It is in the first place, the story of a visionary. In 1976, Francois Chalain, who had just arrived at Beneteau, proposes to its young president Annette Roux to repurchase the molds of the Unthinkable, winner of the Half Ton Cup. The Vendean shipyard has indeed carried out, his turn from wood to polyester over the years 1970, but at that time it only produces fishing-ride boats. Annette Roux will easily admit: “No one is waiting for us there...”

François Chalain manages to convince her, and with the architect André Mauric, modify the keel of the Unthinkable, lengthens the beveled cover and provides it with comfortable interiors. The right balance between racing and cruising, just been found. “François had the vision and above all a formidable requirement to put all the elements of a boat in coherence. He marked the way”, often recalls Yann Masselot, the current director of the Beneteau brand, when evokes the designer, disappeared in the 2007.

Baptized First, the 30 feet showed up in 1977 at the Paris Boat Show. It will remain in the shipyard catalog for five years and will be built… 824 copies.

They will mainly follow 70 first models, of 14 a 53 pies, being the last one First 36, a new design signed by Samuel Manuard launched this year, waiting for the First 44 which will be presented for its world premiere at the Festival de la Plaisance in Cannes in September.

A FIRST CAN HIDE ANOTHER

With the wave of the Class 8 from 1982, then the three generations of Figaro (1990, 2003, 2019), the mark naturally rhymes with monotype. But this is forgetting that the shipyard has always been able to get the best marks in the regulations in force. The most fruitful period is undoubtedly that of the IOR regulation in the years 1980, permanent gateway between prototypes – the First Evolution – and serial boats.

In the years 2000, the arrival of the IMS and above all of the IRC gives way to some particularly successful series boats that can rival the best protos. That is how First National, a First 40.7, win all classes without distinction, the Sydney Hobart a 2003 or that Gery Trentesaux wins the Landline (on irc 0) at the helm of his First 44.7 Love letter in 2007. Yes Beneteau, the world's leading builder of recreational sailboats, knew how to take advantage of the strength of its international network, all the history of the First, it was a swing between industry and crafts.

At the moment when the sales volumes of cruising-regatta sailboats have decreased, the shipyard has made the choice of calibrated productions. “In 2015, Madame Roux wanted to relaunch the First range, explains Yann Masselot. We have integrated Seascape into 2018 and its range of sportboats has been an accelerator. It is moreover at its headquarters in Slovenia where we produce the First 36. and for the first 44, we have resumed contact with a specialized workshop in Poiré-sur-Vie (Vendee). It is the correct method, and the experience of the First 36 shows that the market is largely at the point!”

 

THE BLESSED TIME OF THE IOR

Proud of the success of the First 30 launched in 1977, Beneteau established in less than three years, a range of six First of 18 a 35 pies. The shipyard is operating at full capacity with more than 1 000 units produced in 1980 and finds himself the leader of a recreational navigation in full explosion. Incorporated into Beneteau en 1982 to take care of the American clientele, Bertrand d’Enquin noted that Annette Roux, the president of the group, and Francois Chalain, initiator of the First range, “don't rest on their laurels: understand that to perpetuate this industrial success, you have to cross the French borders and win regattas with a solid reputation.‘”

For your future large units, the shipyard calls the Argentine German Frers, swan architect, who designs the iconic First 42 Y 456. Regarding the regatta, they head in 1979 towards Jean Berret, who signs the very good ship First 35, to work on a small series half toner. The Rochelés achieved a beautiful reputation in regatta with its protos baptized with puns (Alonzo's Bistro, Crac Boum Ut…), built at the Hervé headquarters, from La Rochelle, later in his brother's shipyard, Technicoque. 13 units of the First 30 Evolution are produced to participate in the IOR championships (International Offshore Rule, old regatta measurement, created at the end of the years 60).

They were built in a workshop fitted out by Beneteau in Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, next to the cabinetry. “Already at that time they worked empty. The team was small, a dozen young people, the best overall. Ships were built backwards, on a model or male mold”, remember Jean-Michel Hook, at that time coach of the First.

