With its distinctive limestone cliffs and emerald green water, as featured spectacularly in the 1974 James Bond film “The Man With the Golden Gun,” Phang Nga Bay in Thailand has long been a favorite of yacht owners cruising in Southeast Asia. Phuket Island has been the natural base of the region’s sailing community, but its four marinas can often be crowded in the high season of November through January, making it hard to find a berth. Now plans are afoot for a new marina on the other side of Phang Nga Bay, about 50 kilometers, or 30 miles, across the sea from Phuket Boat Lagoon and 3 kilometers off the town of Krabi on the mainland.
The new marina, Port Takola Marina — on the site of a former shrimp farm at the mouth of the Krabi River — is still under construction, with a first phase expected to be ready in the middle of 2012. When completed, the marina will have about 250 berths that can accommodate yachts ranging from 10 meters to 35 meters, or 33 feet to 115 feet. The marina is being developed by Suriya Na Nagara, a retired surgeon admiral in the Royal Thai Navy who hired Simon Arrol, a marina consultant, to design it. Mr. Arrol was the managing director of Camper & Nicholsons Marinas, which specializes in marina investment, development and management, for 16 years before setting up his own company, Arrol Ltd., in 2008. Read the whole story in the IHT
The new marina, Port Takola Marina — on the site of a former shrimp farm at the mouth of the Krabi River — is still under construction, with a first phase expected to be ready in the middle of 2012. When completed, the marina will have about 250 berths that can accommodate yachts ranging from 10 meters to 35 meters, or 33 feet to 115 feet. The marina is being developed by Suriya Na Nagara, a retired surgeon admiral in the Royal Thai Navy who hired Simon Arrol, a marina consultant, to design it. Mr. Arrol was the managing director of Camper & Nicholsons Marinas, which specializes in marina investment, development and management, for 16 years before setting up his own company, Arrol Ltd., in 2008. Read the whole story in the IHT