L U X X YA C H T S
A SCENE-STEALING MARINA
C
ANOUAN, WITH ITS thousands of dawdling tortoises, unspoilt sands and long strip of coral reef, is a Caribbean island so idyllic it’s almost a cliché. Which is why, over the decades, numerous hoteliers have attempted to lure holidaymakers in search of a certain sort of swank. In 1998 the SwissItalian investor Antonio Saladino created a sprawling multi-villa hotel, which became a Rosewood, then a Raffles and was finally bulldozed. In 2003 Donald Trump invested in the island, running a casino and a Jim Fazio-designed Trump International Golf Club (only the latter still exists, an excellent sunbathing spot for the tortoises).
S L I C E O F PA R A D I S e
The Sandy Lane Yacht Club and Residences on Canouan. Right, the island in all its isolated glory
110
In the past few years, though, word has started to spread that Canouan is becoming the smart Caribbean destination. Thanks to a runway expansion, private planes – and even Boeing 737s – have started to jet in to the little two-mile-long, one-mile-wide island. There are smart villas and uncrowded beaches. And the opening this year of the Sandy Lane Yacht Club and Residences, a superyacht marina created by the Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond, the co-owner of Barbados’s Sandy Lane, will further the island’s reputation as the place “where billionaires go to escape millionaires”. No expense has been spared in its development. About 500,000 cubic metres of earth were excavated to create the marina-cum-village, which is between the runway and Glossy Hill in the south of island. Its deep channel offers side-to berths along its shores and concrete piers, which allow 120 yachts of up to 100m to be accommodated. The village, inspired by Portofino in Italy and painted in the same ice-cream pastels, is made up of 17 designer suites and four villas (five more are planned), each with high-end services and restaurants: the whitewashed beach club-style Shenanigans and the fine-dining bistro Foxy Jacks. Desmond’s is not the only place to stay on the island. At the other end is the Mandarin Oriental, Canouan, which has 26 marble-lined suites with some of the most extravagant rooms in the Caribbean, while Soho House will take over the Tamarind Beach Hotel. And there are rumours that other renowned brands, including Aman, are planning hotels. It is the marina, though, situated at the heart of the Grenadines, within striking distance of Mustique and the more rustic Bequia, that is getting yacht owners and charterers excited. “Typically, the south Caribbean was part of an extended cruise that would start in either Saint Martin or Antigua,” explains Robert Puddifoot, the captain of the 62.5m Baton Rouge (available for charter with Burgess), which was one of the largest superyachts spotted in Canouan last season. “So, for shorter charters of seven days, heading to the Grenadines was not practical. However, the marina now allows good access to the island’s facilities and
JEAN-MARC LECERF/GETTY IMAGES
Why the south Caribbean island of Canouan is becoming the new hotspot for superyachts. By Sophia Wilson
importantly the airport allows a yacht like Baton Rouge to start or end a charter and connect with the client’s private aircraft.” Lara-Jo Houghting of Churchill Yacht Partners has already seen interest from charterers and owners wanting to do just this. “We have several yachts chartering around Canouan this winter,” she says. “It’s a wonderful stop for guests to explore.” From the island’s highest peak, Mount Royal, it’s possible to see for miles – and take in not only the long reef that protects Canouan from the Atlantic, but also the island’s extraordinary position. Less than an hour’s sail away lies the Tobago Cays Marine Park, which is famed for its
“The south Caribbean is ideal for people who want to go off-grid”
111
population of green turtles with which you can swim, as well as coral cays bustling with tropical reef fish. “The south Caribbean is ideal for people who want to go off-grid a little bit,” Tim Clark, the director of the yacht brokerage company My Sea, says. “It’s more untouched, more dramatic, there are fewer boats down there invariably, so you do feel it’s more your own place.” It’s unlikely that Canouan will feel like that for much longer. The tortoise island may have taken more than two decades to develop, but in the yachting world, it is about to win the race. slycr.com