MARIGOT--The two-day Fête du Nautisme organised by marine trades association Métimer and French-side sea rescue organisation SNSM began at the Marigot waterfront over the weekend with scores of people enjoying the many marine activities on offer.
Proceeds from the Fête will be given to SNSM towards the cost of a new engine for the SNSM 129 lifeboat, but officials said Sunday it was too early to ascertain how much money had been raised or how many people had participated in activities.
The renaissance of this Fête, which was held last in 2005, bodes well for Métimer which had declared the event a "success" by the end of the day.
Métimer contends that the more interest there is in water sport activities the more the likelihood that a percentage of the population will be encouraged to start a business or begin a career, thereby stimulating and perpetuating the marine industry in St. Martin as a whole. For this reason, Métimer is seeking to rekindle interest in the sector.
The future potential is likely to emerge from Saturday's activities, which involved taking some 200 youngsters ages 14-16 to Tintamarre Island for a discovery day of sailing, swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, water skiing, diving, snorkelling and tours of Tintamarre led by Réserve Naturelle rangers to discover flora, fauna and marine eco-systems. Many owners of vessels contributed their time to assist transporting the students to the island.
"The students were very well-behaved. We were pleasantly surprised that it went better than last year," said a Métimer board member describing the Tintamarre excursion. "The Lycée organised a delicious lunch and it all went really well."
The aim on Sunday was to introduce the population to the many marine activities available, including kayaking, paddle boarding, sailing, jet skiing, helmet diving, etc. For a nominal fee persons could sign up for the activities at the SNSM headquarters or participate in the free demonstrations.
The board indicated that jet skis and helmet diving by H20 had been the most popular activities.
There was a parade of catamarans in the bay at the end of the day while a good crowd settled into a happy-hour mood listening to the live band GTO.
Métimer President Bülent Gülay said the Fête had been organised with a budget of 16,000 euros and he was very pleased with the outcome of the event. The Collectivité and St. Martin Tourism Office were not able to participate due to financial constraints.
"We were not able to choose the date for this Fête as it is a national event held all over France on this weekend in 700 locations. There were some other events coinciding such as the regatta in Anguilla and in Orient Bay and Le Galion, but all things considered we had a good turnout and a lot of people enjoyed the activities," he said.
Gülay added that next year's event would be even bigger and better thanks to an increased and enthusiastic Métimer membership and continued support of companies such as Island Water World and Budget Marine. He envisaged the event would be integrated with a second-hand boat show and not be restricted to the national dates for Fête du Nautisme.
There is also the possibility of soliciting funds from Europe.
"We will be applying for European funds and hope that we can have a budget in the region of 100,000 euros, which will allow us to organise something quite special with a second-hand boat show. There is a lot of interest in this in the region," he said.
Documentary Stan Collymore West Bromwich Albion Arsenal Alex Reid Manchester City
No comments:
Post a Comment