2018 May June Marina World

WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENTS
50 single-family homes and low-rise
apartment buildings facing the yacht
basin will have private slips at their
back door. The two islands together
encompass 19ha (47 acres) and the
marina basin between the islands
is 9ha (22 acres). The Ocean Reef
Islands project has added 4km (2.5mi)
of coastline to the country of Panama.
The slip market
Aleman’s original concept is evolving.
John Matheson is president of F3
Marina, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His
marina management firm was selected
to manage marina operations. In the
meantime, the company is assisting
ownership in evaluating the market.
Once completed, the market study will
provide a final slip-mix target for the
engineer.
“We discovered that there is
enormous potential to serve boaters
from outside of Panama,” said
Matheson, “especially in the superyacht
community. The response to Ocean
Reef Islands Marina at the 2018 Miami
Boat Show demonstrated to us the
extent of its international appeal.”
Alain Guidice works with Matheson
at F3 Marinas. A 25-year veteran of
the marina and hospitality industry,
Guidice is taking the pulse of the
international market. “With 150 new
yachts over 30m (100ft) launched each
year,” said Guidice, “many of them
much larger and extremely seaworthy,
we see enormous opportunity for
Panama as the gateway to the
Galapagos and the entire Pacific. The
typical Mediterranean-to-Caribbean
superyacht route is getting crowded
and owners are looking for something
new. Panama has the canal but is an
intriguing destination in its own right.
That just adds to the allure.”
Ocean Reef Islands Marina is a
logical jumping off point for yachts
going into the Pacific. “Once you leave
Panama City you have to go a long
way before you reach another major
port,” said Aleman. “And we have so
much to enjoy right here. In addition
to sport fishing, we have world-class
archipelagos on both sides of the
Panama Canal. Best of all, we are
located in the heart of Panama City and
all the city has to offer to owners and
guests on yachts.”
As a result, the concept has evolved
from a development primarily for
Panamanians to a mix of Panamanian
and international clientele, including
Close-up CGI shows the new marina against a backdrop of huge office and hotel towers.
international superyachts. “At first,
we planned to have three slips for
boats 30m (100ft) and longer,” said
Aleman. “Our current mix includes
eight superyacht slips from 30-50m
(100-160ft), and we can accommodate
yachts up to 61m (200ft). There will
be 150 slips in the marina plus the
50 private docks along the shoreline
inside the basin. We expect that the
marina will be completed in about a
year.”
Engineering challenges
While the tide changes about 0.6m
(2ft) on the Atlantic side, 9m (16ft)
changes are common on the Pacific,
and there can be a long-period swell
that carries significant energy into the
marina if not dealt with by breakwaters.
The mucky, soft soil that flushes out
of the canal requires careful attention
to the design of the dock anchoring
system.
Creating new land through land
reclamation is not new to Panama. Just
across the causeway from Ocean Reef
Islands is Punta Pacifica, a point of
land with huge office and hotel towers.
It is also reclaimed land as is much of
coastal Panama City. In fact, the actual
mainland is about 2km (1.2mi) inland
from Ocean Reef Islands.
The challenge was the scope of the
project and the shape of the islands.
Aleman’s company purchased a rock
quarry to facilitate construction and
brought in land reclamation experts
from, where else, the Netherlands.
The shape of the islands was
not trivial. Jack Cox, principal with
SmithGroup JJR in Madison, WI, is the
coastal engineer and marina designer
for the Ocean Reef Islands Marina.
“The coastline is sensitive to changes,”
said Cox. “In order to win the permit,
the shape of the islands and the
breakwaters had to be geometrically
designed so as not to interfere with the
normal patterns of wind, waves and
currents in a way that might damage
the shoreline. The amoeba-like shape
of the islands is designed to minimise
those effects.”
Long-period waves may not look
impressive, but the energy they can
exert on lines, cleats and piles is
significant. “We have one breakwater
built, and we are about to start the
second one,” Cox confirmed. “The
anchoring system will take special
care to design because of the soft soil,
but with all conditions put together it
looks like we will use piles to ensure
everything stays in place during tide
changes. The superyacht docks will be
heavy duty and will have the kind of
electrical power large boats require.”
A new destination
Ocean Reef Islands Marina is an
audacious project that will be a
major step toward establishing a
new, flourishing yachting destination
in Central America. It will certainly
encourage more superyacht owners
to experience the Pacific. As we have
read many times in this magazine,
building brilliant projects such as
Ocean Reef Islands requires men
and women of spectacular vision who
are not deterred by tough challenges.
Alfredo Aleman is one of those special
people without whom our marina world
would be just another business.
Robert Wilkes writes about the
marina industry from Bellevue, WA,
USA.
www.marinaworld.com - May/June 2018 19