By Carla Allen
THE VANGUARD
NovaNewsNow.com
Business is booming this year at Yarmouth’s 200-foot megayacht dock in front of the Killam Brothers complex on Water Street. The dock was installed in late fall 2008.
“We’ve had more than double the boats than in previous years,” said Byron Boudreau, chair of the Yarmouth Waterfront Development Committee. “I think more and more people are realizing that it’s cheap to dock there.”
Cheap is a relative term. The price is less expensive for shorter boats, $1.25/foot from 0 – 29, but larger vessels are dearer at $4/ft. from 120-140. The town also has nine moorings in the harbour.
Bigger boats and longer stays translate into considerable cash for the town. Northern Light, a 151-ft. motor yacht, docked for close to two weeks prior to sailing to Newfoundland and Labrador. Its bill was close to $700 a day. Filling the larger yachts with diesel fuel can cost close to $100,000.
Marine manager Paul Pothier estimates close to 60 have tied up to the megayacht dock since mid-May, with a 50/50 collection of motor yachts and sailboats.
“I’ve had them from Austria, France, Australia, Germany, and Maryland. They’re coming from all over the world, but most of them from the United States,” he said.
The docks will stay in the water until mid-October.
