St Kitts Open for Superyacht Business

A new marina designed to set the standard in homeports, has held its groundbreaking ceremony in St Kitts.

Christophe Harbour in St Kitts brings something new to the superyacht homeport sphere. The marina complex is under development by an experienced superyacht owner, and developer, who saw his opportunity to create a superyacht hub from the ground up.

Beyond simply building a marina, the owner and his development team are also heavily involved in building the yachting industry in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis. The Federation essentially presents a clean slate for the superyacht industry and the Christophe Harbour development team is working closely with officials to develop yachting policy, infrastructure, and training so that the islands are equipped to deliver, and deliver well as more and more superyachts head their way.

With the first stage of berths set to be completed by the end of this year, Friday marked an exciting day for the marina as the official groundbreaking ceremony was held in front of local dignitaries – including the Governor General, His Excellency Sir Edmund Lawrence, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas, and Minister Richard Skerritt – media and supporters.

Weaving in every advantage to yachts from the outset, Buddy Darby and his experienced team are building a game-changer. It starts with the purchase of the berths themselves, which are freehold, not leasehold, and come with the opportunity to gain citizenship in a nation with no personal tax or residency requirement for citizenship.

“Our team is spreading the word of our efforts across the globe. We’re attending boat shows from Monaco to Ft. Lauderdale and interest from charter agents and boat builders for events here is strong. I just recently attended The Pendennis Cup in Falmouth, England, and we are planning a sister event in St. Kitts next March.”

“We’re investing $90 million over the course of the marina build-out. This first phase, which will include the first 24 slips from 150 to 220 feet, will be completed by the end of this year,” said Darby in his opening address.

Berths stretch up to 65-metres, with a draft of 5.6-meters, and the marina features a professionally engineered entry and turning basin. Aware of the factors which truly elevate and streamline a superyacht homeport, Darby has ensured expedited customs clearance on site with the marina a designated point of entry. Christophe Harbour is also able to offer significantly reduced bunkering costs due to no import duties on the import or sale of fuel, is 15-minutes from an FBO airport and will feature 300 berths, up to 91-metres LOA, once the development’s complete.

The location itself was ripe to be developed. St. Kitts completes the triangle of cruising destinations between Antigua and St. Maarten, and is well positioned to start or end a charter.

Open cruising grounds, superyacht-friendly legislation, a newly-opened FBO airport and an inclusive, welcoming culture round out this new yachting space which has seen owners, captains, managers and industry influencers alike, sit up and take notice.

*Original story: All At Sea via Google News (search term: superyacht)
* Thumbnail Pic courtesy of Flickr/Mark Morgan
*Image: Flickr/Robert Neff