The Spinnigus-Led Business

#19. Etienne Giroire! Andy and friend Billy Rudek (the third voice you'll hear) sat down with Etienne in his home in Ft. Lauderdale on their way to Marsh Harbor to deliver a sailboat back to Annapolis. Etienne is most know for his namesake sailing company, ATN Inc. (get it?), which produces spinnaker sleeves, trampolines for catamarans, the 'mast climber' harness system and other bits and bobs. But more interesting, Etienne is a sailor in the truest sense of the word. Raised in France on Eric Tabarly and Bernard Moitessier, Etienne became in his own right a single-handed hero just like those heroes he grew up with, winning his class in the famous OSTAR race and going on to sail maxi multihulls with some of the most famous sailiors in the game. He did a leg of the Whitbread with Magnuss Olsson and sailed his own boat single-handed in the Route du Rhum (which ended in disaster, but I'll let him tell that story!). Etienne now is a dual citizen of the USA and France, having come to Florida back in the 1980s and never leaving. He's a remarkably nice guy and a phenomenal storyteller, which is why this one runs so long. But listen right to the end, it's worth it! Thanks so much Etienne!