Homeport is where the heart is

As the superyacht industry has grown, so too has its impact. From a little-known segment of the marine industry in the 1980s and 1990s to a major global industry that has built and supported more than 5,500 superyachts, it brings economic and employment benefits to communities all over the world. But there’s another community aspect to superyachting which is becoming ever more important as the fleet continues to grow – the crew.

There are already tens of thousands of crew working in the superyacht industry, coming from all sorts of backgrounds, finding all sorts of experiences and making all sorts of careers in this rarefied world. A yacht needs to be based somewhere – its homeport – and crew become an inextricable part of the towns where those homeports are located. Their importance is evident from the facilities, infrastructure and services that superyacht marinas are beginning to develop to cater to those yachts and their crews, and it speaks also to the vibrant crew community and camaraderie that develops wherever superyachts congregate.

I remember this clearly from my own days working as crew in the early days of the industry, when a vessel of 50 metres would still feature on the Top 100 Biggest Yachts list. Naturally, the crew was a tight-knit unit on the yacht itself, living and working in close proximity and working long but rewarding hours, particularly on charter. But we also knew all the other yachts in the port, particularly when winter came and those who weren’t migrating to the Caribbean formed bonds in the out-of-season slowdown when many of the local bars and restaurants had closed.

Nowadays, new superyacht marinas recognise the importance of looking after crew and offering them that sense of community. Porto Mirabello, for example – located at the head of the bay of La Spezia in Italy and linked to the town itself by a footbridge – includes sports facilities, a crew bar, chill zone, barbecue area, and even private gardens for some of the superyacht berths. The marina also helps organise local and regional trips for crews to get to know the area and discover core elements that make up the Made in Italy ethos – from the beauty of Cinque Terre’s coastal villages to the leather markets of Florence and the elite car manufacturers of Maranello.

Further, Porto Mirabello is developing facilities on site that enable more involved events and discussion. “We have recently inaugurated a new crew lounge and conference room, complete with relaxation area and cinema room,” enthuses Marzia Casciana, one of the marina’s concierge team which offers crew-specific assistance. “Over the past few months, we have used the crew rooms to organise crew conferences with organisations like Siemens Energy and classification society RINA.”

Most recently, in December 2022, came the Super Yacht 24 forum which focused on environmental and sustainability developments in yachting, considering new technologies, skills, trends and new projects. “The Super Yacht 24 forum was the first of many appointments that our marina will host in the coming season,” says Alessandro Menozzi, CEO and founder of Porto Mirabello. “Porto Mirabello will be a point of reference and comparison for the international nautical world and the production tied to it.”

Porto Mirabello is not the only superyacht marina to start to cater to crew with on-site facilities and off-site events. Porto Montenegro in the Bay of Kotor, off the Adriatic, features the Porto Montenegro Crew Club, a community based on superyacht crews which is complimentary for all crew residing in the marina. It offers a range of seasonal events and activities from sports tournaments to parties and quayside barbecues, each of which, according to Porto Montenegro, is designed “to bond crew mates but also to meet other people living and working in Porto Montenegro”. The Club also offers discounts over the winter months at various retail, restaurant, café and bar partners throughout the marina village, which both gives something back to the crew and also ensures that local businesses continue to benefit from crew in the off-season months. It’s the perfect example of the symbiotic community experience that superyachting generates.

Among the many winter events the marina offers to keep crew entertained is the Winter Games, which holds its fifth edition in early 2023. It takes the form of traditional skiing competition mixed with more unconventional snow sports over three days in the idyllic town of Kolašin in the Bjelasica mountains, and is open to crew not only based in the marina but from all over the region and beyond. Crew enter in teams of four, and already 14 teams have registered for the 2023 event which will also feature Montengrin food and wine.

“Our whole team at Porto Montenegro are excited to be arranging the fifth annual Winter Games, an event that has become a calendar highlight each year,” says Tony Browne, Marina Director at Porto Montenegro. “We always look forward to celebrating with our Crew Club members and to welcoming visiting crew, captains and owners in the yachting community for a weekend of friendly competition, fun and games in the mountains.” It’s a fine example of how the crew sector and the industry surrounding it moves to deliver meaningful experiences, create bonds, and develop communities – both within crews themselves and with the communities and cultures they reside in.