‘Riding the wave’: the development of marinas around the world and the founding of the marina in Tel Aviv, Israel

ABSTRACT The first marina in Israel was founded in 1973 in Tel Aviv. The accelerated development of sailing in the West after World War II and the economic prosperity that followed demanded the construction of designated marinas, which began to appear in the West in the 1960s and in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea in the 1970s. Similarly to Greece and Turkey, the marina in Tel Aviv was built in the framework of massive investment in touristic infrastructure, which in the Israeli case began after the War of 1967. Unlike other European countries, Israel did not have a maritime tradition and culture. These were initiated by the Zionist Movement, starting in the 1930s, as part of the national struggle for independence. Only in the late 1960s did the Israeli middle class take on this field; however, the geographical conditions of the open Israeli coast constricted this development. The marina was meant to encourage maritime tourism while taking advantage of the development of sailing in the Mediterranean. It made sailing accessible to Israelis and initiated a process where additional marinas would be built and tens of thousands of Israelis would participate in sailing in the following years.


Introduction
In October 1973, the inauguration ceremony of the Tel Aviv Marina, the first marina in Israel, was about to take place. Its founding was a landmark in the development of sailing in Israel and in Tel Aviv's becoming a touristic city. This article shall discuss the establishment of the first Israeli marina against the backdrop of the blossom of marinas and sailing in Europe and around the world.
A marina is a harbour specially designed for yachts and boats, as opposed to a port, which is intended for ships. 1 Rod Heikell defined the marina as a port designed for docking yachts, which provides technical and ancillary services for sailors. He claims that the term has gradually become a generic term for any harbour where yachts are docked. 2 A typical marina offers safe moorings equipped with water, electricity and fire extinction facilities, as well as storage, repair and maintenance services, maritime equipment and spares stores, and fuel services. Also in the proximity of the marina are a commercial centre with parking, restaurants, cafes and stores. A marina situated in a central location or along an international sailing route is also supposed to offer customs and border control services. These are often combined with real-estate projects that include hotels and housing. In his book Marina's Best: Comprehensive Marina Management Handbook, Amos Raviv notes that the marina is an outlet to the sea for both local and foreign sailing vessels, and delineates its contribution to the development of tourism by creating a maritime atmosphere. 3 Awareness and education pertaining to sailing is one of the basic threshold conditions of the development of a sailing tradition. In western European countries and the northern United States, a centuries-long maritime tradition prevailed, and the sea was considered a prestigious source of income. These countries were also distinguished by a developed maritime awareness, and controlling the sea was a vital component of their security and economy. This created a breeding ground for sailing. 4 Ever since the nineteenth century, the global advancements in the fields of sport and recreational sailing (hereinafter sailing) have gone hand-in-hand with the development of modern tourism. 5 Many types of reciprocal relationships existed between tourism and sailing; however, it is important to note that the development of sailing was not an exclusive result of modern tourism. The latter developed following the accelerated urbanisation processes generated by the Industrial Revolution and the strengthening of the middle class, whose disposable income has been increasing consistently ever since. Means of transportation (trains, steam boats, etc.) became available, fast and cheap, and the relative political stability in the nineteenth century also helped tourism  to flourish. 6 The development of recreational sailing, and later sport sailing, is linked to the development of seaside towns as domestic tourism destinationsin southern England from the early nineteenth century, and in southern France from the mid-nineteenth century. 7 In the early twentieth century, the fishing docks of southern England and France became also yacht harbours. In both countries it was the upper class that led the process, as yachting became increasingly popular among the members of the rapidly expanding middle class with surplus income to spend on leisure. 8

Sailing in the twentieth century
In the first half of the twentieth century, a growing number of middle-class members became involved in sailing. These began to enjoy the benefits of disposable income and free time, and wished to imitate the recreational activity of the nobles. Nonetheless, this growth was moderate due to the two World Wars and the economic depression amidst them. 9 The first marinas that comply with Heikell's definition were built in the West in the 1960s and in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the 1970s; however, there were earlier notions. The term 'marina' first appeared during World War I to describe a port designed for unique purposes. In 1928 the American Boat Builder & Repairers Association coined the term to define a harbour for small vessels used for sports and recreation, and which provides the basic sailing services to their owners. 10 However, the term was not widespread until the 1960s.
