OYSTER POND --St Maarten’s well known surfski race, the Soualiga Challenge, had to be put on hold after Hurricane Irma destroyed the finish venue at Captain Oliver’s Marina in Oyster Pond. After twelve years of holding this 25km race from Gustavia to Oyster Pond, it was feared that the event might not survive. However, after numerous requests from both local and international paddlers, efforts were made to find new locations to host the event and to plan a new course. Soon the Soualiga Challenge Reloaded was born. A new finish venue at Buccaneer Beach Bar in Simpson Bay was established and a slightly shorter but more exciting 22km course from Isle Fourche, around Table Rock and Point Blanche to Simpson Bay was planned.
Finally, at midday on April 6, twenty-two paddlers from Sint Maarten, St Martin, St Barths, Guadeloupe, Argentina and South Africa gathered at Isle Fourche. There were four classes in the race for the first time, Surfski, Outrigger Canoe, Standup Paddle Board (SUP) and Foiling Paddle Board. The SUPs started first at 1:30pm and were followed by the Surfskis and Outrigger Canoe at 2pm. The foiling paddleboard was allowed to start at Table Rock due to its design peculiarities.
The conditions on the day were near perfect, with a solid following wind of 15 to 18kn and 1 to 1.2m seas. This lead to a fast race, with Olivier Tanton winning in a time of 1:42:32. Franck Fifils was first on the SUP in 2:35:39. Theo Demanez put in a very credible performance on the Foiling SUP, completing his shortened course in 1:56:24.
All of the competitors made the safety cut-off at Point Blanche inside the 4:30pm time limit but unfortunately the only outrigger canoe entry had to retire shorty after passing Fort Amsterdam, only 5km from the finish. At the award ceremony, held at Buccaneer Beach Bar in the evening after the race, the sponsors, Perrier, Philipsburg Pharmacy, Celine Charters, Atlantis Marine and Point Com expressed their satisfaction with the event and their commitment to support it in years to come. The Soualiga Challenge Reloaded is now firmly on the sporting calender and will be promoted in the region and internationally as an Ocean Racing event that is not to be missed.
Results
Time Average Speed
Surfski
Olivier Tanton 1:42:32 13.46km/h
Gary Shaw 1:48:46 12.69km/h
Stuart Knaggs 1:52:41 12.25km/h
Juan Pablo Piscione 1:55:04 11.99km/h
Jolyon Ferron 1:57:34 11.74km/h
Travis Macgarry 2:02:30 11.27km/h
Pieter Soons 2:32:18 9.06km/h
Mary Wrigley 2:40:27 8.60km/h
Sebastiaan Hoendervangers 2:44:45 8.38km/h
Dick Luttekes 2:45:23 8.34km/h
Leo Cisa 2:46:22 8.29km/h
Lidwien Weitenberg 2:53:28 7.96km/h
Ronan Garnier 2:55:53 7.85km/h
Frits Bus 3:10:14 7.25km/h
Michael Bacon 3:25:40 6.71km/h
Outrigger Canoe
Thomas Dufour Retired
Foiling SUP
Theo Demanez 1:56:24 10.31km/h
SUP
Franck Fifils 2:35:29 8.88km/h
Heifara Marakai 3:11:53 7.19km/h
Quentin De Rosny 3:24:34 6.75km/h
Monica Jakots 3:26:50 6.67km/h
Daniel Brin 4:02:42 5.69km/h
