Antoine's father shared his passion for sailing with his son at a young age. They sailed their old 420 on Île de Ré near La Rochelle on the west coast of France. After brief studies at business school, Antoine understood that his personal and professional path would be intertwined with the sea and sport of sailing. At age 20, a friend asked Antoine to help deliver a boat in the Caribbean, and that is when he decided to dedicate his life to sailing.
When he returned to France after the delivery, Antoine began working in a small local sail loft, where he fell in love with sailmaking on the first day. "The pursuit of finding the perfect sail was a beautiful way to express myself," says Antoine. "Lighter fabric, better shape, so many aspects to create and improve upon to." Antoine had the opportunity to work with Incidence Sails to build two sets of sails for a competitor in the Trophe Jules Vernes. Collaborating with Maxime Paul on this project was "magical, and my passion for the profession grew."
In 2005 Antoine moved to Quantum Sails Barcelona where he was exposed to the international sailmaking industry. He was able to collaborate and learn from top designers and sailmakers from all over the world and enjoyed the focus of high-quality and high-performance that these professionals placed on sailmaking.
Antoine moved to Palma de Mallorca in 2006 as a loft manager and discovered the super yacht world. He built and fit sails for Dubois, Perinis, and Wallys to name a few, and traveled to the biggest European shipyards and marinas. Antoine also competed on big boats as a sailmaker and professional crew member and expanded his network with international professional sailors. "Everything about super yachts fascinated me−the size of the tools, rigs, and sails."
In 2013, he launched Palm Sails and, with his own small company, started to service and build big boats sails. "Joining Quantum Sails was an obvious next step for me," he says, "To be able to offer the highest quality sails for superyachts and maxis and to be a part of a worldwide team with the greatest expertise is the culmination of my career. I have worked with many Quantum team members over the years, and now I feel as though I am coming back to family."
"I am proud to offer all my customers the expertise, the right product, and the support of a worldwide team leading many areas of the high-performance market. I am excited to merge my intimate knowledge of big boats and the superior design technology at Quantum to create superior products. Based in the Mediterranean, I will represent Quantum Sails in Palma de Mallorca and at big boats racing events as well as assist Quantum sailmakers on big sails projects, measuring, manufacturing, fitting, and testing sails."