Pura Vida…Boating’s Latin Flavor
By Kai Beasley
Hispanics are, and have always been, an important part of the U.S. boating community, or have they?
Pura Vida is the Spanish phrase for “pure life.” Life can’t get much more pure than it is on the water. Perhaps that’s why it came in at number five on the BoatU.S. list of the Top 10 most popular boat names of 2005. It was the first time a Spanish name had appeared on the list in 14 years, leading to numerous questions about what this new development means.
Does it mean that boating is growing in popularity among Latinos in America? Or have they been plying the waters of North America all along?
“Let me put it to you this way. If you look at the Hispanic market, we’re very active,” says Jesus Ramon, president of Customers Rule Insurance Agency in Miami. “There are families that have had a long history of boating. For generations, they have been boating and they pass it along as a family tradition.”
There is no doubt that Miami is a mecca for Hispanic boaters in America, but the rest of the country doesn’t necessarily follow suit. According to a study by RoperASW, a full 41 percent of Hispanic Americans have never boated. About 11 percent report having gone boating as a child and only 6 percent of Hispanics in America own boats.
Still, they’re the fastest growing minority on the water, up from 8.6 percent of U.S. boaters in 2006 to 9.7 percent in 2007. That’s more than any other ethnic group in the country.
More New Friends Into Boating
“I think I’d say it’s definitely growing,” says Joel Riley, a native Cuban who now sails the Chesapeake Bay. A few years ago, Riley made a decision that many of us envy.
“I always said I wanted to buy a boat when I could use it and not be limited,” he says. “So as soon as I retired, I bought myself a live-aboard sail boat, a 38-foot Hunter. I started living on it three years ago.”
Riley, like many others, has noticed that things are beginning to change for the Hispanic community on America’s inland waterways.
“The last few years we’ve seen more new friends from the Hispanic community get into boating, not by leaps and bounds, but obviously the economy has a lot to do with that.”
Even with the down economy, the population and purchasing power of the Hispanic community are growing faster than most, according to the latest Magazine Publishers of America Hispanic/Latino Market Profile. By 2011, the Hispanic population in America is estimated to be up 126.4 percent over 1990, to more than 50 million – nearly 5 million above current estimates. The community’s purchasing power in 2006 was an estimated $789 billion and is expected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2011.
Industry Takes Notice
In one spot in the country, boating’s effect on the economy goes deeper than boat sales. According to Remon, the boating industry generates $13.6 billion a year in Dade and Broward counties, and the Florida Keys, and $18 billion statewide.
“South Florida is the mega-yacht capital of the world. If it’s over 100 feet, you can find it down here,” Ramon says, “All of those boats need repairs. Who do you think is taking care of that?
“If you have a large component of Hispanics in the community, then that translates into hundreds of thousands of dollars in business,” he continues. “People depend on that work, and they are well paying jobs.”
Although only about one in 20 Hispanics in the United States owns a boat, the numbers are still high enough to cause the industry to take notice. In 2004, the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water released four Spanish-language brochures, which included Navegación en Aguas Frías (Cold Water Boating), Chalecos Salvavidas (Life Jackets), La Rutina de Limpieza (The Clean Routine) and El Alcohol y la Navegación (Alcohol and Boating).
“Our mission to educate boaters about environmental and safety issues is a very universal message, and we recognize a strong need to reach out to Hispanic boaters,” BoatU.S. Foundation President Ruth Wood said in the press release announcing the brochures.
The efforts of Boat U.S. seem to be part of a growing nationwide trend involving outreach to the Spanish speaking boating community.
The More The Merrier
In July 2008, Volvo Penta, a leading producer of engines and power systems for boats and other industrial applications, announced that it had completed its first round of Spanish-language technical training for international boat dealers, held at the company’s plant in Chesapeake. The hope is that Tiara’s international service technicians in Tiara Yachts dealerships will be able to relay information to customers about installation and maintenance of Volvo Penta engine systems.
“We do see a need for better communication and teaching Latinos safety,” says Gloria Sandoval, public information officer for the California Department of Boating and Waterways. “We reach out by producing materials in Spanish devoted to safety in boating. We see there is an issue and we know that it’s important.”
For all of Sandoval’s 8-year tenure with the organization, the department has produced written water safety materials in Spanish. The organization also produces an entire curriculum for Spanish-speaking children.
“It’s important that they grow up knowing these things,” says Sandoval. “If they start young, then they can be better boaters by the time they grow up.”
These outreach efforts may also help to attract more immigrants into recreational boating.
“Washington, DC, has a large Hispanic community because of the embassies and international banks. They draw potential boaters out to this area,” says Riley, “With more Spanish-language materials out there, immigrants may be more willing to participate in boating as well.”
No matter how important boating remains to the economy, the number one priority on the water is fun. The moral of the story: the more the merrier.
“Boating provides you access to areas where there are no other ways you can enjoy it,” says Remon. “When I get on the water, the way we see it is, a boater is a boater. Everyone is welcome. The more people we can get on the water the better.”
