-tech
SailGP F50s are not an anachronism. The flow of wind over the jib and how it interacts with the solid wing mainsail are absolutely crucial. And the ‘billboard effect’
graphics on the boats’ wings are
another Doyle innovation. Printing intead of
painting them achieves a significant weight saving in a place
where it really matters
over a wider range mean smaller inventories, which lowers capital expenditure. As customers, that is definitely something we put a lot of emphasis on.’ With competition in the eight-team fleet becoming keener every year and the number of events expanding to eight in Season 2, durability is just as important to the teams. ‘The sails have to last the whole season,’ says Langford. ‘We know the last race of the season is going to decide the title, so we want our sails to be in great shape right through to the end.’ Under a strict one-design regime, another factor crucial to the teams is total belief that every element on every boat is absolutely equal. ‘SailGP conducted a rigorous due diligence analysis of our ability to manufacture sails under a very strict one-design model,’ says Sanderson. ‘They found our level of manufacturing accuracy to be extremely high.’ Less about sailing performance, but still important in the overall SailGP relationship were two additional factors, one to do with commercial and marketing considerations and the other regarding the environment. ‘A big part of SailGP is about branding and creating a visual wow factor,’ explains Marsh. ‘Our sails are very much part of that billboard effect and Doyle’s ability to print directly onto the sails was a major plus for us.’ Sanderson says ‘this is an area where we have invested a lot of effort. It was used to great effect with the graphics for Alex Thomson Racing on Hugo Boss in the recent Vendée Globe Race.
‘We can do pre-lamination printing directly onto the sail material to the same quality as canvas wall art. It is seriously cool and has huge advantages over painting the
graphics. For a start, there is a significant weight saving. Printing works out at 7g/m2 compared with 25-30g/m2 with paint. ‘Also, it is much more accurate. The
customer can specify exact pantone colours. They send us a digital file and it is printed to their precise specification and design. There is no guesswork or artistic licence.’ Given the materials involved – carbon, plastic, aramids, synthetic glues – the environmental factor is more about a commitment and a work-in-progress than about instant delivery. ‘As an industry, we have a lot of work to do in this regard,’ Sanderson acknowledges, but says Doyle is fully on board with SailGP’s Race for the Future vision.
Several lofts around the world are operating at zero carbon levels and the majority are operating close to carbon neutral. Manufacturing waste minimisation and ethical product sourcing are also embedded in company policy.
‘We are looking at every aspect of what we can do, whether it is re-using materials, how we package and ship products, whether we can switch from plastic release liners to biodegradable materials and so on. It is about recognising the issue and then committing to a progression in the right direction.’
This was also a matter high on the
agenda in Burling and Tuke’s alignment with Doyle Sails. The Kiwi duo has adopted a high-profile stance on environmental sustainability. ‘We are stoked to have Doyle Sails on board with the New Zealand SailGP Team,’ says Burling. ‘To have a world-class sailmaker that’s owned and operated out of New Zealand and shares our environmental values is a pretty special alliance to have.’
www.doylesails.com
q SEAHORSE 81
DAVID GRAY
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
