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DOYLE SAILS NEW ZEALAND NEWSLETTER
2017 is proving to be yet another lively year for Doyle Sails New Zealand with plenty more still to come. As the summer winds down the Stratis facility is revving up to deliver dream results for our clients old and new. Regatta season has come to an end and we were blown away to see so many of our Doyle sails leading the pack. In other announcements, Doyle's grand prix sales rockstar, Stu Bannatyne, joins Dongfeng Race Team for the 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race and Vendee Globe sailor Alex Thompson gives praises for Stratis sail art on Hugo Boss.
This newsletter aims to recapture some of these sweet moments over the last few months.
Enjoy and keep in touch.
Mike, Richard, Duffy and all the team.
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While we have several projects taking flight our most recent works on the floor are the superyacht sails for 60m Perini Navi, Seahawk, and 45m Sensation, Mari Cha III. Seahawk is the largest sail yacht in New Zealand undergoing a refit at the moment. We are servicing and repairing all of her sails including, the main, mizzen, genoa, and reacher with plans to be finished by the end of the month. We are building a new set of square-top sails for Mari Cha III as they are adding 3 meters to their main mast in Palma, Mallorca.
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| (Left to Right) Mari Cha III's cruising blade and Seahawk's genoa |
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On the water, Doyle sails have ruled the racing scene which, again, shows that our presence is one to be reckoned with. Regatta after regatta we saw outstanding results from our Doyle powered vessels with top placement in prestigious races such as the RORC Caribbean 600 Race, Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta, St. Barths Bucket, and Les Voiles de St. Barth. We also lit the local scene on fire with some big wins in the Bay of Islands, Jack Tar Regatta, and the Auckland to Tauranga Race.
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RORC Caribbean 600 won by Stratis-powered yacht
For the fourth year in a row the RORC Caribbean 600 has been taken out by a Stratis-powered yacht; further confirmation that Stratis is the sail membrane of choice for any serious performance yacht. Bella Mente claimed first place overall with fellow Stratis client Proteus in close second.
READ MORE HERE >>> |
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| Bella Mente crew celebrating their 1st place win |
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Doyle sails take 1st place at Loro Piana Regatta and St. Barths Bucket
Doyle sails have taken over the racing scene during this Caribbean season with top podium finishes in both the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta and the St. Barths Bucket Regatta. We are proud to have had so many Doyle sails participate in both races with such outstanding results.
READ MORE HERE >>> |
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Proteus takes 1st at the 2017 Les Voiles de St. Barth Regatta
The 2017 Les Voiles de St. Barth Regatta turned out to be an exciting, yet challenging, weekend for all involved. Although, the last race day was cancelled due to finicky weather conditions the regatta was another success in it's 8th year running.
READ MORE HERE >>> |
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1st place winners Proteus at the Les Voiles de St. Barth Regatta
Photo Credit: Christophe Jouany |
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Strong results for Doyle fleet at Bay of Islands Sailing Week and Millennium Cup
As the biggest regatta of its kind in New Zealand, Bay of Islands Sailing Week (BOISW) is an important fixture in the Kiwi racing calendar and Doyle Sails New Zealand works closely with our customers around this popular event. Doyle Sails NZ is also a long-standing sponsor of the Millennium Cup, the South Pacific’s premier superyacht regatta, which runs alongside Bay Week having relocated to the Bay of Islands in 2015.
READ MORE >>> |
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Bay of Islands Division A 1st place winners Anarchy
Photo Credit: Will Calver |
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Doyle sails take the lead at the Jack Tar Auckland Regatta
It was an unpredictable weekend at this year's Jack Tar Auckland Regatta. The combination of light and heavy winds made for a challenging competition and kept everyone on their toes. The race took place over 3 days off of Brown Bay Island.
