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The East End port development proposal is again targeting
mega yachts.
Developer Joe Imparato says that the planned facility
could one day include berthing for the high-end yachts, something that he said
has been talked about many times before in other proposals, including the
George Town berthing facility and Dragon Bay.
“It’s important business; we all recognize the value of
trying to attract mega yachts to the Cayman Islands. They don’t come now, or
very few come, because there’s no place for them to berth. We’ve all seen
[Microsoft co-founder] Paul Allen with the Tatoosh. Poor Paul has the weather
chasing him all around the island. On a rough day he’s here, here’s there,
trying to get on the lee side of the wind because there’s no port to go into.
“We think we can attract a lot of the Paul Allens of the
world because these folks come and they spend money. They invest money, they
involve themselves,” he said.
Captain Richard Thiel, editor of industry bible Power and
Motoryacht magazine, told the Caymanian Compass that mega yacht owners expect a
certain level of services to entice them to a home port or even spend time at a
specific destination.
“They want a pool of support staff like mechanics,
painters; if there is a refit area, that’s a plus. They want security and they
want amenities. The crews tend to stay pretty close to the boat, so they want a
nice area with a swimming pool, a sauna, things like that. They also like to go
places where there are other yachts, from a social standpoint.
“These guys don’t stay anywhere for very long; they stay
in the Caribbean [area] for three or four months. The things that are important
to them are easy, good air connections because a lot of the time they only want
to come in [for a short while], and the captain also comes and goes. One of the
problems for Cayman might be that it’s not centrally-located; it’s at the
northern end of the Caribbean chain,” he said.
Antigua favoured
One of the favourite places for yachts to berth in the
Caribbean is Antigua, chosen for its geographical location, links and
facilities. Nicoletta Solinas of Antigua Yacht Club Marina in Falmouth Harbour
said that during the peak season of around six months, the marina could have
around 600 boats visiting.
“Our dock is almost fully booked from December to April.
Some stay for the season, some for one or two weeks. Many boats are based here
even if they go out and come back. People love the Caribbean atmosphere, the
secluded beaches. Antigua is naturally beautiful; the island offers a variety of
fine restaurants and activities.
“The yachting industry in Antigua also includes shopping
– for food provisioning, spare parts et cetera. Boats in transit have duty free
if they import something from abroad and Antigua and Barbuda sales-tax-free if
they purchase something on the island. A lot of activities are born in the
area, along with the development of the yachting, and they can satisfy all the
needs of the mega yacht,” said Ms. Solinas.
Melanie James, reservations and guest services manager at
Barefoot Cay Resort in Roatan, said they receive around 15 mega yachts a year.
The resort’s marina can accommodate two ships at any one time as it has a
smaller area, she said.
A typical crew, she said, would be about eight people,
who spend some time getting things ready for the arrival of the owner. She
added that often the owners are not around but the captains and head stewards
are in contact with the office regularly to arrange immigration, refuelling,
diving, advice on provisions, and flowers.
“If they have a few days before any owners are on board,
crew members might have some time off to go exploring, so they’ll stop by the
office for a map, to arrange a rental car, to ask advice on where to go. Crew members will usually order a few meals
or drinks at the resort restaurant.
“We also get a lot of sport fishing boats, catamarans,
mono-hull sail boats and power boats in the range of 30-60 feet, which may stay
just a few days or for months at a time,” said the resort manager.
Opportunities available
Mr. Imparato said the mega yacht industry presents
numerous opportunities – power, water, fuel, transportation, air travel,
concierge, tours, repairs and maintenance, just to name a few industries that
could potentially benefit from the yachts. He added that there are also
investment opportunities.
“I think it’s important to bring these folks here, and
the opportunity that it would present for them to become involved and invest.
The premier [said] in a speech about the important of inward investment, how
important it is for our economy and how detrimental it is that we’re losing so
many people. So we have to have ways and means of attracting people back, and
this is just one more tool in the toolbox of achieving that purpose.”
Attracting the market, however, is not as simple as just
building impressive facilities, said Captain Thiel.
“A lot of yacht owners and crews [are open to suggestions
of new places]. If you go after them and promote yourself as a good place to
keep a yacht, they will come down and try you out.
“Cayman has a pretty good reputation financially; a lot
of the owners I’m sure are quite familiar with the banking situation, tax laws
and so on. It has a solid reputation. If Cayman had new facilities and had the
marketing to go with it to go after some of these yachts, I think you could do
pretty well.”
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I’m beginning to wonder how dumb Mr. Imparato thinks Caymanians are.
