Sailing since childhood, monohull charter holidays around the Med, and then chartering a Lagoon 380 in Greece, it could only go one way from there …. our own cat. Fast fun sailing without spilling the wife’s Bacardi & Coke and with enough space for parties at anchor - a cat is the only solution.
La Ciotat Boat Show 2009. Looking into the affordable option of “gestion location” and there they were …. Alexia and the Lagoon 400. The APACA team made all the problems fade away and it was not long before we placed the order.
To get to know the boat and to enjoy a small adventure we decided to collect her ourselves from La Rochelle and sail her to Hyeres. Joel and his team had rigged and prepared her perfectly and with a crew of five we set off across Biscay (Gascoigne). The beautiful Galician coast, sharks, whales, hundreds of dolphins, force 8s, lobster pots at night L, shipping lanes, stopped by Spanish police boats at night (3x!), Gibraltar, Tramontane, calanques, waiting for one last thunderstorm in La Ciotat (where it all began) and home to Hyeres. Covering 2.500 miles in 6 weeks we got to know all the 400 very well. The volcanic ash had disrupted our crew changes half way around, leaving us short crewed but despite some rough weather, the good handling and excellent equipment made the task easy and comfortable.
We are an Anglo-German couple living and working in Provence and had grown to love the region and the coastline. Aboard the beautiful CATAZUR we have already been able to enjoy many weeks exploring the area in detail … sometimes with the boat laden with friends, sometimes just alone for days spent at anchor in the beautiful bays soaking up the sun and getting away from the crowd. Thanks to Anne-Laure and the friendly, professional APACA “family” team the running of the boat has been problem-free and at the end of the first season she still looks as good as new.
What next? Sardinia, Mallorca, the world??
Andy & Jutta Warner