READ MORE >>> |
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| Divisoin A fleet rounding the leeward mark at the Jack Tar Regatta |
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1st and 2nd place finishes for Doyle sails at the 2017 Auckland to Tauranga Race
It was another Doyle sails feat in the 2017 Auckland to Tauranga Yacht Race. The day long race covering 130 miles brought out a fleet of 10 yachts split into two divisions.
READ MORE >>> |
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Whitbred Maxi Steinlager 2 took 1st place over the line in Division A
Photo Credit: Suellen Davies |
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Doyle One Design clients have had a spectacular season of racing in all divisions, with several wins including Sean Kensington winning the Green Fleet Nationals in New Zealand, Andrew and Cam Brown winning the Sunburst Nationals for the fourth year in a row, Dave Shaw winning the championship at the Paper Tiger Nationals, and Slipstream winning at the Young 88 National Champs.
Our most recent and perhaps biggest proud moment was rooting for the Green Fleet at the Toyota Optimist Nationals this year which we joyfully helped sponsor. |
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Doyle sponsors the Green Fleet at the 2017 Toyota Optimist Nationals
The 2017 Toyota Optimist Nationals hosted by Napier Sailing Club brought out 175 sailors during Easter weekend. Although the weather was less than ideal with aftermaths of Cyclone Cook making for shifty winds and torrential rains, the regatta carried on and spirits stayed up.
READ MORE >>> |
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| The Doyle sponsored Green Fleet at the Optimist Nationals in Napier |
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Doyle Junior Scholarships Awarded
For the fourth year running Doyle Sails New Zealand is awarding a few junior scholarships throughout the year. In order to shed some light on gender equality in the sport of sailing, Doyle sails, have chosen to give the scholarship prizes to the top performing females at the Optimist Nationals. This year the scholarships were presented to Top Female Sailor Green Fleet, Nicola Hume and Top Female Open Fleet (under 13), Helena Sanderson. We would also like to give a big shout out to Grita Pilkington for taking 1st place overall at the regatta. Congratulations girls! |
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| Optimist Nationals Top Girl Green Fleet winner Nicola Hume |
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| Optimist Nationals Open Fleet (under 13) winner Helena Sanderson |
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| Optimist Nationals Champ Grita Pilkington (far left) |
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This year we are running the Doyle Pacific Circuit rally, the ICA’s flagship event.
With a total of 37 cruising yachts from countries around the globe this is truly an international event.
The Doyle service department in both Auckland and Northland have been busy helping these participants bring their sails up to good order for an open passage with the help of the Covers, Upholstery and Rigging departments as well. With more than 50% of the fleet sporting new Doyle Sails this is indeed a showcase for Doyle technology with examples of Stratis ICE, Stratis Technora, Cruise Laminate and other race bred cloths that are now giving the cruising fleet that extra edge of speed and comfort.
The rally departs Opua in New Zealands beautiful Bay of Islands on the 6th of May with the first stop on this six month odyssey, the Kingdom of Tonga.
Follow Island Cruising and the Doyle Pacific Circuit on Facebook |
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| Cruisers in Opua, Bay of Islands, New Zealand |
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Stu Bannatyne joins Donfeng Race Team for 2017/2018 Volvo Ocean Race
Doyle Sails New Zealand is proud that a core member of its grand prix sales and support team, Stu Bannatyne, has just been announced as one of the members of the Dongfeng Race Team for the 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race (VOR). This prestigious race is known as one of the sailing calendar’s most challenging and Bannatyne’s appointment is a credit to his reputation as one of the sailing world’s best respected and experienced offshore sailors. A seven-time veteran of the race, with three wins to date, this edition of the VOR will be Bannatyne’s eighth – an impressive record.
READ MORE HERE >>> |
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Stu Bannatyne
Photo Credit: Martin Keruzore |
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Alex Thompson gives credit to Doyle Stratis Sail Art
Hugo Boss skipper Alex Thomson posted a video on Facebook today giving credit to Doyle Stratis for their innovative sail art technology.
