Unlocking the full potential with the First 36

Øyvind Bordal joins a masterclass for a new breed of planing cruisers, honing his skills at the Beneteau First Academy in Croatia

When I get out of bed in the morning and pull the curtains aside, the sun almost blinds me. As soon as my eyes have adjusted I can see the bay surrounding the house: green vegetation, brown rocks. The blue water at the foot of the building is like a mirror but the leaves on the trees are moving. The wind is probably OK further out and will increase during the day.

From the window I can see marble steps leading down to the dock where the RIB is moored. Further out in the bay two sleek white hulls, each of them a First 36, are circling around their anchor chains. A new day of sailing in the Croatian archipelago lies ahead. But first, breakfast with the coaches and my co-sailors.

A boat is not just any odd thing you buy. It’s a tool for adventure, freedom, joy and new experiences – but also it’s a door into a community. When you buy a boat, you also buy into a relationship with other sailors who have chosen the same kind of boat. You also enter into a relationship with the team that developed and built the boat. And so the question arises: What community do you wish to be a part of? Because obviously they are different.

Not everyone knows this, but the team now in charge of building a new future for the legendary Beneteau First line has a very interesting background. They spent the last decade building their vision and perfecting their skills through the development of a series of smaller, trailable sport boats, the Seascapes. They also took great care building a community around their products. Today, most of these Slovenian-built boats are adapted and implemented into the new First line under the brand First SE (Seascape Edition), along with the more recent, newly developed First 36 – and soon the upcoming First 30.

Above and below: the two-boat training format of Beneteau’s new First Academy very effectively reveals the consequence of everything you do… or don’t do

The latest models, the First 36 and the First 30 are a new breed of sailing boats, a new species called the planing cruiser. The main thing about them is that they make speed easy. They are meant to give even beginners the special feeling of joy that arises when a sailing boat is light and powerful enough to free itself from the chains of displacement mode and start moving freely over the water.

The Beneteau and Seascape team, lead by Andraz Mihelin, wanted to make this experience available in a comfortable, easily-handled cruising boat. Which is something really astonishing, since this level of performance traditionally has only been available to hardcore racers.

Contrary to a lot of vague marketing hype, it’s very easy to see if they actually delivered on this promise. You can just check the numbers on the log or look at the flat wake behind the transom. You can also ask owners. They will probably tell you about a whole new, double digit sailing experience, often sailing twice as fast as they used to go.

But when you get to know the people behind this new breed of sailing boats, you will understand that it’s not only about the boats. Actually it never was. The community aspect has always been a major part of it.

Owners who have many years of experience with these boats often refer to themselves as members of a tribe that supplies not only knowledge about sailing and maintaining the boats, but also friendships. They meet during annual events, share experiences and develop themselves as sailors. And of course personal bonds are being forged through all of this.

The Beneteau First Academy

The First Academy is a new concept to improve the customer experience

Beneteau is presently building a new generation of the legendary First line. The new midsize models are developed in close cooperation between French Beneteau and Slovenian Seascape teams. The First 36 and First 30 are both true planing cruisers. The owners of different models are offered different types of services: The First SE community is racing in a One-Design circuit all around Europe, while First 36 buyers are offered education and an owners’ community through the Beneteau First Academy to bring like-minded owners together and help them get the most out of their boats.

‘We are no longer just selling remarkable boats,’ says Olivier Dupont, global sales director at Beneteau Sailboats. ‘We aim to provide full service for an exceptional customer experience. By sharing our knowledge through services like First Academy, we empower owners to live fuller lives on our boats. This also gives us valuable insights for the design of our boats in the future.

‘Together as the Beneteau First family we are definitely stronger.Next stop: racing assistance for those who desire it!'

The Beneteau First Academy is now working with First 36, a model launched in 2022 that has won a number of prestigious awards and established itself as a success. The next model in line is the Beneteau First 30, launched at Boot in Düsseldorf in January 2025.

