PHILIPPE BRIAND
It’s not often that a Frenchman urges Americans to take more chances. With its 35-hour workweek and comprehensive social security net, France can make America look like the land of hazard and reward. To celebrated French naval architect Philippe Briand, though, who has seen more than 14,000 of his designs take to the water, it is clear the United States has missed a trick or two when it comes to designing sailing boats.
“The U.S. offers a lot for motorboating and sailing,” he tells me, pointing to the country’s phenomenal blend of lake sailing, island-hopping and proximity to some of the world’s finest bluewater cruising grounds. “But extraordinarily, the offer from the U.S. boat industry to the market did not evolve to innovation and attractiveness as much as the European one did, especially in sailing.”
“Today the most popular [boat] brands in the U.S. are French,” he adds. “At the top of the luxury range, the largest sailing superyachts owned by Americans have been built by Europeans. This is a fact. My advice would be to have the U.S. industry take more risk with sailing boat design, in a way to make them more attractive.”
This wasn’t always the
