Barracuda Tour – Fish, fun and rock’n’roll

Barracuda Tour © Beneteau

More than 15 crews, representing over 600 contenders and fifteen different countries, are expected on the shores of Morbihan for the 2018 Barracuda Tour! In six years, the well-known French no-kill fishing competition for keen fishers, organized by Beneteau, has rapidly become an international event.

Outside the competition itself, it elicits great enthusiasm, because of its warm festive atmosphere. From 25 May to 2 June, Port du Crouesty will be enjoying fish, fun and rock'n'roll!

Amazing story of the Barracuda Tour

In 2011, Beneteau took the world by surprise when it launched its first sport fishing range. The attractive lines, sturdy and reliable appearance and the minutely-designed deck and pilothouse layout of the Barracuda 9 caused quite a stir among keen saltwater fishers.

Very soon, the idea of creating a Barracuda community occurred to Yannick Hemet, Beneteau's Sales Director for Southern Europe. In 2013, a meeting with Frédéric Lavion, the French importer of Lowrance, sealed its fate and was the beginning of a new story. Together they decided to equip two Barracuda motorboats and invite well-known sport fishers to take part in a new open competition.

This was the birth of the Barracuda Tour! The first event set out from Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and headed to St Malo. It was an exciting programme, and the boats even braved the Raz de Sein for rounds of No Kill bass fishing. In each round, keen fishers would rush from boat to boat eager to meet other competitors and to try out their superbly decorated boats. The range appealed unanimously for its winning temperament and excellent sea-keeping!

The second event was in the form of an all-comers competition; probably one of the reasons it was so successful. The number of sponsors increased and the registrations to embark on the twenty Barracuda 7 set aside by Beneteau came pouring in. A spectacular ballet of fishing boats could be seen from Concarneau to La Rochelle, taking in Noirmoutier on the way.

The enthusiasm of the hundred or so fishers (men and women) taking part spread like a powder trail on the social media – a sign that the event would grow bigger in the future. Apart from the atmosphere, being open to everyone and the excellent organization, the competition owes its success to its one-design concept, made available by Beneteau. Given the same equipment, the anglers could compete on a level footing for the first time internationally.

New destinations and international scope

The concept spread and, in 2015, a Mediterranean Barracuda Tour was launched in Corsica, while German and Chinese dealers organized their own Barracuda Tours in the form of "selections" for the Grand Finale, which is always held on the French Atlantic coast. In the sport fishing community, we even started to hear 'Barracuda' used as a substitute for 'rigid hull boats'.

The competition is a fabulous way to observe the behaviour and expectations of sport fishers and for Beneteau developers it is an opportunity to introduce innovations on each new model, fully in line with the desires of this demanding public. The launch of the Barracuda 8 in 2015 was immediately successful, with around a hundred orders!

Spectacular growth

The following events marked a turning point in the internationalization of the Barracuda Tour. Since 2016, Beneteau has been inviting its dealers worldwide to organize selections with a view to taking part in the Grand Finale. In 2018, crews from all over Europe, as well as the United States, Turkey and China, will compete against each other at the mouth of the Gulf of Morbihan. It will be a dream opportunity to test the stunning performance of the new Barracuda 6 and 9 and it promises to be more sensational than ever before! Note that bass is the king of the event and that all species caught will be counted this year.

In six years, Beneteau has risen to the double challenge of launching a new range, while creating the first saltwater fishing competition in France. The official partners, who play an important part in the success of the event, equip each boat with similar equipment selected among their latest innovations. Many service providers and institutional partners also play an active role in the organization.