Solo Atlantic Crossing aboard an Excess 11

Our video:

Éric Pilato, 62, was born in La Rochelle and, entrepreneur though he was - and still is - he has always lived by the sea. Today, freshly graduated with a 200 GT Master’s certificate obtained in Belgium and Marseille, he operates - and enjoys - his Excess 11.

“I wanted to buy a second-hand sailboat. My wife told me: ‘I’m warning you, if you don’t buy a catamaran, I’m not coming aboard.’ So, a multihull it would be… Eventually I came across Excess 11 #151, one of the last models equipped with the self-tacking jib, which was due to be displayed at the 2023 Grand Pavois boat show. It was a three-cabin version whose layout suited me perfectly. I asked Christopher, the dealer, whether the catamaran was available for sale. The answer was yes, so I bought it and was quickly able to secure the marina berth I had already applied for a few years earlier.

Today, I operate the catamaran and have built a relationship with the brand’s management team, first as a contributing owner and then as a brand ambassador. One day - I’m not really sure why - I asked Thibaut (de Montvalon, Excess Managing Director, editor’s note) whether anyone had ever completed a solo Atlantic crossing aboard an Excess 11. He told me that, to his knowledge, no one had…”

Éric, who has had the opportunity to sail aboard the Ultim trimaran Sodebo, therefore decided to embark on his own Route du Rhum. He will leave La Rochelle just after the 2026 Grand Pavois and sail directly to Pointe-à-Pitre, joining the race fleet that will depart Saint-Malo three weeks later - with the aim of arriving at roughly the same time.

The skipper has also decided to establish a true passage time by not using his engines: a genuine solo, non-stop sailing transatlantic crossing.

Preparations for Skiboo 2 and her skipper are already underway — solo training sessions, catamaran optimisation… Multihulls World will of course be following this adventure for you!