France is a country with an important nautical culture that does not understand fashions, borders or trends, but is pure essence.
*How was Yachting Conseil born and what has been its evolution until now?
Yachting Conseil was founded by Manuel D’Almeida in 2004 with the support of his wife Isabelle. Manuel D’Almeida has not less than 32 years of experience in the boating business. Indeed, he founded his first company, a famous shipyard in Hyères harbour in 1988 and since then has always been working in the yachting area.
Benoît Ravel joined the company Yachting Conseil in 2006, firstly as a trainee, and thanks to the experience that Manuel D’Almeida passed on to him, today Benoît Ravel is a partner of the company.
Isabelle, Manuel and Benoît share the same passion for the sea, as from their childhood on, they all have been used to navigate with their parents, to fish and to sail.
Yachting Conseil started to sell some second hand Menorquin units more and more often, so the next logical step was to sell brand new ones.
We share the same boating philosophy as Sasga Yachts and the same family spirit in the company. This is the reason why Yachting Conseil fell in love with the Menorquin range of boats.
*How has the Menorquin been received on the French market, especially in your area of influence?
The Menorquin is ideally designed for the Mediterranean cruising and is adapted to our clients who are looking for a combination of tradition, quality and safety, but also integrating innovative features. Every Menorquin is dedicated to those who enjoy authenticity, appreciate the “here and now” and want to be part of the “happy few”.
*What are the main characteristics of our product that most appeal to the French shipowner?
Every Menorquin offers a lot of space outside with a large bow sun mattress, a user-friendly cockpit to eat under the shelter of the hard top, a wide swimming platform and large sidewalks to move around...all the features that you are expecting when you cruise in the Mediterranean sea. Also, not to forget the charm of wooden furniture, the uniqueness of customized layouts, the safety of a deep-sea vessel (all models are classified in the A Category), and the low maintenance cost of a boat with shaft lines.
*How would you describe the French nautical culture in your area of influence, which is difference form surrounding areas or countries? How does the Menorquin fit into this nautical culture?
Our area is a unique and extremely beautiful protected reserve around the Golden islands of Port Cros, Porquerolles and Le Levant.
The Menorquin philosopy of a cruising speed, that gives you time to fully enjoy the nature in an eco-friendly way, with a low consumption and in full comfort, attracts a growing number of our customers.
*The Nautical Industry is a sector in constant evolution. How these changes are being addressed by Yachting Conseil in coordination with Sasga Yachts? Due to the current situation, what new challenges are they facing together in order to meet future demands and needs of this niche of market?
We truly appreciate the easy communication we have with the Sasga shipyard, which team is very attentive to our questions and needs, ready to make any kind of improvement to match the client’s desires.
Unlike other shipyards, Sasga does not change models every year but have their boats improve to reach, or get as close as possible, to perfection.