Dear Islander,
I had to decide whether to tear myself away from the superb TV coverage of the America´s Cup, or the Masters Golf from Augusta over the Easter Weekend, in order to put the finishing touches to this months issue. Of course if I had been better organised I would have had it all done before the weekend, but half the fun of publishing is the thrill of the last minute achievement, so that´s my excuse for being a slug, and I´m sticking to it!
A bunch of half finished jobs on my boat (I blame the weather) together with the occurrence of the aforementioned sporting events, and the sudden impossibility of finding a parking space anywhere near Palma, are a sure sign that the season has really started.
Even as I write this, my inbox is buzzing with more “breaking news” press releases on the America´s Cup than you can shake a boathook at, and it seems the Spanish challenger, “Desafio Espanol” has started well. The Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma has ended, albeit after a week of slightly indifferent sailing conditions, but with an increased international participation. And as our lead story shows, the locally organised Superyacht Cup is set to be another big success, which is all good news for yachting in Spain and the Balearics.
As for yacht building in general, the boom seems set to continue, with no less than 777 yachts exceeding 24 metres in length under construction in 2006, which is an increase of 15.3% compared to the previous year according to a report by Showboats International magazine. Against some stiff European competition the well known British motorboat brands such as Sunseeker, Fairline, Princess and Sealine are holding their own, with ever larger, more luxurious and longer range models being developed. As an example, the recently completed 37metre Tri-deck motor cruiser from Sunseeker is the largest semi-custom motoryacht ever to be built in the UK. And over in Sweden, even the once ailing Storebro yard owned by Nimbus, has seen a return to profitability after several years of losses, and they plan to deliver 40 of their excellent seaworthy boats by 2008.
Back here in North Mallorca, its good to see some initiatives on ecological issues, with Fairline organising the worlds first comparison demonstration between 100% renewable BioFuel-powered and Fossil diesel-powered boats on behalf of fuel technology company Revego Ltd, using two of their identical Phantom 46´s .
Also, the Fisheries Dept. of the Balearics Government have extended their Dolphin Protection Program which has been running since 2003, and have set up a centre in Cala Ratjada to monitor the movements and habits of the sea mammals, with a view towards minimising their fatalities due to becoming tangled in fishing nets.
Finally, may I use this space to point out that our updated contact details can be found in the grey panel at the bottom of page 4 - as Telefonica with their usual gross inefficiency, have failed to activate our request for a redirection from our old number.
Regards
Peter Franklin