QUEPOS, Costa Rica — “This is the moment we’ve been working toward,” said Harold Lovelady, founder of the new Marina Pez Vela in this popular fishing port, “and I promise it will have been worth the wait.

Photo by: centralamericanboating.com Ready to Visit? — Marina Pez Vela in Costa Rica plans a grand opening in April, with the first 100 of 309 full-service slips. Construction of the giant overlapping breakwaters consumed most of the 10-year project. Punta Quepos and Manuel Antonio National Park are visible in the foreground.

The first 100 full-service slips in Pez Vela (which means sailfish) will open to the public April 21. Slips range from 35 to 200 feet and are located inside a huge new breakwater-enclosed harbor, immediately north of the historic Puerto Quepos Pier.

Pez Vela, which has a 600-foot-long fuel dock, is the only marina between Bahia Herradura (35 nautical miles to the northwest) and Golfito Bay (115 miles to the southeast).

Much of the 10-year construction project has focused on creating the new yacht harbor in Bahia Vieja, formerly an estuary delta and anchorage. Dozens of giant coffer dams encased in steel were built to form the backbone of the two overlapping breakwaters, and millions of tons of boulders were placed to fill out the jetties wide enough for a road on top. This engineering marvel was required to shelter yachts inside the 44-acre basin from the region’s southerly swell.

Pez Vela has its own power-generating station to supply up to 200-amp shore power. Docks built by Bellingham Marine are 8 feet wide to safely accommodate the golf carts to be used as dock-mobiles.

Glen Mumford, head of international sales for Marina Pez Vela, said the basin is dredged to an average depth of 13 feet (4 meters). The first 100 floating slips are ready and will be available April 21, the utilities and fuel system are in, the Customs and Immigration offices are open, and the restrooms are built.

When the entire project is completed, Marina Pez Vela will have 309 floating slips; a yacht repair yard with 75- and 200-ton sling lifts, and shops for electronics, props, hydraulics, canvas and air conditioning; dry storage ashore for 120 vessels; and a boutique hotel, restaurants and shops encircling the marina.

Dockmaster Perry Hodell said that although April is the grand opening, 14 sportfishing boats “tested out the marina” in late January, so they could participate in the 10th annual Harry Gray Memorial Saltwater Fly-fishing Tournament, Costa Rica’s largest event of its kind.

The 300-foot-long fuel pier and guest check-in dock is to starboard, when boaters enter the marina channel.

Marina Pez Vela is leasing slips by the month or year — and they are for sale, as well. For more information about visiting Marina Pez Vela, e-mail dockmaster Perry Hodell at info@marinapezvela.com or phone marina manager Glen Mumford toll-free at (866) 739-8352.

Quepos is adjacent to Manuel Antonio National Park, one of Costa Rica’s largest jungle preserves on the Pacific Ocean. The nearest anchorage within the park lies only 2 miles south of the marina’s lighted entrance.

Whitewater rafting trips and hikes with naturalist guides are popular activities for visiting boaters at Manuel Antonio. The town of Quepos is upgrading itself from a funky surfer hangout to a slightly more modern sportfishing resort — with a new airport, updated streets and utilities, plus several new hotels and restaurants.

The Harry Gray Tournament was formerly known as the Billy Pate Saltwater Fly Tournament, and it is now in its fourth year under the new name. This catch-and-release billfish event has raised $40,000 for the Liver Transplant Center for Costa Rican children.

Another marina named Pez Vela is located in Guatemala, inside Puerto Quetzal commercial harbor.