State-of-the-art marina set for St. George's

Plans to build a state-of-the-art floating marina in St George’s Harbour look set to get the go ahead.

The project is designed to cater for the numerous yachts that drop anchor off the old town on their way across the Atlantic.

The development will include a 154-berth marina, a fuelling station and amenities including providing fresh water and Internet access.

Developers, WEC Ltd, have been working on the plans to revamp the old St. George’s Boatyard for more than four years.

They say the town is crying out for a marina to cater for the yachts that pass through Bermuda every year.

Project managers Craig Faries and William Lawrence told the Sun the marina was part of a package of proposals designed to rejuvenate the old boatyard and its surrounding area.

Mr. Faries said: “We believe St. George’s needs a proper marina where the itinerant yachts can stop, refuel and get ready for the next leg of their journey.

Nowhere to go

“There is nothing like this at the moment — the yachts have nowhere to go — they just have to anchor in the harbour.

“This area has been used for ship building since the 1800s and it lends itself to this kind of development.

“The idea is for the marina to be a place where repairs can be done and where yacht owners can take advantage of state-of-the-art facilities.

“They are also just down the road from the town so they will have easy access to all the amenities there too.”

Mr. Lawrence added: “We want to do a proper job and that is why we have taken time to come up with just the right kind of development.

“It’s not just about building a marina — it is also about clearing up the site too.

“There is a lot of rusty metal work that has been dumped near the breakwater and this development would mean doing something about that.

“This is a deep water site and we have a lot of space for parking available too which makes the project viable.”

The marina would cater for a limited number of “live-in” yachts , which would be moored all year around.

The development would also see a fixed concrete pier along the breakwater and a brand new sewage system installed.

Mr. Faries added: “This is for the local people of St. George’s too.

“It will obviously help the itinerant yachts but we are also looking to cater for a small number of ‘live-ins’.

Live-ins

“We don’t want to have a marina of people living aboard their yachts but having some live-ins is good for security reasons too.

“I think it is an exciting project which offers a lot to a lot of people and we are hopeful that we will get the go-ahead from the planners.”

The plans for the construction of the marina will go before the Development Applications Board today.

The board is expected to give developers approval “in principle” for the project to go ahead.

But WEC Ltd will still have to fulfill a number of further conditions and planning requirements in order to obtain final approval.

New floating marina part of plan

The construction of a new floating marina near St. George’s Boatyard is just part of raft of projects designed to rejuvenate the area.

The site off Wellington Slip Road, which is owned by WEC Ltd, already boasts the island’s first dry storage marina. The Boatport was opened for business earlier this year and provides boating enthusiasts with the option of storing their vessel in a specially designed rack out of water.

That means there is no need for a mooring or bottom paint.

Furthermore there is less corrosion on underwater gear and the rack provides extra safety during storm conditions.

Planning permission has also been granted for 18 waterfront condominiums on land just next to the dry storage facility.

And plans are afoot to transform Downing House into a yacht club.

Project manager Craig Faries said: “We hope in the future to turn Downing House into what it used to be a long time ago.

“It used to be an old Mariner’s Tavern but at the moment it is being used for residential purposes.

“It is our hope that in the future it could be turned into a yacht club for people who use the marina complex.”

Medway wreck to be a centre piece

The wreck of the famous HMS Medway would be a centerpiece of the new marina development in St. George’s.

The old naval ship would remain untouched and perfectly preserved under plans put forward by developers WEC Ltd.

The HMS Medway is believed to be the only one of its kind left in the world.

It is also a restricted wreck site that is out of bounds for scuba divers.

The floating berths would surround the Medway so that marina users could get a front row view on one of Bermuda’s oldest wrecks.

Developers enlisted the help of a U.S. archaeology dive team to see if the wreck could remain in situ and protected as part of the project.

Project manager Craig Faries said: “It was obviously very important for us to make sure this development could be done without affecting a significant wreck like the Medway.

“That is why we enlisted the help of the dive team from the U.S. to take a look and provide a report.

“We believe the best way of ensuring the wreck is to include it as part of the marina plans.

“That way people can get a good look at the wreck from above when they walk around the marina too.”