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Excess Campus

One of the areas in which Excess Catamarans is working hard to stand out from the crowd is their desire to connect and build relationships with owners and prospective buyers.

The 2023 Campus Team!
The 2023 Excess Campus Team!

This approach seems to be paying dividends – it’s helping them develop their boats with direct feedback from customers and helping people to navigate through the complex process of buying and kitting out a new catamaran.

The end result? Skilful sailors with new friends having fun out on the water.

Getting the main up efficiently

Excess Campus 2023

Just recently, the team ran the first Excess Campus of 2023. This event, organised by Excess Catamarans, a brand of the Beneteau Group took place in Canet-en-Rousillion near Perpignan in France, and was a series of workshops and seminars that aim to help customers learn more about topics such as predicting the weather, navigation, boat maintenance, safety, and lifestyle on board.

There were 21 owners involved (a mix of English & French speakers) for 3 days of theory and practice to learn all about maintaining an Excess and the must-have tips for sailing.

Getting close to the rigging

And of course, the event had a substantial social side, enabling owners and buyers to mingle with other enthusiasts from around the world.

The event is all about learning, sharing, and having fun, a course for experts and novices alike who want to discover the joys of sailing and living on a catamaran.

Coming into the fuel dock

Topics

Some of the topics covered were:

  • Navigation: how to plan your route, use the instruments, read the weather, and handle the sails and engines.
  • Boat maintenance: how to check the systems, perform routine tasks, and troubleshoot common issues.
  • Safety: how to prepare for emergencies, use the equipment, and communicate with the authorities. This includes a session with SNSM: Les Sauveteurs en Mer, whose raison d’être is saving lives at sea around the French coast, including the overseas départments and territories.
  • Lifestyle: how to organise the space, store the supplies, cook the meals, and enjoy yourself on board.
  • Boat Handling – this is probably the most popular part of the course – hands-on training on an Excess catamaran perfecting skills such as docking, anchoring, picking up a mooring buoy, raising and trimming the sails and more.
A beautiful lunch stop with the Pyrenees as a backdrop

Following the success of the 2023 edition, Excess is already planning the 2024 edition of the Campus, so stay tuned!

Deploying the liferaft

Excess Campus 2023 Video

Here’s the summary of the event!