December 10, Sint Maarten (Dutch side of St. Martin)
We're here! I am so happy to be "down-island". We were waiting for the best weather for the crossing from the Virgins and the only window we had in two weeks was a one day shot, so we took it. Weather was again predicted to deteriorate the day after and remain bad for another week, at least.
Once underway, shortly after noon, we had a nice 20 knot ENE wind that became NE once well offshore. We were on a close reach, sails in tight, doing a fast 6-7 knots over bumpy seas. It was a good run. Then, just before dark, I put a reef in the mainsail for safety and to slow us down a bit as things were picking up. Then, just after sunset, KABOOM!!!!! And there went the headsail - shredded all the way across in a fraction of a second! Quickly pulling in the pieces of it, I started the engine, shook out the reef, and we were back on course motor sailing. Around 3AM it was time for me to take a nap. An hour or so later, after I fell asleep, I was awakened by a sudden scream of wind, that shook everything quickly and violently. Taking up the helm, I pointed us into the wind and held on tight. A squall hit us, and it was too rough to go out on deck to reef the sail, so we rode it out, close to the wind. It was like in the movies with roaring, howling winds and spray everywhere, 6'-10' seas lifting us up and throwing us back in the sea, throwing our displaced water sideways as far as you could see. A real white-knuckler. It was cold when I went to bed earlier, but this squall blew warm wind - a clash of cold and warm fronts. It eased after a half hour or so but still blew hard all the way to St. Martin. Even the protected harbor was throwing rows of whitecaps. By far, it was our toughest passage.
Damage assessment: One shredded headsail
,
one broken pin on the dinghy-davit block and tackle, and one shredded home
port American flag.
Upon arrival, I went looking for Customs and Immigration (uh-oh, here he goes again). I asked the Port Authority where it was as there were no signs where it should be. He informed me that you HAD to clear in at a different port as the building "was destroyed by the hurricane (Omar)". He was very certain. Taking his advice and local knowledge with a grain of salt, I went across the street to where the office "was". It looked fine to me. On the side of the building in the back, was a window. No sign, just a non-descript window under a staircase in a corner with an "employees only" sign. I cleared in there, with the friendly official. Rule #435: Always verify info from another party. Double-checking saved me half a day, at least.
St. Martin is the smallest island in the world divided between two countries (Dutch, to the south - and French, to the north). It was originally settled by Amerindians more than 4000 years ago. The Arawak Indians called it "Soualiga" (land of salt), and "Oualichi" (land of women). Columbus sailed past, but did not stop, (maybe it was the cannibalistic Caribs that he didn't like), on November 11, 1493. He named it after Saint Martin of Tours. It wasn't until the 1620's that the Europeans began settling here. We are in Philipsburg, which is cruise ship central, and a fun lively city. Outside of the thousands of tourists, there is a nice mix of East Indians, Asians, and of course African-heritage, Dutch and French. It is so nice to hear all the different languages and cultures. A fun place!
December 21, St. Martin (French side)
Wow. We love St. Martin (both sides). It is also called The "Friendly Island" and so it is. And really fun too. Checking into Customs on the French side, for instance, was the best experience I think I have ever had with "Officials". The guy asked for my Dutch departure paperwork, which I forgot on the boat (I am usually more on the ball). I apologized and told him I would go back to the boat to get it. He said, "no problem". He, then, issued me a receipt for the $8.00 fee. I gave him a ten, but he did not have change. He said, "You can just pay when you check out if you want. Total time spent - about 5 minutes. All smiles.
By the way, the largest private sailboat in the
world , the famous Maltese Falcon is buzzing around here in St. Martin.
We passed it coming in from Virgin Gorda. It is almost 300' long - a
football fields' length. It was in San Francisco in late October,
Mexico last month and now it is/was anchored here in Simpson bay, and I was
going to get better pictures of it, but it is here in the background of this
pic, taken from the bridge opening at Simpson Bay.
It is the clipper - three masts, in the background. It has left and
come back a couple times. I will post a good pic if I see her again,
up close.
It is currently for sale at EUR
€115.
(I told Christine, as she was waking up from nap, and she excitedly said,
"€115 Thousand?") Ha ha ha!! Errr.. Millions!
We've been meeting really fun and interesting
people - commercial pilots, diplomats, fellow travelers. Our "routine"
for the last many days, has been going to the beach with our very fun
Norwegian friends, Howard and Christina, and then off to the beach bar,
Sunset Bar and Grill, where topless girls drink free. Christina
called this her "MSP" or "money saving procedure."
It is located right next to the end of the airports' runway at Maho beach. If you hang out
down at the beach there and a plane takes off, it will blow you away,
literally. I have a funny video of Christine, but don't know how to post it
at the moment.
A few nights ago, we all went for ribs on this boat - a floating restaurant, called Lady C's, where most nights are, "All you can eat ribs for $11.95"!! Santa and his helpers (about a dozen cute girls in sexy costumes) came marching through singing Christmas songs. "We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year" was altered a bit to be: "We won't leave until we get some, so give us a shot!" They were going bar to bar down the street.
