Celebrating our issue #200!

The Story, The People

In 1985, two sailing enthusiasts and an investor set themselves a challenge: to publish a magazine specifically about multihulls. 40 years and 200 issues later, the story of Multihulls World - and so that of Multicoques Mag - is being retold.

All aboard, Cap’tain! From left to right, the current Multihulls World team: Julie (Digital Manager), Maria (Sales Manager), Emmanuel, (Editor in Chief), and Gwen (Marketing Manager).

Published 31/01/2025

By Emmanuel van Deth

Subscribers Only

Issue: 200

Published: mar. / may 2025

Discover this issue

The summer of 1984. Two members of France’s Union Nationale des Multicoques (National Multihulls association) were writing the association’s latest newsletter. André Manchon was the owner of a Tornado, and Gilles Abeloos of a Victress 40 - Piver design. They we’re almost done, when Gilles suggested to André that they ought to set up a more professional publication, along the lines of the British magazine Multihulls International, or the American Multihulls. The project started to take shape: an agreement was reached with UNM to take on the title Multicoques Magazine, and the pair were supported by an investor, Jean Gravel. The adventure could begin. In May-June 1985, Number 0 was produced in André’s kitchen, in his bungalow in Deuil-la-Barre, near Paris. It was sent to the members of the UNM, to Gilles’ clients in foreign magazines, to sports catamaran associations, to potential advertisers, to boat-builders... The young team received a few subscription orders and a few advertising contracts. The next thing was to get down to business and get started on issue number one. The problem: neither André nor Gilles had the slightest experience in producing a magazine, its publishing, its distribution, and so on. Faced with this (significant) challenge, the pair called on a nautical photojournalist from the SIPA agency, Gilles Klein. He showed them how to get going, helping set up the layout and content. Number 1, with one of his photos of Formule

TAG on the cover, was also created in André’s kitchen, using scissors and glue sticks. Following an agreement with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a business start-up, André found an office to rent in Cergy-Pontoise, where could benefit from a shared secretary, a photocopier... all the essentials. Several issues would be published from this new address. Gilles Klein, of course, but also Christian Février, Erik Lerouge, François Salle, Jean-Luc de Moras, Philippe de Gorostarzu, Charles Chiodi (Multihulls), Jack Heming (Multihull International), Dick Newick and Derek Kelsall all took part in the launch of those early editions. Those first issues of Multicoques Mag featured racing, beach-cat sailing and cruising. We discovered the presentation of the Bénéteau Blue 2 and the Catana 40. Boat tests – the Bourbon and Catana 40 - started in #2 with the journalists making their first tacks and gybes as boat testers. Ever since, the magazine has closely followed the development of today’s biggest boat-builders, practically all of which were born in the 1980s. For the next edition, at the beginning of 1986, the editorial staff proposed a “Boat Show Special” edition to coincide with the Paris Boat Show, known as “Le Nautic”, until its demise in 2022. This special issue was to become our famous Buyer’s Guide, now published every December.