Ports are never very pretty. In addition to their main function of facilitating waterborne commerce (in Fort Pierce, exports of citrus, imports of cement and aragonite), they are also places where boats are serviced and repaired, and like warehouse districts, they are not especially concerned with aesthetics. This was confirmed for me when I got a glimpse of both the Ports of Palm Beach and Fort Pierce last year. In fact, I took the photograph on the left at the Port of Fort Pierce last summer, showing a not very pretty tugboat in for repairs.
However, I just read in the Stuart News that St. Lucie County awarded a 30-year, $37 million contract to Derecktor Shipyards a few years ago to operate a megayacht repair center at the Port of Fort Pierce. This facility has been designed for megayachts longer than 200 feet and heavier than 900 tons. The centerpiece of the operation is a $6.5 million, 85-foot-tall mobile boat hoist, which very few shipyards have and the reason why yachts from all over the world are now coming here. Derecktor Shipyards will soon be able to accommodate a dozen of these boats in their yard and four in the water, such as the one in the photograph on the right. I only started to notice these huge yachts at the Port of Fort Pierce a few weeks ago. And why was this? Because that was when the Palm Beach Boat Show took place, which featured a number of these monsters, many of which stopped at Derecktor Shipyards after the boat show for servicing on their way to the Mediterranean or other exotic locales. Seeing just one is not all that remarkable, but seeing a number of them at the same time definitely is. And yes, I do plan to stop there once I purchase my superyacht and need an oil change.
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