01 | It started on Foss Street

Our story begins in 1981, when Don Campbell established a small sail loft on Foss Street, one of Dartmouth’s historic cobbled lanes, working from his own building at number 26. Trading as Dart Sails, it was a modest operation with a simple aim: to make good sails, properly fitted, for the boats of the Dart.

That reputation for honest, bespoke work took root quickly, and it is the same thread that runs through everything we do today.

02 | The Calibra years

In 1996 Don sold the business. The sail loft joined forces with Peter Lucas Rigging, which worked from the unit below, and together they traded as Calibra Marine, bringing sails, rigging and rig advice under one roof. In 1997 cover maker Jamie Pring joined the team, a name that reappears later in this story.

The combined business grew through the late 1990s, adding yacht agency and brokerage work, and by 2001 it had split in two. The Dartmouth arm was sold that year.

03 | A quiet chapter  

Around 2004 the Dartmouth business changed hands again. The new owner concentrated on rigging, the sail and cover side wound down, and Jamie left to work for himself.

For a short while the Dartmouth sail loft that Don Campbell had started fell quiet. Not for long.

04 | Reborn, 2006

In 2006 Simon and Jane Unwin revived the name and the craft, incorporating Dart Sails and Covers Ltd. Sails and hand tailored covers were once again being designed, cut and fitted for the boats of the Dart, Torbay and the wider South Coast.

In June 2012 Jamie Pring came home, rejoining the loft he had first worked in fifteen years earlier. A neat piece of continuity, and a reminder of how small and how loyal the South Devon marine world really is.

05 | New hands on the helm, 2015 

On 12 January 2015 Dominic Hanley and Sean Semmens bought the business from Simon and Jane Unwin. Between them they brought a wealth of sailmaking knowledge and sail design, along with a shared belief that the best sails come from people who actually race and cruise the boats they build for. Under their ownership the loft has continued to grow, welcoming experienced cover maker Mark Underwood in 2022.

In 2017, when the Foss Street building was sold, the loft relocated to Nelson Road Industrial Estate in Dartmouth, where a larger workshop gave the team space to take on more new sails and covers. In November 2024 Sean stepped back from the day to day running of the company to focus on what he does best, continuing as our Sail Designer, with Dominic leading the business as Managing Director.

06 | A home of our own, Brixham 2025 

In 2017 the Foss Street building was sold. In 2025 the Nelson Road lease came to an end. Both times the decision was someone else’s. This time we made it ourselves.

The purchase of Unit 1 at Castor Farm Estate, Brixham, completed on 30 September 2025. What followed was an intensive renovation: a new roof, a full strip out, and a rebuilt loft floor over a third larger than the one we left. We worked our last day in Dartmouth on 26 December 2025, then dismantled the loft and moved everything across the river.

In January 2026 we reopened in Brixham. Crossing to the east side of the Dart put us closer to most of the local marinas and gave us room to work more efficiently, invest in better processes, and look ahead to apprenticeships and a growing team.
For thirty years the loft worked from buildings that belonged to someone else. It now works from one of its own, for the first time since Don’s day.

07 | Where we are today 

We remain a small, vibrant loft of experienced sailmakers and cover makers. Dom, Sean, Helen, Jamie, Mark and Laura, building bespoke sails and hand tailored covers for everything from dayboats to blue water cruisers.

The address has changed more than once since Foss Street, but the principle has not: custom built, properly fitted, and backed by people who know boats because they sail them.