Super Boat’s 2019 Kenner Grand Prix Postponed Due to Rising Waters
(PRWEB) June 06, 2019 -- The 2019 Kenner Super Boat Grand Prix that was scheduled to take place June 21-23 is being postponed until further notice, due to the impact of rising waters of the Mississippi River on Lake Pontchartrain.
The Army Corps of Engineers announced Monday that it will open a spillway this Sunday to divert part of the flow of the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya Basin to reduce the chance of levees being overtopped in Baton Rouge. Additionally, for a historic second time this year, the Bonnet Carre Spillway has been opened and is currently diverting water from the Mississippi River directly into Lake Pontchartrain. This means that the race —which was scheduled to take place on Lake Pontchartrain—will need to be rescheduled for a later date.
“We have been looking forward to this race and to showcasing the professionalism of our race teams and we want everything to be just right so that it can be a spectacular event,” says John Carbonell, president of Super Boat International. “We are in daily contact with the City of Kenner, including with Mayor Ben Zahn and his staff, who are all keeping a close eye on this situation which has been ongoing over the past few months. We hope to be announcing the new Kenner dates as soon as possible.”
Super Boat International and The City of Kenner have decided that the race cannot take place in June, due to serious safety concerns.
Speaking for the city, Chad M. Pitfield, Director of Kenner’s Parks and Recreation Department, says, “The Mississipi River water is high, and there is a huge amount of sediment and debris currently entering Lake Pontchartrain. It’s simply not safe to run the boats,” says Pitfield. “There’s floating driftwood and all kinds of debris that we normally don’t see in Lake Pontchartrain coming from the Mississippi River.”
Super Boat International will make an announcement as soon as the water situation is cleared and the best reschedule date can be confirmed with the City of Kenner.
About Super Boat International
Super Boat International (SBI) is the leading North American professional powerboat organization founded by John Carbonell. Teams from all around the world compete May through October in the National Series Points races and conclude in November for the famous Key West World Championships. SBI produces weeklong race events including entertainment, kilo races and distance records throughout the United States, South America and the Bahamas. Races include the World’s fastest Vee-bottom and Catamaran style powerboats, reaching speeds in excess of 180 mph. Super Boat International has seen increased viewership by fans, families and other racers tuning in and watching the events live on livestream.com/sbi. Since the previous years of the Key West World Championship, the online coverage has continually increased. With well over a million page views on Superboat.com, streaming coverage has been seen in 187 countries around the globe.
Susy Ferrer, Super Boat International, http://www.superboat.com, +1 (305) 751-5085, [email protected]
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