Month: June 2017

Three champion British swimmers failed to make it to Mare Nostrum swimming tour in Monaco at the weekend because they were bumped from their easyJet flight from the UK on Friday.

Two of the three eventually made it to Nice-Côte d’Azur airport in time to compete on Sunday, the second day, but missed their Saturday heats.

James Guy, holder of the 200m freestyle world record and a double Olympic silver medallist, didn’t make it for the 400m freestyle on Saturday, however, on Sunday he claimed top seed in the men’s 100m butterfly with a time of 52:30.

Chris Walker-Hebborn missed all of his events because they took place on Saturday.

The three swimmers were booked on an A320 aircraft from Bristol, but this was replaced by a smaller A319. It is believed that the problem with the Bristol-Nice flight was a knock on from a technical problem suffered by easyJet on a flight from Malaga on Thursday, which was delayed for 40 hours.

Eventually the easyJet pilot asked the 120 passengers onboard to vote with a show of hands whether to take off with only one engine working. When a majority elected to get off the plane, they had to wait two hours before they could do so. They spent two nights in mainly poor hotels and were given only enough money to buy a bottle of water.

EasyJet is the number one carrier at Nice airport and has flights to and from five UK destinations, including nine flights every week between Nice and Bristol and several flights each day to London Gatwick.

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A Monegasque couple have been deemed responsible for faulty electrical wiring that seriously injured a fireman trying to put out a blaze in the cellar of their apartment at Les Eucalyptus on avenue des Guelfes in Fontvieille.

Monaco’s Criminal Court was told that the incident happened on April 29, 2016. As the 45-year-old fireman advanced into the unlit cellar feeling the wall on his left for balance, he touched a loose wire that gave him a strong electric shock.

His injuries were serious enough for him to have to give up his 23-year career as a firefighter in Monaco. His life is now “punctuated by unimaginable pain, nocturnal spasms”, he told the court.

Video surveillance seen by the police during an investigation into the cause of the midday blaze showed a man lighting a cigarette and entering the cellar, coming out of it five minutes later without it.

The two defendants had provided contradictory statements and much of their evidence had been inconsistent, the court heard.

The court imposed a suspended sentence of six months on the two defendants, and called for the appointment of a specialist doctor for the injured fireman with a budget of €15,000. The court also ruled that the guilty parties pay €50,000 to the state.

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With the season on the island of St Barts coming to a close, members of the Gustavia Yacht Club based in Europe need not fret about a dull summer social calendar after a chock-a-block few months of events hosted by Sir Stelios’ recently-founded club.

Gustavia Yacht Club has already held a few gatherings in Monaco, and now they’ve announced their first meet-up in the US.

The Club will be hosting a cocktail party with snacks on Sunday, July 2, at Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor, on the east end of Long Island, from 4 pm to 7 pm.

“As allowed for within the terms of reference of the Social Committee,” said Gustavia Yacht Club Manager, Benjamin Demarchelier, “our Club Manager Ben will be making a booking at the well known hangout Baron’s for the benefit of our members and their invited guests.”

By agreement with the Club Manager, members can invite two more guests who might be prospective members, however, with a capacity for up to 40 people, the guest list will be on a first come first served basis by RSVP. The evening will be complimentary for members plus one guest.

Several Gustavia Yacht Club members in the US have already confirmed their attendance at Baron’s Cove (31 W Water St): Benefactor Jason Redlus, member Antoine Verglas, and member Virginia Layton.

“We urge any members who were not already planning to do so to make their way to Sag Harbor for July 2. We will be reaching out to some of the prestigious local Yacht Clubs as well in order to further our reciprocal opportunities for the future. We are looking forward to this great opportunity to connect members and their friends in a lovely setting,” Mr Demarchelier added.

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Although the day after US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the Paris climate accord Prince Albert made an official statement in writing and commented at a welcome address during an energy forum at the Monaco Yacht Club, the Prince was in the US this week saying the American leader should listen “a little more carefully” to scientific evidence on climate change.

The Prince was speaking at the first UN conference on oceans. The long-standing supporter of environmental activism added that if he met President Trump in person he would ask him to “look at the tremendous implications that go along with having the US withdraw from the Paris agreement”.

Without mincing his words, Prince Albert said that the US withdrawal was “catastrophic.” He tempered this by saying that the reaction of many US leaders, including state governors and mayors, has been “wonderful”.

“So I think there’ll be a tremendous movement to … keep the fight against climate change alive around the world and in this country,” he said.

Without the leadership of the United States, the worldwide movement to fight climate change remains strong,” Albert said. “We’re not doing this just for ourselves, not for now, but for future generations, and I think that should resonate in most people’s minds and hearts.”

Prince Albert added that Monaco Explorations will send the vessel Yersin on a three-year voyage from next month with a number of expert teams that will carry out research in nine remote locations. The 250-foot ship has six laboratories and is designed to create no pollution.

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