The Club Náutico de Ponce (''Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club'') is a

yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

. The club is located contiguously on

Isla de Gatas Gatas, or more commonly Isla de Gatas, is a small island in barrio Playa (Ponce), Playa in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce in southern Puerto Rico. A tied island since the 1950s connected to the Puerto Rico mainland via a tombolo, ...

, near the La Guancha recreational and cultural area, and next to the

Port of Ponce The Rafael Cordero Santiago Port of the Americas (PLA) is a megaport currently under construction in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The project aims to convert the current Port of Ponce into a value-added tax-free customs-free international shipping hu ...

. The complex consists of two restaurants, a private beach, a gym, a running track, two pools, various basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts, and a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

. The club also runs a sailing school for children. Founded in 1941 by a group of nautical enthusiasts from Ponce to promote water and fishing sports, the marina is one of Puerto Rico's oldest.

History

The idea of building a Club in Isla de Gatas began in 1935 by seven men, among them Pedro Juan Serralles Galiano. At that time the island had an area of approximately and people had to take a small boat to reach it. The clubhouse was finished in 1938, and over the years the original 1 acre was expanded to , in part due to club member Tito Castro. Mr. Castro owned a construction company and the surplus rocks that were removed from various road and construction projects that he contracted for were deposited around Isla de Gatas and eventually filled the shallow surrounding it. Isla de Gatas is connected to the mainland by a dike at Punta Carenero.''Hurricane Havens for the North Atlantic Ocean.''
United States Navy. Retrieved 30 April 2011. In later years the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * ...

protecting the area. This, and the Tito Castro land reclamations, made it possible to build a road that joined the island to the mainland. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the Club was used by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

who had five PT Boats stationed there. Since 1946 membership has grown from 100 people to over 900 families in 2006. The original two-story clubhouse is now a restaurant called "''El Comodoro''" (

The Commodore ''The Commodore'' (published 1945) is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. It was published in the United States under the title ''Commodore Hornblower''. Plot summary Having achieved fame and financial security, Captain Si ...

). Club Náutico has room for 250 boat slips.

Gallery

File:Golf Course at Club Nautico de Ponce, in Ponce, PR (IMG 3706).jpg, Golf Course at Club Nautico de Ponce File:Clubhouse at Club Nautico de Ponce, in Ponce, PR (IMG 3713).jpg, Clubhouse Office at Club Nautico de Ponce File:Multi-use room at Club Nautico de Ponce, in Ponce, PR (IMG 3714).jpg, A Multi-use room at Club Nautico de Ponce File:Logo of Club Nautico de Ponce, in Ponce, Puerto Rico (IMG 3716).jpg, Logo of Club Nautico de Ponce File:Club Nautico de Ponce Docking Area Restaurant in Ponce, PR (IMG 3719).jpg, Club Nautico de Ponce Docking Area Restaurant File:Children's Play Area at Club Nautico de Ponce (IMG 3722).jpg, Children's Play Area at Club Nautico de Ponce File:Club Nautico de Ponce Docking Area 2 Restaurant in Ponce, PR (IMG 3724).jpg, Entrance to Club Nautico de Ponce docking area restaurant File:Club Nautico de Ponce main entrance, Ponce, PR (IMG 3747).jpg, Main entrance to Club Nautico de Ponce File:IMG 3698 - Isla de Gatas Beach in Ponce, PR.jpg, Beach at Club Nautico de Ponce

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Club Nautico De Ponce Buildings and structures completed in 1938 Ports and harbors of Puerto Rico Organizations based in Ponce, Puerto Rico 1941 establishments in Puerto Rico Sports venues in Ponce, Puerto Rico Yacht clubs in Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in Ponce, Puerto Rico

History

Gallery

See also

References