AND RUBY OF LEGEND

Al lado by François Chalain, it's found Eric Ingouf, accustomed to the Ton Cup, who works a lot on the deck plans and respect for the tortured forms of the IOR. Multiple measurement in effect, the measurement points at certain places on the hull. Around an ideal envelope, The architect So he created shots to contain the rating. “This is why we call a special team of painters, coming from Eastern countries that were very efficient in the bodywork of the helmets so as not to alter the shape and measurements”, Jean-Michel Crochet.

Success is assured since First Lady, named after Annette Roux, get second place in the Half Ton Cup 1980.

next year is good: el legendario Paul Elvstrøm, Danish quadruple Olympic champion, seizes the trophy on King One, otro First Evolution. The ship's victories give the shipyard legitimacy to launch the First 30 E (on another fairing), the one that leaves the production chains, 420 copies in three years.

Same springboard three years later with the one tonner. For the first time, Beneteau gathers the beautiful flower of French architecture. First's little series 40 Evolution is signed by Berret-Fauroux-Finot. The protos are named Phoenix (Harold Cudmore), Fair Lady (Eric Duchemin) O Coyote (Bruno Troubled) and they get the podiums of La Manga and on the other side of the Atlantic. will give way to the beautiful series of the First 405, more of 200 ships built of what represents a great unity at the time.

The heyday of this decade IOR maintains the construction of Rubis in 1989. This two tonner assembled by the watchmaker Corum is the fruit of the collaboration between Philippe Briand, Philippe Pallu de la Barrière and Luc Gellusseau, who had already worked on the French Kiss in the America's Cup in 1987. Innovative deck plan with two side decks that were used to lower the spi, plano central, crew straps inside on abseil benches for offshore regattas, the ship is a concentrate of novelties. on the sides of Corum Saphir Y Diamond hearts, get the Admiral's Cup 1991, true world championship in offshore regattas at that time.

 

THE FIRST CLASS INVASION 8

How to make a boat that is both bello, confortable, that win regattas and produced at a fair price? Such is the squaring of the circle to which the thinking heads of Beneteau are constantly confronted., Annette Roux president, Francois Chalain, director general, and his right hand, Eric Ingouf. “You have to understand the time, there was no Oceanis yet, the market was not segmented. Un First, It was therefore a boat that had to know how to do everything“, explains Yann Masselot, today director of the Beneteau brand.

IOR protos are prestigious, but its refinement costs more and more and Annette Roux does not stop repeating to her teams that ’“a Beneteau should always be good value for money.” “First Class was a brilliant way to get out of a commitment more and more difficult to maintain“, account Yann Masselot. Exit of the wood to the interior, the linings and other heavy and expensive ornaments. Departure from the IOR and its embossed fairings. room for simplicity, and the slip, of.

A DOUBLE PATERNITY

But, who to design this new monotype? En el First Class 8, like a few years later for the Figaro 1, two thinking heads are worth more than one and the monotype that came out in 1982 has a double paternity : Jean-Marie Finot Y Jacques Fauroux. The first one was noticed with the one tonner Revolution for its taste for the stern "callipyges". The second is a quarter tonner world champion...

They give life to a monotype low on the water, with a very fluid hull, moving fast at all speeds with a fractional rig and a nice sail surface. The boat also uses the lifting keel system invented by Finot and Beneteau on the First 22 in 1978. El Class 8 pesa 1,3 tons but reveals much easier to haul on the road than a Surprise, the great competitor at the time. his sleeve of 2,50 m guaranteed the size suitable for road transport, unlike the J24, international monotype that never really caught on in France. And it doesn't matter if the gunwale cuts the thighs of generations of crews, if rudder not trimmed, articulated on an aluminum beam, produces a very heavy bar, el Class 8 quickly became a social phenomenon.

“There was a need for the clubs, but also the strength of the Beneteau network, already well established internationally, often recalls Bertrand d'Enquin, responsible for American clientele. All the agents in the world bought two or three, sometimes small fleets.” Result: in less than two years, the boat is produced in more than 300 copies, “more than the number of quarter tonner prototypes ever built”, notes Jean-Marie Finot.

