be able to say, “let's meet for lunch and then we can go see your sail.”’
Doyle Newport: full circle The Doyle name has been part of the Newport sailing scene since Robbie Doyle started his company in 1982. Rey says, ‘Robbie Doyle was with Courageous for two America's Cup wins and he is a big part of the sailing heritage here in Newport. Committing to a physical presence here is like finally closing the circle.’ Both Rey and MacMillan are impressed with how quickly Doyle has become a worldwide industry leader — because the technology continues to prove itself. ‘There are four superyachts in design/build phase now, all 150ft or bigger,’ Rey says. ‘And all four are going with Doyle. That’s because the naval architects, engineers, project managers and captains are all sold on our product. They're not going to buy disposable anything; it needs to last five-plus years and 100,000-plus miles of ocean sailing, which scales down to the rest of the market because the product has to be both robust and performance-oriented.’
It’s the people Doyle has hired who make that happen, Rey insists. ‘The team developing adhesives in our Stratis product, for example, it never stops. The engineering is
Top: the Doyle Sails Newport HQ is in the iconic Newport Shipyard where many grand prix racers and superyachts are berthed. The loftʼs main manu- facturing site is just five minutes away Above: the Doyle Sails Newport team includes
Rhode Island natives Alex Clegg, Rob MacMillan and Dave MacMillan, alongside Tony Rey. All four are partners in the new loft and regulars on the local sailing scene
ongoing. We’ve invested heavily in really, really good engineers, good designers — and good sailors.’ The Structured Luff and Cableless sails are a perfect example, he says. ‘When a sail hangs on a headstay it wants to fall to leeward. You need the shape, but you wish they would pull their own weight, so to speak. With the vertical lens of the structured luff, the sail itself supports a large part of the rig loads ‘It is no longer entirely parasitic. And it can work on almost any boat, dinghy to superyacht.’ ‘Structured Luff technology isn’t just a small iteration in materials or design, Rey continues. ‘It's a big step forward. You're rethinking the way you do your rig tune. We’re rewriting how we engineer the structure of the boat itself, the rig and rigging.’ ‘Everything!’ MacMillan agrees. ‘An 85-footer that was just launched is designed for a rig load of 22 tons. Thanks to Structured Luff technology, we can get it down to 16 tons— a huge percentage change—with less headstay sag. That's extraordinary. And the people behind this product are constantly trying to make it better. Personally, it's exciting to be with such a performance-focused group.’
Helping the sport
All four Doyle Newport partners are regulars on the local sailing scene, where there is fleet racing almost every weeknight. MacMillan says that doesn't feel like working at all; ‘it’s just what I do on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.’ He’s excited to support a community that’s so into sailing. ‘Having the loft gives us the ability to say, “we actually make sails here. We're here and growing. We're in this all the way.”’
Rey is on US Sailing’s board of directors and a big part of his focus is getting more people excited about racing. ‘At Doyle we want to be a
leader in those conversations: “How do we keep the costs down? How do we be part of the solution to grow our sport?” Which is another big reason why it's important to invest in a presence here, because this is where a lot of those conversations happen.’ Sailors first, salesmen second: that’s how the partners of Doyle’s Newport loft think of themselves, an ethos that is throughout the network. As Rey puts it, ‘my sailing arc has been a variety: inshore one-design, grand prix keelboats, superyachts. I’m able to provide value in different segments and I quite enjoy that. We’re bullish about our opportunities here and we are confident that our product is materially superior to what anybody else can do in Structured Luff and Cableless sails. Small sailmaker, big sailmaker, doesn't matter; we know we're ahead on product.
‘And we believe that good guys finish first,’ he continues. ‘Our partners in New Zealand continue to invest in the right people to support the Doyle group, continually making the product better and promoting it well in the racing and cruising arenas. It's not a get-rich-quick scheme, that’s for sure, but we can continue to do what we love and grow the sport. The end result is this great resurgence of the Doyle name internationally. And we're proud of that’. ‘We’re also proud of our
sustainability efforts,’ MacMillan adds. ‘There are materials in sails that could have a second life and we’re working to make that part of our business strategy. I want my kids to be able to say that this company worked toward a sustainable future; that's really important to me and I know it's important to my partners. We can’t talk about it quite yet but it’s coming. And it’s really, really exciting to be starting something new.’
www.doylesails.com
q SEAHORSE 65
STEPHEN R CLOUTER/NEWPORT SHIPYARD CANDY STORE CUP
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