DEEP SEA SAILING OCEA’s Yacht division continues to deliver the finest trans-oceanic vessels.
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rench shipbuilder OCEA, appropriately based on the Atlantic coast at Les Sables d’Olonne, home of the famous round-theworld sailing race ‘The Vendée Globe’, has been in business for nearly 25 years. Initially a producer of fishing boats, the company later saw a need to expand its business into new areas, and began to develop working vessels, and later passenger vessels and fast patrol boats. Today the group is known as a pioneer in aluminium shipbuilding and a major aluminium industrial manufacturer. With four production sites located along the French coast, the OCEA Shipbuilding company delivers up to 15 fast patrol boats, passenger vessels, environmental vessels and motor yachts a year, while OCEA Industries manufactures tank ends, floating pontoons and cruise ship superstructures. The group as a whole has turnover of €57 million; and employs close to 235 staff at its production sites. The group’s professional knowledge, combined with its expertise in the use of aluminium, has enabled its motor yacht division, launched in 2000, to develop two ranges of yachts: 160 Industry Europe
OCEA Commuter and OCEA Classic, which make up 10–15 per cent of the company’s turnover. With each individual project taking an average of 18 months to complete, the division has so far delivered eight yachts. Jean Michel Flour, the yacht division’s sales director, explained that the company’s first two deliveries – one Classic and one Commuter – were sold to shipowners, who were looking for a professional shipyard to build their yachts – a shipyard building working vessels, rather than a traditional yachtbuilder. “When I joined the company in 2001 we decided that there were two ways to develop the yacht department. The first would have been to offer custom yachts, and promote the yard as a brand, with its own specialised workforce, or, secondly, we could work with a naval architect. We chose the second route, and worked with a naval architect to design two ranges based on the company’s first two projects. Since then three Classics and five Commuters have been constructed.” These two ranges are designed to offer a combination of stability, manoeuvrability and
speeds of between 10 and 20 knots. With aluminium hull and superstructure providing durability and quality, the use of light materials also means that OCEA’s yachts offer low fuel consumption and low maintenance costs.
Long-range cruising The OCEA Commuter range take their names from the historical boats used for commuting along the USA’s East Coast. ELISABET is a 47m Commuter, which is steady enough for long travel at ‘cruising’ speed and has a semi-displacement hull, low-profile, and straight, vertical bow. The Commuter stands out amongst other yachts available on the market, according to Jean Michel Flour, because of its low and narrow structure, with less superstructure and its unique retro look. “At the same time, we find that some customers prefer the Classic look,” said Flour, “So this range has been retained on the company’s offering, to satisfy that demand.” The OCEA Classic range is designed for family navigation and long range cruises. “It aims to offer a timeless and elegant design with great comfort,
