Meet The Team
John Mountain
John lives in the beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for boats and the sea started young, when his dad introduced him to the world of speedboats. Given his love of the sea, it’s no surprise that he became an adept diver, revelling in the ocean from above and below. Ever on the look-out for new challenges, eventually John was bitten by the sailing bug. He found huge pleasure and satisfaction in learning from the incredibly accomplished sailing community in Cape Town.
After experiencing extended periods of life aboard his own 50ft catamaran since 2019, John dreamed of sailing around the world. However, he was on an uncompromising quest for a combination of ultimate sailing efficiency and true luxury. Nothing he looked to buy quite ticked all the right boxes. So he decided to partner with great maritime minds to build the Air Yacht 80, optimised for speed, seamless functionality and sheer luxury.
With over thirty years' experience in design, the multi-skilled and multi-talented team at Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design offers a rare global approach to the projects. World multihull specialists, recognized experts in ocean-going yachts, award-winning in design and style, and with a strong culture of performance, the team's DNA is everything the Air 80 project needed to achieve its ambition of being the ultimate high-end multihull.
Oliver Racoupeau - Naval Architect
Isabelle Racoupeau - Interior Design
THE FUTURE OF SAILING, TODAY
North Sails is a technology company at the leading edge of innovation. We make the world’s best sails that not only dominate the industry landscape in terms of high performance, but also outstrip the competition in terms of reliability and longevity.
LIVING UP TO OUR REPUTATION
Harken Inc. stands among the global leaders in sailing hardware and equipment. Based in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, the Harken company has production sites in the United States and Italy. It is also present in 48 countries and has offices in Australia, the United States (Rhode Island, California, and Florida), France, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
Looking towards the future, Harken has built new, more advanced facilities to ensure the in-house manufacturing of its products. Sophisticated machinery, high levels of technician training, innovative ideas from engineers, and optimized workflow models offer limitless opportunities for growth.
From World Class Superyachts to High-Performance Racing Yachts, LORIMA leads the way and innovates in today’s construction of Carbon Fiber MASTS and SPARS. LORIMA is considered to be “the” specialist for this kind of mast. Carbon fiber “One Shot” mast tubes are built in female tools in their 38 m long autoclave. Lightweight, aesthetic, and yet able to withstand extreme loads, their products are manufactured using top-end technology, by a team dedicated to fulfilling the precise specifications of the clients’ sailing program.
For the masts conception, LORIMA always works with the same engineers, well known in the sailing industry. In fact, LORIMA is one of the few mast manufacturers to choose an engineering office according to the type of project and its determined objectives.
Rigging Projects Group is a multifaceted business, established in 2014, focused on supplying world class sail handling solutions from design through to integration and life-time service.
Our people are our strength. From design to production, our 25 strong team boasts a host of different nationalities and backgrounds. Diversity is key to our success, and we have everything from school graduates to ex. F1 designers to America’s Cup sailors. Offering our services at every step of the way, the Rigging Projects Group is truly a one stop shop in the world of rigging and sail handling systems.