The number of megayachts worldwide has more than doubled in the last decade. Yet, there remains a global shortage of specifically-designed berths for yachts 100-feet and over. This critical lack of “parking space” became apparent this summer when a Saudi prince docked his 265-footer in the last available slip at Millionaire’s Quay in Cap d’Antibes and left Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich to moor his 533-foot Eclipse offshore. The good news is that movers-and-shakers in the international marina industry are capitalizing on cutting-edge trends to make sure the megayachts at their docks feel right at home.

“Marinas worldwide are definitely following the trend in yacht builds by creating berths for ever-larger yachts,” said Norma Trease, director of sales and marketing for Marina Port Vell, a Barcelona-based marina that will unveil its completely renovated superyacht facility in 2012. “One of the leading trends in marina design is simply that: design. More and more, megayacht marinas are being carefully thought out and designed as they are either renovated or built from scratch.”

Where to Build

Marinas are being built all over the world to accommodate megayachts that cruise globally. However, calm waters are a universal “must.” “There’s a high emphasis on protection from waves and wakes,” said Sam Phlegar, president of Applied Technology and Management (ATM), based in Charleston, South Carolina, a subsidiary of Island Global Yachting (IGY). “A basin needs to be designed properly to ensure quiescent berthing and protection from storms.”

Kevin Quirk, vice president of marina operations for Ft. Lauderdale’s LXR Luxury Marinas, which owns resort marinas from Florida to Puerto Rico, agreed. “Calm waters are far from a cutting-edge point, but I’ve had customers tell me they won’t dock at a particular marina because they don’t want to rock all night,” he said.

Enough room to maneuver is also crucial, added Phlegar. “In order to accommodate larger vessels, current trends are for providing for no less — and sometimes more — than the minimum recommended 1.5 times maximum LOA fairways. This makes the facilities more ‘user friendly’ and also allows the facility to accommodate a vessel larger than anticipated,” he said.

Dock Design & Development

According to Phlegar, one trend in dock design is “a higher utilization of floating dock components. Historically, megayacht marinas would employ fixed piers with high freeboard. We see floating docks being considered more now, which may be a change in captain’s preference, or higher freeboard capacity being available or offered for floating systems.”

A second trend is the provision of adequate power, said Mathieu Salomon, the Malta-based technical manager for Camper & Nicholsons Marinas International Ltd. “Every megayacht built seems to increase the amount of power it requires, which in turn puts a large burden on the marina developer and locality to provide such. Recently, it was noted that the very large megayachts actually require power equivalent to what a small village would use and thus remain on their generators.”

Capt. Gary Groenewold, vice president of Westrec Marinas, the world’s largest owner and operator of marinas and marine-related businesses, added: “Both the location and type of electrical facilities are important. Line drop, or a loss of electricity in the line as it travels over any distance, necessitates that electrical supplies are located on the finger pier. It’s important that a variety of power is available, as well. Many newer yachts are being built with power converters on board, but power requirements can vary a great deal. Some yachts need 50-cycle, some 60-cycle. Others require three-phase power and some power delivered in single-phase.”

Fueling is also an important consideration, said Jeff Boyd, president and managing director of Marine Management and Consulting N.V. in St. Maarten and operator of the Princess Port de Plaisance Resort on behalf of Suntex Waterfront Management. “Both in quality and grade of fuel supplied, as well as the speed and efficiency of how it is supplied, fueling has become a big issue,” he said.

In-slip fueling is an important dockside amenity, as is sanitary pump-out at every slip, said Westrec’s Groenewold. “Moving yachts is expensive and time consuming, so facilitating as many needs as possible right at the slip is essential.”

Other top dock trends are “extra-wide mains and finger piers to accommodate vehicular traffic and convenient boarding, as well as slips for secondary vessels proximate to the mother ship,” added Phlegar. “The latter is particularly true for homeported megayachts.”

Shoreside Facilities & Amenities

Crew is a huge focal point when it comes to trends in shoreside facilities and amenities offered at megayacht marinas.

“Our marinas are very crew oriented. They’re the folks you’ll always find on the boat, and many are choosing marinas that are accommodating their needs as well as the needs of the owners,” said Groenewold. “‘Must haves’ for megayacht crews at our marinas include pools and fitness centers, captains’ lounges and computer facilities, recreation opportunities and, most important, a credentialed concierge. Crews want to get off the boat, and access to facilities, amenities and entertainment is critical. A concierge helps the crew and the owner with transportation, access to sporting events, fine dining and entertainment, all adding to the experience of visiting a particular port.”

Beyond crew needs, “access to local accommodation and quality restaurants is important,” said Glynn Thomas, general manager at Port Louis Marina in Grenada, one of six marinas worldwide managed by Camper & Nicholsons.

Exclusive upland clubs is a common theme in megayacht marinas in the Middle East and China, said Phlegar. “Other shoreside trends include proximate ample parking for guests and provisioning,” he said. “In some cases, such as in Dubai, this is planned on the docks themselves given the upland constraints and distance to berths. Also in Dubai are refrigerated trash receptacles to control odor.”

Security is another shoreside service that’s key to crew and owners alike. “Most megayacht marinas in developed countries are being designed in accordance with ISPS compliance,” said Tim Keogh, director of business services for Marina Management Services Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida. “The trick to security design is to create a secure facility without the feeling of being in a prison. You want to have easy access for the customers, on and off the docks, but still restrict the public from walking right up to the boat. No one likes having to stand watch as if they were at a boat show while in a marina.”

Technological Advances

Everything becomes magnified in terms of the delivery of service and the amenities required when it comes to megayachts. An excellent example of this is wireless internet. “Wi-Fi is one of the most requested amenities that marinas can provide,” said Keogh. “In megayacht marinas, the bandwidth has to be large enough to accommodate the demands from the crew. One yacht can have 20 crewmembers, and when they arrive in port and all jump on Skype, the demands on bandwidth are much greater than a boat with only four people on board. Having a system that can handle that amount of traffic is extremely important.”

One cutting-edge technology that can help provide much-needed bandwidth is WiMAX. Brian Deher, marina manager of IGY’s The Yacht Club at Isle de Sol in St. Maarten, has enjoyed direct experience with this new service.

“Marinas all over the world have difficulties providing high speed, uninterrupted Wi-Fi to their customers due to high levels of interference and overuse of existing frequencies,” Deher said. “WiMAX 4G offers the perfect solution to these problems, as it operates in a different frequency and doesn’t require any hardwiring or link to the marina’s IT infrastructure. This allows marina customers to install a WiMAX 4G CPE on their vessel by simply plugging into the 50 or 60 Hz power and following the directions on the splash page.

“Thus far, every captain who has used WiMAX 4G at the IGY facilities that are testing it through our service provider on St. Maarten — CaribServe, a subsidiary of United Telecommunication Services — has been extremely impressed with the service and ease of use. In fact, our biggest problem is getting the test boxes back from the vessels once they experience the benefits of WiMAX 4G.”

On the Horizon

What are some of the things we’ll see in megayacht marinas in the future?

“Deep destination design with a major emphasis on uniqueness and true authenticity is a key goal for the future and the highest impact potential,” said Phlegar. “Also, green technology should be considered in all new marina design. This means energy efficiency, waste reduction, service area best management practices, using local/regional products and environmental stewardship.”

Carol M. Bareuther, RD, is a St. Thomas-based writer, registered dietician, and longtime contributor to Yacht Essentials and its sister publication All At Sea.

Tags: IGY, megayacht marinas, Port Louis Marina