At the invitation of the Federation of Nautical Industries (FIN), the Métimer Association has been present since December 2, as guest of honor at the Paris Nautical Show.
At the opening press conference of the show, the subject of boats damaged or reduced to wreckage by Irma was raised by the President of the FIN and Bulent Gulay.
The president of Métimer, invited to speak on the current nautical situation in Saint-Martin, welcomed the many journalists present on the stand “SXM SmileAgain” made available by the FIN to Métimer. He then described to them the situation of Saint Martin after the passage of IRMA.
Saturday morning, the Minister of Transport, Elisabeth Borne visited our stand. The president, Bülent Gülay detailed to him the critical situation of Saint-Martin resulting from the passage of Irma.
The latter particularly insisted on the concern aroused about the wrecks of uninsured and abandoned boats in the lagoon. He also addressed the subject of the very recent difficulty for an owner to insure his boat flying the French flag if he wants to sail in the Caribbean. The Minister wondered whether the State services were ensuring the mission which is theirs for the benefit of the nautical sector. His chief of staff and Bulent Gulay exchanged contacts in order to continue working together on this subject.
What can we do to help our marine friends who are victims of Irma in Saint Martin and Saint Barth? The response was a strong gesture, which took the form on Sunday afternoon of an auction of large-format photographs of the 30 sailors from the last "Vendée Globe".
Sponsored by Senator Michel Magras, the sub-prefect of Lorient, the secretary general of AG2R, the workshops of "Bout de la Cale" in Locmiquélic and the Nautic team, this auction was a great success, the sums collected being donated to Métimer.
The company Fountaine Pajot, represented in Saint-Martin by Peter Cohen (director of Caribbean Multihulls and member of Métimer), acquired several of these magnificent works of art in black and white, thus demonstrating its attachment for the "Friendly Island".
We bet that the legendary solidarity of the “Gens de Mer” will be exercised throughout the Nautical Show in favor of the nautical sector in Saint-Martin, hard hit by the elements… _AF
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