Seascape d.o.o.

At Seascape, we build communities, knowledge, and fast, responsive sailing boats in order to empower anyone to become a Sailor. We work through two brands: the iconic “Beneteau First” and the innovative “SE – Seascape Edition” on a mission to achieve the ultimate connection between humans and the sea.

Seascape d.o.o. was founded in 2008 with the simple mission: Inspire people to become sailors. More precisely, to expand their comfort zone by connecting to the wind, the sea and fellow sailors.

Two of the founders – Kristian Hajnšek and Andraž Mihelin, learned their lessons in the best academy in the world: French Classemini. This enthusiastic organisation takes care of the sailors that compete on a 4300M long singlehanded race across the Atlantic ocean on 6.5m long offshore skiffs every two years. After completing the 2005 and 2007 editions of the race, they decided that the simplicity and camaraderie experienced during the campaign has to be shared with as many people as possible.

From its conception, the company grew through intense and explosive stages fueled by the energy of everybody that joined the ever-growing team.

Stage one – The liftoff

It all starts with the boat. For the team at Seascape, the boat was an is an essential interface that allows human beings to connect with the sea and the wind. First boat launched by Seascape was defined by the simplest of briefs: she should keep 80% of the fun of the Mini650 prototype used to race across the Atlantic but for 20% of the price. The Seascape 18 was born.

Stage two – The ascend

After the 18 took off, the company started experiencing rapid growth, which was accelerated by introducing new models. 27 followed as an offshore going sister of the 18, and after her, the 24 closed the gap between them. 14 came the last with the goal to make fun sailing accessible to everybody. Up to 2018, over 600 Seascapes were built.

What also contributed to the success was the recognition of the press. The three boats picked up 11 international awards (2x European yacht of the year, 5 US yacht of the year awards, German design award…). But it was not only the boats. An ever-growing community of passionate owners was built up around the idea to safely expand their comfort zone, whether that zone ended at the doorstep of a 134M long singlehanded race on their participation in a European championship.

Stage three – The first contact

In 2018 Seascape d.o.o. joined forces with the Group Beneteau in order to accelerate its mission. This came as a surprise to many, but it turns out that Beneteau is sharing the mission of the Seascape. Their strategy slogan »Accessible Avantgarde« is exactly in line with Seascape’s philosophy, so joining them was a natural next step for the Seascape team. Our mission is staying the same, but the playfield changed.

In one huge step, we moved from being an independent niche leader with limited reach to being part of the big team at Beneteau working on the projects that should change the world of sailing.