WINDELO 54 owner interview of Eric et Pascal

They learned about Windelo catamarans through the boating press and were fascinated by the concept of an open nacelle with a panoramic sea view. While on vacation in Sardinia, they saw an article on a new brand building eco-friendly boats that caught their eye. They liked the design of the nacelle, which instantly made them think of a loft opening onto the sea. Pascal is very ecologically minded, so the factory visit, where they saw the eco-friendly build, the electric motors, and how it produced green energy, all contributed to making the project a reality.

This is how the project began! Together, they became the owners of a Windelo 54 Yachting, a bluewater catamaran that will take them to explore the world.

Initially, our program was to sail around the Balearic Islands. We ended up sailing a little further with a few additional stopovers. We sailed practically 1,000 nautical miles in all. We set sail from Hyères and sailed 140 nautical miles to the marina of Canet-en-Roussillon, before heading to the Spanish coast. Then we sailed to Cadaqués and Barcelona before finally reaching the Balearic Islands.

We had plenty of opportunities to soak up the Spanish way of life and to visit and explore beautiful natural spaces and fabulous towns with friends and family. We spent a lot of time exploring Barcelona, which we were unfamiliar with. Then we enjoyed exploring the Balearic Islands together in wonderful sailing conditions, particularly around Majorca, Formentera, and Ibiza. We returned to Majorca, where part of the family stayed ashore, and we returned to the coast of France, anchoring at the Anse de Paulilles, a historic site on the Mediterranean coast in the Pyrénées-Orientales. This beach is perfect for getting away from it all. It is the first sandy beach you see when you come back from the Spanish coast, and with its clear blue water, it is a perfect place for mooring. As Pascal says: “We enjoyed some wonderful sailing in steady unchanging winds. The Windelo 54 is a seaworthy boat that comfortably and easily sails at 14 knots. We were truly at one with the sea.”

The four-week cruise ended at Collioure in pleasantly mild weather. It was an excellent vacation allowing us to test our catamaran on long sailing trips, in good wind conditions, shorthanded, or with family and friends on board.

Eric: We both agreed that the cruise was a good mix of simple sailing, fun, enjoyment, and comfort. The boat performs well and is very safe. Anyone can enjoy sailing this boat, whether a seasoned sailor or a novice. She’s easy to maneuver. We hoist the sails with barely any true wind. She really is a joy to sail.

Pascal: From one short hop to another, from joy to satisfaction, from pleasure to sensations! Everyone on board loved everything about the boat. It was a wonderful sailing experience.

The performance of the Windelo 54 Yachting seems to have won over, or at least pleasantly surprised, our circle of family and friends. On several occasions, we had friends on board, and they were impressed when we sailed with the Code 0 and the gennaker. We sail at true wind speed. It’s fantastic.

Comfortable would be the first word that comes to our mind to describe the Windelo cockpit. It has a panoramic view of the sea and is easy to steer with navigation instruments at your fingertips. Sailing the catamaran couldn’t be simpler. It’s quite surprising on a boat this size, and at the same time, it is reassuring, especially at night and when the wind picks up. For example, you can reef safely, and it’s easy to do so.

For us, sailing is about sharing time with family or friends. The crew can take advantage of the boat’s forward cockpit, where everything is within easy preach, and everyone can enjoy sharing time in ideal safety conditions. There’s no need to go on deck or outside in the cold.

Eric: She’s an extremely sound seaworthy boat. She responds well, and it’s a joy to maneuver. Having sailed many monohulls myself, when we luff up and bear away with the Windelo 54, we instantly feel the helm responding and the water flowing. It’s very satisfying.

Yes, the motor was among the most important factors in choosing this boat, along with the technical, economic, and ecological considerations.

Whether we were sailing or running on the motor, the boat was moving in complete silence, compared to a boat with a diesel engine. The boat barely vibrates at all, thanks to the electric power. These big rumbling vibrations and not being able to sleep when the engines run, are things of the past for us. Electric power gives a completely different and utterly magical experience. And the output is outstanding.

As for hydrogeneration, when we sail at 8 to 10 knots, we generate 0.6 to 1 kWh per motor, allowing us to recharge our battery bank completely. It works really well.

For the daily energy outlay, the 3,300 W solar panels alone compensate for the power we use aboard (fridge, lights, dishwasher, water heater, etc.), which is a real plus for us, particularly when we spend days at anchor.

In other words, we don’t need to start the generator to keep our home comfortable, whether sailing or at anchor. This means that we have an excellent cruising range, and it drastically reduces our fuel consumption as well as our environmental footprint.

When planning this project, it was important to us to have a large social space on the boat, enabling us to interact easily with everyone on board; Windelo represented exactly our dream. And this was how it worked out on a daily basis; we enjoyed the bright open loft-style space and made the most of it. The shared living space is well-designed and thought-through, and on top of being spacious, the saloon is also extremely bright. It completely opens onto the sea and the nature around us thanks to the large windows and the lifting door creating continuity between the outdoor space and the interior of the nacelle.

We learned about the Windelo project in July 2020 when we were sailing in Sardinia on a chartered monohull. We opened the Windelo webpage with the photomontage of the boat (the Windelo 54) with all its doors and windows open, and it looked like a loft on the sea. We saw an eco-friendly article about this boat and instantly thought, ‘Wow’! And when we visited the factory in October 2020, our reaction was justified.

Pascal: The boatyard’s feedback is excellent. They helped us from start to finish. The Windelo staff is always readily available to answer our questions, and there is always someone to help us. They really look out for you at Windelo, which is very reassuring as a customer. There are no good or bad questions, whether it concerns a future improvement for the boats or the miles you intend to sail. You can talk about or discuss anything. And it’s reassuring to have a team of technical staff with solid experience, despite the relatively new boatyard. They are a highly professional team. They are passionate about what they do and will always help you fulfill your passion and your project, and they will fit out and make changes to your boat to match your expectations.

Eric agrees: Buying the 1st Windelo 54 Yachting built by Windelo was a big gamble for us. Honestly, we were expecting quite a few problems, but this second model is very well designed. We didn’t have any major issues to correct, and the small technical details were followed up really well by the yard in the caring fashion that Pascal describes.