New Marinas Overseas

As promised I have now had time to catch up with all the outstanding leasing quotes and marine mortgage quotes over on my other site boat leasing finance and I can finally write about the new marina currently being built. However, before I do, perhaps I should put the trip in context which I hope will explain some of my observations.

Having never visisted Sicily before, but with an Italian wife, I was very open minded, although having researched the hotels and island before leaving we were not sure what to expect. I think we both thought that the isand would provide the ideal winter sun getaway, with pretty villages, fantastic food, and wonderful marinas, of which Licata would be one! Sadly we were very disappointed by the week we were on the island, and by the time we left, couldn’t wait to get home. The island has suffered some of the worst excesses of unregulated building, to such an extent that the whole island is a testament to concrete which is everywhere, even next to some of the finest Roman ruins in the Valley of the Temples. What is so sad, is that if the island is ever to develop as a tourist destination, then vast sums will need to be spent on pulling down these scars on the landscape. When we suggested to the hotel owner that perhaps these were not the most attractive towns, all he could say was that at least it’s not Cairo! - if you are looking for a pretty island, then the interior is certainly unspoilt, but travel to the coast and it’s a different story. The Eastern side of the island is virtually one long development, not very pretty and massivley over developed. The West coast has been destroyed by concrete block buildings. The only pretty seaside resort we found was Cefalu on the North coast. So what of the potential for the new marinas, and that at Licata.

The first problem is actually getting there. Wherever you fly to, it’s a three hour drive as there are no motorways on the southern coast. Licata itself has a pretty old town, but again it has been blighted by concrete block buildings which are everywhere. The marina itself is only partially built which is not what I had expected. To me it looks as though it has run out of money as there was no consruction work going on, and much of the site was covered with weeds. On talking to some of the locals it appears that there is the possibility of the site being bought by another developer, but no one could confirm this for us. Based on the current situation and rate of progress I would not expect this to be finished for at least 2-3 years. Indeed a local paper that we read, also stated that there were sufficient old marinas that could be updated in order to reach the 10,000 berth target for the island by 2010, so perhaps it never will.

I went with high expectations, but returned very disappointed. Whilst I feel very sorry for the Sicilians as they are desperate for tourists to visit the island, I would not recommend the marina as a base. Apart from the fact that I do not believe it will be finished for some time, I would suggest the following points against it. Firslty, it is extremely difficult to get to - the minimum is three hours by road. Secondly, it was extremely windy, a feature of this part of the coast which is covered in polytunnel in order to protect the new produce. Thirdly, the food was very disappointing, and nowhere near the standard of Rome or elswhere in Italy. Sadly not for us.

Reading this post makes me sound anti Sicily - I am not - it is simply a very poor island that is trying to develop it’s tourism. Whether it will ever succeed I have no idea, but will require a huge effort by the local people and a massive amount of investment to overturn the decades of building abuse which has gone unchecked.

If I were asked to choose between Genoa and Licata I would choose Genoe every time - why? - even thought this is another unsightly city, the marina is close to the airport, in an hour you can be in Portofino, and it has some of the best food in the world with a micro climate to boot!

Sorry Sicily, but not for me I’m afraid.

This is a very short post to let everyone know that I am flying to Sicily on Tuesday to look at two projects. Firstly I will be visiting the new marina at Licata which is now finished. Naturally I will be taking lots of pictures so that you can see how it looks, and also meeting with the developers to discuss the berths available and prices for both houses and apartments overlooking the marina, as well as any other details which might be useful.

The second development is in Agrigento, a few mile up the coast from Licata. This is for golfers, as it is being devloped by Rocco Forte and will be a spa resort complete with golf course right on the beach - a links course in Sicily. The development looks wonderful and is due for completion in 2009. It is early days and there is no sales offce yet, but the site is under construction, so again I will be taking plenty of pictures.

I will be back on Monday, so I will post on Tuesday with my thoughts and impressions on the coast and the developments.