The economic prosperity in the western world, which followed World War II, led to an increase in the disposable income, free time and awareness to sports of the individual. This fostered the development of the touristic industry and the field of sailing, and the relationship between them tightened. During the twentieth century, sports centres and physical activity such as hiking, skiing, tennis, golf, swimming and sailing were established in touristic sites. This rapid development began in the United States and spread to Europe about a decade later. 11 The rising tourism around the world generated the fast development of seaside cities and towns along the Mediterranean coast; initially in France and northern Italy in the late 1950s, and then in Greece in the 1970s and in Turkey starting in the late 1980s. It was manifest in the establishment of hotels and touristic services, a growing number of residents following new employment opportunities, and also in newly built marinas or the conversion of existing ports into marinas. The new networks of roads and trains developed in the second half of the twentieth century made vacant some ports, which had formerly been used for transportation of passengers and freight. 12 One of the main causes for the growing demand for docking and storage space for boats and yachts was a drastic reduction in manufacturing costs of sea vessels, which began in the 1960s. This reduction occurred due to newly developed materials (such as fibreglass, which replaced wood in the vessel manufacturing process; wood involves expensive manual work) and the transition to larger shipyards and larger volumes of production. 13 The number of privately owned vessels hence increased rapidly in the 1960s, and designated sailing harbours -'marinas'were built. From the 1960s onwards, touristic sailing is thus a part of the global tourism industry, and the marina is a facility found (or planned) in every coastal touristic city, especially in the Mediterranean.
The construction of the first marina designed for the docking of private sea vessels in Bahia-Mar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the United States began in the late 1950s, was funded by the local council, and was inaugurated in 1963. 14 The first initiative to convert a series of small ports into marinas intended exclusively for watercraft and maritime tourism was set in motion in the early 1960s, on the French Mediterranean coast. The project was part of a plan to develop a touristic area along the coast of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, and spread across some five thousand acres. The French government was involved in this initiative and assisted the local authorities and entrepreneurs. 15 Similar plans were carried out during those years in southern England, the birthplace of sailing. In 1963, the historic Port Hamble was built and converted to a marina for two hundred water vessels.
As early as the 1970s, the fishing harbours and ports converted to yacht docks did not suffice for the growing number of yachts. A substantial shortage was felt on the coasts of southern France, northern Italy, northern Spain and the Athens area in Greece. The technical and maritime conditions required for the mooring of yachts and for meeting the needs of their users were completely different from those of the commercial and fishing vessels. Yachts are delicate watercraft in comparison to ships or fishing boats and their moorings must be specially designed. The newly established designated marinas suited these requirements, but also provided a variety of additional touristic services, 16 and were hence founded at first in the traditionally touristic areas of the 12 For example, the Finke port in southern Turkey served vast agricultural areas, which leaned almost exclusively on maritime transportation. In the 1980s, the area was connected to southern Turkey''s coastal road system and the port became redundant. In the 1990s, the port was converted into a marina. Mediterranean. Meanwhile, maritime tourism developed, that is to say tourism of yacht owners or renters sailing from one harbour to the next. Maritime tourism differs in nature from dryland tourism in that it requires specific and entirely different services. For example, maritime tourists remain in one marina for the entire winter (about six months). Consequently, a community of sailors residing in the winter marinas cultivated needs utterly different from tourists arriving for only one week. The demand for docking spaces in southern England, southern France and northern Italy continued to growcoming from both locals and sailors living elsewhere but docking for the winter. 17 In 1969, the first marina to be originally planned as such rather than be converted from an existing port was founded in Brighton in southern England. The construction of Brighton's tourism and marina project, with 1,600 moorings, began in 1971 and was completed in 1979. In contrast to other projects, this one was built outward into the sea, and hence a massive breakwater was needed to be built around it.
