Blue Haven Marina is strategically located along a scenic strait at Provo’s east end. Photo: www.sherryspix.com
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Munificence – noun: Liberal in giving, lavish, characterized by generosity.
It’s summer’s end and you’re heading south to your Antillean berth …
But you’ve heard about an archipelago roughly a hundred nautical miles from D.R., roughly thirty from the last of the Bahamas, so you set your chart plotter for the Turks and Caicos Islands.
You book a berth at Blue Haven Marina, an IGY destination snugged down in the bosom of spectacular waters, surrounded by the most delectable beaches on the planet, ideally placed roughly halfway between Miami and the Caribbean, a perfect port-of-call, whether you’re going south or making for home.
Those attributes alone would make this a must-do waypoint. But that’s just the beginning.
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At Blue Haven they have personified that elusive quality known as ‘munificence’.
Munificence – noun: Liberal in giving, lavish, characterized by generosity.
Lavish? “We find out exactly what your needs are, even before you get here,” says marina manager, Adam Foster, as he escorts me on a recent guided tour of this combination marina/resort. “And we meet those needs.”
Docking facilities fan out from one side of a strait at the extreme east end of Provo, the most populous of the Turks and Caicos. It’s called the Leeward Passing Through.
Blue Haven is the only Turks & Caicos marina associated with a resort, shown here in the background. Photo: www.sherryspix.com
Water colors in the approach from nearby Grace Bay (TripAdvisor’s recently rated Grace Bay the ‘world’s best beach’ while Caribbean Journal’s rated TCI as one of the top ten Caribbean boating destinations) are so vivid, so saturated with aquamarine hues, you’d swear they were Photoshopped.
And the appeal – along with the munificence – continues once you’ve snugged down.
Built from foam-encased concrete, those docks accommodate boats of up to 8.5ft draft and 220ft LOA. Docks are equipped with both Wi-Fi service and hardwired connection – “you can plug right in and run your own network,” says Foster – as well as high-speed gas and diesel fueling systems.
Your megayacht too mega?
Anchor in a designated large vessel anchorage zone, the closest of which is just outside the channel. Even there they offer full services. “Complete provisioning,” says operations manager Portia Mogal. “Rental car? Excursion? We’ll take care of it.”
Beside the range and depth of services they provide, another obvious feature of this IGY destination facility is its cleanliness and respect for the environment.
Blue Haven Marina is strategically located along a scenic strait at Provo’s east end. Photo: www.sherryspix.com
Water’s so clean and clear you can see the bottom from your dock, fish frolic in the shade of every slip, pump-outs are placed on every dock.
These are all reasons they’ve got a Five Anchor Gold designation, one of only four Caribbean waypoints so recognized for a combination of environmental compliance, facilities and services.
And that’s just the marina itself. Blue Haven’s the only facility in the Turks and Caicos boasting full access to a 51-room resort.
In addition to the Salt Grill (“when crews party here they’ll stay open until the last reveler goes home,” says Foster), boasting a gorgeous waterside deck and a thirty foot high interior room that serves as both bar and crew lounge (“best burgers on Provo,” adds Foster), the property is replete with beach volleyball court and horseshoe pitch.
Want to live like a landlubber? They offer a 10% discount on suites housed in the main building, a five-story rainbow-painted structure that shows like a Mediterranean palace, complete with Corinthian columns.
Deserve a bit of pampering? Go for a treatment at the onsite Elevate Spa. Work those abs at the gym, even take in an outdoor movie on alternate Saturday nights.
Dine on grilled Seafood Parillada at Fire and Ice; pick up a rum punch at the swim-up bar embraced by a freeform pool. Chill on their horseshoe beach, spend the evening hours with your crew at one of three or four seating arrangements surrounding fire pits at Fire Lounge – a pier jutting into the channel itself. Or pick up a bike and head over to nearby Leeward Beach – one of the most beautiful sections of one of the world’s most beautiful beaches.
Or maybe just lounge in a hammock with your name on it, in a resort and marina where they take care of your every need, a destination perfectly situated, roughly halfway between Miami and St. Maarten, where lavish, generous treatment is key.
Where megayacht munificence is the order of the day.
Mark Stevens is an award-winning travel writer whose specialties include Canada, the Caribbean and boating. Credits range from Sailing magazine and Canadian Yachting to the Washington Post.
