Mr. Xavier de La Gorce, President of the National Society for Sea Rescue, was passing through Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy, from Thursday 21 to Tuesday 26 February, accompanied by Vice-Admiral Thierry Niogret, Inspector General of stations SNSM of the Channel, the North Sea and the Overseas.
Thursday afternoon, they were received at the Prefecture by Sylvie Feucher, Prefect of Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin in the presence of Mr. Michael Wery, Director of the Sea, and Mr. Grégoire Pierre-Dessaux, head of Cabinet.
They then went to the commercial port of Galisbay-Bienvenue, for the signing of a draft framework partnership agreement between the Port Establishment of Saint-Martin, represented by Mr. Ambroise Lake, Chairman of the Board of administration, and the SNSM station of Saint-Martin, represented by its President, Mr. René-Jean Duret. The purpose of this framework agreement, which must be submitted for validation by the Establishment's Board of Directors and legality control, is to define the methods of intervention of the nautical resources of the SNSM station of Saint-Martin in the as part of a rescue operation following a maritime accident involving the transport of inter-island passengers or a regular boating activity, within the administrative limits of the Port Establishment of Saint-Martin.
In the company of Gilles Dubroca, Patron holder of the SNSM Station, Anke Roosens, deputy patron, and some team members, they then proceeded to the inspection of the 2 nautical means of the station: the star SNS 129 (Notre-Dame de la Garoupe) which had been refurbished in Saint-Malo, after Cyclone Gonzalo of October 13, 2014, and the semi-rigid SNS 978-1 (Rescue Star) which is the longest (12m) and the most powerful (550 CV) nautical resources of this type in the SNSM fleet An outing in the harbor of Marigot and in the lagoon of Simpsonbay enabled them to appreciate a speed test of the Rescue Star (35 knots) and to discover the damage Cyclone Irma of September 6, 2017, still visible on boat wrecks and on constructions, shipyards and marinas, inside and along the shores of the lagoon.
• The lifeguards in the spotlight…
At 19 p.m., during a meeting with all the team members and members of the SNSM station in Saint-Martin, President Xavier de La Gorce recalled the importance he attaches to the volunteering of qualified and well-trained team members in first aid and rescue, upkeep and maintenance of nautical resources, as well as a healthy financial situation of the stations. Taking the measure of the considerable damage caused by Irma, who also suffered many members of the station, he thanked the rescuers for their solidarity involvement in the operations of cleaning, putting in order, receiving and distribution of food which have monitoring.
After an exchange of questions and answers with the members present, most of them gathered in front of the resort, at the restaurant of the Yacht-club of the Marina Fort-Louis, for the annual meal of the team members and their spouses. Meal at which were also present the Senator Guillaume Arnell, Michael Wery, Director of the Sea, and Albéric Ellis, Director of the Port Establishment of Saint-Martin. Mrs. Prefect Sylvie Feucher and the President of the Collectivity, Daniel Gibbs, apologized for not being able to be available.
On Friday morning, with hollows of 2,60m in the open sea, they took the direction of Gustavia with the VOYAGER thanking its Director, Mr. Latournerie, who offered them this round trip.
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