The Caribbean yachting season has come to its close, and St Kitts and Nevis and Christophe Harbour celebrate a record-breaking year for superyacht traffic. The 2015/2016 season has seen the Federation welcome nearly 200 yachts over 22m to its waters, with 87% of those vessels falling specifically in the superyacht category of 30m and above. This represents a 20% year on year growth in large yacht traffic in St Kitts and Nevis for the fourth year running. 

"It has been a really exciting season for Christophe Harbour and St Kitts and Nevis," says Aeneas Hollins, director of yachting at The Marina at Christophe Harbour. "The number of superyachts spending time here has continued to grow, with almost half of them stopping over at The Marina at Christophe Harbour. Yachts are staying longer, making the most of our state-of-the-art facilities and yacht services, as well as all that St Kitts and Nevis have to offer – friendly locals, culture, incredible food and stunning natural surroundings. We are seeing many of the yachts come back and visit again throughout the season."

89% of large yachts visiting the Federation are cleared in through St Kitts, indicating a significant shift from years past and the influence of our many services, including expedited VIP customs and immigration services. With the offer of competitively priced in-slip, duty free fuelling, the state of the art marina facilities, provisioning and concierge services and YU Lounge, the VIP private jet terminal for guests to arrive into, Christophe Harbour makes St Kitts the perfect Gateway to the Caribbean, an ideal place to start and end charters in the region. Avoiding the overcrowding of more traditional Caribbean superyacht hubs, St Kitts and Christophe Harbour provide an exclusive, five-star location to embark and disembark for guests, as well as an excellent place for crew to prepare for charters. With islands like St Barths, Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda and St Maarten within easy cruising distance, it is easy to create the perfect charter itinerary from St Kitts. 

The build of the Customs House, central point of the marina village, is well underway and The Marina at Christophe Harbour has also recently seen the installation of a state-of-the-art fuel farm capable of delivering 125 US gallons of duty-free fuel per minute in slip to visiting yachts. Advances like this at Christophe Harbour are not only improving the superyacht infrastructure on island, but the regional infrastructure, and as a result, that the number of yachts spending time in St Kitts and Nevis will only continue to grow.

 

The superyacht season in St Kitts and Nevis by numbers 

190 large yachts over 20m
194 large yachts over 22m
165 superyachts over 30m
7 superyachts over 85m
29 superyachts over 60m
66 superyachts over 50m 
76 superyachts over 45m
117 motoryachts versus 73 sailing yachts