Offering an alternative to the Grand Pavois for boaters
Faced with the successive cancellation of the major autumn boat shows, the shipyards have had to adapt and offer new solutions to meet their customers. Whether they are called private stopovers, private visits, private showrooms, Open Days or private exhibitions, these alternative events have flourished since the cancellation announcements. In La Rochelle, the Atlantic Cluster has at least 12 of them between 1st and 4th October 2020, replacing the Grand Pavois.
" When the Grand Pavois was cancelled, the shipyards were quickly mobilized and organized, having surely already anticipated the cancellation of Cannes. This started with individual requests to the Port of La Rochelle. Then with the Atlantic Cluster, we had the will to do something in common for the New Aquitaine workcamps. We wondered at a certain point whether we wanted to do something more public, but we didn't want to be likened to an event organiser in view of the context ", explains Gaëlle Pallu de la Barrière, director of the Atlantic Cluster, an association of boating companies in New Aquitaine.
Financial support for port logistics
" We preferred to position ourselves as a technical helper, to facilitate access to exhibition pontoons for the New Aquitaine shipyards. So we moved closer to the port of La Rochelle, which is a member of Atlantic Cluster ", continues Gaëlle Pallu de la Barrière. The association will take care of some of the logistics, with the moving of boats or the landing of the Class40s for a month. For its part, the port will charge lower call rates.
La Rochelle nautical show-room all year round
The head of Atlantic Cluster underlines the reactivity of the neo-aquatic shipyards and the potential of the Port des Minimes in La Rochelle for events and private trials. " With the units launched by the region's shipyards, there are still about thirty boats to be tested that could make La Rochelle a permanent showroom all year round ", rejoices Gaëlle Pallu de la Barrière.
