consultants to the trade

Sint Maarten’s Yacht Club Port de Plaisance Ripe for Revitalization
Hoppenstein team contracts with Marina Management Services

St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, September 12, 2007
Veteran New York-based real estate developers Reuben and Charles Hoppenstein, who have acquired control of Sint Maarten’s Yacht Club Port de Plaisance [YCPDP], are pleased to announce that they have contracted with Marina Management Services, Inc. [MMS] of Boca Raton, FL, to assist in the redevelopment of YCPDP, a property long regarded as Simpson Bay Lagoon’s most venerable marina. 

Recognized today as one of the world’s most versatile, and beautiful, mixed-use marinas, the 90-plus slip Yacht Club Port de Plaisance caters to vessels 40 to 220 ft. LOA — from sail and motor-powered recreational cruisers, to year-round charteryachts that benefit from a strategic base in the Lesser Antilles, and an array of ‘private-label’ luxury yachts that capitalize on this dual-nation island’s enviable duty-free status and the marina’s proximity to an international airport with direct links to Europe.

Although YCPDP is capable of accommodating megayachts in nearly half of its alongside and Mediterranean-style berths, ‘superyacht’ status is not required for all marina visitors — yacht owners, guests, crew, even kids — to benefit from full guest privileges at the adjacent Princess Port de Plaisance Hotel, including access to Sint Maarten’s most impressive casino, beauty spa/salon, myriad restaurants, swimming pools, tennis courts, and more.

A marine industry consultant noted for his international clientele, MMS president Dennis P. Kissman currently oversees operations at St. Thomas’ Crown Bay Marina, and has carved a successful niche for this U.S. Virgin Islands-based megayacht marina that is consistently cited by yachting professionals as the ‘top service facility’ in the Caribbean.

“My son Charles, Kissman and I share a singular vision of how our respective marine industry experience can contribute to the continued success of YCPDP, a property that already forms the core of Dutch St. Maarten’s most comprehensive marine, residential, and commercial center,” says Reuben.

Industry insiders may recall that the Hoppensteins played an integral role in luring affluent luxury yacht owners — and the first authentic ‘megayachts’ — to Sint Maarten/St. Martin as a winter rendezvous site, back when the business of megayachts was still a cottage industry in most of the Caribbean.

The Hoppensteins’ acquisition of Snoopy Island in the early 1980s, strategically placed in the heart of Simpson Bay Lagoon, paved the way for the pair's development of the Yacht Club Isle de Sol (YCIDS), an upscale facility that made its 2002 debut as the world’s first dedicated megayacht marina. Although the father-son Hoppenstein team has since severed ties with YCIDS, the two retain control of Snoopy Island’s upland acreage and plan to commence development of a Five Star resort directly across the lagoon from the Yacht Club Port de Plaisance.

Seeking to match — and eventually surpass — the high standards now synonymous with their previous developments on Sint Maarten, the Hoppensteins have secured the services of congenial Irishman Patrick Barrett as YCPDP’s Director of Operations. A veteran Sint Maarten businessman, Barrett brings more than 26 years of on-island experience to the YCPDP restoration project, most recently seeing service as financial controller for three marinas, including the Yacht Club Port de Plaisance, now under the Hoppensteins’ control.

Barrett’s talent for ‘bringing a bit of the Blarney’ to his daily interactions with employees, guests, commercial vendors, and marine tradesmen, is expected to enhance the marina’s distinctly different Dutch-French-Caribbean character. “With the bulk of YCPDP staff remaining intact, there will be no shortage of familiar faces to greet returning guests, or lack of boater-friendly personnel to welcome first time marina visitors this season,” says Barrett, whose first assignment was to orchestrate preparations for the week of December 3 - 7, when the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association will debut its new ‘MYBA St. Maarten Charter Show’ at the Yacht Club Port de Plaisance.

In addition to being given priority slip assignment during Sint Maarten’s most prestigious marine industry marketing effort to date, YCPDP will serve as focal point for all show services and exhibitors. The 2007 show will continue to be managed by the St. Maarten Marine Trades Association (SMMTA), which is committed to maintaining the high standards associated with the MYBA ‘sister show’ in Genoa, Italy.

To contact Yacht Club Port de Plaisance, phone (599) 544-4565; fax (599) 544-4566; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Marina Management Services, Inc. phone (561) 338-5800; fax (561) 338-5280.