Marinas spread quickly across England. By 1973, 35 marinas operated in the south of the country, offering 7,300 moorings. Five years later, 48 marinas operated in southern England alone, with an average distance of 48 kilometres between them. In the entire of England, over 100 marinas were active, and the average number of moorings in each was 350. The economic model for the construction of marinas was the same in England, the United States and France: big real estate companies started developing marinas in order to enhance the surrounding land, while allocating a large amount of it to tourism. 18 Raviv claims that the development of marinas in England and France was initially based on local demand for docking space, but that at a later stage, what nourished this process was the growing demand for touristic infrastructure. 19 In 1971, France boasted some 50 thousand yachts, and by 1978 there were almost double. In southern France alone there were 20 newly established marinas already active in addition to the converted fishing docks and ports. 20 In that same year, in the recreational and touristic coastal segment ranging from Monaco to Saint-Tropez in southern France, there were 25 active marinas with an average distance of 6.5 kilometres between them. 21  . 22 The report does not propose support for this claim. We estimate that the actual number was 80 thousand at most. It could be that the figures in the report referred to boats, not yachts, and to vessels which did not dock but were stored on the coast. Nevertheless, without a doubt the number of yachts and moorings in the Mediterranean Sea grew exponentially in the 1970s. Ibid., 3.

The development of sailing and marinas in Greece
Greece and neighbouring Turkey are among the most suitable countries for sailing. In both, sailing and tourism developed side by side, mutually influencing one another. Greece has a 13,000 kilometre coastline abundant in bays, 3,000 islands, and Mediterranean weather with regular wind. Another important factor is the significance of the sea in classical Greek heritage. In the past, fishing and seamanship were substantial and luxurious trade branches in Greece, and the need of some 140 settled islands to communicate contributed to the significance of maritime professions. The Ottoman navy in the eighteenth century was based on Greek sailors, and in the twentieth century economic instability resulted in Greece becoming one of the largest exporters of maritime manpower in the world. These factors have all given it an evident advantage in the sailing market. 23 However, until the mid-twentieth century, sailing was limited to a few dozen royals and the capital nobility of Athens. Greece's dire economic condition, which began in the 1930s and continued into World War II and the civil war which followed, lasted well into the 1950s, preventing the Greek middle class from taking part in sailing. 24 In the 1960s, the Greek government, by means of the Greece Tourist Organisation (GTO), began plans to develop touristic infrastructure, including foundations for maritime tourismby developing designated harbours for yachts. Sailing was still a negligible component of the Greek tourism industry at this point, even if a considerable amount of yachtsan absolute majority of which were owned by foreignersdocked in small ports used both as commercial and as finishing docks. 25 In a survey conducted by the GTO in the mid-1970s, 65 ports were found to be out of service and fit for being converted into marinas, both technically and in terms of location, as they were situated in areas desirable to sailing tourists. 26 In 1965, the first Greek marina was inauguratedthe small marina in Vouliagmeni, south of Athens. Its initiators planned to establish a luxury hotel and residency area near Athens, which is notorious for its summer pollution. The marina soon became a recreation centre for Europe's richest, due to its proximity to Athens' airport, among other things. 27 In the early 1970s, a relatively large marina (670 docking berths), Zea, was inaugurated in Piraeus' old port. 28 The large marina Alimos in southern Athens (900 docking berths) was inaugurated in the mid-1970s. 29 The rising demand for docking space led to the opening of additional marinas outside Athens. Contrary to the growing trend in the United States and Europe, where a majority of the marinas were privately owned, most of the projects in Greece were owned by municipal authorities. Unlike in other countries, in most cases the marinas in Greece were built in pre-existing shielded bays, and did not require the building of massive breakwaters. This kept costs relatively low and prevented funding by real-estate enhancement. 30 Concurrently with the establishment of marinas, a process of conversion of commercial and fishing ports into yacht docks began on the islands as well as on the mainland, where local authorities allocated docking space for yachts in their small ports. During the 1970s, this conversion process was also implemented on the large islands, such as Rhodes, Kos and Corfu; and on the islands near Athens, such as Poros, Aegina and Hydra. 31 The Greeks also established in the bays yacht docks for the summer, which provided limited services. 32 Despite the above, only a few marinas were built in Greece by the end of the 1970s. Most of the yachts, their absolute majority foreign, found docking space in the existing ports. The participation of the citizens of Greece in sailing activity was negligible during the 1960s and 1970s, similar to that of north European populations half a century earlier.
