Emaar Hospitality has appointed Mr Steve Stiglbauer as general manager of Dubai Marina Yacht Club, scheduled to open shortly within Dubai Marina.

A marine industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience, Stiglbauer will supervise the club’s activities and also identify new strategies to position it as the premier marina-based leisure and sporting centre in the region.

The Dubai Marina Yacht Club will anchor the activities of the four Marinas, of which one – East Marina offering 220 berths - is operational now. The second one, Yacht Club Marina is schedule to open in mid-2008 followed by the Marina Mall Marina and West Marina, altogether offering 600 berths, the company said in a statement.

The club, an architectural masterpiece, offers access to the entire range of marine services apart from lifestyle amenities including a marine retail shopping arcade, restaurants, nautical gift store and yachting fashion boutique, among others. A boat repair facility will be added soon, it added.

“Dubai Marina Yacht Club will serve as a vibrant meeting place for boating enthusiasts with its lifestyle amenities appealing to the general public. Steve’s extensive experience in the marine industry and his focus on customer service excellence will help position the club as a premier lifestyle and sporting destination in the region,” said Emaar Hospitality Group chief executive officer Marc Dardenne.

“Dubai Marina Yacht Club is one of the finest facilities in the region and offers tailor-made services for the boating community. The requirements of boating enthusiasts are varied and demanding; it is therefore important to adopt a proactive approach and deliver value-added services, which is the goal of the club,” said Stiglbauer.

Steve was previously in the general management role at Harbortown Marina in South Florida and has worked as Marina Director for Fort Lauderdale’s world-famous Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Marina and also South Beach’s Miami Beach Marina. He has successfully run his own yacht brokerage and yacht repair service, and served in the US Navy for many years as a Surface Warfare Officer. 

Steve holds an international designation as a Certified Marina Manager and is a licensed oceangoing captain. He is a graduate in Physical Oceanography from the University of South Carolina, US.

Dubai Marina Yacht Club’s licensed restaurants are open to the public. Built facing its own 116-berth private Marina, the ground floor opens out through a waterfront café onto a public boulevard called Marina Walk, which encircles the canal. The Club is currently accepting bookings for social and corporate cruises aboard the new MV Carver yacht, the company said. – TradeArabia News Service