Plymouth’s King Point Marina has increased its leisure berthing capacity by almost 25% after a mid-year reconfiguration to create 24 additional berths.
The contemporary marina based in Millbay, Plymouth’s newly established Coastal Quarter near the city centre, is owned and operated by Sutton Harbour Group, which also operates the 5 Gold Anchor Sutton Harbour Marina located in the historic heart of the city.
Offering a gateway to the UK’s best sailing grounds in the South West, King Point Marina is based within the naturally sheltered basin at Millbay built by famed engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1857, which provides strong protection for vessels along with direct sailing access to Plymouth Sound.
To accommodate increasing interest from new boat owners and those using their vessels more frequently to enjoy UK staycations given the current restrictions on overseas travel, King Point Marina has reconfigured pontoons to create 24 extra leisure berths, increasing its overall leisure spaces to 114 berths. The marina also provides alongside commercial berthing spaces for Princess Yachts.
The reconfiguration enabled additional berths to be created for vessels of between 9m and 10.5m in length. This complements the recent reconfiguration at King Point’s sister marina in Sutton Harbour completed in February of this year, which created 15 additional larger size berths designed to accommodate vessels of up to 14m in length, in order to respond to increased demand from larger boat owners.
Sutton Harbour Marina quickly sold out of its new berths and continues to see strong demand for the upcoming season. With Sutton Harbour Marina now nearly at full capacity, Sutton Harbour Group sought to expand leisure berthing facilities at King Point Marina to respond to the current market demand for high quality berthing in Plymouth.
Mark Brimacombe, Marina Manager, said: “We are seeing growing levels of interest in berthing in Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean City, at both our marinas in Sutton Harbour and at King Point in Millbay, especially in recent months following the increased demand for domestic tourism, and a greater interest in boating as it is seen as a Covid-safe leisure activity.
“Many new customers who bought a boat to enjoy a UK staycation instead of holidaying abroad have requested berths for their new vessel, and many other customers have brought their boats back to the UK from elsewhere, so we have reconfigured space at King Point Marina to create additional berthing spaces for leisure yachts.”
Both King Point Marina and Sutton Harbour Marina have remained open throughout two UK-wide lockdowns in 2020, with staff overseeing vessels when travel restrictions meant berth holders could not visit their boats.
As well as contemporary facilities and serviced, walk-ashore pontoon berths, King Point Marina offers free on-site parking and a popular restaurant called The Dock with views across Plymouth Sound, Drake’s Island and beyond.
While enjoying shelter provided by Millbay basin, King Point is also popular with new boat owners and those with larger yachts because it is particularly spacious and enables easy manoeuvrability for boats.
The marina is located within walking distance of Plymouth’s city centre as well as many restaurants, cafes, bars and year-round visitor attractions including Plymouth Theatre Royal, The Box museum, Plymouth Pavilions and the National Marine Aquarium.
King Point Marina and its sister marina in Sutton Harbour both offer easy access to some of the best sailing waters in the UK found along the Devon and Cornwall coast, and the chance to berth in a city which is both steeped in maritime history as well as the host for many international sailing events including the America’s Cup, Transat, Rolex Fastnet Race, Lonely Rock Race, OSTAR & TWOSTAR.
King Point and Sutton Harbour Marinas will both be co-hosting yachts berthing in Plymouth to take part in the exciting Sail GP sailing championship being held in Britain’s Ocean City in July 2021 after Sutton Harbour Group supported Plymouth City Council’s bid to host the major international event.
Annual, seasonal and visitor berthing packages at King Point Marina are available, with discounted berthing packages available for new customers, and prices start from £420 per metre.
Find out more at www.kingpointmarina.co.uk or give a member of the berthing team a call on 01752 424297 or email marina@kingpointmarina.co.uk