October 15, 2010
“It’s taken a long time, but for the last 15 years, megayachts have finally started to discover the west coast of the United States as a favored destination,” said Neil Wilson, marina manager for Fifth Avenue Landing and director of business development for Marine Group Boat Works, both in San Diego.
Wilson is an example of a person who lives and breathes yachting, evident through his career that spans more than 30 years and his active role in advocating San Diego as a megayacht destination.
At 58, Wilson handles all marina operations at Fifth Avenue Landing from client relations to slip reservations, while simultaneously meeting owner needs at Marine Group Boat Works.
Wilson is perhaps best known for his efforts in putting San Diego on the nautical map.
“I have been attending boat shows for the last 25 years and during a visit to Sydney, Australia, I learned about the effective way in which yachting businesses combined forces to start a super yacht society,” he said.
Bringing his ideas to San Diego, Wilson helped start the San Diego Super Yacht Association in 2008, a non-profit coalition that aims to promote San Diego as a yachting destination on the U.S. west coast.
“San Diego is the ideal yachting destination,” Wilson said. “It’s one of the few cities that offer a navy ship repair facility, which means that almost any mechanical part of a megayacht can be fixed on location. San Diego offers everything from ocean to mountains to desert, while boasting warm weather year-round. Crew especially love being based here.”
Leah Yam, director of communications at Marine Group Boat Works, described Wilson as a friendly and jovial leader.
“When I first joined the company, Mr. Wilson went out of his way to introduce me to everyone,” she said. “He fills multiple roles and does so much more than he needs to; he is a wonderful person.”
Wilson’s yachting career started off as most other yachting careers do: by scrubbing decks.
“I started off in the '70s scrubbing decks and working my way up to first mate and finally to captain,” Wilson said.
His yachting expeditions saw him skippering M/Y Kim Anne, a 90-foot Broward, along the U.S. east coast, through the Panama Canal and in Canada.
After a decade at sea, Wilson decided to become land-based in his home town.
"When my wife fell pregnant with our little girl, that was enough to end my career at sea,” he said.
His land-based career, however, was far from over. He went on to open a boat building business, known as Wilson Yacht Refinishing, which handled everything from woodwork to top coat finishes. After a successful entrepreneurial run in the early 1990s, Wilson turned his interests to South Bay Boatyard (now the Marine Group Boat Works), where he worked on large vessels such as M/Y Golden Odyssey, a 263-foot Blohm and Voss, and M/Y Turmoil, a 209-foot explorer yacht.
For the past 10 years, Wilson has dedicated his time to advocating the destination of San Diego and presently he’s enjoying his dual managerial roles, while engaging in family activities such as camping, traveling and following the America’s Cup around the world.
Wilson lives in San Diego with his wife and is father to Ryan Wilson, an engineer who works in the aerospace industry, and Jennifer Spithill, who is married to the 2010 winner of the America’s Cup.
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