The 15th annual La Course de L’Alliance is taking place this coming weekend November 30 – December 2, 2018. This 3 day event takes local and regional sailors from St Maarten to St Barts, Anguilla and back to St Maarten. This race counts as the season opener for the Leeward Islands.
The event is known for a long day of racing, concluded with social events showcasing the islands’ flavors. On Thursday afternoon registration and a skipper’s briefing take place at the Sint Maarten Yacht Club Bar & Restaurant. On Friday, the race starts in Simpson Bay and takes the fleet to St. Barths. A daily prize giving and barbecue is hosted by the St. Barths Yacht Club. Saturday morning, the race will continue to Anguilla. In Anguilla, the daily prize giving and dinner will take place at Roy’s Bayside Grill, where sailors can also enjoy live music entertainment. Back in St. Maarten on Sunday, the daily prize giving and final prize giving will take place at 4pm at the St. Maarten Yacht Club Bar & Restaurant.
La Course de l’Alliance is the first regatta of the racing season in the region and popular among local boat owners to shake off the cob webs for the season to come.
“Already 11 boats have signed up and we are counting on maybe even a couple more. Many local and regional boat owners lost their boats or have seen great damages to their boats during Hurricane Irma last year. Nonetheless the event took place in 2017 with 4 entrants which shows the spirit of this fabulous event. We have already almost tripled the number of entries for 2018, so the local fleet is definitely seeing a comeback.” Says Michele Korteweg, General Manager at the Sint Maarten Yacht Club.
La Course de L’Alliance was originally started to strengthen the relationships between the islands and have an opportunity to race against each other. Yacht Clubs from the islands work closely together to organize the event and provide necessary facilities for the sailors, such as dinners and water taxi. Sponsors ensure the continuity of the event as well.
Korteweg adds: “Moorings has committed as a sponsor and will provide the committee boat for the weekend. This kind of sponsorship is invaluable to the organization as it greatly reduces costs by combining logistics for racing and accommodation for the race committee. We couldn’t be more grateful for their ongoing support.”
For more info go to: https://www.smyc.com/coursedelalliance