The main reason for this was their dire quality of life: given the low disposable income of the middle class, they could not afford to indulge in such activities. 33 Similar to other Mediterranean countries like France, Italy and Spain, the development of sailing in Greece went hand-in-hand with the development of tourism. In 1950, a mere 33 thousand tourists visited the country, while in 1960 it welcomed as many as 399 thousand tourists. In 1970, as the development of sailing tourism was at its peak, 1.93 million visited Greece, and in 1978some 5 million. 34 The development of touristic infrastructure and 'niche tourism' (such as sailing, golf, gambling and culinary tourism) generated a sharp rise in the average tourist expenditure, as the country's revenue from a 'niche tourist' is much higher than from a regular tourist. Between 1950 and 1970, before sailing developed in Greece, the average tourist expenditure rose only by nine percent. However, it almost doubled during the next eight years, in which sailing developed rapidly, rising from 155 dollars in 1970-293 dollars in 1978 (an increase of 98 percent). 35

The development of sailing and marinas in Turkey
Over a decade after Greece began developing sailing as a touristic branch, that is to say build marinas, Turkey started to initiate a similar process. 36 The most suitable region for developing leisure and maritime tourism in Turkey is the Mediterranean coastline -Antalya's southern coast. In the 1970s, this area hardly had any transportation, electrical or communicational infrastructure. Its population was mostly rural and had poor education. In addition to his descriptions of the astonishing landscape and Hellenistic and Roman archaeological sites, Denham wrote about Turkey in 1972: The Turkish coast is recommended for sailing, however, one should take into account the exhausting Turkish bureaucracy and the fact that the conditions are generations behind Western Europe. On the other hand, the weather is good, the beach is lovely and safe docking sites are available. The food is basic, transportation is tough and most southern Turkey villages do not have electricity […] only experienced skippers sailed the Turkish coast in the 1960s and 1970s. 37 Unlike Greece, the absolute majority of the population in Turkey did not have a maritime tradition and awareness. On the contrary, they were inherently suspicious toward any stranger coming from sea. Until the 1921 deportation, a Greece population was living on the southern Antalyan coast, and it was this population which engaged in the craft of the sea. 38 In the early 1970s, there weren't any marinas whatsoever on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. Only a few of the 724 thousand tourists who entered Turkey in 1970 visited its Mediterranean beaches. 39 Turkey benefits from evident advantages, which contributed to the development of tourism, including touristic sailing: a coastline rich in bays stretching over 8,333 kilometres and four seas. 40 Its beaches offer an extraordinary mixture of nature, historical heritage and archaeology; and the weather is most suitable for sailing. The Turkish Ministry of Tourism, founded in 1960, initiated in 1971 the development of seaside tourism. 41 The southern coast between Antalya and Kemer was declared a region in priority of having its tourism infrastructure developed. In reality, development projects in the area only began in the 1980s, while during the 1970s the Turkish economy stabilised, and a loan amounting to 26 million dollars from the World Bank 42 enabled its investment in roads, airports, communication, etc.
