{"id":39824,"date":"2026-10-23T15:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T13:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/oweek-la-barre-passe-de-main-en-main\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T16:12:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T14:12:48","slug":"oweek-the-helm-changes-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/oweek-the-helm-changes-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"O\u2019Week – The helm changes hands"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Twice a year, around a hundred Outremer owners and future owners spend a week in La Grande-Motte to learn what the boat won\u2019t do for them. As part of the \u2018Progress\u2019 stage of the Outremer Ready program<\/strong><\/a>, the O\u2019Week is included in the price of every new Outremer.<\/p>\n

At three o\u2019clock in the morning, the wind picks up. Whoever is on watch must reduce the sail area without waking the others. On an Outremer, this moment is bound to happen sooner or later, whether you\u2019re sailing as a couple, with friends or with a crew. Our owners sail without a professional crew. Everyone on board must therefore be able to take in a reef at night, restart an engine and read a weather report.<\/p>\n

The boat is not enough<\/h2>\n\n<\/div>\n\n
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\u201cAn excellent catamaran is not enough to sail around the world. What stands between the dream and the departure is rarely the boat. It\u2019s confidence.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rodolphe Cadoret – Marketing Director, Outremer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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O\u2019Week was created in 2018 to build that trust. Eight years on, more than 1,000 sailors from over 15 countries have taken part, with around a hundred attending each event. More than 40 % of them are women.<\/p>\n

Two O\u2019Week places are included in the price of every new Outremer. It is not an option; it is part of the boat. Our promise is to turn distance into freedom, and that freedom requires preparation. Our responsibility therefore does not end with delivery.<\/p>\n

A stage in the Outremer Ready program<\/h2>\n

Outremer Ready supports every long-distance cruising project through four stages: get ready, make progress, set sail, return. O\u2019Week forms part of the second stage. This is when the project ceases to be theoretical: you sail, you make mistakes, you try again, alongside crews who are also preparing for their own departures.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cThere is time between buying the boat and taking delivery. We use it to train you.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Camille Allard – Sailing Experience Manager<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A week at sea and ashore<\/h2>\n

At sea, you\u2019ll sail on other \u2018Outremer\u2019 yachts from the fleet, similar to your own, alongside the boat builders and sailors who have circumnavigated the globe. Moving from one boat to another, you\u2019ll compare settings and recognise the same manoeuvring principles. You\u2019ll practise reefing, harbour manoeuvres and downwind sailing, until you know how to rig, hoist and strike the spinnaker. Everyone takes a turn at the helm.<\/p>\n

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Ashore, you\u2019ll learn about diesel mechanics, electricity, electronics, marine meteorology, safety, seamanship, boat maintenance and even maritime medicine. The programmes are delivered in French and English. A three-day session reserved for women also allows participants to find their feet before the main week begins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Nobody comes here to be celebrated<\/h2>\n

O\u2019Week isn\u2019t just any gathering of owners. People don\u2019t come here to be feted; they come to learn. And much of what is learnt here isn\u2019t on the programme. In the evenings \u2013 often late into the night \u2013 owners talk to other owners. Those returning from a round-the-world trip tell those setting off in six months\u2019 time what broke, what held up, and what they would do differently.<\/p>\n

The words of future owners<\/h2>\n

Paul and Mondira are from Memphis, Tennessee. Their Outremer 52 will take them on the Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey<\/strong><\/a> 2029. Earlier in the week, Mondira took part in the three-day session reserved for women, where everyone does everything themselves, including manoeuvres she\u2019d never done on board before.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cWhen I came to the O\u2019Week, I felt much more comfortable in the sailing classes. I didn\u2019t feel disadvantaged at all.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Mondira – Future Outremer 52 owner<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDemystifying the spinnaker was a real accomplishment for me.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul – Futur Outremer 52 owner<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe training\u2019s fantastic, but what really brings us back is all the friends we\u2019ve made here. And we always learn something new.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chris & Anne – Futures Outremer 4X owners<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI learnt so many new skills that, even after so many years of sailing, I didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Eyal & Yael – Futures Outremer 52 owners<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The dream now has a departure date<\/h2>\n

Seated round the table, every dream already has a departure date. Some are coming back for a second O\u2019Week; others will meet up again later at the same mooring, on the other side of the ocean.<\/p>\n

You arrive with a plan. You leave with the confidence to set sail, friends from the jetty and a departure date.<\/p>\n

\u2192 Watch the O\u2019Week aftermovie<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Twice a year in La Grande-Motte, O\u2019Week prepares current and future Outremer owners for long-distance cruising \u2013 Outremer Ready program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":39831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[469],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-outremer-ready"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catamaran-outremer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}