Hugues Dorsner – owner of Paia Bay (Swift Trawler 52)

In the first days of the summer, we met with a happy Hugues Dorsner, loving every moment spent on his Swift Trawler 52, Paia Bay, on a stopover in the harbour of Saint-Florent.At the age of 63, he cast off the last shackles of an exciting but far too busy life as a company director.After leading his ship at a cruising speed of 15 knots for years, he is now delighted at the prospect of scaling down and adopting a new pace of life as a sailor.    

How did you succeed in slipping a boat into your overbooked industrial life? 

 Before sailing, I loved windsurfing.Back in the 70s, in Hyères and Hawaii, I was one of the precursors and, as far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved the wind and the sea.Between the age of 20 and 50, my working life prevented me from enjoying this passion, but, about fifteen years ago, I felt the need to return to the sea.Both my wife and myself wanted to get back on the water.My life was still too busy to even think of sailing, so we bought an Ombrine 801, which we sold a year later for an Antarès 9.80, and then and Antares 13.80. As we became familiar with motor boating, in the company of our two daughters, we also became committed to motorboats.In 2011, we bought our Swift Trawler 52 boat and we are now real fans!

“I felt the need to reconnect with the sea, but my life was far too busy to even think of sailing.”  "

What made you choose this motorboat?

We wanted a cruising boat and I always loved the Grand Bank spirit.Our experience of Beneteau boats has always been very positive and we are very satisfied with the relationship we have with quo Vadis, our dealer.As an industrialist, the fact that I could watch my boat being built and go to the yard in Noirmoutier whenever I wanted to made this a fascinating experience.The Swift Trawler 52 is like a house on water and we love her clean timeless lines.The level of comfort on board is amazing, which means that we can be self-sufficient for a few weeks and that’s what we wanted.It is huge and at same time I can handle it single-handed.Furthermore, I like the mechanics to be inboard and I was won over by the shaft line engines of the Swift Trawler range.  The result is exactly what I hoped for and it has to be said that Paia Bay always catches people’s eyes in the harbour. She stands out without being ostentatious.I could probably work as a sales ambassador for Beneteau!

"The fact that I could watch my boat being built and go to the yard in Noirmoutier whenever I wanted to made it a fascinating experience. »

What does Paia Bay bring to your life?

The life of a company director is fulfilling but interspersed with lots of stress and our Swift Trawler was invaluable for taking essential rest time and for stepping back, both important for my well-being.Even on short trips, I slept whole nights as soon as I set foot on board and, back onshore again, I had a different perspective on things.It’s amazing how you can switch almost instantly from one world to another, making you more philosophical and more aware of how precious life is just by communing with nature.It’s so good to reconnect with time and feel it physically pass again!My boat has definitely been a place where I can recharge my batteries and now that I have become a man of leisure again, I relish the idea of taking things more slowly, and navigating at a cruising speed of seven or 8 knots.I will allow myself twelve hours to get to Corsica from Hyères, taking time to watch the dolphins and turtles that seem to have returned to the Mediterranean!Last year, we managed to cast off for 70 days. This year we will allow ourselves more.Our big project is to head up the Adriatic Sea as far as Trieste.

“Our Swift Trawler was invaluable for taking essential rest time and for stepping back.” 

Do you take part in the Swift Trawler rendez-vous organized by Beneteau every year?