It was firstly in Martinique that the first boat of the fleet appeared and it is developing in Guadeloupe under the enthusiasm of its fans.
Based in Pointe à Pitre, Pascal MARCHAIS is a fanatical promoter who has even built a small pier by his Uship shop to enable boat-owners to launch their boats under the best possible conditions. « It’s a boat that lends itself so well to the bay and to local sailing conditions. You can move easily from island to island and its very multi-faceted » explains Pascal. This passionate racer has taken the rôle of agent for les Antilles. He proposes local amateurs to come and test the boat at Point à Pitre.
Jean-Marc GALLET from Saint Aurin, the first to import the sportsboat into the Caribbean is convinced of the future of the Diam 24od. « It’s a boat I have admired for a long time. It’s a perfect boat for the Caribbean because it enables the sailor to do both small coastal trips and longer inter-island crossings »
A cyclone-proof boat
Apart from its other qualities the Diam 24 od has the advantage of being very easy to diamantle and store safely quickly. It can be totally dismantled and stored out of the way of cyclones which can sometimes be very dangerous.
Record voyage for MARCHAIS
For the Martinique Cata Raid, Pascal Marchais made a voyage of 110 nautical miles between Point à Pitre(Guadeloupe) and Le Marin (Martinique). He took 14 hours to make the voyage between the two Caribbean ports and is at the moment the proponent of the longest voyage by a Diam 24 od.
« We took all the necessary precautions,( survival raft, GPS….) for a crossing of this type » recalls the multi-hull specialist.
The Diam 24 ods in the Martinique Cata Raid
For the first time, La Martinique Cata Raid welcomed two Diam 24od boats. Gallet de Saint-Aurin, a local in this stage, made use of the raid to make his competition debut. « The bay de Marin is perfect for that. There is the wind, the water depth and very few waves; « it was a great discovery » he explained , impatient to be involved in the next edition.
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Pascal MARCHAIS
Its a boat that lends itself to bays and to local coastal sailing. You can sail it easily from one island to another and its very multi-functional. You can use it for racing, coastal sailing and family outings. Its very functional and reliable and that’s very important when you find yourself 8000k from the suppliers. Another important factor in it’s favour is that it is cyclone-proof. It can be moved to shelter simply and easily. It has a range of uses and you don’t have to be a world champion to have fun with it. It’s not as heavy as other multi-hull boats, both for the sailors and for the helmsen.
Jean-Marc GALLET de SAINT AURIN :
The boat has a great future in the Caribbean. I came back from the Cata Raid totally won over. It’s a boat I’ve admired for a long time. I was the only one up until now. It’s the perfect boat for the Caribbean islands because it enables the sailor to marry coastal sailing with longer sea crossings. I really loved this boat. The bay of Marin is perfect for it. There’s plenty of wind, a good depth depth of water and very few waves. It’s a real discovery.
