#People
MiniCat - the best addition to any sailing cat or motor yacht
Great story of one of our customers cruising the world on his Outremer 55
More and more MiniCats were recently sold to larger cruising catamarans and motor yachts. MiniCat is no doubt a great addition on board as it is not only a source of entertainment but can also be used as a tender.
Here is a story of one of our customers he shared with us:
"My name is Stéphane Bernabé and I am 63 years old. My wife Béatrice and I left everything behind at the end of 2022 to live and sail around the world on Ti’amā, our magnificent Outremer 55 catamaran.
At the time, we had no experience sailing a liveaboard catamaran.
Our sailing experience had only just begun at the end of 2018, with the purchase of a large monohull, a Jeanneau 57, with which we “fled” France between two lockdowns during the terrible Covid period. It was on this occasion that we ordered another boat: a large 55-foot new model of Outremer catamaran. It was built near Montpellier, in the south of France, not far from where we lived. We received it in April 2022 and named it “Ti’amā.” It is Tahitian and means “Free”. We left France in the autumn of 2022, heading for Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde. We crossed the Atlantic Ocean together in March 2023, heading for Grenada. We’ ve been sailing in the West Indies ever since, between Grenada and the BVI. Perhaps one day soon, we will cross into the Pacific…
Until recently, our leisure activities have consisted mainly of a few shore visits, a few hikes, evenings spent with other boaters on long-distance cruises and scuba diving: we have all the equipment on board: compressor, tanks, BCD, etc. Béatrice takes underwater photos with specialized equipment and sometimes films our beautiful dives in the warm waters.
For my part, I tried to learn kitesurfing while we were in the Canary Islands. I even bought all the equipment, convinced that even in my age I will learn it. Well, I never got past the “water start” stage, I sold everything…
We were missing a fun activity that we could both do. And it was almost by chance that I came across MiniCat. I discovered the Hobie Cat almost 30 years ago, during a stay at ClubMed in the Adriatic. I loved it, but I never sailed on these small catamarans again. When David Dias, owner of an Outremer 5X, currently on a world tour, mentioned last year that he had taken a MiniCat on his large catamaran, it clicked: this is what we need!
So, I took a closer look at these small inflatable boats. I scoured the websites of MiniCat and other small sailboats that we could take on board Ti’amā. I compared budgets, volumes, and possible uses. And I watched dozens and dozens of videos on YouTube, especially those from the “Joyrider” YouTube channel, which finally convinced me to order my 420.
We received it in early July. It took a lot of imagination to assemble our MiniCat on Ti’amā: obviously, there was no way I was going ashore for that. And then we also had to be creative to figure out how to lower it into the water, how to reassemble it on the large trampoline on our Outremer, how to disassemble it before moving to another island, and even how to securely fasten it on board for short trips.
And then, of course, we had to learn how to sail the MiniCat! Because 15 days of practice at ClubMed 30 years ago is a long time ago…
But finally, the sensations are returning: the many videos I watched in preparation saved me from a lot of mistakes and difficulties. Béatrice ensures my safety by following me with the tender, and takes the opportunity to film some memories that we post on our YouTube channel. Of course, during the first outing, I capsized! My memories of this delicate operation are still vivid: But I was able to right our “Mini Ti’amā” without any problems, climb back on board, and resume my training.
We are currently anchored in Bequia, a magnificent little island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), and the immense sheltered bay where we are is ideal for completing this training. It is not always easy in the Caribbean, where the wind often blows above the 420-certification mark. I am not competitive, I am not looking for performance, but for pleasure. And I am hopeful of having a lot of it with Mini Ti’amā, and of sharing it with Béatrice.
When I am comfortable enough and regain the necessary reflexes, I will take Béatrice on board, and we will then be able to take some lovely walks in the beautiful places we discover during our voyage of no return…
Keep sailing and following us and MiniCat on our journey, Stéphane and Béatrice"
