The strategy designed by Cala Gamba Yacht Club aims to preserve the traditional artisan fleet and the lateen sailing as a sporting and cultural element.
The Cala Gamba Yacht Club is located in Palma bay. Its origins date back to 1934, starting from a similar fleet of traditional boats that the actual.
From the 1980s, traditional wooden boats were replaced by mass-produced fibre boats entailing a threat to the artisanal fleet. From the 1990s, the club decided to protect the artisanal fleet by promoting traditional boats and lateen sailing through organising regattas. By this approach, the club defined itself as a protective entity of the floating maritime heritage.
The measures adopted were gathering all artisanal boats in the same dock, establishing an annual regatta calendar, financing part of the mooring charges and offering free beaching for maintenance of competing boats, providing subsidies to those who sail out of Mallorca, and setting up a space where a shipbuilder offers discounts on repairs to the club's boats.
Nowadays, the club has a fleet of 25 traditional boats. Their owners attend meetings regularly and participate in regattas.
As a continuation of the work done, the club has designed a new protection strategy in the form of a maritime ecomuseum to promote the Maritime and Cultural heritage of the club and the surrounding area. It consists in installing informative signage of the club's movable heritage, the organisation of cultural events, a school of lateen sailing and traditional rowing, guided visits by land and sea, the creation of the Moll de la Fusta (specific mooring for these boats), etc.
Resources needed
Between 13,000 euro - 15,000 euro on average per year allocated to subsidies for shipowners of traditional boats.
Expenses for the organisation of events/publications/conferences: 8,000 euro per year.
Information panels for the Moll de la Fusta: 3,000 euro.
Ecomuseum facilities: 10,000 euro.
Evidence of success
The organisation of 12 annual regattas for traditional boats, which started with three boats in 1995 and has grown to 25 today.
For the past 24 years, the club organises an annual meeting for traditional boats from all over Mallorca. On some occasions, counts with the attendance of boats from other regions and countries.
Thanks to these measures and advantages established by the yacht club, there is a waiting list for shipowners who wish to join the yacht club.
Difficulties encountered
Need to justify the investments made to promote this heritage to the members' assembly.
Lack of external funding until the figure of sponsors appeared.
The strategy helps to differentiate the yacht club and confer a sense of pertinence to the social and territorial mass where it is located.
Potential for learning or transfer
The strategy is transferable to other clubs, associations or other nautical entities from European regions interested in developing a programme to protect their traditional boats (regardless of their characteristics). It will be necessary to adapt it to the reality of each entity, mainly in terms of space and fleet, but the basis of the project can be the same for all: recognising the heritage value of the fleet, grouping it, providing it with an explanatory discourse and official activities, and defining subsidies for those shipowners who meet the participation requirements.
Tags: Cultural heritage, Maritime
