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X-Yachts Great Britain
Meet the team
Debbie Wisley
General Manager
Debbie began her career with BMW, quickly earning successive promotions before moving to the US for a short period. On her return to Ireland, she joined the fledgling X-Yachts team in 2004 and played a key role in organising over 30 UK boat shows while mastering all aspects of the business, from sales and service to management and accounting.
In 2021, she naturally progressed to General Manager for X-Yachts in the UK and Ireland, formalising responsibilities she had effectively carried out for years. Despite her demanding role, Debbie remains deeply people-focused, cherishing opportunities to connect with customers and celebrate their shared passion for yachting.
Stuart Abernethy
Sales Manager
Stuart grew up on the West Coast of Scotland, learning to sail aboard his family’s 1887 G.L. Watson cutter and later racing their Carter 33 through the picturesque waters of the Clyde. Those early years shaped both his love of sailing and his fascination with yacht design, leading him to study Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering at Strathclyde University before heading to Australia to earn his Yachtmaster Offshore qualification.
After returning to the UK, he settled on the South Coast to manage a fleet of charter yachts, gaining hands‑on experience with the realities of ownership, maintenance, and the rhythm of life on the water. A season racing an X‑332 introduced him to the X‑Yachts team, and in 2005 he joined the company.
From delivering yachts from Denmark to the UK and Ireland, to supporting owners through service roles and, later, new and pre‑owned sales, Stuart has built a career around helping people realise their sailing ambitions. With an engineer’s eye for detail and a sailor’s instinct for what truly matters at sea, he approaches every facilitation as a chance to guide someone toward the yacht that fits their dreams and ambitions, their sailing and the life they want to create afloat.
Julien Renault
Head of Service GB & IRL
Julien grew up in North Brittany, spending much of his childhood on the water—day sailing with his family around the islands near Dinard, racing aboard an IMX 40, and volunteering as technical support for Les Glénans sailing school.
He moved to the UK in 2005 and joined X-Yachts GB the following year for work experience—and has been part of the team ever since.
Over the years, Julien has gained extensive hands-on training at the X-Yachts factory in Denmark and with leading suppliers including B&G, Furlerboom, Raymarine, and North Sails.
His passion for yacht racing has taken him around the world, sailing alongside our owners in prestigious events such as the Fastnet Race, Middle Sea Race, King’s Cup in Thailand, Cowes Week, and the Round the Island Race.
Today, Julien leads the Fortis Marine service team, overseeing the care of more than 50 yachts each winter.
His meticulous attention to detail and deep technical expertise ensure every yacht is maintained to the highest standards.
Richard Smith
Head of business Development
Richard is an accomplished business leader with a proven track record of guiding companies through sustained growth and establishing strong market positions. Over the course of his career he has led businesses across engineering, IT and business consultancy, consistently driving expansion, strengthening brands and helping organisations achieve their strategic ambitions.
Richard’s strong focus on the services sector has seen him shape customer‑centred operations and scalable platforms designed to foster long‑term value and trusted relationships.
Alongside his professional achievements Richard is a lifelong sailor with a deep passion for the sea. He has taken time out on several occasions to explore new waters, most recently completing a circumnavigation of Ireland in 2025. His enthusiasm for sailing and water sports ensures that his business vision is firmly anchored in the marine world.
Murray Findlay
X-Yachts Ambassador - Scotland & N. Ireland.
I started sailing in the late 1950’s on my father’s boat. Also sailed in various dinghies through the 60’s & 70’s. I’ve owned various keelboats - starting with an Eygthene 24 in 1975 followed by a Nicholson 30, Contessa 35, 3/4 toners …. DB2 & a one off through the late 70’s, 80’s & 90’s. I did a lot of sailing on Swans in the late 80’s & 90’s (Swan Europeans, Swan Worlds, RORC races on the south coast .etc).
I have raced mainly on the west coast of Scotland but also in the rest of the U.K. & Ireland + Channel Islands, France, Med & Caribbean. Cruising mainly on the west coast of Scotland but also Ireland, Baltic, France, Med & Caribbean with several deliveries to those areas (North Sea, Bay of Biscay, Transatlantic)
I have then gone on to own seven X-Yachts - X-332, X-43, Xc 45, Xp 38, Xc 45, X4⁰ and now an X4³.
Sailed for over 50 years - both racing & cruising … mainly on the west coast of Scotland but also in rest of U.K., Ireland, Channel Islands, France, Med & Caribbean + several deliveries (Transatlantic, North Sea, Bay of Biscay). Owned several different boats since 1975 including 6 different X-Yachts.
Please reach out to me if you are based in Scotland and would like to speak about X from an owners perspective.
Mike Crompton
X-Yachts Ambassador - Wales
Sailing has been a major part of my life from an early age starting aged 10 when I sailed a Cadet in the N West and Wales.
Racing dinghies followed Fireflies,Fireballs Solos and Snipes all were campaigned with varying degrees of success but generally in the North West and increasingly Abersoch from the South Caernarfonshire Yacht Club.
