Owner rendezvous on the Îles d’Or!

For its 40th anniversary, Fountaine Pajot met up with owners of Sailing Catamarans and Motor Yachts to mark this special occasion. This exceptional event took place from May 19 to 22, 2016, on the islands of Porquerolles and Porc Cros in the Mediterranean.

In all, 30 catamarans joined them in response to this invitation. Among them were 20 sailing catamarans, including some of the shipyard’s historical models, such as the Marquises 56 and the Be-lize 43, but also more recent models such as the Hélia 44, the Lipari 41, Hélia 44 Evolution and, of course, the Lucia 40, the most recent member of the Sailing Catamaran line.

As for the Motor Yachts, more than ten were present at the event. Models such as the Maryland 37, the Summerland 40, the Cumber-land MY 47 and the new MY37, joined the Motor Yacht fleet for this 2016 rendezvous.

The 145 owners and their crews enjoyed magnificent anchorages in the limpid sea off the islands of Porquerolles and Port Cros. The weekend was interspersed with enjoyable cruises, fishing com-petitions and party photos also organized by our partners, Neptune yachting magazine for the Motor Yachts, Multicoques Mag for the Sailing Catamarans, and Ports Toulon Provence.

It was also an opportunity for everyone to get together in the eve-ning to explore the various treasures of the island of Porquerolles, with a tasting at the Mâs du Langoustier, followed by an memorable dinner at the “Domaine de l’île” vineyard, and the last evening of the

event at the Alycastre Restaurant, place d’Armes.

Fountaine Pajot Owners Rendez-vous Porquerolles 2016

A memorable first day at sea off Porquerolles!

The sailing catamaran owners had everything they could wish for in this first of two days of sailing, in collaboration with Multicoques Magazine. With an average wind speed of 12 knots and wonderful sunshine all day long, the conditions were ideal for the 20 cruising catamarans.

11.30 am: The start for the crews after a photo of all the participants on Notre Dame beach. They set off for the island of Grand Ribaud, which they rounded on the port side, then headed in the direction of Argent beach for the finishing line.

2–3.30 pm: Crew finish at Argent beach, where they lunched at an-chor in splendid surroundings. The whole fleet was photographed.

Destination Port Cros for the second day!

On the second day of sailing, with less wind, the owners admired the magnificent landscapes of the îles d’Or. With a course set for Port Cros, it was an opportunity for the crews to discover the Cap des Mèdes. Formerly used by the Navy for shelling practice, these well-known rocks, boasting Mythological scenery, offer a stunning view.

12.30 pm: Arrival on the protected island of Port Cros for lunch at anchor in the limpid waters of this nature reserve, or for some at the “Le Manoir” Hotel-Restaurant.

2.30 pm: Start of the second and last leg of the cruising to Porque-rolles.

This day was also punctuated by a photo competition of the best sea photo, organized by Ports Toulon Provence, as well as the best photo under sail, organized by Multicoques Mag.

4.30 pm: Aerial photo of all of the Fountaine Pajot Motor Yacht and

Sailing Catamaran fleets.

Cruising round Port Cros Island with the Motor Yacht fleet

The 11 boats of the Fountaine Pajot Motor Yacht fleet set sail for the magnificent island of Port Cros and its surroundings, after a group photo on the well-known Notre Dame beach. In collaboration with the Neptune yachting magazine team, the crews approached the well-known Cap des Mèdes on this beautiful sunny day.

These majestic rocks, also boast rocky depths and clear waters, making them a paradise for amateur divers.

2.30 pm: The crews arrived at Port Cros for a lunch at anchor, or for some in “Le Manoir” Hotel-Restaurant, in an area of outstanding beauty.

Together with their friends and families, the owners admired the variety of landscapes on the protected island of Port Cros.

“A bit of Rainbow Wrasse” fishing competition and ancho-rage at the Argent beach.

On this second day, the crews took part in the fishing competition organized in collaboration with Neptune yachting magazine. They set a course for the Giens Peninsula in the hope of a good catch – and the fish were there to meet them! With on average 12 fish per crew, the owners were delighted, as were the fish, since as it was a no-kill competition they were released.

2.30 pm: Departure for the Argent beach for a fleet photograph, at a stunning anchorage where a turquoise colored sea meets white

sand. The crews lunched together at the anchorage or at the Plage d’Argent Restaurant.

The Neptune and Fountaine Pajot teams on site welcomed the Neptune readers, who were invited to join in this owner weekend for the occasion.

On this great day, the owners took part in the best sea photo com-petition organized by Ports Toulon Provence, as well as the Haiku and drawing competition on the theme of the rainbow wrasse, or-ganized by Neptune.

An evening full of surprises at the Mâs du Langoustier and then the Domaine de l’île

The first day came to a close with a winetasting at the Domaine de l’île, at Le Mâs du Langoustier Hotel-Restaurant, where the guests learned about citrus fruit and enjoyed verrines prepared by Julien Le Goff, a Michelin-starred chef as its high point. Then the rest of the evening took place at the heart of the same Domaine’s vineyard.

Our owners enjoyed a Mechoui (whole sheep cooked on a barbecue) in authentic surroundings, accompanied by the wonderful wine of the island’s Domaine, cooked by Sami Aburabi, the manager of the

vineyard and cellar master, in the company of his entire team.

This evening was also an opportunity to hand out awards to the owners of the Fountaine Pajot Sailing Catamarans and Motor Yachts, with a prize-giving. Our partners were delighted to offer several lots to the participants for:

- The prize for the first day of navigation awarded by Volvo Penta - The prize for the smartest crew awarded by Neptune Yachting

Prize-giving on the last day, place d’Armes, and final evening at the Alycastre Restaurant

The last evening of the owners’ weekend took place under the shipy-ard’s 40th anniversary symbol. It began with an Ayala Champagne reception for all the crews on Place d’Armes in Porquerolles. It conti-nued with the awarding of the prizes for the last day of navigation by our various partners:

- The prize for the best sea photographs among the Sailing Catama-rans and Motor Yachts, awarded by Port Toulon Provence- The prize for the second day of navigation, awarded by Garmin and Volvo Penta

- The prize for the best photo under sail, awarded by Multicoques Mag- The prizes for the fishing competition, Haiku and rainbow wrasse drawing contest, awarded by Neptune Mag- The prize for the Quiz offered by the Tourist Office

To this can be added a few Ayala Champagne magnums, one of the event’s major partners, and for all the teams, a Serge Ferrari bag.

Then, after a moving speech by Claire Fountaine, President of the Board of Directors and Nicolas Gardies, chief executive officer, the evening continued at the Alycastre Restaurant.

We are very grateful all of our partners in this event!

See more photos on the Yacht club page of our websites: - catamarans-fountaine-pajot.com - motoryachts-fountaine-pajot.com

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Looking back at the evenings