Personalized Vacation in Villas in Port Antonio, Jamaica W.I.

Docklines - April 2012

IN FOR THE KILL? But it sure looks that way when a skywriting aircraft from a recent air show at Ian Fleming Airport buzzed this motor yacht. Talk about being at the right place at the right time. The photo was taken by Dr. Vidal Smith, dental surgeon in Port Antonio, who has amassed an impressive collection of photos including the marina.

NAVY ISLAND CLEANUP CLICKS- After four weekends in March to “Nice Up De Place”, Navy Island, the marina’s 64-acre landmark, is now looking a lot different. As many as 50 volunteers joined the cleanup effort each weekend, armed with shovels, chain saws, rakes, hoes and brooms. The volunteers included yacht visitors to the marina, area residents , Peace Corps volunteers, Boy Scouts and even a number of overseas visitors to Portland Parish. The island had been a resort until the late 90’s when it went into receivership. Since that period, the property was stripped of all valuables in-cluding lumber, plumbing and electrical fixtures. The property was eventually turned over to the Jamaican Government. A new sign will be erected on the property, asking visitors to respect and protect the property; The sign is to read: “Welcome to Navy is-land – Take Only Photos, Leave Only Footprints.” Access to the island is presently lim-ited to those who have some type of boat. The Port Authority of Jamaica, which has the island in their portfolio administers the property and is seeking serious developers/investors. For details, contact Marina General Manager Dale Westin at 1876-832-4765 or email at [email protected].

NAVY ISLAND GOT A NEW LOOK AFTER FOUR WEEKENDS OF CLEANUP –A 100 per cent volunteer effort gave the 64 acre historic site a new look over four separate weekends in March. As many as 50 workers showed up on the separate weekends to remove broken glass, plastic bottles and other debris from the island which was once owned by the Legen-dary Actor Errol Flynn. Seen above is the beach in front of the island’s Great House. (Errol Flynn Marina Photo)
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE- The Errol Flynn Marina has several facilities available for lease including one turnkey beach bar and restaurant, a small seaside fa-cility suitable for a combination café-gourmet shop and a fully furnished boatyard. De-tails can be obtained from the marina general manager, Dale Westin by email at [email protected] or by phoning 1-876-715-6044.

NEW MOORING BUOY FIELD PLANNED- -A new 25-buoy mooring field will become a real-ity for the marina’s 2012-13 operating season. The installation, which will feature large stud-link anchor chain for outstanding holding, will principally be for yachts of up to 40 feet. It is expected that it will result in more orderly anchoring and reduce the likelihood of yachts hitting each other during fluky wind shifts, etc. The buoys will also be numbered and it is expected an access fairway will be created to provide some separation for boats coming to and from the marina docks and the marine police docks. The project is in response to the growing number of anchorage yachts coming to the West Harbour every year. Yachts that are larger than 40 feet will be directed to other areas of the harbour and use their own anchoring equipment. It is estimated as many as 100 yachts could anchor safely in the harbour which has depths in the anchorage area of from seven to ten metres.

SURE WE CAN HANDLE THE BIG ONES! – We had the pleasure of hosting the M/S Deutsch-land for two days in late March. At 579 feet length overall, it was one of the larger cruise ships to grace our harbour. We also hosted the ship’s crew for a late night beach party complete with bonfire. The ship has a crew to passenger ratio of almost one to one. Our harbour can accommodate vessels of up to 660 feet (201 metres) and up to a 32 foot draft (10 metres) alongside and also turn the ship in our harbour.
M/S DEUTSCHLAND CUTS A WIDE PATH ENTERING THE MARINA’S CHANNEL to start a two day visit to Port Antonio. It is one of the largest cruise ships to call at the marina’s West Harbour. (Errol Flynn Marina Photo)