Everyone wants Doyle Sails. Here’s why

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Journal of Sailing, the great excellences of the sailing world tell their stories and reveal their projects. In this column, discover all the companies and people who have made important contributions to the multifaceted world of sailing, which enables us all to go to sea in all forms and contexts.

In this installment, we take you on a tour of Doyle Sails, one of the tarpers that made sailboat history.

A special city

Palermo is not only the land of Checco Bruni, helmsman of Luna Rossa and many other great sailors. And not only of the Circolo della Vela Sicilia, chosen since 2011 by Patrizio Bertelli as a challenger to the America’s Cup. The Sicilian capital is an international sailing district and one of its most important entities is Top Sailing, known as Doyle Sails Italia , managed since 2015 by Salvo D’Amico. That it is a global excellence is proven by the numbers: in recent years, the sailmaker has seen meteoric growth, thanks to the sales push coordinated by Mario Giattino, a key person in the company and in Doyle since 1997, and growth in production capacity.

“To the 3,000-square-meter loft opened in 2019,” says D’Amico, born in 1981, a longtime sailor and high-level professional experience, “another 1,500-square-meter loft was added, also in Palermo.

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The 1,500-square-meter warehouse in La Spezia completes our Italian asset. We have new investments in mind to continue growing.” Six thousand square meters of warehouses, then. “We are in the top-three of sail production centers in Europe and among the most important in the world: we can make any type of sail in-house, with no size limits, and service the most complex boats in the world, even for onboard systems, such as Maltese Falcon (Perini 90mt), Black Pearl (Oceanco 105mt) and Mirabella V (sloop 75mt).”

We ask D’Amico for some numbers: “More than 25 thousand square meters of sails come out of our warehouses every year, all assembled and sewn by us, we don’t buy abroad. For the most part these are toys for large boats, with an average area of 160 square meters. Added to this is the maintenance work: in a year about 200 sails of boats over 80 feet pass through us.” How to manage all this “mass”? “With a team of sailors who work for sailors-not by chance Doyle’s motto is ‘By sailors, for sailors’-composed of about 30 people, including such top-notch people as Alessandro Castelli, Andrea Casale and Francesco De Vita, former America’s Cup sailor with Mascalzone Latino.”

DOYLE SAILS. ON THE BOATS THAT MATTER

Expertise is well rewarded. Doyle sails are aboard many superboats. In big regattas, the Reichel Pugh 66 Alive winner of the last Sydney Hobart, the Wally 93 Bullitt victorious at the Rolex Middle Sea Race, the Maxi 100 Leopard first at the RORC Caribbean 600, various Maxi 72s (Bella Mente, Vesper, Proteus) and Tp52s come to mind: they are the tip of an iceberg consisting of hundreds of boats around the world. But there is more than just racing: Southern Wind, Oyster, performance cruisers such as the ICE 52 Goose (IRC winner at the 151 Miglia) rig Doyle sails. And it’s not just the big boats: since Olympic gold medalist Jordi Calafat joined the sailmaker, great attention has been paid to the world of one-designs, such as RC 44 and ClubSwan. For example, the ClubSwan 36 G-Spot, one of the most successful, mounts Doyle sails. Last but not least, the brand’s presence as Official Sail- Maker of the Sail GP circuit, as close to the America’s Cup as it gets, given that these are the ex-America’s Cup F50 flying catamarans.

DOYLE SAILS’ SECRET

Doyle Sails’ success is not only in service and the massive deployment of forces in human resources. Says Mario Giattino, commercial director, “The main evolution, which has provided a ‘boost’ to the brand, has been technological. A constant investment in research and development that led to the invention of ‘cableless technology,’ which evolved into ‘structured luff’ technology: the anti-twisting cable-free sails, equipped with structural luff.” A technology, highly appreciated in racing and cruising, that starts from the concept of “sharing load,” the sharing of boat loads between the rig (mast and rigging) and the sails. This is a breakthrough, because before the loads were all absorbed by the rig, even to keep the anti-twist cables in tension. With this solution we are talking about loads of 30 to 40 percent less, if not 50 percent in “pulled” configurations. “Doyle Sails has redesigned the way loads are developed and through custom fiber layouts has redirected them into the sail. If the sail can ‘rely on itself, there will be much less load needed on the rig and the boat.”

These technologies are applied on asymmetrics, Code0 type sails, jibs, and on StaySails, where the structural luff provides easier sail handling and stowage. This innovation also affects cruising. Without a cable, the luff is lighter, which increases a sail’s range of use: with little wind, for example, it can be carried even more leaned over. “This has allowed a significant upgrade to boats that cruise all over the world, such as the latest Southern Winds we’ve sailed; increasing the range of use allows you to reduce the number of sails on board.” We close by looking ahead. Giattino reveals, “The latest innovation Doyle Sails has focused on is the development of a gennaker with a nylon body and carbon and technora luff. Ultralight solution that allows the sail to immediately get ‘into shape’ and give immediate propulsion, at the slightest gust of wind.” A further technological step that is sure to be successful.

• At this link, all the mythical stories from the 50 years of the Sailing Newspaper

50 years of the GdV: an opportunity not to be missed. Also for your brand

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Il Giornale della Vela is organizing the largest communication campaign in its history, which will reach a total audience of 2,000,000 “sea lovers” interested in the world of sailing.

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1985. The sails of the future are being born. The GdV is in, with Lowell North

How? Deploying all its communication channels: magazine (paper+digital), websites, E-mail marketing, social (facebook/instagram). The certainty is that 2 million interested people will be reached to whom you can tell your company’s story.

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Why you’d better embark with us
The Newspaper of Sailing proposes that all companies interested in the boating target audience tell their story, just as the GdV tells its own. Don’t worry, our journalists are on hand to help you produce attractive and effective text and images to reach two million “sea lovers.”

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