Hyeres was heaving, packed out with sailors competing in the French Olympic Week, which was also the 4th round of the ISAF Sailing World Cup. With the event a useful pointer as to the form of some of the top teams (a big issue with the question of funding hanging over a number of competitors) there would be little time for light relief. Still, time had to be made in order to get an early test sail in the new Devoti single hander, the D-One.
Photo courtesy Bearfacemedia
The tricolor tops out the flags for Hyeres , the ISAF Sailing World Cup and those of the main sponsors. After light weather early in the week, the wind began to blow in earnest, not what was really wanted for a test sail in the D-One.
Having seen the boat earlier in the year at the RYA National Dinghy Show, I had a pretty good idea of what I would be letting myself in for. Having done a season or two in a Blaze I felt sure that I would be comfortable sailing a boat that had a fairly narrow hull, equipped with hiking wings. What would be an issue for me was the unstayed mast, to me this is very much the preserve of the OK and Finn sailor.
It was to the Finn compound that I headed after a full days sailing, for it was here that Team Devoti, maker of the Gold Medal winning Finns, had set up camp in what to them was familiar territory. The early evening breeze had moderated down to a comfortable 12 kts, perfect for my first sail in the new boat. Devoti were still trying out a number of different set ups, so I knew that the boat I was to be sailing was very much still at the test rig stage, with many of the control functions tied off. In some ways this was actually an advantage, as it gave me more opportunity to really explore how the boat felt. Clambering in from a RiB, I was immediately surprise at the initial stability, as I quickly found my way around the cockpit. All I had to do then was sheet in - and the boat took off.
After a short beat to get the balance of the boat I bore away onto a beam reach and was rewarded by the boat quickly picking up onto the plane in a manner not dissimilar to a Contender, with the spray coming cleanly away from the hull abaft the mast. It was then a simple matter to bear away a little further, hook the leg onto the tiller and two handedly hoist the spinnaker.
Photo courtesy Suntouched
With the wind just forward of the beam the D-One accelarated fast, yet remained well balanced, as the rig took care of the loadings of the increasing apparent wind.
With the spinnaker up and pulling the D-One turns into another boat all together. Even in what was no more than a light to moderate breeze I was fully powered up and in some of the gusts found that I was bearing away to 'soak' deeply, yet still carrying an impressive turn of boatspeed. Unless the conditions are very light, the tactical option of sailing high will not be available to most D-One sailors, as the big kite will soon pull you into a very broad reach.
Photo courtesy Suntouched
A surprising feature of the D-One is how well the unstayed mast works when the spinnaker is pulling hard. The answer: plenty of mainsheet tension!
Devoti still have quite a lot of development work on the spinnaker still to compete, which may well see a little more fullness creeping into the head. Even allowing for the test status of the sail used on the day, the sail seemed stable (given that the lack of hands can make adjustment a tricky exercise) as did the Phil Morrison designed hull. The acid test was always going to be the gybe, but with plenty of speed on and the actual gybing angle quite small the exercise seemed simplicity itself, though in more breeze I could imagine this being an activity requiring a great deal of practice.
It is too early to say how the final production boats will look or sail, all one can say on the basis of a short test in what were close to ideal conditions that the D-One is clearly a well thought out and executed exercise in dinghy development. I now look forward to a longer sail and trying the boat in a variety of conditions.