I know this from personal experience. I have done quite a few single and doublehanded races and been part of several events in these planing cruisers. And I have got to know the team fairly well. Last year I did the famously stormy Fastnet Race on a First 36 skippered by Sam Manuard, finishing at the top end of the fleet. And a few months later I was invited to be a part of the inaugural Beneteau First Academy in Croatia, which is where I pulled the curtains aside at the beginning of this story.

It’s still early when we exit the bay. Outside the wind is around 15kts. We are working on upwind trim as we sail towards open sea. The two identical boats are side by side, which is very motivating – and very effectively reveals the consequence of everything you do or don’t do.

Our coach, a professional sailor, gives us feedback and guides us to the best setup for the conditions. As we work the boat surely becomes a bit faster. But more notably it becomes more and more alive, more and more balanced and controlled. More and more pleasurable to be on.

Beneteau First Academy is the latest effort from Beneteau to build relationships not only with customers but also between owners. Tit Plevnik, head of First & First SE marketing and customer experience, puts it this way: ‘The original idea behind the programme was to give owners a first-hand introduction to the specifics of their new boat, directly from the design team. Also, we wanted to encourage bonds between owners and help them become better sailors. Beneteau First Academy works with small groups in an intimate environment that allows us to adapt the programme to each owner’s particular interests and needs. Their preferences are checked before each course and the curriculum is adjusted to fit.

When the code sail goes up, the real fun starts.

This is not a regular sailing course. You will be sailing on the exact same boat as your own, and the training is very focused on your specific needs. Later on, with the development of the programme, we will organise events more focused on particular topics, such as navigational racing, singlehanded sailing, technical racing and so on.’

The courses normally last five days. They are held two to three times a year in attractive sailing locations around the world. Word is already spreading – the Beneteau First Academy in November last year in Greece was sold out in a day.

All events are run by star coaches and the accommodation and food are first class. Participants get to live well and sail and learn from the best. Reports already show that they return home more confident and able to unfold the full potential of their planing cruisers.

The term planing cruiser might be unfamiliar but it is exactly what it sounds like: A sailing boat designed for cruising, but still able to plane. Not just twice a year during an uncontrolled surf down a wave. We are talking about planing frequently with no stress, requiring no special knowledge. More precisely, on an open angle in anything above 15kts of wind. Even on flat water.

Above: the participants get to live well, sail and learn from the best

A true planing cruiser is very hard to find on the market. Back in the nineties they were quite popular but they mostly attracted racing-minded, experienced high-performance sailors. And the boats back then did require you to have a certain level of competence. This has now changed. A fundamental part of the philosophy driving the new generation First line is making the boats so light, stable and balanced that you don’t have to drive them on the edge to make them break out of displacement mode. It’s simply built into the construction. This has not been easy. It has not been cheap. But it actually works.

If you want to bring out the full potential of these boats, you can obviously still benefit from training and learning from the best and interacting with other owners. Sharing tips and finding new ways of playing with this fine-tuned instrument will bring more to the table. Which is the background for the Beneteau First Academy.

On the Adriatic Sea outside of Split we are considering a reef in the mainsail. However, we seem to get away with more backstay tension, a flatter jib and some active work on the mainsheet.

When we get back to base, the chefs will have a nice dinner ready and the evening will be a mix of informal socialising, debriefing, individual feedback and preparation for the next day. In the past couple of days, keynotes from the team leaders and invited VIPs have explained the design process that led to the boat we are sailing. We are starting to understand this machine on a whole different level.

But right now we’re going well over 7kts upwind and it’s my turn to take the wheel. I sink into the kind of present, relaxed concentration that only can take place on a boat that’s really tuned in with the wind and the waves. Soon we will bear off and put a flying sail up.

We should be able to plane easily in this wind. The code zero is made ready, we have gone through the sequence on shore and know what to do with the sheets, the tack and the halyard. The sail is furled and can come up even before we have opened up for the downwind leg. Everyone is ready as we bear off.

I feel my pulse rise. This is where the fun really starts.

Click here for more information on Beneteau »