ocean village News

PC Anthony Debono of Royal Gibraltar Police’s (RGP) Crime Prevention & Reduction Unit gathered together Pubwatch members at Ocean Village HQ last week to give them a timely reminder of how to handle drink spiking and fake ID on licensed premises.

Gibraltar may be teetering on the brink of winter but one man who won’t be reaching for his fleece in Ocean Village this week is long-time Arctic explorer Gilles Elkaim who just sailed in on his expedition boat, Arktika.

As proof that Gibraltar’s Ocean Village is a superyacht magnet, this week a sextet of heavyweight vessels cruised in requiring berths. Thanks to 2010 Premier Berth expansion programme, there was space for all as well as a great photo opportunity.

This week low-cost airline easyJet strengthened its commitment to Gibraltar by adding four extra weekly flights to its London Gatwick service. Scheduled to begin next summer, the airline will now operate 11 flights a week to this London airport.

When 78-metre Samar was commissioned, she was the largest yacht to be built in the UK since HMY Britannia was launched. Gibraltar’s Ocean Village ensured that she received a warm British welcome when she stopped by for tax-free fuel this week.

Having set off from Gibraltar’s Ocean Village back on 26 October 2009, nearly two years and 35,000 nautical miles later participants in the 2009/2011 Blue Water Rally intrepid duo Pete Callis and John Hazell made a triumphant return to the marina.

The now infamous annual Ocean Village-sponsored Cardboard Boat Race took place on Saturday 3 September under bright blue skies. The soggy sailors battled the calm marina waters in front of a large animated crowd.

The annual Cardboard Boat Race has traditionally been one of Ocean Village’s biggest crowd-pulling events. This year’s contest, on Saturday 3 September, will once again see dozens of brave mariners negotiate a tough 1,000-metre course.

PC Anthony Debono of Royal Gibraltar Police’s (RGP) Crime Prevention & Reduction Unit gathered together Pubwatch members at Ocean Village HQ last week to give them a timely reminder of how to handle drink spiking and fake ID on licensed premises.

Gibraltar may be teetering on the brink of winter but one man who won’t be reaching for his fleece in Ocean Village this week is long-time Arctic explorer Gilles Elkaim who just sailed in on his expedition boat, Arktika.

As proof that Gibraltar’s Ocean Village is a superyacht magnet, this week a sextet of heavyweight vessels cruised in requiring berths. Thanks to 2010 Premier Berth expansion programme, there was space for all as well as a great photo opportunity.

This week low-cost airline easyJet strengthened its commitment to Gibraltar by adding four extra weekly flights to its London Gatwick service. Scheduled to begin next summer, the airline will now operate 11 flights a week to this London airport.

Billed as “the most member-driven General Assembly event” in the Assn’s history, Gibraltar delegate Brian Stevendale joined 260 more representatives from 100 World Trade Centers at the General Assembly held in Sao Paolo Brazil from 9 to 12 Oct.

When 78-metre Samar was commissioned, she was the largest yacht to be built in the UK since HMY Britannia was launched. Gibraltar’s Ocean Village ensured that she received a warm British welcome when she stopped by for tax-free fuel this week.

Having set off from Gibraltar’s Ocean Village back on 26 October 2009, nearly two years and 35,000 nautical miles later participants in the 2009/2011 Blue Water Rally intrepid duo Pete Callis and John Hazell made a triumphant return to the marina.

The now infamous annual Ocean Village-sponsored Cardboard Boat Race took place on Saturday 3 September under bright blue skies. The soggy sailors battled the calm marina waters in front of a large animated crowd.

In case you needed any more incentive to spend your time at Gibraltar’s Ocean Village, the resort has now launched its Premier Card. Offering fantastic discounts, the Ocean Village Premier Card will transform the way you spend your leisure time.

The annual Cardboard Boat Race has traditionally been one of Ocean Village’s biggest crowd-pulling events. This year’s contest, on Saturday 3 September, will once again see dozens of brave mariners negotiate a tough 1,000-metre course.

