Who's Who

Multihulls World: Tell us about yourselves...

Franck David: I’ll start, since I’ve been in the business a little longer! I was born on March 21, 1970, in Paris. That makes me a little over 55 years old today - it goes by fast, far too fast! But as long as you still have ideas, that’s a good sign. My parents left Paris to settle in Brittany, on a small island in the Gulf of Morbihan called Île-d’Arz. I arrived there when I was seven years old, and that’s where I discovered watersports, particularly windsurfing. I followed a traditional school curriculum through middle and high school, but at the same time I was enrolled in a sports-study program. I then pursued a career as a high-level athlete, winning both an Olympic title in Barcelona in 1992 and a world championship title. After that period, I returned to my studies, focusing on economics and management at Paris-Dauphine University in a sports-oriented program. Shortly afterward came the selection trials for the Atlanta Olympics, which I failed to qualify for. I had devoted a great deal of time to my studies and was trying to catch up with a train that had already left the station. I then joined the FFV (French Sailing Federation), where I was responsible for communications for the French national teams. I spent between ten and fifteen years there working in sports marketing, with a strong emphasis on events. I loved that period - it was dynamic and exciting. After a career in elite sport, it allowed me to rediscover a certain level of adrenaline while remaining involved in a world I was passionate about. Later, a meeting with Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm led me into offshore racing. For about ten years, I managed various sporting projects as a team manager for racing multihulls. At the same time, I served as head of the ORMA class for two years, back when it governed the 60-foot trimarans. We then launched the MOD70 class, a one-design series of racing trimarans. The project combined marketing, production and boatbuilding. That was when I first became involved in the more technical and industrial aspects of yacht construction.
In 2008, we founded the Océan Développement shipyard in Lorient. Initially, we worked primarily on racing boats. Later, we took over the management of the solar-powered catamaran PlanetSolar on behalf of its foundation. We integrated technologies related to kite propulsion and hydrogen systems. That experience opened our eyes to the potential of renewable energy in the marine industry. At the same time, we were witnessing the emergence of Tesla, electric vehicles and the broader movement toward decarbonization. Following the Covid period, the whole team decided to create both a boat and a shipyard entirely dedicated to a new vision of recreational boating: a vessel powered 100% by renewable energy, highly automated and designed according to much more sustainable principles. That is how the MODX 70 was born. And throughout this adventure came the meeting - or ...