Bay Area Edition | March 2023

BUSINESS FEATURE

Farley Fontenot’s sail loft Quantum Sails has won two sail racing championships. The company also makes boat sails.

Fontenot, Quantum Sails executive vice president, has been making sails for nearly 50 years.

COURTESY QUANTUM SAILS

SAAB SAHICOMMUNITY IMPACT

TOP U.S. SAILING COMMUNITIES

Quantum Sails Seabrook sail loft oers custom-made sails, services for boaters P assion is the wind that has propelled Port Arthur native Farley Fontenot forward for the last nearly 50 years, sailing ships and “Our sport’s also a little dicult in that it’s like playing chess on a moving chessboard as the wind moves around,” Fontenot said. Kolius eventually left the sail-making business, BY SAAB SAHI

These cities are the top ve boating communities in the U.S., Fontenot said.

1 . Newport, RI 2 . Annapolis, MD 3 . Los Angeles, CA 4 . Seabrook, TX 5 . San Francisco, CA

making sails in Seabrook. Sailing culture inundated Fontenot’s life in large part because his father and grandfather were big sailors, Fontenot said. “I think what drove me was that I really loved [sailing] as a kid, and it was cool,” he said. Fontenot’s family took up sail-making in their living room, which became his summer job for a few years around when he was in high school. Fontenot continued wanting to make sails into college despite parental pushback, Fontenot said. Following an oer by Olympic medalist sailor John Kolius, Fontenot began working at the Seabrook building in 1977, which became UK Sails Texas in 1985. The sail loft went on to win two sailing champi- onships using loft-made sails, Fontenot said. “We were representing our sails and ourselves, so after a while, people felt like we had a good product,” Fontenot said. Fontenot enjoys the teamwork and competition involved in sailing races and is driven to win, he said. Nowadays, he also coaches sailing teams.

which led to the formation of Quantum Sails in 1996 by Fontenot and two other partners, who are no longer involved in the business. The company oers both cruising and racing sails. “There are times I pinch myself and think, ‘I don’t know how we got here,’” Fontenot said. “Just seems like yesterday I was some kid crawling on the oor.” Quantum Sails was purchased by an investor a few years ago, but Fontenot remains the executive vice president. “We’re the second largest sail-making company in the world,” Fontenot said. The multimillion dollar company has nearly 60 lofts and multiple manufacturing locations spread across the world, Fontenot said. However, most sails are no longer made directly at lofts, includ- ing Seabrook. The loft currently oers sail repairs, maintenance, removal, installation and measurements that are used to craft custom sails. “I enjoy working with people; I love the sport, and I don’t know if I am going to retire,” Fontenot said.

Quantum Sails 1606 First St., Seabrook 281-474-4168 www.quantumsails.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sat.-Sun.

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BAY AREA EDITION • MARCH 2023