Denmark may be far from tropical, yet it has produced one of the finest steel bands on the circuit – the “Steel Hammers”. The 12-piece ensemble will be bringing a flavour of the Caribbean to Gibraltar’s Ocean Village on Monday 18 July at 9pm.

At first glance, 59m Calixe looked like ‘just’ another superyacht in the conveyor belt of beauties that continue to grace the waters of Gibraltar’s Ocean Village. However she was known to be a bit different for she is in fact owned by a woman.

Owning third place in May’s Sunday Times Rich List, Roman Abramovich has amassed a £10.3 billion fortune – £3 billion up on 2010. Amongst his assets is 162.5m ‘Eclipse’ – recently anchored in waters off Gibraltar’s Ocean Village.

Pen the dates of the Gibraltar-Morocco Rally into the diary – Friday 24 to Monday 27 June. Dubbed 'the world's most sociable yacht rally', the event departs from Ocean Village gets non-racing sailors and motorboaters together on the water.

Kicking off last weekend, huge crowds gathered to take part in Ocean Village's Festival of the Seas offering a wide variety of activities from a Yacht Rally to a Dragon Boat Race and organisers even managed to book spectacular sunny weather.

Since launch in May 2010, Ocean Village’s new Premier Berths have an occupancy of an incredible 70 - 80%. For that Ocean Village can credit its keen pricing strategy with a maximum of £4 a metre charged per day for even the largest megayacht.

On 5 May Leisure Island Business Centre, Ocean Village, was once again hosting high profile guests. 400 delegates occupied the exhibition hall-style space for the Gibraltar Finance Centre Annual Conference with an impressive roll call of speakers.

There is nowhere better to be than Gibraltar’s Ocean Village this May. Packed with land- and water-based fun for all, the Festival of the Seas runs from Saturday 14 May to Sunday 22 May and is quite simply unmissable.

Lakshmi Mittal is the wealthiest Indian according to the Forbes list of World Billionaires for 2011. Worth 31.1 billion USD it’s little wonder that he has a megayacht to match and his 80m was spotted in Gibraltar’s Ocean Village marina last week.

At 8.30pm on Saturday 26 March, Ocean Village will be joining one billion people in 130 countries around the globe in the big Earth Hour switch-off - a bold reminder that we can take personal responsibility for the future of the planet we live on.

As the curtain comes down on another MIPIM, the first public unveiling of World Trade Center Gibraltar was deemed a resounding success. Holding centre stage on the World Trade Centers Association stand, the Gibraltar project attracted vast interest.

MIPIM 2011 is about to descend on Cannes. Running from 8 to 11 March, the occasion gathers together key players in the global real estate industry and Gibraltar’s World Trade Center is preparing for its MIPIM debut.

In 2010 a handful of apartments in Gibraltar’s Ocean Village marina were released back to the market. Seven sold within the first week meanwhile, across a three week period in 2011, a further three properties have been snapped up. Why? Location.

The liquidators of Madoff Securities International are selling the fraudster’s superyacht in a bid to recoup a fraction of the victims’ lost money. Currently lying in Gibraltar waters, ‘Bull’ is expected to receive offers over 3mn euros.

As the £100 mn terminal nears completion, easyJet has announced its brand new route into Gibraltar Airport from Liverpool’s John Lennon. The three times a week service starting March will complement easyJet’s existing London Gatwick schedule.

In a very rare opportunity, a handful of high floor two and three bedroom apartments in Ocean Village’s Grand and Majestic Ocean Plazas have been released back to the market for sale and are priced to sell from just £295,000.

Having left London’s Tower Bridge one month previously, the Big 5 Kayak Challenge team paddled and peddled almost 2,000 miles to make it to the five star comfort of Gibraltar’s Ocean Village Marina at 7.42pm on Tuesday this week.

