Bruno Barbara, initially a cabinetmaker, joined the Guip shipyard in 1988 to work on the construction of wooden fishing boats, replicas of working sail boats and on La Recouvrance, a 19th century fighting schooner.

Prior to setting up the company CANDELA in La Rochelle, he made a change in his career path and “signed on” as part of the crew of the tall ship Fridtjof Nansen for a year, followed by three years sailing transatlantic on traditional sailing boats. During this time he qualified as a sailing shipmaster (BPPV certificate), as an Engineer for maritime fishing navigation and as a Captain on passenger ships.