Sint Maarten / Saint Martin

You can always tell when we are in a marina as the blog text gets delayed due to other activities going on.

First off is news that Pete and Claire will be getting married during the trip - probably in Antigua.  So that’s something we are all looking forward to.  Obviously will be a pretty informal affair and Pete and Claire are busy trying to sort out the logistics.

We are in St Maarten berthed at a marina called La Palapa in Simpson Bay.  There are about half a dozen super yachts and then us.

We arrived here almost a week ago after an uneventful crossing of the Anegada Passage which we had started at midnight on the 6th May.  Light winds and calm seas meant we had to motor the whole way.  

The last couple of days we spent in Virgin Gorda had been fantastic.  We shifted away from Leverick Bay to the other end of North Sound on Sunday.  Leverick Bay whilst picturesque was pretty quiet and at the other end were a couple of places which are pretty famous amongst yachtees - one is Saba Rock and the other is the Bitter End Yacht Club.  Saba Rock is a small bar/restaurant with a few rooms and quaint beaches and gardens occupying this tiny island at the North entrance to the sound.  The Bitter End is a yacht club /resort and marina.  In the season (Feb/Mar) this area is jammed up with boats from small cruisers to megayachts and there are a number of regattas held.  All the uber-chic congregate in the bars and restaurants.  Luckily by the end of April/May things have quietened down.    

Calley at Saba Rock

We shifted from Leverick Bay and took a mooring off Saba Rock and then dingied over to the island to meet up with Oliver and Carlotta, a couple we had met not too long ago in Jost Van Dyke.  They are sailing onboard a 32ft yacht and came across the Atlantic from the UK last year.  The Saba Rock bar is right at the waters edge and you basically step off the dingy and onto the decking of the bar and then relax in these big loungers with a view over the whole sound and a cocktail in your hand.  The place is well known for a cocktail called a “painkiller” which is strangely addictive and very cheap at happy hour.  Nicole has latched onto the pina colada as her aperitivo-time drink.  The whole atmosphere is very low key and combined with the magnificent view and near perfect temperature is a very laid back way to finish the day.  We chatted with Oliver and Carlotta and then all headed back to Dulcinea for a BBQ.

The next day was our last in the BVI’s as we wanted to cross to St Maarten before the strong easterlies started again.  Pete and Claire were out and about early while we had school.  Mid morning this magnificent sailing ship called the Maltese Falcon came into the Sound and anchored not too far away.  The thing is huge (around 250ft long)and very impressive to see.  The picture below gives you some idea.

The Maltese Falcon

We looked around the the Bitter End in the afternoon and then finished off our visit to the BVI’s with a sundowner at a marina called Costa Smerelda which was deserted but had an awesome view from its terrace bar.

Our last night in the BVI's

So back to St Maarten.  We arrived and dropped anchor in Simpson Bay.  This was not the final destination though.  There is a protected lagoon connected to the bay through a narrow drawbridge which only opens at scheduled times.  We had just missed the morning opening and so had to wait.  While we waited Scott and Calley went into the lagoon in the dingy to clear in and look at the marina berthing arrangement.  The Marina we had chosen is used a lot by the megayachts which moor "stern to" against the wharf.  When Scott looked at it though, it was a stretch to get Dulcinea in as the bow mooring ball was about 60m from the wharf.  Thats fine if your boat is 50m long but as we are only 20m it was a bit unrealistic.  Luckily as the season is over and the marina personnel are really nice they let us come alongside instead.  I guess we do not take up much more space lengthways as some of the other boats take up with their beam.  Scott was not too keen on carrying out the maneuvering for a stern on arrangement anyway.  He has to get his head around it soon though as there will be other instances soon in which this will be the only way to moor.

St Maarten is a great place to reprovision and get work done and this was always going to be a bit of a work stop.  Scott organised to get the freezer, fridge and water maker sorted out once and for all.  It is a real pain in the ass getting work done when you are living onboard as floorboards come up and stuff has to be stored haphazardly around the boat.  Pete and Claire took off for a couple of days with the kids to Anguila - a ferry ride away which was fantastic for all concerned.  The kids, Pete and Claire saw Anguila and had a great time on the beaches and Nic and Scott got some work done.

On the refrigeration, we have replaced all the evaporators so the system which has just been restocked should be good now.  It is amazing with the cost of boat fridge/freezers systems which are built in - just to get the evaporators changed out has cost more than three or four high end domestic fridge/freezers would cost.  We also got new membranes for the watermakers.  The old membranes were completely shot due to there never having been a carbon filter in line.  Turns out that the water we had been using from the marinas has traces of chlorine in it.  The chlorine destroys the membranes so everytime we had flushed the system using marina water it was degrading the membranes.   The addition of a carbon filter eliminates the chlorine and so we are now producing pure tasty water.

Everyone has been helping out on the boat and we got the worst sections of the capping rail revarnished plus a number of other odds and ends done.  Pete and Claire are great onboard - Pete has a lot of knowledge and experience which Scott taps into whenever he can and Claire is great at rolling up her sleeves and getting involved either on deck or down below.  Both are great with the kids and whisk them away every so often to give us a break.

We have not really seen much of the island but we were here about 10 years ago when we lived in Houston.  The island is split between the Dutch side and the French side.  We are berthed at the Dutch side but can just take the dingy across to the lagoon to a place called Marigot on the French side.  When Pete, Claire and the kids were in Anguila, Nic and Scott went to Marigot for lunch.  Its really fantastic to be able to swap countries in just a short dingy ride.  Suddenly you are surrounded by small French bistos serving delicious food to french speaking clientele.  We have also managed a trip to Philipsburg which is the main town on the Dutch side.

So with a fully functional freezer and watermaker, fully provisioned lockers and a gleaming capping rail we are ready to head off tomorrow to St Barths about 15 NM away and start sightseeing again.