Club Nàutic Sant Antoni was founded on March 31st 1973 by a group of sailing enthusiasts most of whom lived in the Portmany Bay area.
José Roselló Prats was one of the members of that first meeting of 140 people who were considered to be the founding members of the organisation when he was appointed first President of the Club.
In this way an association was founded with no assets, no facilities and no social centre; however, it had one very specific purpose, namely to provide Sant Antoni de Portmany with facilities for mooring pleasure craft and promoting sailing activities and water sports in the bay.
The port of Sant Antoni was initially transformed in the late nineteen fifties with the construction of a seawall, still in place today, to provide protection from the tramontana, mistral and poniente storms.
Towards the end of 1973, in the shelter of this dock, construction began on the first marina slips to be built by the Club which subsequently added others to complete the project. The first building, used as a social centre for the Club, was a portable shed that acted as office and venue for the Board of Directors’ meetings. Club Nàutic was managed from these small premises for 16 years.
In 1984, the presidency passed to Bartolomé Juan Cardona who held the post until 1988 when he handed his role to José Tur Torres, the current President of the Club.
In 1991, in what was an extremely important step for the organisation, the first club house was built, as at last it had a venue where members and friends of the Club could meet.
The philosophy and objectives of the Club have not altered since its foundation, namely, to improve the facilities and work towards inculcating a passion and respect for the sea among young people. This is evidenced in iconic projects such as the Sailing and Canoeing Schools which have produced dozens of champions, who have garnered regional, national and even international prizes, and the “Setmana del Mar” or Sea Week, an initiative which, since 1996, has introduced thousands of schoolchildren to the sea and marine environment.
Towards the end of 2006, the Administrative Concession was renewed and will remain in force until 2041, with authorisation obtained soon after to refurbish the installations, a project that was completed in 2013, with the inauguration of new marina slips, a Clubhouse and Club restaurant. The final phase of this integral renovation process was completed in 2017 when the Club’s sports department was opened.
