Technology
The new conquistadors
Powering 100-foot supermaxis and giant superyachts, winning the Maxi72 worlds, equipping the Vendée Globe favourite and infiltrating the fastest giant French multihulls... Doyle Sails is on a mission to win everything
2019 ended on a strong note for Doyle Sails with yachts carrying its inventory winning a hard-fought line honours and second place in the tough Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race. Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant’s Comanche took line honours with Christian Beck’s Infotrack following them across the line, leaving arch rival and nine-time winner Wild Oats XI in 3rd. Putting the icing on the cake, Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban, also with Doyle’s Cableless technology in its wardrobe, took the coveted Tattersall Cup for first overall.
For Doyle Sails International’s CEO Mike Sanderson, who was tactician and sailing master on Comanche, the result was testament to great sailing by a dedicated crew, outstanding navigation by his longtime friend Stan Honey, huge commitment from the owners – and a great showcase of the Cableless and Structured Luff technology Doyle has developed. ‘It was a fantastic race for that technology and really brought the benefits to the forefront,’ he says. ‘As soon as we cleared the last turning mark out of Sydney Harbour, we pinned her ears back and let her rip.’ Comanche sailed a wide arc, well east of the rhumbline down the mainland coast and then angling back in towards the finish at the Tasmanian capital. ‘We sailed the boat to her strengths,’ says Sanderson. ‘We knew exactly where
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we wanted to go. We set up a triple headsail arrangement with the non- overlapping J0 in front, a J2 staysail and a storm staysail, inside. We got all the way down to VMG running angles with a non-overlapping jib on, which is pretty cool.
‘We saw how strong and efficient the J0 concept is. They are very powerful weapons. That sail configuration did a lot of work through the race, as did a Cableless A3. It was a great demonstration of the technology at work.’ Infotrack’s performance close behind was particularly pleasing as she had always struggled against the narrower Wild Oats XI and Black Jack. “Infotrack carries a big Doyle inventory and is fully stacked with Cableless and Structured Luff technology. For her to finish second was very gratifying.’
Nor was Doyle’s involvement confined to the 100-footers at the front of the fleet. Spread throughout all the divisions competing in the 75th anniversary of the classic race were 37 yachts carrying Doyle sails in their inventories, including the hotly-contested TP52s, with Ichi Ban finishing first overall on handicap. The line-honours battle of the big guns in these classic offshore races is intense, showcasing the best technology and the best talents of rock star crews. Sanderson gave an indication of the fierce concentration
Above: Mike Sanderson (at the helm of Aquarius), Volvo Ocean Race winner and chief executive of Doyle Sails, has led a major R&D drive with new performance enhancing technologies such as Cableless
code sails and Structured Luff headsails. At the same time he has also made a major
investment in human talent, recruiting other top professional sailors to expand the sail loftʼs knowledge and practical experience, including fellow Volvo winner Stu Bannatyne (right) who leads the Doyle Sails Grand Prix team
involved when he said losses and gains were calibrated in metres, not miles. ‘It’s about gaining every metre we can, every minute of the race all the way to Hobart. That’s what we have to concentrate on for the entire 628 miles of the race,’ he says. For the past couple of years Doyle has pushed hard with its Cableless and Structured Luff concepts, which offer great benefits of reduced luff sag, weight and mast compression. At Sanderson’s direction, Doyle has also made a major investment in human talent, bringing on board a wealth of grand prix, America’s Cup and offshore experience. The Sydney Hobart showed how that investment works in practice. Sanderson himself lists three America’s Cups and two Volvo Ocean Race victories on his resumé. He is usually joined on Comanche
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