El Balís Yacht Club - CN El Balís

1966 – 1971

The club’s prehistory began in 1965 when the Caixa de Crédit i Estalvi bank of the Official College of Physicians of Catalonia acquired some land near the beach owned by the future president of the club, Josep Cornudella Capdevila.

The El Balís Yacht Club’s corporate charter dates back to December 19, 1966. And thus the project began. The seed had been planted.

On January 20, 1967, the go-ahead was given for the incorporation of the club and its management board was chaired by Josep Cornudella Capdevila. The El Balís Yacht Club was officially born.

During the first years the club functioned more like a beach club than a yacht club, but the sport of sailing was part of its DNA and it organised the first Optimist regattas.

Teaching has also had a place since the very beginning, and although initially there was no official sailing school, the members of the club organised small sailing classes.

During the first years, a sign was the only proof of the El Balís Yacht Club's existence.
Sailing has been part of the club's DNA since the beginning.
The club's first social building was used as a restaurant on the ground floor, and there were meeting rooms and other activities on the upper floor.
Small motor boats were kept on the sand, as there was no port to dock the boats.

1972 – 1990

The most important feat that marked the second stage of the club is the establishment of the marina, whose construction work began in July 1972.

In 1974, the Cornudella Trophy was created, a dinghy sailing regatta that has endured over time and continues to the present day.

The club’s sporting event with the longest tradition.

In 1975, Commodore Wladimir Padrós pushed to create the Sports Commission to promote both the practice and learning of water sports.

In August of 1980, the new social building was officially inaugurated.

In the eighties, the achievements put in place by the Sports Commission began to materialise. In 1986, García Muret aboard an Optimist became the club’s first world champion.

In 1981 the first Dragonera was held, one of the longest standing deep-sea regattas in Spain.

The construction of the Marina with more than 400 moorings resulted in a rapid growth in the number of members, increasing from sixty to just over 300.
Since the beginning, the El Balís Yacht Club has never missed the opportunity to celebrate traditional festivals year after year, such as Carnival, Saint John's Eve or the festivities celebrating our Madre de Dios del Carmen.
The El Balís Yacht Club has always had a rich and attractive social life.
Youth have always found El Balís to be a space where they can have fun and take part in numerous leisure activities.
The Cornudella Trophy is the sporting event with the longest tradition at the El Balís Yacht Club. 1991-2007

1991 – 2007

The great project that marked the beginning of this new stage of the El Balís Yacht Club is the port’s expansion.

The Club entered the era of communication, in 1997 steps were taken to gain access to the Internet and a website was created.

Record number of members. In 2003, a total of 1,341 members was reached.

The great sporting event of this stage was the Barcelona ’92 Olympic Games, in which one of the club’s members, José María Van der Ploeg, became its main protagonist, achieving an Olympic gold in the Finn class.

El Balís was involved in the organisation of many regattas and sporting events. Highlights in this period include the European Water Ski Racing Cup in 1996, and the creation in 1999 of the El Balís Grand Prix, a sailing regatta that is on the calendar of Catalan championships.

In 2001, the decision was made to open the sailing school throughout the year, which ultimately gave the practice an enormous boost and helped make the sport of sailing better known.

During the last decade of the century, the first summer camps were organised for children between the ages of 8 and 12.

- The work to expand the port was finished in July 1992. The number of moorings was set at 364, 84 of which are for public use.
Fishing has always been a sport with a big presence at the El Balís Yacht Club.
Paddle tennis arrived at El Balís in 1994, when the first court was built at the yacht club's facilities.
A large part of El Balís' sporting successes are due to all the groundwork laid by the sailing school. In 2001, more than 500 courses were held.
One of the great passions of many of the El Balís members is dominoes, a game for which many tournaments have been held since its founding.
The festivities celebrating Our Lady of Mount Carmel with its maritime procession is one of the club's most respected traditions.

2008 – 2016

In 2008, El Balís began the remodelling work on the Social Building.

With the motto “Let’s sail the environment”, the club decided to make a series of modifications in its waste collection facilities in 2011 to raise awareness among its members of the importance of protecting nature.

At the beginning of 2012, the club received the first blue flag. In December 2013, the club received the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications.

The club’s successes continued to grow along with its list of record winners. In 2012 the club won four world championships (José María van der Ploeg at J80, Robles y Trittel in the 29er in the youth and absolute categories, and the Charles brothers in the 420 class)

Carlos Robles and Florian Trittel were proclaimed junior world champions in 2012 in the 29er class.
The J80 European Championship in 2014 brought together more than 300 sailors from nine countries.
Other developments that have been implemented at the club as social activities are the candy workshops, the wellness space, aquagym and Football 7, which have been very popular among both children and adult members.
Other developments that have been implemented at the club as social activities are the candy workshops, the wellness space, aquagym and Football 7, which have been very popular among both children and adult members.