Berthon Spain began in 2015 as Sentinel Yachting, brought into being by Andrew & Rowan Fairbrass. Starting in the marinas in central Palma de Mallorca, Andrew’s real passion for any boat, big or small, set the ground works for a budding business idea. From a lifetime of sailing, a strong background as a captain and extensive knowledge of engineering, he set up a guardiennage business – maintaining and repairing yachts based in Palma.
Andrew and Rowan Fairbrass first came to Palma as captain and crew of a Swan 68, which had previously been based in the Solent, on the south coast of England. Andrew had spent his childhood years sailing around the Solent and the south coast of England. Whilst working as a captain of a Palma based sailing yacht, Andrew experienced the hardship of finding good quality, reliable contractors. Over the years, Andrew built up working relationships with local brokers, contractors and fellow captains. At the beginning of his guardiennage career, Andrew cared for a number of Oyster yachts, expanding to a few Princess motor yachts and began a professional collaboration with Baltic Yachts.
Sentinel Yachting in Palma was a huge success for Andrew, with more engineers, shipwrights and electricians joining him. Over the years the small business rapidly grew to an engineering and maintenance company, moving from a small workshop to larger premises for both workshop space and storage opportunities. You could not pass through the marinas of Palma without seeing a Sentinel van!
Following this great achievement, in 2018, after a meeting with Sue Grant and Dominic May at the Palma International Boat Show, Andrew saw the huge benefits of a partnership with Berthon UK and made the decision to join forces, to form Berthon Spain. This would create a unique entity outside of the UK, where Berthon offered yacht service and repairs as well as yacht brokerage. Whilst still under Andrew’s leadership, the alliance with Berthon has enabled the business to tap into over 100 years of experience and expertise, and furthermore offer their clients brokerage services. Since the formation of Berthon Spain, the team has gone from a relatively small group to now employing one of the largest yacht service establishments on the island. Our impressive workshop facilities are a constant hive of activity.
From our humble beginnings offering yacht servicing and guardiennage, our clients can now benefit from a large team of skilled marine engineers, paint and composite repair workers, marine electricians, in house fabrication services and hydraulic repairs. Our guardiennage department is still at the core of the company, with clients who have been with us from the very beginning.