We moved on to keel boats and sailed Squibs for several years as our two sons grew up and started sailing Oppies and later Mirrors that took up much of our sailing time as they were in the various RYA squads and we traveled extensively with their boats to events and coaching.
This was a challenge but we ended up with two capable sons and several of their mates and we had a crew for a bigger boat so bought our first X-Yacht.
Xpletive was an X-332 and we campaigned her hard from 2004 with frequent visits to Cork Week and Dublin. A fabulous boat and we learnt much about sailing in those early years as the X-332 was a very competitive racer and gave us some great times and even the odd trophy.
The X-35 was announced and a one design fleet appealed so we visited Haderslev with the boys and they both convinced me that this was the boat for us..
We raced Xpletive 2 for a few seasons but as the boys moved on left University etc we decided a cruising boat was next as my wife and I always had a plan to sail around the Med at some stage. The Xc 42 was launched and a deal was done at the boat show for hull number 16 that duly arrived and was sailed in the UK until I retired and then shipped to Spain where the X-Yachts crew helped us prepare her for launching.
The Xc 42 was perfect as the two of us could comfortably manage her and the cruising options we added were perfect as we sailed around the Balearics for nearly 5 summers.
There was then a gap in our X-Yacht ownership as we sold Xpletive 3 very easily to a couple aided by Stuart and team and we still hear from as they continue to explore the Med in the Xc 42.
We had a short period owning a large Grand Soleil 50 but moved her on in 2019 and started to search for a boat that could offer us racing and cruising in the UK as our Med days were over but we still had the desire to enter local regattas and a comfortable cruising boat for a trip over to Ireland.
We started searching for an X-34 or X-37 and after a couple of years a X-34, a boat well known to us in Abersoch, came on the market and we snapped her up.
Currently we are updating some of the sails and rigging to allow us to compete again with the local hotshots and hopefully we will be worrying them around the cans.
Nearly 20 years of X-Yacht ownership and 4 very different boats has shown me that they are all superbly built and generally very safe and fun to sail.
Additionally a couple of forays into other boats has proven to me that the early advice given to me in 2004 to buy an X-Yacht was very sound.
We live in Manchester but are based in Abersoch N Wales all summer and Xpletive is kept on the moorings in front of the Yacht Club.
I am on the water many days through the season either racing ourselves or organising other keel boat or dinghy events and Xpletive is the committee boat ..
Always happy to talk boats and particularly X-Yachts so please get in touch if your in the area and want to learn more..
Richard Winder
X-Yachts Ambassador - England
My lifelong love of sailing began aged 9yrs helping my father to build a mirror dinghy which we sailed all over Europe. My introduction to offshore came shortly afterwards, sailing yachts in the Baltic with the British Army at the British Kiel Yacht Club (BKYC). I was soon bitten by the bug and found myself racing offshore with the RORC as well as family cruising. By the time I was 18 I was a member of RORC and Yachtmaster.
As a family, we owned a series of yachts including a Sigma 36 and then a Sigma 38 OOD which we cruised and raced, fully crewed, in the RORC series including three Fastnets and multiple Cowes weeks.
Over time I realised that managing a large crew was very time consuming, this piqued my interest in two-handled sailing. This led to the purchase of a J120 and subsequently a J133 predominantly for two-handed racing and some cruising. The ownership of these yachts culminated in the AZAB two-handed yacht race to the Azores (and back) and winning the Royal Southampton two-handed series.
In 2008, I skippered an Oyster 655 across the Atlantic as part of the ARC. It was a particularly light year, and we learnt a lot about how to motor-sail optimising apparent wind angles and wind speeds whilst minimising the use of diesel to ensure we made our flights home for Christmas!
More recently we greatly enjoyed owning a Hallberg Rassy, relishing their reassuring build quality and surefooted stability, however, we found them of limited sailing appeal. This effectively led us to a point where we were seeking a family yacht that had the Hallberg build quality and the J-boat performance. Consequently, we were drawn to X Yachts, the X4.3 standing out as being the optimum in terms of size and manageability as well as performance.
We “kissed a lot of frogs along the way” but finally discovered X Yachts and were thrilled to find ASSARAIN VI, our “forever boat” in Jan 2023 and have been delighted by the support offered by the X-Yachts team in Hamble. We are looking forward to many years of extensive cruising both in Northern and Southern European waters. To include a trip to Haderslev to say hi to the team there.
I have always said that sailing is the glue that sticks me together and am always keen to share this enthusiasm and knowledge. Please feel free to get in touch for a behind the scenes chat!
Fair winds,
Richard
X-Yachts (GB) Ltd.
2 Huntsman Road
Hamble Point Marina
Hamble
Hampshire
SO31 4NB
UK
VAT Number: GB 804 981 614
Pazartesi - Cuma
9:00 am - 5:30 pm
Cumartesi
By Appointment
Pazar
By Appointment
We are always amenable to viewings out with these hours and at the weekend, however this must be arranged in advance.