Les Deux Bananes: 6,000 km on a Hobie Cat 18 with Forward Sailing sails

Les Deux Bananes: a project that started with a simple idea

Take a sport catamaran and sail much farther than its usual home waters.

Pierre and Quentin’s project is ambitious: sail from Belle-Île-en-Mer to Dakar aboard a Hobie Cat 18, over a route of around 6,000 km.

But Les Deux Bananes is about much more than covering nautical miles.

Behind the sporting challenge is also an educational project built around encounters and exchanges between students from different regions.

The sea as a link between schools

Pierre and Quentin wanted to use their route to create exchanges between several schools.

The project involves primary schools and secondary schools connected to different stages of the adventure.

The objective is to use their journey as a way to introduce students to different environments, territories and cultures, with one common theme: the sea and the ocean.

The boat therefore becomes more than a way to travel along the coast. It becomes a link between the different stages and the students following the adventure.

A Hobie Cat 18 Magnum for the adventure

The choice of boat gives the project a particular character.

Pierre and Quentin are preparing a Hobie Cat 18 Magnum, a sport catamaran that they need to adapt to their sailing programme.

Before considering several thousand kilometres of sailing, preparation involves understanding the boat, its rig, its settings and its equipment.

Two Forward Sailing sails on board

To equip their Hobie Cat 18, Pierre and Quentin use two Forward Sailing sails: a Hobie 17 & 18 Main Sail and a Hobie Cat 18 Jib.

Their project also illustrates one of the ideas behind Forward Sailing: helping sailors continue to use iconic catamarans and build new adventures around them.

The Hobie 17 & 18 Main Sail

The Forward Sailing main sail provides Hobie Cat 17 and 18 sailors with a modern fat-head sail design.

Here, it is being used for a very different programme from traditional sailing around a club or beach: thousands of kilometres of preparation and coastal adventure.

The Hobie Cat 18 Jib

At the front, their boat is equipped with the Forward Sailing Hobie Cat 18 Jib.

The main sail and jib therefore form the Forward Sailing sail set used by Pierre and Quentin on their Hobie Cat 18.

Giving an iconic catamaran a new adventure

Their Hobie Cat 18 is not simply being prepared to return to its original programme. Pierre and Quentin are using it as the starting point for a completely different adventure.

Preparing, adapting and continuing to sail catamarans that already have a history is part of the Forward Sailing approach.

A community around the adventure

Les Deux Bananes are not only preparing their boat. They are also building a community around the project.

On Instagram, Pierre and Quentin share the preparation, the boat and the different stages of the project.

Fair winds to Les Deux Bananes

Around 6,000 km, a Hobie Cat 18 Magnum, two friends and a project combining maritime adventure and education.

Forward Sailing is pleased to see its sails taking part in Pierre and Quentin’s project.