Eric Tabarly disappeared in the Irish Sea on June 12, 1998, leaving orphaned his varied fleet that had marked the history of sailing. It was to safeguard this incredible maritime heritage that the Éric Tabarly Association was created the same year it disappeared.
Éric Tabarly was not only a great sailor, a passionate sailor, but also a great"engineer" who left his mark on four decades. The association, today chaired by Gérard Petitpas and supported for fifteen years by the Banques Populaires naturally decided to exhibit the Pen Duick at the Paris Boat Show. In 2014, Pen Duick II makes his appearance in Hall 1. This large black plywood ketch won the mythical solo Transat on 19 June 1964. 2015 gave way to Pen Duick V, precursor of the Vendée Globe monohulls and showcase once again the visionary spirit of Eric Tabarly.
Finally, in 2017, for its fiftieth anniversary, the majestic Pen Duick III makes its entrance in Hall 1, unveiling its innovative hull and its sail plan unprecedented for the time. Belonging to Jacqueline and Marie Tabarly, he was entrusted to the association in 2008, which gave him back his letters of nobility. In 2010, he returns to his original schooner rig. It is also re-equipped with its boom and its mythical freeboard foresail.
In 2011, the association proceeded to sandblast the hull and deck, dismantle the fittings to skin the hull and have it examined by an expert. As a result, some sheets were replaced and the welds resumed. An expensive job and partly taken care of by the owners of the boat. Inside, we still find the famous steerable chart table, located to starboard, formula already used on Pen Duick II, then repeated on the V and VI.
Today, the entire Pen Duick fleet sails from April to September, led by professional skippers.