As in Greece, Turkey's southern coastline is abundant in bays; therefore, the construction of its marinas did not require high costs or grandiose real-estate projects. The marinas of Kuşadasi, Kemer and Marmaris were built on the cities' fronts in order to create a 'maritime atmosphere' and produce a sense of a desirable touristic destination. Kuşadasi's marina was the first marina on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, founded even before the World Bank loan went through. Only in the 1980s did the development of infrastructure in southern Turkey led to the establishment of the Kemer marina south of Antalya. The governmental tourism company Setur founded both marinas as part of the initiative to establish a comprehensive touristic networkwhich would increase touristic income by increasing the number of visitation daysdeveloping expensive Their contribution to the local economy was not significanttouristic income amounted to a mere 7.7 million dollars that year. Ibid., 10. 40 The Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean Sea. 41 Ibid., 7. 42 Ibid., 11. touristic products and producing niche tourism like sailing tourism. Like in Greece, these marinas hosted many foreign yacht owners. 43 During 1970During -1980, the average expenditure per tourist rose from 71 dollars to 253.6 dollars, and in 1990, after the completion of the plan to develop Antalya, Marmaris and Bodrum's beaches and marinas, the average expenditure per tourist soared to 624.3 dollars. 44 Turkey's western and southern coasts were now considered desirable destinations for tourists arriving from Europe. In the 1970s, aside from a handful of hired employees, the Turkish population did not participate at all in sailing activity, lacking the economic ability, education and awareness to do so. However, since the 1980s, with the rise in the quality of life and disposable income, and due to their growing exposure to the rich sailing culture in the country, the Turkish population has become more and more involved in this activity. 45

The development of sailing in Israel
Until the 1970s, Israeli sailing developed differently than the in rest of the western world and Israel's neighbouring countries. Sail racing and cruising constituted an instrument in the struggle of the Zionist Movement. In the first three decades of its activity, the Zionist Movement completely disregarded the sea and the maritime activity of the Jews in the Land of Israel (Palestine) was negligible. However, in the 1930s it changed its position, and defined the 'conquest of the sea' as a target equivalent to the 'redemption of the land' and 'conquest of the wasteland'. One of the main means for accomplishing this aim was maritime education for youth, through the maritime associations, which were founded by private individuals at first, and were later supported or controlled by political organisations. The associations did not engage in competitive sailing (unlike sailing clubs in Europe and the United States) and served as a central instrument in the illegal Aliyah struggle and underground activity of the Jewish yeshuv against British rule in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1930s, as part of this activity, the Jewish Maritime League was founded an NGO funded and controlled by the Jewish Agency, which handled the control over the maritime associations and operated a maritime education system in schools, and later the founding of Israel's first marinathe topic of this article. 46 The Israeli Navy was founded in 1948, during the War of Independence, after which the Merchant and Fishing Marines were established. The new challenge facing the maritime associations and maritime education was training enough manpower for the expanding navies of the new state. In other words: sailing remained a means for accomplishing national goals. However, most maritime associations experienced a turnover which began in the mid-1960s: their members began engaging in sport sailing, whose aim was not maritime education but rather achieving competitive accomplishments in the field of sailboats. This turnover embodied the prevailing change in Israeli society, which was transitioning from one devoted to the Zionist mission to one of a more individualistic nature. 47 Sailing gradually stopped serving national goals and developed as a competitive sports branch or as an educational means. At the same time, Israel was taking its first steps in the international arena of competitive international sailing.
In the late 1960s, there were only a few dozen private vessels on the Israeli Mediterranean coast. The maritime associations and education (which was now subject to the Ministry of Education), served as a tool for forming maritime awareness. 48 However, without proper infrastructure, i.e. in the absence of marinas along the Israeli coast, which lacked natural bays, sailing could not be established.
The governmental, economic and social processes which Israel underwent after 1967 49 had a direct influence on the development of sailing in Israel. The Six-Day War victory proved that Israel's ability to exist and grow economically was unquestionable. The Israeli economy underwent a structural transition from being a centralised economy controlled by a socialist government and a strong national workers organisation with widespread economic activity, to one where most of the trade sector was in private hands. Now the Israeli middle class contributed 50% of the State of Israel's gross national production. 50 This strengthening was also manifest in the rise in income of the middle class, and in the disposable income and quality of life of the individual. As in Europe and the United States, the rise in disposable income and free time of the middle class also led to an increasing demand for individual sports in general and sailing in particular. 51 In 1969, a pair of Israeli sailors won the 420 Sailing World Championships, 5253 marking the start of the turnover in relation to sports and recreational sailing in Israel. Following their win, the next championships were held in Tel Aviv in 1970, and the media coverage brought awareness to sailing to many homes in the country. The rise in this awareness was expressed in the growing magnitude of the public (maritime associations), state (Ministry of Education) and private activity circulating sailing. In addition to the transition of maritime associations from training personnel to focusing on sports sailing, which began in the 1960s, private sailing began to appear in Israel; that is to say sailing performed not in the framework of associations or institutions, but rather by individuals who owned and rented out vessels. In the western world, this public constitutes most of the sailing community.
