An interesting article appeared recently which criticised the way Asia is trying to play catch up to European marinas. Sutera Harbour Marina and even the new The Tanjong City Marina in Penang, suffer due to design flaws. "In Asia, most marinas are developed not by municipalities, like in Europe, but by private developers who have their own agenda on how they're going to make the marina pay back. Hence, most of the marinas developed in Asia are teamed with luxury condominium developments," said Y.P. Loke, managing director of Spinnaker International
The result of this is essential facilities are not supplied for yachts. One major missing link certainly in Kota Kinabalu is facilities for yachts to be hauled out for repairs. Hundreds of yachts pass through the area and at sometime or another need to be lifted out for repairs to underwater damage or repainting. At the moment yachts head for Kudat, the Philippines, Lankawi or Singapore. Hopefully if a marina is developed at Jessleton Point they will make some use of the vast container standing and provide a boat lift.
One other Problem in Kota Kinabalu is that both Immigration and Marine Department are both now outside the city and in peak traffic time it can take hours to complete formalities
David Ogden
Yacht Watch Service
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