Last week, largely at the request of a number of persons, The Anguillian newspaper published an extract from the report by Edgewater Resources LLC on the concept of a superyacht marina at Blowing Point where a ferry terminal and other related development work should be taking place in the near future.
The report, recently submitted to the Government of Anguilla which commissioned the feasibility study, recommended five possible sites for superyacht mariners. In addition to Blowing Point, the other sites are the historic Rendezvous Bay, where the invading French force landed in 1796, just west of Blowing Point; Sandy Ground, little Harbour and Scrub Island.
Following is the proposed superyacht marina concept for Rendezvous Bay:
Rendezvous Bay Concept
The identified site at Rendezvous Bay is located approximately 1 mile northwest of the ferry terminal at Blowing Point. The site is situated along the southern shoreline of the island in a somewhat naturally sheltered location where a beach extends for roughly over 1 mile to the west before arriving at Cap Jaluca. A small land spit separates the waters of Rendezvous Bay from an irregular shaped salt pond that is approximately 24 hectares (60 acres) in size. The existing water depths in Rendezvous Bay are the most favorable amongst all of the selected sites, although it’s anticipated that dredging will be necessary to create a navigable entrance channel for megayacht vessels.
The conceptual site plan suggests the implementation of an entrance channel on the eastern end of the beach that connects to the salt pond. The vision at this site is for the salt pond to be dredged to create space for a megayacht marina facility. Two entrance breakwaters are shown on either side of the entrance channel to create a sheltered egress route and would also serve as a protection measure to keep the marina basin climate at a suitable state. An area just east of the existing salt pond is shown as additional marina space that would require excavation/dredging to create. The conceptual plan for this site shows the greatest mooring capacity of any of the selected sites with the ability to facilitate a large number of megayacht vessels in addition to smaller vessels in the 12 to 31 meter (40 to 100 foot) range. Please see page 59 for a conceptual site plan for the Rendezvous Bay site.