The main reason for the absence of private sailing in Israel was the lack of sailing schools for the public who did not wish to join an association; this was especially true for the older population. At the end of the summer of 1970, a couple of young entrepreneurs opened a private sailing school in Tel Aviv, where they taught using a method unseen in Israel up to that point. It included a ten-hour personalised programme, similar to driving or flight studies, and in 1974 this method was adopted by the Israeli Navy. 54 The journalist Menachem Talmi wrote from personal experience: 'After ten hours of practice, the rookie becomes a qualified sailor who goes off alone to sea'. 55 Sailing infrastructure developed as part of tourism infrastructure in Tel Aviv Parallel to the processes described above, in the late 1960s a process of recreational tourism development began in Tel Aviv, which can be summed up as 'the return to sea'.
Tel Aviv's first mayors, Meir Dizengoff (until 1936) and his predecessor Israel Rokach (1936)(1937)(1938)(1939)(1940)(1941)(1942)(1943)(1944)(1945)(1946)(1947)(1948)(1949)(1950)(1951)(1952), designated a majority of the city's coastline to an industrial zone and a deepwater port. Though a number of limited plans to develop the city's beaches and tourism were prepared in the 1930s, none of them was executed, and the beaches of Tel Aviv were polluted and neglected. In the 1960s, Tel Aviv suffered an economic decline and a wave of emigration, and its mayors, Mordechai Namir (1959)(1960)(1961)(1962)(1963)(1964)(1965)(1966)(1967)(1968)(1969) and Yehoshua Rabinovitz (1969)(1970)(1971)(1972)(1973)(1974) initiated broad touristic infrastructure on the beaches to ensure its economic future. In 1968 Rabinovitz established the municipal-governmental company Atarim, where he himself was chairman and Uri Bar Ratzon was director. The company goals were to adapt the city's beaches for leisure, sport and tourism, with an emphasis on a 'maritime experience'. 56 In 1969, architects Yaakov Rechter and Avraham Yaski completed a plan to establish a Mediterranean tourism infrastructure on Tel Aviv's beaches, which included the giant urban project Marina City at the estuary of the Yarkon River, and a marina for 1000 vessels. It was the first time in Israel that sailing infrastructure constituted an imperative and even leading factor in the plans. 57 There were only some 20 privately owned sea vessels in Tel Aviv at the time. This was a comprehensive plan also in comparison to other Mediterranean projects. For the young state, where tourism was still in its infancy, 58 and most of it was based on family visits and pilgrimage, this was a bold plan. It fit well in the Ministry of Tourism's policy to combine private investors in touristic infrastructure and encourage the branches of 'expensive tourism'tourism which brings in large amounts of foreign currencieslike diving and sailing. 59 However, the plan's breadth turned out to be a disadvantage: it faced problems and was eventually cancelled against the backdrop of the economic difficulties which followed the Yom Kippur War. 60 The establishment of the marina in Tel Aviv In 1968, the heads of the Tel Aviv Municipality founded Atarim -'Development of Touristic Sites in Tel Aviv Co.'. It was founded as a public company jointly owned by the Ministry of Tourism and the Tel Aviv Municipality. Ironically enough, the first marina in Israel was based on the development plan of Tel Aviv's coastline, prepared by Atarim upon its establishment, a plan which did not include a marina at all. A key element in the plan was to continue building low breakwaters using the 'quill' method, which had been introduced in the beginning of the decade. 61 These breakwaters had a double purpose: to expand the beach and protect the Kurkar cliff, which stretches along the Tel Aviv coastline and upon which hotels were to be erected. 62 The sea waves eroding the foot of the cliff had caused soil liquefaction and continuously reduced its surface, which was intended for touristic infrastructure. At the Atarim board meeting, held at the end of 1969, the director Bar Ratzon described the Tel Aviv coastline: '95 percent of the coast […] is rocky and therefore bathing is prohibited […] we must solve the problem with quills or any other solution. It will be worth it even if we succeed by 50 percent'. 63 The formation of desirable beaches and the construction of hotels along the coast were imperative elements in the municipal plans to develop tourism in Tel Aviv, and the breakwaters were meant to promote their implementation. 64 While preparing the plan for approval, the company director, presumably after consulting the chairmanthe mayor, decided to include in the plan also the construction of a small marina. The first discussion on the development of maritime tourism in the city was held at the Atarim board meeting on 13 January 1971. The director of the Government Tourism Company, Menachem Eyal, presented the stand of the Ministry of Tourism: ' […] we are talking about tourism. People are yachting around the entire Mediterranean, why shouldn't they come here as well?' 65 An economic survey prepared for Atarim concluded: The Gordon Marina will be the first of its kind in Israel, therefore, the timeframe between the investment and the development of the sources of income to a state where at least 60 percent of the capacity of the marina is occupied cannot be predicted […] the investment must hence be made in stages […] due to an utter lack of Israeli experience in operating marinas. There is little experience also around the world.
