Meet Your Host: Capt. Latham Smith â A Maritime Legend
When you stay at Villa Magens, you are staying in a home designed and built by a true pioneer. Capt. Latham Smith is a world-renowned tugboat captain and maritime engineer whose life story reads like an adventure novel:
A Lifelong Builder: Latham built his first tugboat in 1969 at the age of 29, which he then navigated through the winding waters of the Amazon River.
Global Voyager: By age 62, he had designed and built his fourth tugboat, with his vessels traveling as far as Singapore.
Epic Missions: At 73, he completed a monumental mission, towing two retired U.S. Navy warships all the way from Sydney, Australia, back to New Orleans.
SpaceX Pioneer: On April 16, 2016, Capt. Latham made history by successfully towing Elon Muskâs SpaceX rocket from the ocean back to the launch baseâthe first successful recovery of its kind.
The Villa: A Vision of Strength
Capt. Latham applied the same engineering precision used in his ocean-crossing tugboats to the design of Villa Magens. Built with reinforced concrete to withstand the elements, this villa is as solid as the ships he created.
Today, Latham and his wife, Rui Smith, reside on the island occasionally. They are proud to share this piece of Caribbean paradiseâand a bit of maritime historyâwith you.