A former yacht club is being converted into a brand new private members’ club with stunning views out to sea.

The headquarters of the former Sheppey Catamaran Club in Marine Parade, Sheerness, is to reopen on Thursday, March 1 as Popeye’s Coastal Club.

Businessman Ricky King, who owns the King’s Arms pub in Minster village, is behind the project, which would be a first for the town.

He said: “I have been trying to get the venue for the past two years and now it is finally coming together.

“Upstairs has spectacular views across the sea from Sheerness to beyond Barton’s Point.

“It is time Sheppey started celebrating that it is a seaside resort again.

“There should be somewhere on an island where people can eat and drink with a sea view.

“I have named it after the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man to give it a nautical theme and will be having all sorts of ships’ memorabilia.”

The premises were used to start catamaran races and have clear views over the sea wall. The site is now used for residential chalets.

Mr King, 57, who once ran the Fountain pub in Sittingbourne, said: “Although it will be a members’ club, everyone is welcome. Annual membership will be £5 a couple.”

He has already spent £6,500 refurbishing upstairs and has another three weeks’ of work to do.

He is promising live entertainment on Sunday afternoons starting with reggae singer

Michael Seraphim on March 4. Food will be introduced later.

It is the latest in a wave of new businesses opening on the Island. A Turkish restaurant is planned for Halfway, two new micropubs are promised, entrepreneur David Wilcock is re-launching a Sheppey to Southend ferry in the summer and museums at Blue Town and Eastchurch are both being expanded.