16th La Course de L'Alliance, sponsored by IGY Marinas, rescheduled for December 6-8, 2019

The 16th La Course de L’Alliance, sponsored by IGY Marinas, has been rescheduled with a week due to the light wind forecasted for the weekend. Racing will start on Friday December 6 with a race to St. Barths. Saturday the fleet will race from St. Barths to Anguilla and the final race day is from Anguilla back to St. Maarten on Sunday Dec 8.

“All the teams were looking forward to this weekend, as it is one of the most popular regattas in St Maarten, so we regret the inconvenience the postponement may have caused, but made this decision as early as possible given the complex nature of the weather forecast” Race Officer Paul Miller explains.

Regattas are hardly ever rescheduled, but with no or hardly any wind for the majority of the regatta, it was best to push it forward one weekend. “The highlight is seeing all the sailors back out on the water again as this event truly signals the start of a new season, besides the camaraderie is always great at this regatta.”

Registration will be at the Sint Maarten Yacht Club on December 5 from 4pm – 6pm. Participants will receive a goodie bag and special Course de L’Alliance T-shirts which will be handed out during the registration followed by a skippers briefing at 6pm that covers the basics, more information will be broadcasted during the event on VHF channel 71. “The event is run for the sailors, so we communicate as much as possible while listening to suggestions and requests for delays for example, so it is vital to have that radio on.”

Friday’s race day will go from St. Maarten to St. Barths. In St Barths, the St. Barth Yacht Club will host a happy hour from 4pm till 7pm with at 6pm the daily prize-giving. After that everybody is free to go and eat wherever they want. St. Barth also provides a watertaxi service on Friday to bring people to shore and back to the boat. Clearing in is necessary. All the information about clearing in on St. Barth and Anguilla are mentioned in the information booklet that can be found on the website: www.smyc.com/coursedelalliance.

Saturday the race continues from St. Barths to Anguilla, the longest race of the Event. In Anguilla Roy’s will host a dinner and after that all the sailors will head out to Elvis beach bar. The Anguilla Youth Sailing Association will run a watertaxi for the convenience of the sailors till 11pm on Saturday and Sunday morning. On Sunday the race will continue from Anguilla to St. Maarten. At 4pm overall prize-giving will be hosted By the Sint Maarten Yacht Club at 4pm.

About the weather forecast for next weekend: “It looks like a return to normal for next weekend, though there is a ‘bomb’ storm on the west coast of North America now that might emerge on the Atlantic coast by Friday, it won’t affect us nearly as much as the current system.” According to Miller.