The yachts only come to the Caribbean during non-hurricane season. What will all those high end amenities be used for the other eight months? Who will pay for them? Why would the yachtees want to be on the other end of the island from the fancy restaurants? Would a mega yacht captain really choose to berth on the windward side of an island?
Why would the CI government, which already has shown it has no business running a business (turtle farm) think it has the ability to run this seaport after Mr. Imparato has cashed out and gone away?
Before the dollar signs get everyone mesmerized, think about what we’ll be left with if the seaport is built and then fails? Have you been to the turtle farm lately? It will have scarred a huge swath of the most pristine part of the island beyond redemption. It will be a ghost town of failed business and a magnet for crime. Cayman will have squandered its international reputation as a good steward of its coral reefs for nothing. And we might drive away the millions that are spent every year by EE visitors who come to the EE precisely BECAUSE it’s not SMB.
Caymanians have a lot riding on this decision, and the odds of the seaport doing more harm than good seem very high.
Cayman could have and should have a world-class port for the mega yachts — think of all the employment opportunities and financial gain from not only the owners but their visitors and the entire crew. Everyone loves seeing the big yachts — the benefits are
obvious.
How naive of MJRovner to say it will be vacant 8 months of the year! Ships won’t come here if there is a tropical depression or storm brewing — as these can lead to hurricanes — but they certainly won’t avoid Cayman for 8 months of the year — that’s ridiculous. Maybe Sept – Nov is slow — but it picks up with the American Thanksgiving and continues right through to August.
You have one opportunity to build this and to build it right. Make it stunningly beautiful — better than ALL the rest — and if you build it, they will come.
We need this NOW — not tomorrow !!!
‘Poor Paul Allen’???? Give me a break. He has a helicopter on board to get him wherever he needs to go quickly.
Good Morning,
There are 3 things that can be done fast to help revive Cayman
1. Build a hospital. even if it fails you it will take quite a while to know it failed.(It wont fail everyone needs health care )I know work is in progress …just move a little faster..(india time)
2. Dig a port ….Cayman Is a nation of the Sea
And the land near the proposed port is either swamp or old Quarry ready to be …..Fixed
3. Use the Fill from port to build new airport behind Boddentown .
4. Redevelop the old airport into new community ..
clean up the blight areas in town.
5.Dredge North sound to flush out stagnant water and help boats
MJRovner
They just put the mega yachts back on the agenda in response to your protest!
Imparato is really playing all of us! is this what the trip to Morocco was all about! The Mr. Imparato project study at GOVERNMENT’S EXPENSE?! = TAX PAYERS EXPENSE!
Mr Imparato’s ambitions seem to be mainly on the money he canmake from quarrying out the site.
Frankly I am doubtful whether there would be a market for a mega yacht facility at the east end of the island, since there are no other amenities there to tempt yacht owners or crews.
A better scheme would be to move the commercial port out to the East End and free up the space in Georgetown for a decent marina – bringing in additional tourist revenue and removing what is currently an eye-sore.
Amenities could be added, and the banking industry could be a lure but I just can’t see this island becoming a popular mega yacht port.
The eastern Caribbean is popular for cruising simply because of the geography… You can sail from Antigua to St. Barths in less than a day and be at a whole new country. Lots more choices with all the windwards to the south and the virgins up north as well. The western caribbean is completely different, with Jamaica fairly close but thats pretty much it. The example of a Roatan port receiving 15 yachts a year isn’t very impressive and probably similar to what we would draw.
The whole idea is ridiculous. Look at the land. Imagine dredging into the shore a 60 foot channel… and then a giant basin for ships. It’s scary so many are supporting this.
THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING……
now we have that out of the way.
MJRovner. Did you think, before you typed that rant.
If those "mega yachts" won’t come to this island 8 months out of the year, due to hurricanes.
Then what are those big, white, uhh floaty things, that come year round, and usually hang out all day near the water front.
Give ya a hint….
"Cruise"….come on, you can say it….."ships" That’s RIGHT! Very good MJRovner. Here’s a cookie.
God all mighty. Change. It’s inevitable. You can either have good change, or bad change.
What side are you on? Because good change means jobs for Caymanians. Bad change means none.
As far as people not wanting to drive to the other side of the island to get to a restaurant. In our world, with real physics, MJRovner. Boats take days to get to the Caribbean. But according to you. These people who travel 2 or 3 days to get here, would not want to drive 30 min to get to restaurants. That absolutely makes sense! *common sense is rolling in his grave right about now.