without Noise

It was a sunny day in early January when we were in El Gouna to feel the excitement of trying the first Egyptianmade sailing catamaran. It was a 12-metre boat which is the first production of Kama Marine Factory, a member of the wellestablished
Egyptian business group of Kandil led by its dynamic CEO Eng. Khalil Kandil who is a true lover of the sea and sailing.
The skipper, Sameh Abdel Moneim, the Kama Marine factory business manager and veteran sailor who is a licensed instructor for
the Royal Yachting Academy (RYA) took the catamaran out of the packed marina by using the two built-in Yamaha 25hp
engines. Then, we received warning from El Gouna marina control personnel that wind would get stronger in a few hours.

Personally, I considered it a good chance for me to take the boat to its limit and see how it would perform in such weather. But as I had with me my wife, my 12-year-old son and my 6-year-old daughter I asked Sameh whether it would be advisable to leave the kids on shore but he insisted with great confidence that we should take them on board confirming the safety of the boat. I have to admit that with two sails stretched to their maximum out of three sails, and some strong waves, I still felt like I was sitting on a sofa in a hotel lobby as opposed to a boat bouncing over the water. This judgement was confirmed when I decided to jump onto a speed motor boat during the trip to take some photos of the catamaran taking the windy weather in its stride.

On the speed boat, I felt as if I was inside a basketball being tossed around the court as I looked at my family relaxed and comfortable as they enjoyed the catamaran’s ride.
You will be able to take up to10 persons on board the catamaran where there is one bed room, kitchen and bathroom with shower repeated on each side of the boat’s two ribs with the capacity for six people to sleep in comfort.
You will not notice a big difference between the accessories of the boat and it’s interior compared to an imported catamaran as almost 50 percent of the material has been imported from the world’s best producers, for example the mast is made of aluminium carbon and imported from France. The rigging and the sail is from the famous French sail manufacturer, “Incidences”, while the helm is from Italy.
The hull of the boat is totally made in Egypt and covered by Epoxy which is imported to meet the world marine approved standards
and the best Balsa wood is treated in Egypt. Eng. Khalil started the marine factory in 2007 in the city of Suez with a total investment of US$750,000 and a turnover of LE 5 million and it took him three years to put
the boat in water. “The reason it took us all this time was the fact that we not only wanted to get the best shape and quality but also several managerial and technical changes have been made since the start of the factory,” Sameh Abel Monem explained.

“Also considering the fact that several attempts has been made before to manufacture a catamaran in Egypt and had failed, we were keen to take our time even if we were a bit slow. But it is necessary to understand that the successful birth of the first boat usually takes much longer than a reproduction, so now the factory can produce three to four similar boats per year.”
The potential customers for such a boat will be the commercial users such as yachting clubs, recreation and water sports centres and there are hopes to export to other countries especially with Kama Marine’s plan for the production of smaller
catamaran ranging from 8 to 11 metres.
Sameh said that the biggest challenges they faced were first, choosing the components and accessories of the boat as most of them had to be imported. Another challenge was the quality of the finishing where much time and effort went into to
making the vessel competitive to imported boats. Finally, there was the training of speed boat and motor boat sailors to adapt to the different skills required to sail a catamaran.

“This boat is built according to the world’s latest sailing boat regulations and standards where every tiny detail has been taken care of. This is in addition to the fact that the boat designer is Erik Lerouge who is one of the most famous multi-hulled boat designers in the world and that the price will be cheaper than from Europe for a similar boat” Sameh confirms. The estimated price for the 12 metre boat is US$250,000 which is still cheaper than its equivalent from Europe by at least US$50,000 where customs’ duty will add almost 20 percent on the basic price.

Local buyers are expected to be very limited as such a sport is not really spreading much in Egypt yet, Eng. Khalil still carries great
hopes and plans for spreading this wonderful sport amongst young people with the desire to build a real sailing community in Egypt. “Being a nature and boat lover were the solid reasons for producing the catamaran plus my passion and interest in teaching
friends and other people how to sail particularly as the ancient Egyptian were pioneers in this field. “To handle a sailboat in my
opinion is like playing chess, because you have to use your mind all the time in dealing with the natural elements which you can’t
see, but only feel into order to move the boat, such as wind, current, plus navigation calculations etc.,” Eng. Khalil added. Eng. Khalil moved forward with his dream by establishing a sailing school which was welcomed by Samieh Sawiris the owner of El
Gouna. “There are many boat owners that don’t know the ethics and regulations of boating and sailing and some even let their kids take the boats on trips which could end in disaster. So such a school is very important and will help to build knowledge and true spirit of a sailor,” Philip Jones, the general manager of Orascom Group Marinas stated. “One day soon, we hope to organize a regatta for sailing boats in El Gouna which we will support in every way possible”. Philip added.
At the end of our trip we left the marina with new experiences and the determination of taking the sailing lessons with the RYA instructor Sameh Abdel Moneim on our next visit to El Gouna. We also left feeling proud that an Egyptian has finally produced such a good catamaran to truly enjoy the sea comfort and joy.