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BVI Fleet
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By The Cabin
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Bareboat
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MEET MADAME ANNETTE BENETEAU ROUX
"The First Lady Of Yachting"
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Today, in honor of International Women''s day, we celebrate a very special Women''s achievement in the yachting and catamaran industry that is a predominantly a man''s world.
We raise awareness to Madame Annette Beneteau Roux, "The First Lady of Yachting".
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Madame Annette Beneteau-Roux, "The First Lady of Yachting"... is running one of the largest shipbuilding companies in the world since 1964 and she transformed her family business into a global powerhouse.
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Her grandfather, Benjamin Beneteau, started building artisan fishing boats back in 1884 in the little fishing village of Croix-de-Vie in the Vendee region of France.
Mr Beneteau truly loved innovation: he introduced a motorized sardine-fishing boat back in 1910. His son eventually took over the business and produced some truly beautiful fishing boats, but by the 1960s the fishing trade was declining and the company was in trouble.
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Annette Roux divisions include BENETEAU, Jeanneau, Prestige, CNB, Lagoon, O''Hara, I.R.M, BH and now: Four Winns, Glastron, Wellcraft, Scarab & Monte Carlo Yacht.
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Miss Annette Beneteau (later married to Roux), decided that she was NOT going to simply stand idly by while her family''s business faded away. So she decided right there and then that she would join the business (for better or for worse) and try to save it. And she jumped right in with both feet.
The first thing she did was participate in the 1964 Paris Boat Show, where she began to tap into the growing industry of sport and leisure fishing. Little by little, the Beneteau boat designs changed and by the next boat show her company''s leisure fiberglass boats became a hit. The rest, as they say, is history.
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Under Madame Beneteau-Roux''s leadership, Beneteau Groupe has become one of the largest companies in the world. They have 5 factories in France and one in the United States, along with countless divisions. The American factory alone has doubled in size to about 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2), with roughly 25 million of total capital invested in the US. This is considered to be an advanced marine factory; it is newer than most of its competitors factories. Her boat builders brands include. BENETEAU, Jeanneau, Prestige, CNB, LAGOON, O''Hara, I.R.M, BH and, now, Four Winns, Glastron, Wellcraft, Scarab & Monte Carlo Yacht.
Thanks to Madame Roux, we have the pleasure of operating Lagoon Catamarans, the world''s most sought after charter catamarans in the British Virgin Islands for
7 day sailing vacations.
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All in all, Madame Beneteau-Roux demonstrates what a woman can do even in a male-dominated industry and in a time when it wasn''t that common for women to take the reigns and what a better day to remind all in our industry about the unique, classy Lady she is!
The Catamaran Company operates dozens of new Lagoon catamarans ranging from 39 to 52 feet in Bareboat Charter. Lagoon Catamarans are considered the # 1 Catamaran brand in the World. Hats off to Madame Beneteau-Roux!
She is truly an inspiration to all of us Women working in the yachting industry today!
Happy International Women''s Day.
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