New wharfs, foilers and slowdown in economic growth

New superyacht marinas in Gibraltar

This week saw the final stage of the multimillion-dollar redevelopment of Ocean Village and Marina Bay in Gibraltar. New pontoons for superyachts have been installed.

These pontoons are different from ordinary pontoons. They require specially made to order trusses. Pontoons are designed in such a way as to protect the environment from possible emissions resulting from the operation of yachts. 

When completed, these new facilities will become Gibraltar's No. 1 Mooring Location for superyachts. In addition, Ocean Village and Marina Bay will offer additional services to yacht owners. 

A multimillion-dollar investment in new waterfront facilities has been made as part of the Marina Club project, which has recently been completed with 144 seafront apartments to be commissioned over the next 12 months.

Foiler exhibitions in Saudi Arabia

Jeddah Yacht Club (JYC), recently opened on the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia, will host ocean racing and an international exhibition for foilers (hydrofoils) and ocean racing.

The Yacht Club is located in the same building as the new superyacht marina, which opened during Formula 1 racing in December 2021. Along the waterfront jetty are a five-star hotel, retail outlets, luxury restaurants, events, entertainment, and the JYC Sailing Academy.

Recall that sailing was chosen as one of the main directions of development of Saudi Arabia in 2022. The first important step was the creation of the Jeddah Yacht Club. The Jeddah Season 2022, a two-month program that brings together several major cultural, sports and entertainment events, was recently announced and launched. 

Jeddah Season 2022 is close to its equator. The program began in early May and will come to an end by the end of June. For six weeks, the sailing team from Foiling Week will be based at the Jeddah Yacht Club and will be testing and demoing futuristic boats including the Persico 69F, Waszps and Nikki foiling boats, Wing Foils and E-Foils. Three ocean racing boats and their crews will also give you an idea of what round the world racing is all about.

The Sailing Week program includes introductory lessons on land and on water. The fleet consists of a Persico 69F and two WASZPs (provided by Rune Jacobsen's Foiling Norway, former Barcelona '92 Olympic Soling), two Nikkis, two Wingboards and a Lift Foil.

Finnish Industry Report Predicts Slower Growth

Finnboat's latest report points to a slowdown in industry growth. Among the main reasons is the war in Ukraine.

The company has compiled its quarterly report on the yachting industry. In addition to official sources, an important place in the report is occupied by surveys of workers at all levels of the industry. According to this survey, it became clear that many of those who expressed cautious optimism in the first month of the war are now changing their minds about the situation. The industry loses every day not only money, but personnel.

According to the report, the yachting industry will not take an immediate hit. Problems will appear gradually. Now there is even an increase in net sales in the first half of 2022. Despite this, the crisis is just ahead. “Slight growth may be a sign of an impending crisis. The problem is that the situation is extremely unpredictable. We can’t say for sure… What to expect,” says one of Finnboat’s sources, who requested anonymity.

There is also an increase in food and fuel prices, an increase in interest rates. The same anonymous source indicates that a slight increase may remain until early-mid 2023 without significant changes.

Up to 67% respondents reported problems related to supply chain disruptions. Outages affect virtually all boat and equipment manufacturers, regardless of the country of origin. Boats made in Finland contain hundreds of parts and components dependent on global supply chains, so Finnboat's increased delivery times for electronics and raw materials are having a negative impact on the entire shipbuilding industry.

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24.05.2022