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Displaying items by tag: Sint Maarten

A £65m superyacht crashed into a luxury Caribbean yacht club’s pier, causing ‘very significant’ damage, after reportedly suffering a computer malfunction.

The 235ft-long vessel is said to be owned by Capri Sun juice tycoon Hans Peter Wild, but it is not yet clear whether he was on board at the time according to the Daily Mail. 

Video courtesy of Boomerang Boat Charter

In one video, an onlooker can be heard saying “oh my God” over and over again. In another clip, a witness said: “It’s hitting concrete now. What’s going on?”

The yacht’s captain was trying to leave the Simpson Bay Lagoon from its berth at Ile de Sol Marina when the crash happened.

Sint Maarten Yacht Club’s dock has been closed until further notice while the extent of the damage is assessed.

A statement from the yacht club says: “As most of you will have heard by now, this morning an accident occurred with a mega yacht. They lost control over the vessel and hit the dock of the Sint Maarten Yacht Club.

“Nobody was injured and the damage is solely structural, however, it is very significant. We are currently assessing the extent of the damage to make a plan to rebuild.”

Published in Superyachts
Tagged under

#WORLD RECORD - A Dutch teenager has become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world solo - following a court battle for the right to embark on the challenge.

Sixteen-year-old Laura Dekker sailed into harbour at Sint Maarten in the Caribbean on Saturday afternoon to complete her round-the-world voyage.

She arrived a year and two days after setting out, and beat the previous unofficial record held by Australian Jessica Watson by eight months, according to RTÉ News.

The feat is more remarkable in that Dekker sailed from port-to-port, staying at sea for at most three weeks at a time, whereas Watson voyaged non-stop.

But the adventure almost didn't happen, as Dekker and her father had to fight in a court in Utrecht for the right to attempt the record, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Dekker has originally planned to set out a year earlier, at the age of 14, but the court ordered her placed in the care of welfare officers on the grounds that she was too young to guarantee her safety at sea.

She finally won the court battle in July 2010 and set sail from Gibraltar the following month, though a change to her planned course saw the challenge officially begin in Sint Maarten in January 2011 instead.

However, the record will not be officially recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records nor the World Sailing Speed Record Council, which does not classify records by age.

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.

Published in News Update

Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023 Cruisers Two

A 22-boat Cruisers Two IRC fleet will compete at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023: 

  • FRA 111, ALLIG8R, First Class 8, Brendan Foley
  • GBR 1371,L Elixir, Corby 29E, Brian Wilson
  • IRL 6697, Jeneral Lee, J97, Colin Kavanagh
  • IRL 2794 MATA, Half Ton, Darren Wright
  • KZ 3494, Swuzzlebubble, Dave Dwyer
  • GBR 242, Scenario Encore, Humphries IOR 3/4 tonner, Dave Gould
  • GBR 8538, Jack, J 92s, Gavin Doig
  • IRL 9033 Duff Lite, Corby 25, Gavin Doyle
  • KZ 3494, SWUZZLEBUBBLE, Half Ton, James Dwyer
  • IRL 1972 No Excuse, X-302, Jonathan Wormald
  • IRL 2597 WINDJAMMER, J97, Lindsay J Casey
  • GBR 1717X, XPLETIVE, X 34, Mike Crompton
  • IRL 988 Dux, X332, Nicholas and Caroline Gore-Grimes
  • IRL 7495, Maximus X-302, Paddy Kyne
  • IRL 5393, Hazy Blues, Paul Keelan
  • GBR 9778R, ZigZag Sunfast 3200, Peter Ashworth
  • IRL 8223, Kamikaze, Peter Nash
  • GBR 4418, Juno, Rex Robinson
  • IRL 2507 IMPETUOUS, Corby 25, Robert Chambers
  • GBR 1711C Eva, DAW 24, Robert Cowell
  • IRL 9970, Lambay Rules, Stephen Quinn
  • GBR 9700, Only Magic, Wilhelmus Batist