Quepos’ Pez Vela Marina Raises Its Sails

QUEPOS — Harold Lovelady's retirement plan isn't turning out like he thought it would.

Lovelady, who retired after a career in telecommunications in the U.S. state of Texas, arrived in Quepos, on the central Pacific coast, 11 years ago with a boat and dreams of spending his post-career years fishing in what he considers to be “the best fishing location in the world.”

He soon realized the need for a marina in the small, sweltering port town; so he looked into building one.

And build one, he definitely has.

Lovelady's original idea 11 years ago resulted in the creation of the Pez Vela Marina, a 40-acre, state-of-the-art marina that opened in June, just north of the old United Fruit Company pier in downtown Quepos. Heading south, after the coastal road crosses Quepos' main street and veers west, the mammoth development appears to the right, bordered by thousands of short, stout concrete plugs that deflect the tide and allow the marina's inner ring to remain untouched by the Pacific waves as they march towards shore.

“It started as a small project, but as more people expressed interest in a marina, we had to redesign the original plan to accommodate the potential demand,” Lovelady said. “It was evident we needed to make a larger, world-class marina. So that's how it turned out.”

The Pez Vela Marina, which officially opened its 97 docking slips two months ago, is still in the first phase of development. In coming years, the marina will build a total of 303 slips, a boatyard for maintenance and repairs, a shopping center, condominiums and a hotel, all within the confines of the marina's lot. In the marina's first months, the slips are being rented or bought by visitors from around the world. Boaters from Russia, South Africa, Europe and the U.S. have floated into the Pez Vela, either to spend a few days in Costa Rica, or to fill-up their tanks before returning to sea.

“I never really knew how much fuel a boat needed until they started coming in and getting their tanks filled,” said Eduardo Morúa, an employee at the Marina. “The tanks hold thousands of gallons and cost thousands of dollars to fill. Some of the boats come to fill up before setting out to sail around the world. The amount of fuel they need is astonishing. You need a lot of fuel to make it around the world.”

Lovelady said that if a large yacht comes in to fill up, for example, somewhere between 10,000-50,000 gallons of diesel fuel is pumped into the boats. The marina also charges an environmental fee on top of the cost of fuel for a fund to clean up potential accidents or spills.