Quantum Sails Lorient

Yannick Audren, who grew up sailing in Brittany and Lorient, France, has been sailing since he was a baby and recalls a memorable trip to Ireland and Spain on the 8m family sailing boat. In his youth, Yannick spent summers working as a sailing instructor and racing whenever he had the time. At age 25, Yannick embarked on a 10-year offshore adventure working in the oil industry aboard a geophysical seismic vessel. After returning to Lorient from his worldwide voyage, he decided to refocus his life on his primary passion: sailing and sailmaking. "With my master's degree in general engineering and my experience with people from various backgrounds, I learned to provide the best quality services whatever the situation," says Yannick. "Sailmaking is naturally what I have chosen to undertake."

It was probably inevitable that Benjamin Biau would become a sailor: A dock was where he learned to walk, and by the age of six he was windsurfing and sailing Optimists. From Optimists, Benjamin moved to match racing and was a member of many crews racing Farr 30s, Figaro 2s, and other IRC boats.

In 2007, Benjamin began working in sail production, learning from sailmaker experts Gildas Dubois of Quantum Sails France and Maxime Paul. He has worked in a number of lofts, including Incidence and Ullman Sails. His sailmaking expertise extends to cruising boats and international classes such as Mini Transat, Figaro, IRC Class, Class 40, Imoca, and Volvo 70. He was a member of the Groupama crew for the Volvo Ocean Race; raced in Challenge 67, Imoca, and Volvo 60 offshore series; and a winner of the Tour de France A La Voile in 2007.

Benjamin joined Quantum in 2020, encouraged by Quantum sailmakers Antoine Martineau and Yannick Audren. Now designing sails at Quantum Sails Lorient, Benjamin is happy to be here, building faster, better, and more efficient and versatile sails.

Involved in sail making for more than 15 years, Gildas started in production for Quantum Sails, then moved into design and management in early 2000. Gildas is involved in high-end sails for boats like the TP 52, Open 60 and megaboats. He also contributes to the development and implementation of One-Design standards worldwide.

His sailing resume includes match racing, Mini’s and big boat racing in the Mediterranean.

Beginning his career as a collaborator in a ship chandler, Pierre Menguy decided the next logical step to expand upon his passion for sailing and performance was to become a sailmaker. With an educational background that combines technical and commercial skills and navigation experience on several platforms, Pierre is able to quickly define the needs and expectations of each project, whether for cruising or racing. Outside of the loft, he seizes every opportunity to race, and particularly enjoys the Open 5.70 and Class 40.