Meeting of minds

“The group needs to address and discuss key issues the industry is facing, and given our established operation, it is important we now start to create some key policies.

“The commitment and generosity of the Royal Palma Yacht Club, the leading institution in Spain presided over by Emerico Fuster, is providing GMBA with an excellent and comfortable place for our meeting.”

Over the two-day conference, the GMBA team will visit Astilleros de Mallorca. Located in the Port of Palma, a short walk from the city centre, Astilleros de Mallorca was one of the first facilities of its kind to provide a complete, one-stop full Refit and Repair Superyacht Service Centre in Mediterranean Spain.

More than 200 yachts are refitted or repaired at Astilleros de Mallorca every year. GMBA will be welcomed to the yard by CEO Diego Colon, who  commented, “We’re very proud of our facility and looking forward to providing a tour of our facilities to the GMBA team. It is excellent that they choose Palma for their first meeting.”

On the second day of the meeting, Anders Kurten, CEO of Baltic Yachts, will address the group on “The future of sustainable superyachting”. This will be followed by a visit to Baltic Yachts, the world’s leading carbon yacht builder. Baltic Yachts take an in-house approach to yacht building with all disciplines controlled under one roof, from design and engineering to woodworking and the latest composite manufacturing techniques.

There is a team permanently based in Palma de Mallorca with backup and support from the yard in Finland. Anders said, “The superyacht industry, including sailing yachts, is experiencing a buoyant market right now both for new builds and refit services.

“We live in exciting times, as new sustainable technologies are widely embraced and sought after by owners and shipyards alike,” continued Anders.

“Those who are technologically positioned to leverage this development will have significant opportunities over the following years. I’m looking forward to speaking to the team at GMBA and showing them our facility in Palma.”

Jouko Huju, the inspiration behind GMBA, stated, “The foundation for GMBA was laid some two years ago, and we have come a long way since. It is exciting to finally have a meeting with all the advisors together. We feel our position is established, and it is important that we review the last two years and develop our focus for the next 2 to 5 years.

“We now have an excellent line-up of experienced industry players, and the work we are doing is undoubtedly providing very positive feedback. With travel now back on everyone’s agenda, we are looking forward to being present at the key boat shows and events around the globe.

“It’s fantastic that Oscar offered to host this first meeting, and the turnout of consultants is impressive given they are coming from far and wide. Meeting face to face and strengthening relationships is important as we move forward, and the whole group is excited by this prospect.”

Since its inception, Real Club Nautico Palma has been recognised for its social and sports activities and has been a reference in Spain’s yachting world, as well as the driving force of international sailing events such as the Copa del Rey, the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía, PalmaVela or the Trofeo Ciutat de Palma, (the oldest sports competition in the Balearic Islands). The clubs host more than 30 regattas per year.

gmba.blue