Just in time for the winter season, Rodney Bay Marina in St. Lucia now has a megayacht pier able to accommodate 32 yachts to 250 feet.
Officially rededicated on St. Lucia’s National Day, prior to Christmas, the marina, operated by Island Global Yachting (IGY), additionally welcomed boats participating in the 2008 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC). For the past 16 years, Rodney Bay Marina has been the completion stop for the punishing, 2,700-nautical-mile ARC, in which 200-plus yachtsmen partake each year. And it will continue to serve in this capacity for at least the next five.
Getting to this point took nearly two years, as IGY acquired Rodney Bay Marina in early 2007. Arch Marez, a California native, created the facility in 1986, and while he died in 2005, through his efforts Rodney Bay established itself as a destination for cruisers, sailors, and sportfishermen as well as an ideal hurricane hole.
IGY plans to keep the positives going by touting the megayacht pier as well as an additional 248 reconstructed slips, plus renovating the existing 4.5-acre boatyard and developing other land facilities.
Andrew Farkas, founder and chairman of IGY, told the crowd at the rededication how Sir John Compton, who created the lagoon in the 1960s, threw his support behind the company’s plans. While Compton died before it was completed, Farkas believes he’d approve of what’s been accomplished. “The new Rodney Bay Marina is the finest marina in the Southern Caribbean for yachts of all sizes, and the new megayacht berths position St. Lucia as the core megayacht destination in the region,” he remarked.
Stephenson King, St. Lucia’s prime minister, was also on hand for the rededication and thanked IGY’s team for “coming forward and demonstrating confidence in the government and people of St Lucia. The Rodney Bay Marina is an icon for St Lucia and the Caribbean that we can sell to the world. This facility can probably be the greatest single nonpublic sector contributor to the GDP.”
Leave a Reply