“Location location location”. Mallorca’s Club de Mar may not offer the contemporary designer chic of Port Adriano or the quaint fishing tradition and natural beauty of Port Andratx, but it pretty much holds all the cards when it comes to location.
Sited at the westernmost tip of Palma’s long boat-filled waterfront, this 590 berth marina stands shoulder to shoulder with the capital city’s busy ferry terminal where the likes of Balearia and Trasmediterranea connect Mallorca to Ibiza, Barcelona, Denia and Valencia, and the world’s best-known cruise lines moor their colossal floating hotels, all presided over by hilltop 14th century Bellver Castle.
Inaugurated on 1 June 1972, Club de Mar was built to try and steal some of the limelight, and the luxury yachts, from the Côte d’Azur. Almost 45 years later it’s a ‘job done’ with dozens of the finest superyachts on the planet choosing to drop anchor in its sheltered waters. 78 metre Feadship Venus, 124 metre Lürssen Katara, 133 metre Peters Schiffbau Wewelsfleth Al Mirqab, 96 metre Blohm + Voss Palladium, 52 metre Oceanco Sunrise, 147 metre Lürssen Topaz, 48 metre Palmer Johnson Khalilah, 90 metre Lürssen Phoenix 2, 85 metre Oceanco Sunrays and 141 metre ADM Shipyards Yas are just a sprinkling of the famous names that have graced Club de Mar with their presence. Meanwhile 80 metre Oceanco Stargate has taken it a step further and chosen the Marina as her ‘home’.
Undoubtedly part of Club de Mar’s appeal is its ability to accommodate these supersized vessels. Not only does it provide ‘regular’ moorings up to 135 metres in length (to put things in perspective that’s about the size of the 13th largest superyacht in existence right now, 13 out of almost 5,000 superyachts cruising the world’s waters) it also has a mega 350 metre waiting quay, a rather unique and much-envied feature. This is far larger than even world number one megayacht 180 metre Azzam will ever need, and means that two of the multimillion-dollar beasts can moor alongside at the same time. This happens fairly regularly – in fact in summer this year 91 metre Lürssen Lady Lara (launched in 2015) and 78.5 metre Abeking & Rasmussen Eminence did exactly that. There’s also a helipad for landing the chopper and tight security with barrier access, CCTV and patrolled officers – all 24 hours.
But it’s not just the ‘big boys’ that feel at home at Club de Mar. This ‘members only’ establishment (in order to own a mooring, you must first become a member of the Club, and with that membership you get preferential treatment, discounts, year-round access to the swimming pool and so on) is equally as accessible to your more run-of-the-mill sailing or motoryacht. The Marina has friendly hardworking marineros to help see you in and out of your mooring, high-speed wifi, the expected shoreside supply of water and electricity, a fuel service, selective waste collection, and sewage and bilge removal. There are also workshops, tool rooms, a dry dock, shipyard with travel lift and crane, and chandlery store for nautical bits ‘n’ bobs.
In addition Club de Mar provides showers, toilets, weather information, first aid, a laundry service and that all-important members’ club with pool, bar (Snack El Rubio) and restaurant (Taronja Negre Mar). The pool and restaurant are open to the public, however they’ll only be able to swim during the summer season (June to September) and must pay an entrance fee to access the pool.
Various businesses have also selected Club de Mar as a prestigious address from which to operate, including Camper & Nicholsons, Ocean Independence and Dahm International, alongside a Banco Popular with ATM and Corte Ingles supermarket for stocking up on supplies.
The restaurant certainly deserves more than just a passing mention. Taronja Negre Mar is a relaxed version of Mallorquin chef Tomeu Caldentey’s award-winning restaurant Bou (formerly Es Moli d’en Bou) in Sa Coma on the east coast of the Island which earned a Michelin star in 2004 – an accolade it keeps to this day. This new seafront establishment serves up intriguing fun dishes from an open kitchen in an informal atmosphere. Worth a visit if only for the phenomenal views of the Bay of Palma, Gothic cathedral lit up in the distance. Tomeu has also lent his expertise to the menu of neighbouring Snack El Rubio, the perfect spot for a sundowner cocktail and nibble.
The sailing school is another key feature of Club de Mar. Growing interest in watersports from the grass roots, in the hope of cultivating Olympians of the future, the school hosts around 500 students in the summer months and a weekly average of 25 students learning sailing and 40 learning canoeing throughout the winter. With a flotilla of Optimists, Lasers, kayaks, stand up paddle boards, and more, it has a busy calendar of races and competitions throughout the year.
Club de Mar is also fondly known for its annual Regata Illes Balears Classics which enters its 23rd edition in 2017. One of the most important regattas of its class in the Mediterranean, it gathers together some of the world’s finest classic and vintage boats who can choose to compete or simply be ‘present’ at this friendly festival of sailing.
All said, there is, however, an elephant in the room. When Club de Mar was conceived in 1969, it was granted a 50 year concession which expires, you guessed it, in 2019 – a short two years from now. The Marina’s owners have applied to the Balearic Port Authority for a 25 year extension but, as yet, nothing has been signed and sealed. Part of the hesitation is because Club de Mar doesn’t simply want to stay as it is for the next 25 years, it wants to inject 60 million euros into a facelift that will render it almost unrecognisable from its current state.
Draft plans highlight an overall 40% increase in size of Club de Mar from 67,243 square metres to 93,393 square metres – the equivalent of four football pitches extra. Quay seven will be extended while a brand new 110 metre quay will be built perpendicular to this extension. The aim is not to add more berths (in fact the current berth tally of 590 will drop to around 539) but instead to create more space for superyachts over 50 metres allowing them to manoeuvre comfortably in and out of the Marina.
On land, the three existing buildings will be razed to the ground to make way for three new ones connected by walkways and open spaces. Festooned in greenery with living walls and rooftop gardens, these new strikingly modern whitewashed structures will house in the region of 25 commercial units to include shops, bars, cafés, sailing schools and offices. The top floor will be kept private ‘members only’ with a swimming pool, verdant terraces, lounging space, a restaurant and gymnasium.
The new project also allows for greater public interaction between the city and the marina by extending and widening the Paseo Marítimo (eight metres wide instead of four) with gardens, pedestrian walkways and cycle routes leading to the Cruise Terminal. Overall it’s a three-phase plan that will take three years to come to fruition – if and when the green light is granted. This is likely as the Port Authorities are looking favourably on projects that integrate seamlessly with the city and place emphasis on superyachts and luxury facilities – one only has to look at Moll Vell at the easternmost tip of Palma’s waterfront to see evidence of this official stance.
Club de Mar Director José Luis Arrom said, “We want to modernise Club de Mar, change this archaic idea of a private closed club and open it up to the public.” He is hopeful of Port Authority approval over the coming months and then the plans will be on public display for a period of 20 days. The project will be funded by bank finance with berth sales and either the sale or rent of commercial spaces helping to pay off the loan. Let’s hope we hear news of the next chapter in Club de Mar’s story very soon.
Sarah Drane, sarah@purplecakefactory.com
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