Questions to be answered:
1. There are many marinas around the Caribbean. What competitive advantages does Anguilla possess?
The existing marinas do not have sufficient deep draft slips to accommodate the forecast demand for megayacht slips. A study conducted by the MIASF found that the number of megayachts worldwide has increased by 53% over the past 5 years (2013-2018).
2. It is feared that the major benefits of a super yacht marina will accrue to the investors and mega yacht owners. What revenue will the Government of Anguilla obtain from mega yacht marina(s) and what is in it for the cross-section of Anguillians?
The revenue to government will be in the form of up-front payments, payments on residential sales, annual lease revenues, and taxes including marina dockage lease revenues, commercial property lease revenues, and hotel lease revenues. One time lump sum payments to the GoA are estimated at $33.1M, while annual recurring payments are estimated at $1.8M related to lease payments and alien landholding and transfer taxes. This does not include other taxes as stabilization levy, environment taxes etc. The benefit to Anguillians is the creation of new jobs and new customers for established businesses.
3. Why a super mega yacht marina and not just a “Me Too” marina?
Anguilla has always catered to super high end clientele. The large megayachts have very few places that can accommodate them based on ship length. Anguilla, with its luxury resort accommodations is ideal to target these vessels.
4. What amenities that should be present in a modern day marina in Anguilla? In other words what does this wealthy clientele expect when they come ashore?
Deep water approach, protection from winds and waves, sufficient basin flushing, proximity to commercial areas, quiet marina location, privacy, easy customs and immigration, close proximity to attractions, international airport, available medical facilities, local transportation, scenic views, sufficient provisioning, and unique upland activities. The goal is to offer boat owners a full-service marina with state-of-the art dockage, calm water, and five-star amenities.
5. Do you recommend cruise ship facilities in the marinas?
Cruise ship facilities are not recommended, as this would not attract the type of tourism that Anguilla is targeting, nor would it provide the target revenues. However, there are also dozens of megayachts available for charter that reside in the Caribbean with weekly rental rates as high as $1M. Sailboat charters are also a viable target to attract new tourists to Anguilla.
6. What will be the impact on Anguilla’s real estate market?
We anticipate the real estate market, particularly the area surrounding the marina, will substantially increase in value as yacht owners purchase accommodations for owners and crew on Anguilla.
7. Sandy Ground is low lying and hence vulnerable to sea level rise and tsunamis. How might the engineering of a marina there help or worsen this potential threat?
The marina will be designed to accommodate sea level rise anticipated within the foreseeable future, as well as storm surge associated with hurricanes. The fill material excavated from the marina basin will be utilized to elevate the associated upland development to ensure its long term sustainability. The existing low lying areas of Sandy Ground will remain vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surge until they are elevated.
8. Would a marina upset the ecology in Anguilla? What will be the impact on our coral reefs? The man-made reef in Sandy Ground? The many reefs in the Blowing Point harbor?
We will ensure that the ecology is protected to the maximum extent practicable. Prior to the next step in design, our marine biologists will survey they area and delineate the boundaries of important ecological areas. We will avoid impacts as much as we can by relocating dredging and structures so that they do not conflict with these resources. Where possible we will minimize impacts by utilizing best management practices during construction. We will compensate for impacts by creating additional habitat and relocating resources of opportunity to these areas.
For Sandy Ground the entrance channel will be designed to avoid as much of the high quality artificial reef as possible. The impact ballast rock and organisms will be relocated by biologist divers to a save area with similar water depths and sunlight exposure. This method of relocation has a very high record of success.
9. What jobs/services will be generated or expanded? What’s in it for Anguillians? GoA?
While in port the vessels need provisioning and service. Their crew needs R&R. There are opportunities to provide housing (owners and crew), ecological excursions (snorkeling, diving, hiking, watersports), restaurants, flowers arrangements for the ship, local transportation, massages/spa treatments, medical facilities, catering on board, and dining on island. The increased demand for hotels and restaurants to accommodate these new tourists will provide additional jobs in the service industry for servers and cooks, hotel staff, and taxi drivers. This will provide additional demand for fishermen and other suppliers. It is estimated that one megayacht will create 41 direct, indirect and induced jobs for Anguilla.
10. A marina is not really the expensive element/investment. A super mega yacht might cost 4 or 5 times the entire cost of the marina. What is the trickledown economics? What would a $400 million super mega yacht cost to maintain? How much is spent in the home port?
A 120’ yacht spends $2M per year, while a 300’ yacht spends $10M per year and a 400’ yacht spends $50M per year. 40% of that can accrue to the home port.
