Heritage
The Best Sailors Listen
Phillip Berman, Founder and President of Balance, with Hobie Alter, winning his first Hobie Cat World Championship in 1979.
They listen to the forecast, to the seas, to their crew, and to their intuition. As a brand, Balance is built upon listening to the needs of other sailors, which is why we build the boats that we do: Performance-driven but liveable.
Our story could be traced back to the catamarans developed in ancient Polynesia, but for practical purposes, it begins in 1979 in South Africa, when Balance Founder Phillip Berman won his first Hobie Cat World Championship. That moment crystalized his love of South Africa—its people, culture, landscape, and waters all left an indelible impact on him. After decades as a sailor, author, and yacht broker, he kept coming back to a lingering question:
Why aren’t there high performance catamarans that still offer onboard comfort and livability?
Balance Catamarans was born in 2013 in a partnership with Nexus Yachts, combining great performance design with quality craftsmanship built in Philip’s beloved South Africa. Acclaimed designer Anton du Toit joined Balance shortly after and has been driving the designs with Phil hailed by Blue Water Sailing as a “perfect performance package.”