THE ELITE OF THE REGATTA

A class association is quickly created, a collaborator found with the funding body CG Mer, and a championship circuit organized. “The fleets were taken by truck to the regatta venues, horns of 30 ships at once, remembers the preparer Jean-Michel Crochet. I often took care of the preparation alone, but it was super simple and in one day, boats could haggle.”

A little lacking in hardware at its exit, el Class 8 invites the crews to DIY and the shipyard takes up the idea of ​​the central plane that combs the descent and allows maneuvers to be managed without taking the rappel. Innovative for its simplicity at its output, el Class 8 has been active for more than ten years and attracts the elite of the regatta. budding sailors, they run on their own and leave the podiums to the Bertand Pacé, Pierre More, Frank Cammas, Bernard Mallaret, Philippe Presti, Bruno Jourdren or even Vincent Riou.

“I have seen championships where more than 80 boats lined up at the start. This happened everywhere in Europe and the level was very high“, recalls Bertrand d'Enquin. The peak was achieved in 1992 in Cap d'Agde with more than 100 Class 8. It matters little if the monotype does not become an international series (would have needed it to be built under license abroad). In 1993, el First Class 8 ceases to occur. They were performed 965 copies. The first Beneteau monotype gave way to a small family with the Class 7, Class 10 y Class 12 y Class Europe, certainly less widespread, but it prepared the shipyard for the continuation...

 

“S5” Y “.7”, A LEGENDARY FIRST

mid years 1980, Beneteau understands that one must segment your offer. Francois Chalain, again he, launches with the architect Philippe Briand the first Océanis 350 in 1986, cruise of a new kind. The First feel liberated but they have to be repositioned and made more radical.

 

Beneteau is looking for an interior designer. François Chalain asks the brother of Philippe Starck, journalist to France 3, found by chance during a report by the latter in the shipyard: “I doubt your brother will have time to deal with our ship stories.” “Don't be fooled., Philippe is crazy about candle and much more accessible than you think…”

35S5 : THE WEAPON OF DESIGN

The meeting with the international design star is quickly organized and one of the most disruptive boats in the history of recreational navigation is born., the First 35s5. Jean Berret, that signs the ridge, remember: “Beneteau took a real risk since what Starck designed was more expensive and questioned the habits of the shipyard. He brought his style and ideas and I worked hard to make it all possible..”

carbon bar, portholes with handle on the roof angle with integrated handrail, glossy mahogany interior, white upholstery, foot of the table in brushed forged aluminum... so much to say that the First 35s5 does not go unnoticed and overwhelms the clientele accustomed to classism. “When he went out to the Boat Show in 1987, There was no talk of anything else. We were screaming like crazy! remember Yann Masselot, current director of the Beneteau brand. It was the first time that a designer from outside the field of recreational navigation contributed his mark to a boat.”

Despite a fairly short business career of four years, the sales figures are correct. over all the look that generates a range that will extend from 32 a 53 pies, sign that recreational navigation evolves and increases in range.

THE VERSATILITY OF 31.7

Ten years later, the s5 after s7 are replaced by a new series. For the youngest of the new range, Beneteau retains its confidence in Jean-Marie Finot and Pascal Conq, who design the First 31.7 – “may be the most successful of all”, after Jean-Michel Crochet, preparer at the time of all the First. “The 31.7, it was the hull of the Figaro 1, a well done interior, the versatility. A super easy boat and accessible to all. Certain clients have never wanted to change!”

It doesn't matter if he 31.7 It is not very optimized for IRC and never gets the Spi Ouest-France "even when there is 30 engaged on IRC4 against legendary half tonner Britanny Drizzle“, subraya Christophe Cantin, current president of the homeowners association. Near 1 200 copies of this legendary ship left the chains, the 30 feet of cruiser-regatta most widespread in history!

The 31.7 continues plowing the regatta sailing areas – they were still 16 to participate in the last Spi Ouest-France in monotype this year – and always seduces demanding owners, a picture of Jean-Yves Le Déroff or Philippe Delhumeau.

