Displaying items by tag: Sint Maarten
Watch Superyacht Crash into Dock in Sint Maarten (VIDEO)
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.”
Dutch Teen Breaks Record for Youngest Solo Round-The World Voyage
#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.