Another day we all sailed over to beach at "Happy Bay". Soon, we were six of us onboard. Unfortunately, we left the boat anchored earlier, and I noticed that the boat was too close too shore. It was impossible that we were dragging as I hand-set the anchor, as usual, and the winds were calm. I quickly swam the few feet to the boat, dropped the outdrive, fired up the motor and took off, and pulled the empty anchor line up. Dangling at the end was part of the shackle that connects the chain to the "rope" or line. Seems the "Houdini" pin threw off it's wire and unscrewed itself swimming to freedom. Safely offshore, I dropped another anchor over and started looking for my lost anchor and chain. Visibility was poor due to shifting sands and sediment, so I had to criss-cross a wide area a few feet down coming up for breaths, as needed. Well, I located it and retrieved it, eventually. So, in all, it was a happy day at Happy Bay.
There are parades, live music all over the
island, lot's of costumes, good cheer, and loads of fun. Today we
explored the fort above Marigot where you can see the cute little French
city below including Simpson Bay. Gypsy Cat is at the usual head of
the pack (close to shore and upwind/upcurrent of other boats) near the
center of the pic.
Last night we didn't go out but the live music nearby was going past 1:00AM.
I hear a sound-check right now, so it looks like another live show tonight,
which we will go to.
December 31, St Martin
Well, we went to the show that night, in Marigot, and it was great! A big family Christmas show put on by the locals - for the locals. The city lost it's power from all the excitement (which happens alot). I noticed that many people were getting something from the tent area and went to check it out. Guavaberry! Now, we passed by the commercial tourist Guavaberry early on in Philipsburg dismissing it as a mass-produced tourist export, which it is. But this was the REAL stuff. Made by/for locals. So, I got a little bottle, which we saved for Christmas. More about that later.
Each year in the Caribbean around Christmas,
there is what's called Christmas winds, and they were on their way. We
went through the French-side bridge opening in Marigot
and into the Simpson Bay lagoon to ride out the heavy weather.
Note to cruisers: Dutch bridge passage (normal boats): $10. French bridge passage: Free. And, the Dutch side of the lagoon charges $20 per week to anchor, while the French side is completely free.
The winds picked up with gusts to 40 knots for several days with a lot of rain showers, while outside, the seas were 12' and up to 18'. We laid low and got projects done. The headsail was fixed by Ernst at Tropical Sails - he's the best, and met a lot more great people. Christmas dinner was spent on "Magic", a wood-masted ketch, with Owen and Donna, and Dave. Yummm. Our Christmas present to ourselves was a 5 HP Yamaha outboard - a REAL motor for our dinghy. We had our first taste of Guavaberry Punch on Christmas Day and we loved it. We had Owen, Donna, Dave over the next day for dinner, and gave them some. It was a hit! Christine had to have more, of course.
At our first opportunity, we left the lagoon and went to Marigot. I took the bus looking for propane, first at the Texaco in Cole Bay (they were out), then to the Simpson Bay Texaco (they were out), and ready to keep at it, all day if necessary. But here is how nice these people are; A girl at the Texaco was making calls around the island for me in search of propane, found a place, and was preparing to get someone to drive me to a far away place for get it in her car. Then another local guy came in looking for propane. Well, he took me there and back instead. What friendly people! The "friendly island" really lives up to it's name here.
Next, I went in search of more local Guavaberry
before Christine went crazy. I found Simone, who I got the original
bottle from, at the Christmas show.
She is the main local source. Her family has been doing this for
decades. I got a large 2 liter bottle and went back to the boat.
But, Christine was her usual crazy self - when she wants something bad, she
wants a ton of it. So she ran back with me to meet Simone when I told
her I got lots of tastings of different liqueurs. With Christine
getting samples of all the flavors, she bought a bunch of bottles
(guavaberry, passion fruit, sorrel, bois bondi, coconut, and shrub flavor).
Christine was all smiles hugging her stash and Simone. Then, some
Johnny-cakes (only $1.50 - chicken, and salt fish), and a baguette, and we
sailed off. Next stop was Happy Bay where we started the
bottom-cleaning which was sorely needed after the fertile lagoon waters
covered the bottom with furry slime.
Then moved on to Grand Case (pronounced Koss)
which is THE gastronomic center. Another cute and charming French
town. I anchored in front of a beach bar
and explored the area just before sunset,
(while Christine napped). Now for the fun stuff - FOOD. You can
get "all you can eat" Foie Gras
(which is ironic, if you know what it is), or any other French, Italian,
seafood, or other type of meal. But the fun/cheap/local/tasty thing is
the "Lolos", little barbeque stands.
Here, you can get BBQ chicken for 2 Euro (and a Euro equals a dollar), or a
lot of BBQ ribs for $4.00!!!!!
Why, ever, go to the supermarket and cook???!!! And the French here,
are again, the nicest friendliest people you could imagine.
Well, we're off to Orient Bay now, for fireworks and festivities tonight.
Have a great New Years!!!