The port
A prestige marina on Barbados west coast, one of only two official ports of entry in the country, with customs, immigration and coast guard on site.
Built at Heywoods, near Speightstown, on the west coast of Barbados, Port St. Charles grew out of a project launched in 1996 by three Barbadian businessmen, Sir Charles Williams, his brother Ralph "Bizzy" Williams and Bjorn Bjerkhamn, to a plan by architect Ian Morrison. Construction proceeded in phases (each phase starting once about 60% of its units had sold) over nearly a decade and was only completed in 2005; the 11 September 2001 attacks halted sales and construction for several months, with financing for the last three phases later secured through a US$30 million bond from Republic Bank. The Barbadian government granted concessions to encourage the development, including duty-free import of buyers' boats, and designated the site an official port of entry: before its creation, yachts bound for destinations such as the Grenadines had to clear customs in Bridgetown. The development today comprises 156 homes on 22 acres, each with its own private berth (163 berths in total), complemented by six berths for visiting mega-yachts on the outer breakwater and two mooring buoys for vessels over 250 feet.
