LA BELLE AMEL
Tested by MATTHEW SHEAHAN
Where we tested: Port Ginesta, Barcelona
Conditions: 8-9 knots, flat sea
Model: Amel 60 – very high standard spec also including optional extra furling staysail and furling Code 0.
I’m guessing that rival manufacturers of bluewater cruisers know when their prospective clients have been to Amel. They realise when their prospects come to them to discuss the detail, and they’ll be holding a long list of questions about what is included in the standard specification.
The list will be long. Very long. And if these potential customers then choose to reveal their budget based on this detailed list, the challenge for any of Amel’s rivals will be to suppress the inevitable sharp intake of breath when their sales staff hear the bottom line.
Amel has long held a reputation for producing high quality, long distance cruisers that come equipped with everything. It’s a reputation that’s well deserved.
Since launching their first boat, the Euros, back in 1966 the French builders were led by the company’s founder Henri Tonet, (better known as Henri Amel), with his seemingly simple objective – to create the best cruising yacht for a couple to sail to deliver › “maximum pleasure for minimum effort.”
‘The entire boat could be specified over a lunchtime pint at the pub’
While other yards may lay
