Port of the Month: Rodney Bay Marina, St Lucia

Created by doina. Last modified on 2006-12-01 11:27:16
Topic: Noonsite
Countries: St Lucia

A fleet of some two hundred yachts are at this very moment wending their way across the Atlantic having left Las Palmas in the Canary Islands in the annual ARC bound for St Lucia in the Caribbean. In the seventeen years since the finishing line of this enormously popular event was moved to Rodney Bay, the area around it has changed beyond recognition. Much of that is due to the efforts and dedication of a retired American sailor, who sadly passed away last year at the age of seventy-three.

Arch Marez made landfall here with his own yacht in the early 1980s and, realizing the untapped potential of this beautiful spot, he decided to build a marina. The once mosquito-ridden lagoon, where the marina is located, is now surrounded by hotels, restaurants, and elegant residences.

In the intervening years, the annual arrival of the ARC at Rodney Bay Marina has turned St. Lucia into one of the most popular Caribbean landfalls for transatlantic sailors.

A channel dredged to a depth of 14 feet (4 metres) leads from the sheltered bay into the large lagoon and the 230 berth marina. Both docking and shore facilities are of a high standard, and the commercial centre that has mushroomed around the marina provides sailors with all their basic needs: there are two banks, several restaurants, supermarket, bakery, travel agency, several car hire companies, internet facilities, dive centre and souvenir shops. Specialised repair facilities are also well catered for by the marina’s own boatyard, with its 45 ton travelift, as well as a fuel dock, sailmaker, electronics and electrical repair shops, and a well stocked chandlery.

The marina offers attractive rates for long stays and although St Lucia lies to the north of the limit imposed by insurance companies, due to its excellent protection, yachts are allowed to spend the hurricane season in Rodney Bay Marina without suffering any penalties.

The continuing success of Rodney Bay Marina as the ARC destination in the Caribbean is also due to its ideal location at the heart of the Windward Islands. Crew changes are made easy by Saint Lucia’s two international airports: Hewanorra, at the southern end of the island, handles mostly intercontinental flights, whereas the nearer Castries airport handles mostly inter-island flights.

One well known feature in Rodney Bay is the small village of Gros Islet, which comes alive on Friday nights. Live bands with giant sound systems stand at every corner, their soundwaves making the small wooden houses shake. Every house owner throws open his doors, selling beer, rum or fried chicken, and visitors can wander into anyone’s home, even upstairs into these welcoming villagers’ bedrooms. Never was the expression “open house” more true.

The once sleepy fishing village has earned itself another claim to fame. Here, Nobel Prize-winning author Derek Walcott set his epic poem, Omeros, a Caribbean version of Homer’s Odyssey. Rodney Bay is, by any standard, a most fitting place to celebrate one’s own successful Atlantic odyssey.

Rodney Bay Marina Tel. +1 758 452 0324, Fax +1 758 452 0185 Email: rbmarina@candw.lc www.rodneybaymarina.com