Gibraltar’s Ocean Village has won Best High Rise Development Europe and is now in the running for the World’s Best final in November. This gives the resort the chance to become the Best High Rise Development in the World–the ultimate accolade.

On Monday 25 October, Ocean Village will be welcoming members of the ‘Big 5 Kayak Challenge’ team en route from London's Tower Bridge to final destination Marrakech which also signals the end of the ‘Big 5’ for 2010.

A World Trade Centre (WTC) is being planned for Gibraltar to help bring global recognition for the jurisdiction and ensure sufficient top quality office space is available to meet growing demand.

As August turns up the heat it’s time for some cool refreshment in the shape of the O’Reilly’s Beer & Cider Festival 2010 running from Monday 9 August through to Sunday 15 August from 7pm ‘til 11pm.

Part of an endless succession of megayachts choosing Ocean Village marina as a regular port of call, 63 metre Polar Star recently took up temporary residence. Built in 2005, this vessel is available for charter for a modest 450,000 euros a week.

Whilst Gibraltar’s marinas are always busy, turning away 100 boats a day peak season, large boat-sized gaps are appearing in marinas along the Spanish Costas. The reason is financial. From berthing to fuel to taxation – Gibraltar has the edge.

Estimates suggest that over 99% of office space in Gibraltar is either sold or let. The good news is that 253m² of brand new ready-to-move-in commercial space is available within the Leisure Island Business Plaza in Ocean Village.

Building on the back of a positive inaugural Show in 2009, the 2010 Gibraltar International Boat Show 8 to 11 April was designed to offer even better value and deliver a more comprehensive programme to satisfy both exhibitors and the visiting public.

Kicking off on 8 April this year’s Gibraltar International Boat Show has a Government-backed ‘Experience Zone’. Lying adjacent to the Ocean Village and Marina Bay complex, this Arena will offer visitors a range of water and land based pursuits.

Most developers are keeping ambitious plans on ice right now. The climate doesn’t feel right for spending - unless you’re Gibraltar’s Ocean Village that is. Several hundred thousand pounds is being pumped into the marina to host megayachts.

Mariu, a 49.9 metre (163.7ft) megayacht, commissioned for and interior designed by Giorgio Armani, has just completed a three-week stay at Gibraltar’s Ocean Village Marina showing the Marina’s commitment to attracting the world’s finest yachts.

The countdown is now on for Gibraltar International Boat Show 2010 scheduled for 8 to 11 April at the multi-million pound Ocean Village marina. Now expanding across two locations, this Boat Show will be even bigger and better than its predecessor.

The Ocean Village ship Ocean Village Two will depart on its last voyage tomorrow (22/10).

Work is now underway at Gibraltar’s Ocean Village extending the berth offering from 225 to 323. Scheduled to complete for winter 2009/10, the expansion will include premium berths of up to 90 metres to cater for the ever-expanding megayacht market.

Every metropolis has businesspeople reaching for a shot of caffeine to kick-start the day and Gibraltar’s Ocean Village is no exception. After launch in early September, Café Fresco will be right on the doorstep at the entrance to Leisure Island.

On Wednesday 19 August Gibraltar’s warm evening air will be filled with the voice of operatic sensation Donna-Marie. Part of the Ocean Village Festival ‘A Night at the Opera’ will be performed in Gibraltar’s premier address – Ocean Village.

August 19th to 23rd sees the staging of Gibraltar’s first Ocean Festival. Drawing inspiration from the world-renowned Cowes Week, but in guaranteed sunshine of Ocean Village, the Festival is packed with music, partying and a Day Rally to Morocco.

With the Budget announcing a shock 50% rate of income tax for high earners, British entrepreneurs are eyeing up a tactical emigration and the message from Gibraltar is very clear – taxes are not going up, they’re going down.

Gibraltar is less than 7km² in area but one of the most affluent communities on the planet. Committed to ‘low tax’ and sometimes ‘no tax’ the Rock has attracted a flow of business particularly in the banking, gaming & insurance industries.