Yas Island: For a good view, bring your yacht

The Yas Island development that will be used to berth superyachts during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Work on creating the capital's newest marina, on Yas Island, was completed today, five months before it hosts superyachts during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Flooding on the 143-berth marina, which will give boatowners some of the best views of the F1 circuit, finished today. A soft opening is expected in October, weeks ahead of the race on Nov 1. Paul Lane, the project director for Aldar Marinas, said: "This is the first of our marinas - we have 14 planned that will be gradually rolled out with our developments. "It is very much our flagship - this is the extra luxury end of the market. Not only do you have the largest vessels, but you have the Yas Marina Hotel and the yacht club and the F1 race on an annual basis."

The marina holds 150 million gallons of water, and was flooded over the last month. Water was pumped from the Gulf into the six-metre-deep basin at a rate of between 20 and 30 centimetres a day. Although costs for berthing at the Yas Marina have not yet been revealed, many of the vacancies for Nov 1 have already been taken up. The marina will be big enough to host some of the biggest yachts in use, up to 66 metres in length. Close to 42,000 labourers continue to work on the Yas Marina Circuit and the associated infrastructure, which is scheduled to be finished by the end of August. [e-mail]