Safe Harbor Marinas is continuing its efforts to expand superyacht marinas and services outside the usual locations. The company has reportedly inked a deal with the government of Puerto Rico to transform two docks into a marina able to service about six of these larger yachts.

Plans are for the first phase of construction to be up and running by the end of this year, with the second phase completed in late 2025. Overall, Safe Harbor is expected to invest $12 million to $15 million in the project.

The announcement follows other additions to the Safe Harbor network with an eye toward servicing superyachts. About a year ago, Safe Harbor acquired Savannah Yacht Center in Georgia. At the time of that deal, Baxter Underwood, CEO of Safe Harbor Marinas, said: “The world’s largest vessels have historically been forced to cross the Atlantic for certain services. This facility allows us to serve them with excellence here in the United States and inside the Safe Harbor network.”

The new Puerto Rico facility will not be Safe Harbor’s first foray onto the island. In 2021, the company acquired Puerto Del Rey, which is in Fajardo. It’s marketed as the largest marina in the Caribbean, with wet slips for about 1,000 vessels along with dry stacks for another 750.

Superyachts bring a higher level of investment into the communities where they tie up. The new facility in Puerto Rico is expected to generate more than $10 million in economic activity for the island, with Puerto Rico’s Port Authority receiving $200,000 a year in rental fees. Safe Harbor will also share a portion of the gross income and fuel-sale profits.   

Strategic Gem

The San Juan Historical Site is part of the National Park Service as well as being a World Heritage Site. Defense of this strategically important site was paramount for the government of Spain, which fortified it for more than 250 years.   acreage is substantial, with the site encompassing 75 square acres. The historic walls alone span a distance of 2.7 miles. Visitors to the site typically number more than a million a year, with kids and adults alike eager to explore the tunnels and dungeons. Kite flying is also a favorite family activity in the expanses of green grass. Photo buffs like this site not only for its architecture, but also because it includes the highest points of Old San Juan. The spots where lookouts used to roam are now great for capturing keepsake images.

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What are the ingredients that make a world-class chef? In the case of Puerto Rican celebrity chef Wilo Benet, they start with a diploma from the Culinary Institute of America and classical French training at Le Bernardin, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City. Add an endearing personality and passion that landed him the chef’s position at the Puerto Rican governor’s mansion as well as guest spots on such American cooking shows as Top Chef Masters. And blend in a heartfelt respect for the traditional dishes and ingredients of his home with the creative talent to take them in unexpected directions, as he did for 28 years at his restaurant Picayo until Hurricane Maria forced its closure in 2018.

His “next thing” is Wilo Eatery & Bar, a venue that combines a grab-and-go area and catering service with a dining room that blends global flavors, artisanal cocktails and a modern wine list.

“We cover the entire span from a great steak and foie gras to to-go alcapurrias,” Benet says. “It is a continuous effort at creativity.”

What distinguishes Puerto Rican cuisine? You have iconic dishes like sofrito and our key ingredient of plantains. It’s the intensity of the flavors and the combination of salty and sweet, which is a big part of our everyday cooking. So, sofrito, plantains, intensity, salty, sweet—that’s Puerto Rican.

Benet’s Best of San Juan

Compostela: They have a phenomenal wine list. Everything is done beautifully, like their perfectly sliced pata negra ham or paella rice or cochinillo (suckling pig).

La Lanterna: I absolutely love this Italian restaurant. Their spaghetti vongole and truffle pasta are just phenomenal.  

Peko Peko: The chef of this ramen bar makes his own noodles, and the consistency and quality are terrific. 

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In plato’s allegory of the cave, a prisoner finds enlightenment by emerging from the darkness of a cave into the sunlight. For Abel Vale, the journey was precisely the opposite. The first time he ventured into the karst (limestone) caves of Puerto Rico’s Mona Island, Abel’s wonder and awe at their geological marvels changed the course of his life. “I had the sense that I had been in the womb of the Earth,” he recalls.

In 1994, Vale helped establish Ciudadanos del Karso, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the karst region that accounts for more than a third of the landmass of Puerto Rico’s main island. This unique terrain is critical for conserving geological and biological diversity, as well as the underlying aquifers that are a vital source of fresh water for all life, agriculture and industry on the island.

CDK successfully lobbied the government to designate 235,000 acres of the karst region as protected land. Still, Vale and fellow CDK members continue in their public-education campaign to raise awareness and appreciation of the stunning and significant natural resource that surrounds them. “When you’re in the karst region and see the amazing shapes that the rocks and trees can take,” he says, “it makes your imagination run wild.”

What makes Puerto Rico’s karst region unique? In less than three hours, you can see all the different types of karst formations: caves, sinkholes, valleys, mogotes [steep-sided hills]. You’d have to travel far greater distances in order to do the same in the US or Mexico.

Where is the best spot for visitors to see and appreciate Puerto Rico’s karst landscape? Go along Highway 2 in the northern part of Puerto Rico to Guajataca. There’s a 200-foot-high train tunnel where you can see both the sea and the karst landscape. A lot of people stop there to take photos because it is so beautiful.

Abel Vale’s A-List for San José

Ropa Vieja Grill: Their cuisine is excellent, especially its namesake dish.

Café Cuatro Sombras: They serve very good panini and their own coffee. Its name means “the four shades” and refers to the four types of shade trees that protected the coffee plants.

El Tap: It’s a good bar for people into the latest craft beers.

Castillo San Felipe Del Morro and Castillo San Cristóbal: These landmark forts in Old San Juan were both constructed from quarried karst.

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