You’re looking at the just-completed, 5,700-foot-long jet strip belonging to the Turks & Caicos Sporting Club, a new development for yachtsmen and outdoor enthusiasts being built on Ambergris Cay in the British West Indies nation. The 1,100-acre island is being transformed into a members-only club featuring multiple amenities meant to attract both megayacht owners and private-jet owners (sometimes one in the same).
As the name implies, the Turks & Caicos Sporting Club will emphasize outdoor pursuits. Available activities will include diving and snorkeling the 7,000-foot diving wall off the island, bonefishing, and naturalist trips (the island boasts a variety of birds such as osprey, plovers, oyster catchers, and sooty and tropic bird terns).
Specific to the megayacht set is the Hawkes Nest Harbor Marina and Village, illustrated here, which will be able to accommodate 150 yachts to more than 200 feet LOA and with a 15-foot draft. On-site customs and immigration services will make things even easier for owners and their crew. Once they clear in, they can take advantage of the dive shop and watersports-activity center–where guests can depart on bonefishing trips, for example–as will a grocery and deli. Hawkes Nest Anchorage, where this nautical center is being created, is reportedly one of the finest sheltered harbors in the Caribbean. It has played an important role in history, too; Christopher Columbus described it as “large enough for all the ships of Christendom,” while the Royal Navy Frigates of Horatio Nelson also anchored here.
Besides all this, the club also offers the ability to build a home on the water. A variety of designs are available, and homesites range from $600,000 to $6 million.
One of the other things about this development that particularly caught my interest is the fact that it will also include an environmental learning center. Far too often these days, it seems that developers (both shoreside and inland) are more interested in the almighty dollar and pay no mind to what they’re doing to the environs. The Turks & Caicos Sporting Club seems to be taking a different approach. Its environmental learning center will be home to a staff naturalist who will educate anyone and everyone about the biodiversity of Ambergris Cay, and the sporting club itself intends to protect its well-being.
For further details, check out the Web site.
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