11. Anguilla’s Tourism model has been “High Value/Low Density.” Is the same model being adopted here? What is the potential multiplier effect of a marina on Anguilla’s economy? GDP?
We are targeting the megayacht industry based upon the increased potential revenue associated with megayachts and to maintain Anguilla’s existing tourism model of high value/low density. The financial projections for Phase I 2021 are $26.6M, Phase I stabilized in 2023 are $46.6M and full implementation of the master plan in 2026 at $66.6M.
12. Would our beaches be affected/destroyed by cutting entrances to the marinas? How would this affect sand flow dynamics in the Bay?
Anguilla’s beaches are not only beautiful, they support your tourism industry, and they protect you from storm damage. We will ensure that the entrance channels are located so that they do not result in beach erosion. Coastal wind and wave data will be collected for the selected site(s). This information will initially be evaluated with a desktop model to identify potential affects to the shoreline. If necessary, the information will be analyzed with a coastal numerical model (MIKE21 or DELFT 3D) to confirm findings.
13. Would the quality of the beaches, sea water and access to the beaches where the marinas may be located be affected by the marina.
We will run a hydrodynamic model to evaluate flushing within the proposed marina basin to ensure that the flushing requirements for Florida are met or exceeded in the proposed marina basin. If necessary, additional outlets can be incorporated into the marina basin through horizontal directional drilling to avoid cutting into the shoreline. A Marina Management Plan will be developed for implementation by the dockmaster to ensure that there are no discharges of sewage or fuel to the marina basin. A Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan will also be in place to address any inadvertent petroleum discharges to the basin. Sewage pumpout facilities will be provided in every slip. We do not anticipate any adverse impacts to the beaches, water quality, or access where the marinas are located.
14. What’s the lead time to construct and complete each of the marinas suggested?
We anticipate one year for the engineering and entitlement process and then a one to two year construction period.
15. Does the demand for berths exceed the supply in the Caribbean? Would 5 marinas if built in Anguilla sit idle or have low occupancies?
We recommend a phased implementation of marinas so that we do not have marinas sitting idle. As slips are occupied and the impeccable reputation of Anguilla spreads, so will demand. The construction schedule for future facilities should be carefully evaluated based upon occupancy rates at the first facility.
16. Will these marinas take care of boat repair? Can we pull our boats including our ferries to secure from hurricanes?
The marinas will have the ability to do light repair. A haul out facility has been considered at one proposed location, which could provide equipment and staging areas for vessel repair and storage during hurricanes.
17. Should these marinas have drawbridges? How do we address the flow of road traffic through Sandy Ground?
We do not anticipate drawbridges in association with the marinas. Sandy Ground has been designed so as to maintain existing traffic flows.
18. Which is cheaper? An in-basin marina or one out in the sea with breakwaters?
It is generally less expensive to construct an upland cut marina basin rather than an outside basin protected by breakwaters. With the quick drop offs immediately offshore of Anguilla, a large volume of rock and a large footprint would be required to construct stable breakwaters at most of the sites to protect them from winds and waves. In the next phase of development, we will collect geotechnical data to confirm the rock characteristics beneath the substrate and will be able to better evaluate the anticipated dredging requirements.
19. How do we preserve and protect Anguilla’s strong maritime heritage: boat building, legendary sea captains? Would all this history be lost in the shuffle?
T
here is a terrific opportunity to incorporate a maritime museum into the proposed development. The museum would present another offshore excursion for vessel owners and crew. Constructing a marina of this caliber would preserve Anguilla’s place in the marina industry. Models of the historical boats and pictures of their captains could be displayed within the upland facilities.
20. Would the construction be offensive with the acrid smell of Sulphur?
There will likely be some sulfur smells during dredging and there are few techniques available to address this. The odors will dissipate quickly after completion of dredging work.
21. Is it envisioned that the Anguilla marinas would be able to compete with the leading marinas in Spain, France, Italy and Croatia? Where should Anguilla be positioned? What makes Anguilla viable in this position?
The primary market will target megayachts as they travel from Europe to the Caribbean on their way to the United States. The northeasterly location of Anguilla within the Leeward Islands makes the island an attractive destination for yachts entering the Caribbean.
22. Are there currently investors who are interested in the feasibility study and how can Government and private land owners promote the investment opportunity for marinas in Anguilla
There are definitely investors currently interested in the Anguillan marina market. We need to promote these marinas through outreach to the investment community and the general yachting media. We will get the word out that the Anguillan marina industry is open for business.