Stratis sail art is the process of printing photo quality images onto sails as opposed to the traditional hand painting method. Not only does this end result produce sharp and detailed images, but it also saves significant amounts of weight. As Thomson explains in his video this technology, launched by the New Zealand Stratis facility, saved 60-70 kilos of weight on Hugo Boss during the Vèndee Globe 2016/2017.
WATCH VIDEO HERE >>> |
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| Stratis technicians laying graphics on sail membrane |
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More great results for Doyle customers with recent podium places including:
Hugo Boss (IMOCA 60) Alex Thompson - 2nd place, 2016/2017 Vendee Globe
Spirit of Hungary (IMOCA 60) Nandor Fa - 8th place, 2016/2017 Vendee Globe
Scallywag (Dovell 100) - 1st place, Line Honours, Subic Bay to Boracay Race 2017
Proteus (Maxi 72) - 2nd Place, 2017 RORC Caribbean 600; 1st Place, Maxi 1 Les Voiles de St-Barth 2017
Bella Mente (Maxi 72) - 1st Place, 2017 RORC Caribbean 600; 1st Place, IRC Corrected Time, Around the Island Race (Antigua) 2017
Rosehearty (Perini Navi 56m) - 1st Place, Class D, St. Barths Bucket Regatta 2017
Axia (Perini Navi 56m) - 1st Place, Class C St Barths Bucket 2016
Georgia (TP 52) - 1st Place, EHC Div A, Auckland Jack Tar Regatta 2017
Viento (TP 52) - 1st Place, Line Honors, Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2017; 1st place, IRC & PHRF Div A, Bay of Islands Sailing Week; 2nd place EHC Div A, Auckland Jack Tar Regatta 2017
Secret Men's Business (TP 52) - 1st place, IRC Teakle Classic Adelaide to Port Lincoln Race 2017; 1st place, Line Honours, Melbourne to Geelong Passage Race 2017; 2nd place, Racing Div 1, Festival of Sails 2017
Celestial (TP 52) - 2nd place, NSW IRC Champioinships, 2017 Sail Port Stephens
Koo (Vitters 43m) - 1st Place, Class E, St. Barths Bucket Regatta 2017
P2 (Perini Navi 38m) - 1st Place, Class B Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous 2017
Anarchy (BW 37) - 1st place, Island Racing Div. A, Bay of Islands Sailing Week 2017, 1st place Div. A PHRF, Auckland to Tauranga Race 2017
Sojana (Farr 34m) - 2nd place Class A, St. Barths Bucket Regatta 2017
Acadia (Truly Classic 27m) - 2nd place, Class A, Antigua Superyacht Challenge 2017
Timewarp- 2nd place, PHRF Div A, Auckland to Tauranga Race 2017
Steinlager 2 (Whitbred Maxi) - 1st place, Line Div A, Auckland to Tauranga 2017
Redline - 1st place, PHRF Div B, Auckland to Tauranga 2017
Huntress - 1st place, Div 1, 2017 Commodores Cup
Anger Management - 2nd place, Div 1, Performance Racing, 2017 Sail Port Stephens
Kaotic (J24) - 2nd place, Monjon Victorian State Championships 2017
By the Lee (J24) - 1st place, Monjon Victorian State Championships 2017
Starpac (J24) - 1st place J24 Nationals 2017
Slipstream (Young 88) - 1st place, 2017 Young 88 Nationals
Skitzo (Young 88) - 2nd place, 2017 Young 88 Nationals
Cam & Andrew Brown - 1st Place, 2017 Sunburst Nationals
Sean Kensington - 1st Place, 2017 Green Fleet Nationals
Nicola Hume - Top Girl Green Fleet, 2017 Toyota Optimist Nationals
Helena Sanderson - Top Girl Open Fleet, 2017 Toyota Optimist Nationals
Grita Pilkington - Top Girl overall, 2017 Toyota Optimist Nationals
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Follow us on Facebook
Make sure you are following us on our Facebook page for daily updates, where we have over 7000 followers and counting. Follow the Rigging team's Facebook page too, for all their news. |
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