The board considered three possibilities for running the marina: direct operation by the company, leasing the harbour to private investorsa procedure not customary in early-1970s Israel 66or operating it via a company jointly owned by Atarim and private investors. The economists recommended for Atarim to be minimally involved, while maintaining public interest. Eventually it was recommended that the project be run by a company jointly owned by Atarim and a private operator. 67 In the spring of 1972, the marina plan went underway, and the construction of the main breakwater began. Bar Ratzon summoned to his office the head of the sailing club and uttered in military dialect: 'Take command over the marina in progress'. 68 Meanwhile, Bar Ratzon held meetings with the operators in order to establish a joint company for the operation of the marina.
The foundation of the first marina in the largest city in Israel evoked distinct operational difficulties faced by the operators and Atarim Co. The residents of Tel Aviv regarded the marina merely as a new bathing and fishing beach. This proved that much further public education was needed; the operators, in collaboration with the police, were at first required to take firm action in order to enforce safety and behavioural regulations at the marina. 69 The establishment of the marina and the rise in private vessels required law and regulation adaptations in the areas of water vessel license, sailing certification, port laws and more, especially in light of security issues brought on by the mutual coast with countries at war with Israel and countries accommodating terrorist organisations. In 1970, there were 601 certified sailors, including sailors, naval officers, fishermen, and port workers and operators. 70 The foundation of the marina was hence an important factor in the tourism infrastructure development plan in Tel Aviv. In addition to being a part of the maritime experience in a Mediterranean seaside city, the marina contributed to tourism directly by developing services as harbour, maintenance and supply services for foreign yachts and sea vessel rental services for tourists. A tourist arriving in Israel on a maritime visit is bound to remain longer and use yacht maintenance services, thus bringing in more foreign currency than a dryland tourist. 71 The establishment of the marina in Tel Aviv fostered the physical conditions for competitive and educational sailing, which led to its growing popularity. From the 1930s and to the establishment of the marina, the maritime associations and education system (sailing lessons given as part of formal studies at high schools) 72 operated from their stations on the Yarkon River. Their activity was limited due to the high risks in leaving and entering the riversandbanks, tidal waves, and strong currents and bridges. The transition to the marina made sailing safer and enabled a lower age limit, as was customary in Europe, and increased potential sailing days. 73 Within just a few years, the number of active sailors in the maritime associations increased from several dozens to several hundreds. 74 The marina operators had a double interest in transferring the maritime associational and educational activity to the marina: firstly, it ensured an immediate increase of the marina's income, due to the rise in the number of vessels. Secondly, in the long run, it helped position the marina as a national maritime sports centre. The Tel Aviv Marina incited an essential change in Israeli sports sailing. The private investors who entered the branch and later operated the marina welcomed change pertaining to the adoption, introduction and later purchase of new competitive vessels. 75 The marina was the infrastructure for planning and implementing many sports events, both national and international. The marina inauguration ceremony in 1973 was intended to be combined with the world championship of the Olympic sailboat model Flying Dutchman, but the event was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. 76 The success of the marina set off the founding of seven additional marinas in Israel, and there is currently a public debate in the country surrounding the establishment of six more.