Club Nautico history

Founded in 1875, Chicago Yacht Club is one of the oldest and most respected yacht clubs in the world.

Located in Westchester County, New York, the Club has been in existence since 1880 when it was purchased by Benjamin A. Carver, a railroad magnate.

In June of 1886 a group of local boating enthusiasts joined together to found what has become this cornerstone yacht club.

Founded in 1890, the marina has 45 slips to accommodate boats up to 150 feet.

Founded in 1904 as a place to race sailboats, ride and show horses, the marina now holds 31 covered slips and 50 open slips.

Sarasota Yacht Club was organized in the summer of 1907 and located on the north end of Siesta Key.

Established in 1916, the club is located on the Balboa peninsula in Southern California.

In 1925 the property was purchased by the founding members with the purpose of establishing a club on the water.

Founded by the Yacht Club de France, the Yacht Club Italiano and the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona, with a combined yachting history of over 400 years, the Comité International de la Méditerranée (CIM) was established in 1926.

Since its founding in 1930, Club Náutico de San Juan has championed Puerto Rico's nautical life through eight decades of meaningful history.

In 1933, the foundations of the organization's headquarter was laid next to San Antonio Channel at Stop 9 1/2 in San Juan, a location where the institution remains to this day.

Founded in 1938, Lauderdale Yacht Club is invitation only and host to 65 dock slips that wrap around the marina.

Founded in 1947 and situated on Naples Bay, the Club has the proud distinction of being the city’s first and oldest private club and its marina has 75 concrete floating docks.

Interestingly, Club Náutico dovetailed with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company's vision, interested in promoting sports fishing since 1949.

Beginning in 1951 the Club undertook the first of several infrastructure investments designed to keep the Club abreast of the times.

In 1953 the Club held its first edition of what would eventually become the longest consecutively held big game fishing tournament in the world! What started as an initiative by Chilo Bird to invite some friends from the banking industry in the United States, became a world-class event.

As early as 1956, the Tournament began exceeding records.

That year Allen Sherman set a first record by catching a 756 pound billfish on the Sea Queen II. In 1959 Joseph Widdowson pushed the record higher by capturing a 780.5 pounder.

Preparatory works for the marina began in early 1970.

The Nautical Club Santa Ponsa was founded on April 14th 1971.

The port was built in 1975 utilizing the natural cove called “La Caleta”, whose history, as a natural port used for trading with the local town, dates back more than two thousand years, of which today only archaeological ruins of ‘Puig de Sa Morisca’ remain.

The construction of the project was awarded to the company ‘Cubiertas y Tejados S.A , these ending on the 10th of October, 1979 and being approved by the Head Office of ‘Costas y Puertos de Baleares’.

The reigning Club President since 1984 has been His Royal Highness, Prince Sovereign Albert II, and a suitably formal dress code for day and evening wear is enforced at all times.

In 1987, the Tournament became the first competition in the world to establish the Tag and Release format, thus taking the lead before federal authorities decided to make it mandatory for marlins under 200 pounds through the Magnuson Act.

Club Náutico Santa Eulalia was founded in October 1991 by a group of friends in the town by the river.

In 1992, a second overhaul was undertaken under the stewardship of Commodore Esteban Bird with subsequent improvements that included the expansion of the Ralph Christiansen Pier to enable accommodating increasingly larger boats.

When Mickey Tirado was Tournament Chairman in 1995, ESPN came down to film the Tournament even as two hurricanes threatened to hit the island back to back.

The steamer became the MV Simon Bolivar for Nostromo (joseph Conrad), a mini TV series (1996) with Claudio Cardinali and Albert Finney (and many famous others!).

And so, the records continued to climb until 1997 (one of the last years when marlins were allowed to be boated) when Luis Viyella caught an 895.5 pound marlin, the largest ever captured during the Tournament.

Another noteworthy section is that of the swimming team which was opened in October 1998.

Through the years competitors have come to Puerto Rico from Australia, Spain, Guatemala, Costa Rica and many other countries, and South Africa has sent a team of three anglers almost consecutively during the 2000 decade.

The International Regatta, established in 2001, has become an international platform to propel young sail enthusiasts, who have brought distinction to Puerto Rico through superior performances in the Optimist, Laser, Sunfish and Snipe categories.

On the 18th of July 2002, the club was registered as the “CLUB NAUTICO SANTA PONSA”, under nº 4600 in the first section.

The Club Náutico Santa Eulalia's firm commitment to sports was proven once again in October 2003 when disabled sailing courses were organized.

In 2006 the Club extended along the San Antonio channel by incorporating a large, neighboring plot of land, now used for open air activities.

Most young sailors who won the World Optimist 2008 Championship held in Turkey (an event in which 254 youths from 53 countries competed) were graduates of Club Náutico Sailing Program.

In 2009 it incorporated other venue: Salon Marina with its wooden deck.

That was how, in 2011, thanks to the collaboration of the Town Hall, it was possible to inaugurate, but this time in capital letters, the SANTA EULALIA MUNICIPAL SAILING SCHOOL, located at the promenade, very close to the headquarters of the club.

The futuristic clubhouse was redesigned in 2013 and overlooks Port Hercules, it offers up very popular cocktail bar and Mediterranean restaurant.

There are also 24 residential suites, including the popular Presidential suite that opened in 2016.

© 2019 Les Piscines Club Nàutic