Hurricane-Season Yacht Calls in Sint Maarten: Alerts, Contingency Plans and Departure Decisions

Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June through 30 November. The Meteorological Department St Maarten publishes local forecasts, marine advisories and warnings. Use those alongside government emergency information, port and marina notices and the yacht’s professional forecasting support.

A bridge timetable or normal berth procedure may be superseded as conditions develop. Port, bridge and marina instructions take priority over the original plan.

Name the decision-makers and set forecast triggers, latest safe departure, alternative destinations, fuel reserve, crew plan, insurance requirements, yard or berth option, communications and post-storm contact. Make sure the allocated facility accepts the plan.

Do not describe Simpson Bay Lagoon as an automatic safe haven. Suitability depends on the event, vessel, berth, emergency procedure and the directions in force.

Government guidance advises boat owners to secure vessels well before a storm, consider land storage where possible and never ride out a hurricane onboard. A professionally crewed yacht will normally require a much earlier, vessel-specific decision than the minimum public-preparedness window.

Dutch and French authorities can apply different emergency procedures. On the French side, the current official protocol prohibits mooring in territorial waters, including bays, regulated mooring zones and the lagoon, from orange alert. A vessel seeking lagoon access for protection needs confirmed haul-out at an authorized boatyard; merely entering the lagoon is not the plan.

The French protocol also calls for registration, clearance, insurance covering natural disaster and salvage, and written boatyard confirmation. Recheck the current version every season and during every active system.