Sailing Made Easy, With the Esse 850
12. October 2023
Easy handling and perfect light wind characteristics make the Esse 850 a popular training boat for sailing academies. On Lake Zurich, the Swiss Nautic Academy uses two Esse 850s for its sailing lessons. Sailing academy owner Martin Gusset explains the advantages of Esseboats’ sporty sailing yacht.
Martin, what makes your boating school unique?
Martin Gusset: We offer a wide range of courses, from sailing lessons to motorboat classes to offshore training, all with highly competent and extremely experienced instructors and at three prime locations. In addition to our base at Utoquai in Zurich we have two more locations, in St. Moritz and in Porto Rotondo on the island of Sardinia in Italy. Add to these 20 years of experience and our first-class fleet.
That includes two Esse 850 sailing boats …
M. G.: Yes, we conduct our sailing courses on Lake Zurich with the Esse 850s. It’s also a special feature of the Swiss Nautic Academy that we use high quality boats that also belong to us. And that’s not only true for the Esse 850, but also for the boats we use in motorboat training, like an Antares and a Realcraft.
We even own our regatta-optimized, ocean-going yacht Solaris 42 that’s docked at a port in Sardinia. We conduct the training on the Solaris with four-time America's Cup participant Christian Scherrer. Our ocean theory classes also take place on the water, on our passenger ship MS Rosa on the Limmat River in Zurich.
Why did your academy choose the Esse 850 to teach on Lake Zurich?
M. G.: The Esse 850 has excellent light wind characteristics, which gives us the opportunity to teach even in very light winds. Our customers enjoy the sporty sailing style on our Esse 850. Due to the arrangement of the halyards and the running rigging, the Esse 850 is very easy to handle. The space on the boat also provides some comfort and convenience for sailing students, which is another factor why the Esse 850 is such an attractive training boat.
What do you personally like best about the Esse 850?
M. G.: It is a very beautiful, sporty and fast boat with a high fun factor.
Do your sailing students find Esseboats easy to operate?
M. G.: Thanks to the good operability of the mainsheet and foresheet, the students can focus more quickly on the maneuvers relevant to the exam. Of course, the students don't notice this at first because they usually don't have the opportunity to compare and are not yet familiar with the variety of sailing boats out there. Later, it becomes part of the training to educate our students about different types of keelboats and their characteristics.
What’s the feedback from your students about Esseboats?
M.G.: Our sailing students have a lot of fun, and they greatly enjoy their training on a fast, sporty boat.
Do you personally sail an Esse boat?
M.G.: Yes, whenever I get the opportunity to go out on Lake Zurich. I’m really impressed with the sailing qualities of the Esse 850, and I enjoy every minute I spend on this boat.
In addition to the Swiss Nautic Academy, the Bluelobster Boat School also offers sailing training on an Esse 850.