THE 40.7 SEDUCE THE CHINA

Parallel to the "small" 31.7, he comes out 40.7 what, He too, know a beautiful career, with close to 700 copies sold. This plan signed by Bruce Farr with a timeless elegance wins everything from its departure (Commodore's Cup and Copa del Rey in 1997) Y get to the top of the overall ranking of the Sydney Hobart in 2003.

when in the 2007, Shenzhen province created the China Cup to compete with Qindgao, which had claimed the Olympic Games in 2008, Beneteau produces a fleet of 10 boats, after the success of the formula, others 20 Next year. The 40.7 becomes the monotype of the “Empire du Milieu”. As newbies in offshore regatta as ambitious, “the Chinese wanted to create an event to supplant the ’America’s Cup !” explains Yves Mandin, who handles the operation for Beneteau. and continue : “They had been told that it would be a bit long!! But the fact is that all the China Cups played since 2007 they have been beautiful events, with good sportsmanship, and won by prestigious skippers.”

 

ONE FIGARO CAN HIDE ANOTHER

at the end of the years 1980, the Solitaire del Figaro was still performed in half tonners, turned into jewels of technology, but the exorbitant cost harms the equality of possibilities of the competitors. The race director Michel Malinovsky, who competed in the Aurore regatta (former name of Solitaire) en un First 30, Y Jean-Michel Barrault, co-founder of the regatta in 1970, approach Beneteau to imagine a monotype free of any regulation.

From the Finot-Berret binomial comes then the First Class Figaro Solo and it is Laurent Cordelle who, in 1990, Get your first Solitaire with this ship, followed by Yves Parlier, after in 1992, of Michel Desjoyeaux who explains : “In 1989, I had won the Skipper Elf selection formula and inherited it from the last half tonner which was a true McLaren. Three months later, the regatta went to monotype and I returned the half! In exchange, I won a boat that could do a high-altitude regatta, clearly more sailor, with a first rig 7/8e with coarse, a little dangerous but I liked it a lot.”

The ship was born well, indeed, but the slightly weak neck is replaced by a profile 9/10 without coarse in 1993, which fixes the issue. The shipyard watches over the grain every summer, between 1990 Y 1996, el First 53 F5 piloted by Eric Ingouf and Jean-Michel Crochet deals with the assistance of the regatta at the same time as the after sales service. “They were some formidable times. The hall was often full, we were in the center of the regatta”, remember jean michel.

ONE MORE MOLDED BODY THAN 2 000 TIMES!

This that we will call from now on Figaro Solo, Conquer your very captive market with 61 copies produced. But the career of this well-worn fairing does not stop here. Declined in the Figaro Challenge (without ballasts), in which the Défi des Ports de Pêche is run, in the first 310, in several Océanis and especially in the First 31.7, has been molded... more of 2 000 times in the Beneteau workshops, without necessarily the owners knowing that they have a small piece of Figaro with them.

in the early years 2000, the Finot-Berret plane took a hit, the shipyard reflects on a new design. Finot remains a safe value, but the choice of the class selection committee led by Gildas Morvan, is located in the Lombard cabinet, who showed in Imoca that he had to be reckoned with. And that's how he was born in the 2003, the Figaro Beneteau, middle name, who wins a meter in history. Pascal Bidégorry plays the role of fine-tuning this elegant one-design that takes a step forward in technique : infusion sandwich hull, electric ballast filling, carbon mast.

Above all, el Figaro Beneteau 2 I know shows much more stable running than its predecessor. Skippers can sleep under the spi, the ship hardly moves: “El Figaro 2 capitalized on the knowledge acquired from the monotype of the Figaro 1. Everything has been professionalized a formula that always maintains the route ”, recruited Michel Desjoyeaux, member of the closed club of triple solitaire winners.

EL FIGARO 3 “OPEN THE GAME”

With el Figaro 2, the circuit takes a new dimension. The training centers form cohorts of skippers who make Figaro their trade, they invest in their work tool, amortized in four or five years. because of 250 sailing days per season, the slide of a Figaro gobbles up every year of 12 a 14000 miles. when in the 2019, el Figaro 3 enters to scene, certain Figaro 2 they have the equivalent of seven laps around the world in their assets. What does not prevent them from being disputed even today in the second-hand market.

