Windelo 50 Adventure - A roundup after 20,000 nautical miles!

Grand departure on October 17th 2021

Hakuna Matata was launched in the spring of 2021 and put through her paces in the Mediterranean that summer. The motors originally installed, belt-driven modules, quickly caused problems. “We switched them out for two 20-kW Bellmarine motors,” explains Stéphane Groves, Windelo’s Executive Director. “A good choice, as we’ve had no problems since. In fact, we’re installing this equipment as standard on all our catamarans from now on.”
On familiarizing himself with his Windelo 50, Mathieu said “I immediately tasted the pleasure of electric propulsion. There’s no ignition key, you just turn it on and maneuver it using two digital joysticks. It’s very practical for moving the catamaran around or tensioning a mooring line. We’ve never had any doubt that it’s not going to work.”
Mathieu, Perrine and their son Youri boarded their Windelo 50 Adventure for a 10-month voyage around the Atlantic. Hakuna Matata set out from the port of Canet-en-Roussillon in the South of France on October 17, 2021, bound for Spanish waters – those off Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. The catamaran had been signed up for the ARC, to give them a first taste of a safe transatlantic passage...
Unfortunately, Covid-19 came aboard uninvited, disrupting the crew’s plans. However, the 17-day transatlantic to Martinique went off without a hitch, thanks to hydro- generation and solar panels. As for noise, Mathieu points out that the propellers are louder than the generator. The skipper is learning to manage his catamaran. To begin with, it was a bit complicated. Firstly, because Mathieu is not a seasoned technician, but also because the user manual wasn’t detailed enough for his liking. Starting out with a minimum of spare parts, the skipper didn’t have to deal with any major problems, just a few issues with the heater, watermaker and hot water ta nk. The builder provided exemplary after-sales service for his first multihull, with visits to the Canaries, the West Indies and later Iceland...
“These minor running-in issues are perfectly normal for a first catamaran,” notes Mathieu. There are always going to be 500 things to fix, and we’ve found 100 or 200 of them. But we’re talking about plumbing issues, module integration that needs improving, sheets and halyard leads that need improving, nothing more than that! I’m ...