- Lantau Yacht Club, which evicted more than 150 families during renovations last year, plans to offer 150 slips, including some to superyachts by 2020
- Discovery Bay residents feel plan will benefit only the rich, while yacht brokers point to limitations of the marina, such as lack of manoeuvring space
The developer of Discovery Bay on Lantau Island has announced plans to turn its marina into "Hong Kong's most exclusive" superyacht club, which will hold vessels up to 100-metres (328 feet) long, but the plan has received mixed reactions from locals and the yachting community.
The renamed Lantau Yacht Club, which evicted more than 150 families living on houseboats for renovation last year, will offer 150 slips, including thirteen 60-metre-long berths with capacity to accommodate superyachts up to 100 metres, when it reopens in the second half of 2020, according to its website.
"We believe in the vast development potential of the maritime economy in Hong Kong, which will in turn contribute to tourism and the local economy," Victor Cha, deputy chairman and managing director of the HKR International Limited, which owns the marina club, said in a statement uploaded to the club's website earlier this month.
"Our world-class marina will offer an ideal berthing space to local yacht owners and will attract luxury and superyachts from around the world to visit Hong Kong, making our city a preferred yachting destination in the region," Cha added.
Membership will be by invitation only.
The club, undergoing a major facelift, has yet to reconcile with the local community after the controversial eviction that forced some boat owners who had lived there for years to give up their houseboats or even leave the city.
"The community thinks it's a move to kick out poorer boat owners to make way for rich customers to earn more money," Kwok Yim-ming, said a 73-year-old retiree, who lives in the neighbourhood.
Louise Crowther was one of the residents who had to sell off her boat incurring a 68 per cent loss and move to a flat next to the Discovery Bay marina after being evicted.
"I think it's wrong for them to cater only to the very wealthy. They should be providing facilities for the local community and the broader Hong Kong community. It's wrong to cater to people who don't even live here," she said.
Superyachts usually range from 24 metres to 180 metres, with a professional sailing crew and a staff providing high-standard comfort to guests.
An 88.5m superyacht built in 2018 costs Euro130 million (US$144 million), according to the online trade journal and selling platform SuperYacht Times.
In Hong Kong, the Gold Coast Yacht and Country Club in Tuen Mun can also hold megayachts of up to 70 metres long.
Discovery Bay residents fear their expat haven is turning into a Chinese tourist trap
Yacht broker Anthony Rendall said targeting superyachts could be a good marketing strategy to raise the club's profile among affluent customers, but he also pointed to the limitations of the marina.
Given the image of the dock illustrated by the club in its advertisement, Rendall said the triangular harbour was too small for superyachts that needed a lot of space to manoeuvre.
"I know that there are superyachts anchored around Sai Kung and they don't pay anything. If you create some new berths for superyachts and charge a hundred thousands dollars a month, how many takers are you going to find?" he added.
Rendall also doubted if the Lantau Yacht Club would have an advantage geographically, as most superyacht owners were local tycoons who wanted to keep their vessels close to the city centre.
"You can park your Ferrari at Gold Coast, but you can't park your Ferrari in Discovery Bay," Rendall said.
Discovery Bay houseboat saga: bad investments, First World problems, or a callous destruction?
Hong Kong Resort Company, the developer of Discovery Bay and the yacht club, did not respond to the Post's enquiry on the charges, but said a news release was issued to related industry associations and contacts and all information was presented on the website.
The website said services, including limousine and airport transfer would be provided, but it did not mention if parking would be provided in Discovery Bay, largely a vehicle-free area.
Superyacht dealer Miles Clark agreed that the location might not be ideal, but he said the boat owners might still choose to anchor their vessels in Discovery Bay if there were no other options.
Clark said mega vessels in the city had already outnumbered berths available and the shortage of safe moorings had always been an issue for all kinds of boats.
Hong Kong had only 5,000 public and private moorings and dry berths for around 10,000 pleasure vessels in 2017.
As of the end of June 2018, 41 out of 43 private berthing sites provided by the government were fully occupied, while more than 500 applications were on the waiting list.
Four major yacht clubs in the city, not including Lantau Yacht Club, have together held 864 of the 1,921 private moorings offered by the Marine Department.
Besides private moorings, the government also offers the boat owners public typhoon shelters free of charge. But they are often either too crowded, such as the one in Kwun Tong, or inaccessible, such as the one in Hei Ling Chau. Boat owners are also concerned about the safety of anchoring at public moorings and some even pay local triads to keep their boats safe.
Southern district council member Paul Zimmerman said the real problems lay with the government's inaction in providing enough sheltered water for boats, because it did not recognise boating as a valid recreational industry for everyone and not just the rich.
"I think superyachting is a legitimate industry that Hong Kong should serve and provide facilities for. And equally, I think that Hong Kong should provide facilities for people who want to go on the water with whatever kind of vessels locally," he said.
Clark said the city needed to build more marinas, which would also bring jobs to a wide range of industries, including food and beverage, hotel and tourism, finance and insurance, and advertising.
"It's not just a yacht club for the rich. A rich man can hire 10 poor people on his boat, who all need to eat and drink. The impact is far-reaching and it's very narrow-minded of anyone to think it's only benefiting the rich," he said.
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