Lantau Yacht Club attracts premium brands

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The Lantau Yacht Club is slowly but steadily filling up

The first-ever Pershing 140, the flagship of the super-powered Ferretti Group brand, is among the first member yachts at the Lantau Yacht Club, which completed work on its clubhouse in the second quarter of this year following the marina’s soft opening last August.

Since the opening of the clubhouse, Lantau Yacht Club has hosted several events including Ferretti Group Asia Pacific’s local media launch for the world’s first Custom Line Navetta 30, which is also among the club’s first resident yachts.

VIP guests included Clemente Contestabile, Consul General of Italy in Hong Kong, Ivano Poma, President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macao, and Fabiomassimo Discoli, Sales and Marketing Director of Ferretti Group Asia-Pacific.

Charlotte Ho, Clemente Contestabile and Fabiomassimo Discoli

Although only about 20 of the 148 berths were occupied by mid-year, the size and quality of the member and visiting yachts is impressive. A Mangusta 130 is another member’s yacht while Azimut, Benetti, Sunseeker, Sanlorenzo and Feadship models are either resident or have visited.

“The club is fully operational and we already have premium models of luxury yacht brands owned by members including the Pershing 140, Custom Line Navetta 30 and Princess X95, all of which are firsts in Asia. Lantau Yacht Club is becoming a superyacht showcase in Hong Kong,” said Charlotte Ho, Director of Hospitality Marketing and Membership of Auberge Hospitality.

Lantau Yacht Club in Hong Kong is now fully operational

“We’ve received keen interest in marina memberships, especially for large berths. We have over a dozen confirmed full individual and corporate memberships (Diamond and Platinum) for different classes and others are in discussion. We also have a number of visiting members of all sizes, ranging from sailing yachts to superyachts.”

The typhoon-sheltered marina offers 148 berths ranging from 10-60m and is the first yacht club in Hong Kong capable of accommodating superyachts up to about 100m.

The Mangusta 130’s captain said: “The mooring facilities are the best of its kind and comparable to any world-class marina all over the world. Discovery Bay is a self-contained community where I get everything I need, while there’s much to explore in the western waters of Hong Kong.”

Clubhouse and facilities at Lantau Yacht Club

During the typhoon season, the club is offering temporary berths for non-member yachts who may require shelter. It’s also offering ‘yachting staycations’ for owners on a visiting member basis.

“Lantau Yacht Club has berths available for existing and prospective yacht owners,” Ho said. “We also have the capacity to welcome visiting yachts from abroad and as the Covid-19 pandemic eases and border restrictions relax, we expect more international cruising in and out of Hong Kong.”

MORE MOORINGS IN HONG KONG

South of Lantau Yacht Club, Delta Marina & Express is preparing to offer up to 600 moorings in the Hei Ling Chau Typhoon Shelter, which offers space for 100ft-plus superyachts. Delta Marina is set to open in autumn and offer moorings complemented by a 15-minute Delta Express tender service from Aberdeen.

Delta Marina & Express is offering berths at Hei Ling Chau Typhoon Shelter

An on-demand tender service also connects Delta Marina to other pick-up/drop-off points including Central, Causeway Bay and Deep Water Bay on Hong Kong Island, as well as nearby Discovery Bay and Mui Wo on Lantau’s south coast. The fast limousine built by Kingship Marine is a purpose-built 18-passenger tender that cruises at 24 knots.

Bart Kimman of Delta Marina and Express Service said: “Hei Ling Chau Typhoon Shelter is a great facility just begging to be used. We’re offering an end-to-end service that includes assistance with the acquisition of a legal mooring in a Government Typhoon Shelter.”

The marina’s package of services include security, water, limited electricity, grey and black water pump-out, mooring inspection, typhoon preparation and assistance with on-site servicing, maintenance and repairs.

Delta Marina is arranging transfers by a purpose-built passenger tender

Delta Marina also plans to provide interior/exterior cleaning, catering and provisioning services, dinghy and tender hire, water toy hire, and professional captain and crew hire.

“It really is a one-stop-shop arrangement,” Kimman adds. “We’ll get you onto a mooring, look after your boat like it’s our own, get it ready to use, put a crew on board, tidy it up afterwards, and handle annual surveys, inspections and licensing requirements. Call it a yacht concierge service.”

MARINA COVE KEEPS BUSY

Meanwhile, on the east side of Hong Kong, Club Marina Cove, which opened in 1982, said it had received plenty of enquiries for berths in the Covid era. The club in Sai Kung represents 1,500 members and nearly 350 boats and is a regular venue for private displays by local dealers, although such activity has been reduced in the Covid era.

Azimut Magellano 25 Metri APAC premiere at Marina Cove in July

“There has been a huge increase in demand for berths and we had many enquiries about availability,” said Maria Carillo, the club’s Assistant General Manager, who has helped organise 23 editions of the Hong Kong International Boat Show at Marina Cove since joining the club in 1990.

“During the time when people were encouraged to work at home, some members – many of whom have their own company or are bosses – went out on their boat almost every day of the week instead of working at home. They brought along their family or friends who then built an interest in owning a pleasure boat themselves.”