We are saddened to report the passing of Ben Du Buisson on 14 of January.
For those that knew him, Ben was a man of many talents, he possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of sailing and sailing systems and had a long varied life in yachting.
Our connection with Ben goes back to the to the Admirals Cup of 1979. Tim Yourieff and Ben met during this time period and later in the 80’s Ben and Tim both arrived in the USA, Ben working for Beneteau Yachts and Tim setting up the Pryde N. American distribution. Pryde had built sails for Beneteau France during the 80’s and Tim reached out to Ben about the N. American sail production. We were given a small opportunity to build one small line of sails and over the next few years our relationship grew with Beneteau as did their business.
At Beneteau Ben handled rigs and sails (and more it seemed) and his attention to detail was legendary in the industry. To say he was meticulous would be an understatement. He helped to pave the way for the modernization of production methods and data sharing for the O.E.M. side of our industry.
And then there was the sailing side of Ben: with his background in sailmaking, boat building, mast building and racing, it’s no wonder he was great on a race boat, and maybe even better at handling anything related to gear...getting it set up, fixing, repairing, jury-rigging. A great team mate on and off the water.
All will remember his large gentle demeanor that went along with his quiet, logical voice.
He will be missed by everyone he came in contact with.
His obituary is here: https://obits.postandcourier.com/us/obituaries/charleston/name/benoit-avice-du-buisson-obituary?id=38679613