I know, I am sailing, now at Iraklio, Crete, after several days sailing upwind, coming from Rhodes and I should not be posting but how can I resist the best news this year so far, in what concerns sailing boats?
As many know the success of Beneteau was linked to the success of the First series that from being popular sailboats have become less and less of a commercial success to become practically only used as cruiser racers with emphasis in racing.
Nothing wrong with the designs, maybe one or other detail that made them less suited for cruising than their predecessors but nothing major, more a sign of the times and the type of boats cruisers want: almost all of them motor upwind and the boats are designed accordingly.
Selling less and less First, Beneteau simply finished with the line and it seemed that it was the end of a nice sailing story and the end of a great line of sailing boats.
But then surprise, surprise, Beneteau just bought Seascape, one of the most interesting lines of sailboats around, by concept and design, even if the biggest boat has only 27ft. It seems that concept will be the backbone of the new First line and they are already working on a bigger boat. I hope they keep the designer, Sam Manuard, who was the man behind that concept.
So, big and interesting news. A much bigger production will make possible to make less expensive boats with a better finish and Beneteau never ceases to surprise refusing to become as conformist as most of their clients LOL.