Friday, September 13, 2019. 17h. Alex, a 33-year-old Marseille man, receives a phone call that will mark him:" After drawing lots, you have just won an Excess 11 catamaran. We are waiting for you in 2 hours at the Cannes boat show to receive the keys ". Alex can't believe his ears. He wants to scream with joy. At 7pm he is in Cannes and will be the king of this evening of handing over the keys.
A 300,000 euros catamaran to win
Excess is a catamaran brand newly created by Groupe Bénéteau. At the Cannes 2019 show, she exhibited her first 2 models on the 12th and 15th. But beforehand, to launch her brand and create a buzz, she imagined a contest open to everyone where the first batch is simply the first Excess 11 model. A catamaran worth 300,000 euros! To participate in the competition, you have to create a virtual route that links Barcelona to Cannes by bypassing the Balearics and Corsica. The course is open from January to August 2019. Everyone is free to start whenever they want, depending on the weather conditions. But if the fastest has a better chance at the draw, all the participants who have completed a course also have a chance.
9 days and 20 hours
That's what Alex did. He signed up on the site in April and embarked on the adventure. The first attempts ended in failure. Because he was often not behind the screen, he ended up stranded on land. But in the end, he managed to complete a course in 9 days and 20 hours. Not really a performance when you know that the fastest, Patrick Persson a Swede, finished in 2 days and 12 hours! But this finished course will allow Alex to be the lucky winner of the draw.
A professional project
Alex has always sailed under sail. He grew up in the port of Marseille and the harbour is his garden. After 11 years of preparing Hanse boats, he decided to pass Captain 200 to organize sea trips on a catamaran. His project involved a bank loan for the purchase of a 35-foot catamaran from the 1990s.
When he started this game, it was more for the virtual race than to win the boat. Alex played, but thinking "I'm never lucky at the game". He didn't really believe in it. He registered using the name of his first boat as a pseudonym: Pydge, a Jeanneau Aquila from 1982. This is the same name that will be used for its future Excess 11.
A handover of the keys in autumn 2020
The Excess 11 is not yet built. It is due to start work soon to be presented for the first time at the Düsseldorf Motor Show in January 2020. This model must then be used for the various shows (Multihull, La Ciotat, Cannes) and the journalists' tests before being given to Alex.
Perched on his cloud, Alex did not worry about knowing the options and equipment that will then be on board. He doesn't even know in which layout configuration the boat will be delivered. Even if he secretly hopes that it will be a 4 cabins, a version that would better match his future program.
Ready for the arrival of the Excess 11
Apart from a profile view, today no documents were released on the Excess 11. Alex tells us that he visited the 12th in Cannes and that he liked the quality and design of the whole thing. But given the emotion of the moment, this sailmaker did not stop at the details. He even refused to visit the Excess 15 because he didn't want to dream in front of bigger and more luxurious cars.
Alex wants to keep his head on his shoulders. He also takes this arrival of his future boat very seriously, considers the port square, the useful equipment for his exploitation... But with this gift from heaven, he is now solicited as a "star". " I can no longer drink my coffee in the morning on the port without being congratulated... "
