Paris, inauguration of the 53rd Nautic!

The 53rd Nautic – International Paris Boat Show opened its doors to professionals and journalists this Friday morning. With a series of presentations, inaugurations and press conferences, this first day proved to be particularly dense, even before the traditional ‘Nautic Night’. Throughout the different aisles, the winds of creativity and imagination filled the air and the good news is that this is set to last for ten whole days and is sure to delight the general public from tomorrow!

The course for the Tour de France à la Voile unveiled At 1130 GMT, on the Nautic Stage, Amaury Sport Organisation unveiled the course for the Tour de France à la Voile 2014. Eight towns are to play host to the fleet next year: Dunkirk, Dieppe, Granville and Roscoff, before moving into the Mediterranean, with Roses in Spain, Gruissan, Hyères and Nice. In total, the crews will cover some 900 miles, via 24 inshore races, six coastal hops and four nights at sea. Suffice to say that the rhythm will be intense, as the event will extend over just three weeks rather than the usual four. Beyond the course itself though, the most significant new feature is the arrival of the Grand Surprise at the event. This one-design will be a craft for the youngsters and amateurs alongside the professional M34 craft. The Breton yards exhibited at the Nautic For this 53rd edition of the Nautic, Brittany is coming together to showcase the richness of its marine network. Over 100 boat builders, equipment manufacturers and charterers will be gathered. Better still, spanning an area of nearly 900m², the “Bretagne-Chantier” space is presenting companies from the Côtes d’Armor, the Finistère and the Morbihan, which are a particular force in the construction of small and medium production yachts where the influence of innovation is felt everywhere. As such, between tradition and creation, the expertise and experience of the region in terms of the construction of top quality boats are widely recognised. Indeed the fact that the Django 6.70 by Marée Haute, the Malango 8.88 by IDB Marine, as well as the Pogo 30 by Structures – all three of which are up for the “European Yacht of the Year 2013-2014” award, is a perfect illustration of the region’s talent. A must for those seeking fresh discoveries… The Route du Rhum announces its title partner This Friday at 1800 hours, on the Nautic Stage, the Pen Duick Company, organiser of the Route du Rhum, announced the commitment of Guadeloupe as title partner to the event and unveiled its brand new visual in honour of its two regions. For its tenth edition, the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, which is its new title, is once again likely to boast a top-level line up true to its reputation and the dreams and ambitions of the best sailors. For this historic vintage, the various pretenders to victory will be split into five categories: Ultimates, Multi50s, Imocas, Class 40s and Class Rhums. An inauguration in the presence of a cluster of stars The official inauguration of the Nautic is due to take place at 1800 GMT this evening, in the presence of Alain Pichavant, Commissioner General of the Nautic, as well as sailing greats such as Franck Cammas and Michel Desjoyeaux. Alain Pichavant, Commissioner General of the Nautic: “The first day of the Nautic is always important as it plays host to professionals and press. It has to be admitted once again that things have really got off to a flying start with the presentation of some major races like the Barcelona World Race, the Tour de France à la Voile and the Route du Rhum… One of the particularly significant meetings in this 53rd edition is scheduled for Sunday, on the banks of the River Seine, with the kick-off of the biggest Stand Up Paddle event in the world with no less that 300 competitors registered. The upcoming week will be punctuated by a wealth of events such as the special soirée for the equipment manufacturers on Tuesday, the prize-giving ceremonies for the Maritime Book Prize and that of the Nautic Motor Boat Design Awards. As a result there will be plenty of opportunities for the general public to discover the marine universe, as well as a host of new features, both in sailing and motorboating.” World exclusives at the Nautic 2013. A whole ‘raft’ of new feature is being exclusively unveiled this year once again. Among them are a number of examples that particularly showcase the dynamism of French industries. Small is beautiful. The Flyer Bénéteau range. After launching an offensive on the large craft market, the Bénéteau group is now refreshing its ranges of small boats designed for the general public. A public show par excellence, the Nautic is the theatre for the official and spectacular launch of this new and totally unique Flyer range. The Style&Design firm, renowned across the automobile world, has created a brand new, revolutionary outline. For its part, the Bénéteau design office, in collaboration with the innovative naval architect Tanguy le Bihan, is working on a new generation of stepped hulls beneath the waterline, generating a genuine cushion of air on which the hull can slip along. “Petit yachts”. Though the average size of yachts has been constantly increasing over past decades, this winter we’re witnessing a real avalanche of new additions to the petit ranges, as if small is beautiful again it would seem. Drawing, designing and manufacturing the tooling and the moulds of a small yacht is almost as expensive as it is for a large craft, though the costs can’t be absorbed as quickly. Similarly, yachties are now used to a certain level of comfort and space, and designing a small boat is becoming ever more difficult. All the more important then to salute the very reasonable new additions unveiled at the Nautic: – The Dufour 310, one of the smaller yachts from the range at the famous La Rochelle yard, which has revolutionised naval construction over the past half century. Measuring less than 10m, the Dufour 310 has everything that a large boat has: twin-helming station, large cockit with a canting stern skirt, an opulent and intelligent layout and, in a major first for Dufour, is beachable! – The RM 890, the youngest of the range in epoxy plywood, it is light, roomy and mirrors the comfort of a big boat. A highly striking little travelling house, she has a slender line from the hull beneath the waterline through to the inverted bow, which shouts fine performance! – The Sun Odyssey 349 is still a youngster in what is an entirely revamped range. All the historic expertise of Jeanneau concentrated into a reasonably sized hull. – Huzar 28, direct from the East, is a refined small cruiser with a cosy layout, which stands out through an aggressive price-cutting approach coming in at less than 50,000 Euros. – Winner 9.00 is another little novelty, this one from the flat lands. A remarkable construction, with an amazing finish and impressive performance with a sound, classic aspect: this small boat really hides its hand well! – The new Astus 24 and Tricat 25 are small folding, high-performance trimarans, which give real zip to your jaunts, whilst providing the comfort of some genuine small cruisers. Able to be transported on a trailer, you don’t even have the worry of finding a harbour berth for them… The Nautic – Salon Nautique International de Paris, is an exhibition from the « Fédération des industries nautiques », organized by Reed Expositions France, a division of Reed Business. Fédération des Industries Nautiques Port de Javel Haut -75015 Paris – France www.industriesnautiques.fr – [email protected] President of the Nautic – Salon Nautique International de Paris : Yves Lyon-Caen Commissioner General : Alain Pichavant Organization Reed Expositions France – Culture, Luxury and Leisure pole E-mail : [email protected] – www.salonnautiqueparis.com