In the 2017, the contest launched by the Figaro class and the shipyard to retake the torch was won by VPLP. El Figaro Beneteau 3 is built in a specialized workshop in Nantes, en los local antiguos of Jeanneau Advanced Techniques. The « foils » make their appearance, which does not stop causing some adjustment problems during the first year. 80 copies They are built in just two years.

 

Shorter, much sportier and more modern, especially via its sail plan, el Figaro 3 ha “open the game”, making the options otherwise random, are potentially profitable and has returned its letters of nobility to the strategy. It will still allow the departure of Nantes this year, this Sunday 21 from august to 34 men and women try to conquer the Graal of the solo regatta with equal weapons, Solitaire du Figaro.

And from 2020, the trophy given by Beneteau to reward the first rookie in the regatta bears the name of Eric Ingouf, the man who at the Vendean builder's headquarters, ensured the development of three generations of Figaro Beneteau.

 

OF 14 A 53 PIES, REBIRTH OF THE RANGE

 

mid years 2010, the First lose their power of attraction a bit. The market goes to cruise ships and catamarans and First falls to less than 10% in shipyard revenue. “The boat market experienced the same fluctuations as the car market, explains Yann Masselot, current director of the Beneteau brand. In the years 1980, everyone wanted the GTIs. Then there were the breaks, the 4×4s and SUVs that took the lead.”

After the boom of the years 2000, the crisis of 2008 shuffle the cards again. The cruiser-racer market sees the arrival of small series of very specialized sailboats around the IRC measurement, against which it is more and more difficult to fight. Francois Chalain, the soul of the First, disappears in the 2007 and the failure of the First 30 about the Kouyoumdjian plans, thrown in the 2010, could have closed one of the most beautiful chapters in the history of recreational navigation.

“I want to see a First range again !“ Such, however, is the very explicit message that Annette Roux directs to Gianguido Girotti, the new product manager that he appoints in the 2015.

RETURN TO ORIGINS

“To relaunch a complete range, the market was not big enough for our industrial situation, explains Yann Masselot. The good decision was to buy Seascape in the 2017 and integrate it into the Beneteau offer.” The small Slovenian builder had made a name for himself in a few years with his sport boats of 14 a 27 pies, designed by Samuel Manuard. The ships are renamed First and benefit from the strength of the network, which relaunched the brand and gave time to develop a true product plan in large sizes.

In the 2019, he comes out First Yacht 53, signed by the Italian architects Roberto Biscontini and Lorenzo Argento, real break with the regatta boats on the market. “El First 53, is the “whaou effect !”, a boat that makes you dream, analyzes Yves Mandin, product manager at Beneteau for 30 years. The 'DNA of the First of the years has been found 1990, that is to say, of boats that meet the expectations of a demanding clientele. Of the 35 delivered, a dozen haggle quite actively, mainly in the Mediterranean, the others are more in the yachting spirit.”

FIRST 36 : THE LINK

A link is missing between the small First and the admiral of 53 pies. That is why Beneteau starts at the 2019 the study of a 36 Pies with Sam Manuard. Modern by its lines, relatively light and planing, habitable but soberly configured, el First 36 regains contact with the most balanced units in the shipyard's history.

Developed jointly with Seascape in Slovenia, where is it built, uses technical solutions that would not be imaginable in large manufacturing chains: sandwich bulkheads, infusion, grafting of the structure with stratification retakes… It is 36 feet is built like a racing sailboat own right, but its versatility makes it a very attractive object. And the market has not been wrong since after six months of commercial existence, two years of orders have already been passed.

For him First 44, which will be released for its world premiere in September at the Cannes Yachting Festival (6-11 September), the logic that has guided the shipyard is identical : signed by the same architectural duo as the 53 pies, will be built in a specialized factory in Poiré-sur-Vie, in the Vendée, by a small team of about twenty people.

fast cruise ship, more than racing machine, is declined in various versions of deck and rigging plans to fit multiple programs. in option, the owners can choose some ballasts that allow them to free themselves from the number of crew members in the rappel. “We aim at around thirty ships per year. 45 pies is the queen size of this market that we have neglected for too long and the expectation is strong “, concludes Yann Masselot.

45 years later, the First saga continues.