No sardine can

 

WORDS: DOM ROMEO

Beneteau's new trawler has comforts old-school fisherman could only dream of.

"There were fifty Americans ready to test the Beneteau ST52 yesterday, but they couldn't ? the seas were too rough," JW Marine's Adam Waters explains on the train from Paris to Nantes.
Adam is my host for a few days' touring through various Beneteau factories. Our trip will culminate with our own test of the Beneteau ST52 ? weather permitting.
A significant section of the route to the west coast of France traces the River Loire, which seems to have quite a current ? perhaps the effect of the same storm off Brittany whose aftermath had prevented the 50 Americans from experiencing the ST52 in full flight. I watch rowboats straining their tethers as chunks of debris hurtle rapidly downstream, while Adam fills me in on the history of Beneteau and JW Marine, the family company founded to bring Beneteau powerboats to Australia.
The road to Mecca
We are on pilgrimage to Mecca. The gorgeous seaside village of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, part of the central western coastal department (or 'county') of Vend?e, is prime Beneteau country. Look long and hard at the multitude of boats moored in the marina there, and you'll have a hard time spotting the handful that weren't manufactured by Beneteau.

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As they bob peacefully in the evening, you don't realise that the change in tide can be so dramatic ? until you see them sprawled akimbo on the mudflat the following morning.
The reason why there are so many Beneteau boats here is because this is where Beneteau began. Some 120 years ago Benjamin Beneteau built his first trawler, a sardine boat for the local fishing industry. Indeed, the Beneteau Group's corporate headquarters overlooks the ocean on Rue De La Mer.
We need a good night's rest before we start touring factories the following morning. We're staying at the Hotel Le Ceitya, so brand-spanking new that its two-star review seems a bit stingy. "If there is no elevator and I have to lug these suitcases up that spiral staircase," I reason, "I'd be docking the place a star as well." The other feature working against the hotel, you realise as you lean on your luggage to catch your breath on the first floor landing, is the hotel's aesthetic: stark chocolate brown walls and carpet surround hot pink doors. I wonder if I'll dream of Fry's Turkish Delight?
Wooden heart
The following morning begins with a drive to Beneteau's Head Office in the next village along the coast, Saint Hilaire De Riez. This is the 'heart' of Beneteau, since the same premises house the company's joinery. Though the boats themselves are now built of fibreglass, all fittings and trim are still made of wood. At one end of the factory are piles of plywood, lengths of blonde oak, beech (for the time being, replacing the more difficult to obtain teak) and moabi. At the other end are the bundled 'kits', ready to be shipped to the various factories, to be assembled into boats. Each year sees the production of 4500. Here, as with the other factories where we will see boats being put together in various stages, you can't help but note how many employees ? turning wood, spraying fibreglass, affixing trim, driving forklifts, testing wiring, tapping every centimetre of hull to ensure there are no defects ? are in fact women. Beneteau employs a higher percentage because, they say, they are more meticulous in their work.

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