Anguilla Courts the Superyacht Market in Monaco as Port Nimara Takes Shape

Anguilla wants to turn more superyacht bows toward its shores. With its first superyacht marina, Port Nimara, underway, the island stepped up its pitch to the international yachting market in September at the Monaco Yacht Show. The British Overseas Territory, just north of superyacht hubs St. Maarten/St. Martin and St. Barths, was represented by Tourist Board chairman Sean Richard, tourism director Jameel Rochester, destination experience manager Keri Rogers and Air and Sea Ports Authority CEO Sherman Williams.

The show, the 35th, ran September 23–26 at Port Hercule with more than 100 yachts on display, and Anguilla’s pitch leans on geography. Port Nimara sits on the southwest shore between Cap Juluca and the Altamer estate, less than 10 nautical miles from Marigot and 26 from Gustavia, so a yacht working the St. Martin–St. Barths circuit can add the island without a passage.

“As we prepare for the upcoming yachting and small- to medium-sized luxury vessel season, these discussions support further engagement and our continued efforts to enhance the official port-of-entry experience at Road Bay,” says Williams.

Anguilla also courted yacht owners at a reception aboard Oceanco’s 111-meter Leviathan, where guests sampled a Shoal Bay Margarita rimmed with locally produced salt from Anguilla Sands, Salts & Chocolate.

Port Nimara, which is scheduled to welcome its first yachts during the 2027 winter season, will offer 118 berths for yachts up to 240-plus feet on Anguilla’s southwest coast. Planned amenities include on-site customs and immigration, crew facilities, and the Beaufort Yacht Club.

Berths will run from 40 to 240 feet. The concrete pontoons arrived in May, offloaded offshore and floated in through a newly dredged channel with Anguillian boats and crews on the job, and the developer, South West Harbour Inc., a joint venture of Sweden’s SF Investments, New York’s Time Equities and Anguilla’s Antillean Developments, held an official launch and on-the-water preview in August. An Equinox resort on the site is due in 2029. Until the marina opens, Road Bay at Sandy Ground remains the port of entry, which makes Williams’ line about the clearance experience there the one that matters for this season.

Carol Bareuther has written for ALL AT SEA since 2004.