Grand Pavois de La Rochelle
Grand Pavois: a major autumn boat show
Very few people believed in this autumn in-water show to be held when children were heading back to school. However, the Grand Pavois, launched in 1973, would go on to prove otherwise and enjoy great success. Elected as the mayor of La Rochelle one year earlier, Michel Crépeau, who loved boats, quickly understood that “his” town was not short of assets for the development of boating in all its forms. It was home to a number of boat yards, sail makers and companies providing equipment, rigging and services.
In 1972, the young mayor inaugurated the Port des Minimes marina: 70 hectares, 4,600 rings and 300 spaces for visitors, making it one of Europe’s largest marinas… with Île de Ré just a few miles away, as well as its easy access, without any real navigational challenges. One year later, in spring 1973, despite the oil shock that rocked the planet, with the risk of a severe impact holding back the expansion of the boat industry, which was booming at the time, a dozen companies that were all part of the La Rochelle sailing and boating association came up with the idea to create an event to promote the local boat sector.
A gamble that was as daring as it was successful!
The core concept could be summed up in one question. Why not hold an in-water boat show in September, when the summer weather is still here and holidays on the water are still in people’s minds? In March, a constitutive general meeting was therefore held. Time was of the essence if they wanted the boat show to open in September. Roger Mallard chaired this first meeting.
Around the table were Société des Ateliers et Chantiers Amel, Jean-Pierre Brémaud’s boat yard, the sail maker Chéret, the La Rochelle maritime counter, the Dufour yard, the naval architect Philippe Harlé, the Fernand Hervé yard, and the companies Naviga-Sports, Quéré-Paillard and Soférac. Henri Tonet, known as Amel, who headed up the yard of the same name – Amel was his codename when he was part of the French Resistance – became the president of the association in charge of general administrative, legal and financial issues. He even offered a guarantee to the bank so that the first event could go ahead.
Guy Phélippon chaired the commission in charge of the practical organization and paid out of his own pocket to produce the first catalogue. Michel Dufour, in charge of promotion and advertising, came up with the idea to call this show the “Grand Pavois”, referring to the flags flying on many ships when they were in port.
State recognition
The “Grand Pavois de La Rochelle” association was recognized by the French State. Its purpose was to “present to the public, in-water and on-land, all types of recreational boats and their accessories, equipment and outfitting, and all the activities directly relating to this profession”. During the first event, held from September 20 to 23, 1973, 34 exhibitors took part and 64 boats were shown in the water on the first two pontoons close to the Forum des Pertuis.
Around 4,000 visitors flocked to these pontoons, and on Sunday, access even had to be restricted for safety reasons. This autumn show, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023, very quickly became a leading event. And before enjoying some seafood in the old port at the end of the day, people could go and test the boats, tacking between Tour Richelieu and Les Pertuis. A beautiful idea that won people over immediately. And this is still a well-established tradition today.
