Okay, we have not fallen off the face of the earth but things have been challenging. The internet at the marina in St. Martin does not work. We are on the French side and they only have 220 power, our computer needs power (battery is almost dead) and we don't have an adapter. The Dutch side has our power (not exactly close). We finally found a hardware store, bought an adapter, had to find a restaurant with plugs for power and viola, now I can blog! Its long, sorry about that.

April 15, 2014

We left The Bitter End anchorage at 0515. The weather was going to be the same day or night so we opted to travel during the day and arrive early evening but still in the dark. The forecast was for winds 10 to 15 kts and seas 3' to 6'. After two small squalls within the first hour with winds to 18 kts and some rain, the day turned our surprisingly well. Truthfully, I was not looking forward to the trip. It seems the winds are always 5 kts more than predicted and the seas are almost always at the higher end of the prediction as well. Mother Nature was kind (maybe making up for the southern coast of Puerto Rico?) The winds never went higher than 13 kts and the seas were closer to 3' than 6'. We did however, occasionally have those boat stopping waves but they were few and far between. After lunch the wind direction changed and we were able to put out the genoa and got a great lift of 1 to 1.5 kts by pinching hard, averaging around 7 kts (motorsailing) for about 3 hours. As we got close to St. Martin we ran into some squalls, had to furl in the genoa and then the winds never did return to a good sailing direction. We arrived at Marigot Bay, St. Martin around 2000. The clouds had opened up and we arrived at the anchorage until a full moon. We could not have asked for anything better! Happy hour was late but better late than never. We enjoyed cheese and crackers and beer once the anchor was set.

It was reassuring to know we weren't the only insane ones heading to St. Martin.

April 16, 2014

Yesterday was a great day but long. Needless to say, we were a bit lazy this morning. It was almost noon before we had the dinghy down and got into town to clear customs. The customs officer was a great guy, full of stories and super nice to deal with.

Afterwards, we found a restaurant, (no lack of them) had lunch, then checked out the marina, the waterfront and part of the town. We went looking for a bank but unfortunately they were closed on Wednesday afternoons and the ATM machines were rejecting our cards - just our luck. We went back to the boat, had an early supper and also turned in early.

Heading to Customs to clear in.

The market next to the dinghy dock.

Fort Louis Marina street entrance.

First sunset over Marigot Bay, St. Martin.

 

April 17, 2014

Priorities this morning included getting real showers, garbage disposal and finding a bank. When the restaurant we were at for lunch said they didn't accept visa (machine down) Jorge was forced to find a bank quickly. We were almost out of money! And the banks were closing early today because of Good Friday tomorrow. Jorge was successful in withdrawing some money so we were spared washing dishes!

We checked out Budget Marine on the Dutch side via dinghy before heading back to Marigot where we wandered to the grocery store, bought a bunch of stuff including some inexpensive wines. Next it was off to the bakery for a fresh baguette, a lemon tart (the size of a pie) and then we stopped at a street vendor, bought some ribs and a salad, then back to the boat for dinner. I'm blowing my diet all to hell!

Bridge into Simpson Bay Lagoon.

Budget Marine, as big as West Marine back home.

April 18, 2014

What does one do on Good Friday? Take the local bus to the airport at St. Maarten (the Dutch side)

and watch the planes come in. Despite the warnings . . . 

End of the runway with caution signage in red.

thrillseekers (a.k.a. people who need their heads examined) stand on the beach under the approach to the runway.

The thrillseekers.

After the planes land, people turn towards the airport watching the planes depart. Some get blown right off their feet from the jet blast!

We then took the local bus into Philipsburg, walked the waterfront and then took the bus back to Marigot. At this point, Jorge decided to reanchor closer to shore for better protection as the winds were forecast to blow 25 to 30 kts. Having securely reanchored, we settled in for the night with the usual happy hour, dinner and an early bedtime.

Philipsburg waterfront.

Philipsburg beach.

April 19, 2014

After getting into town mid morning, we discovered we were not able to use our main computer and therefore no blogging. Up until this point we were using the Blackberry playbook for checking the weather and emails. After a picnic lunch, we toured Fort Louis, (not as impressive as El Morro in SanJuan, PR), met a delightful couple with their kids from NY (on vacation, not on a boat) and then set about trying to find the power adapter. We also stopped again at Budget Marine, Jorge is almost as obsessed with marine stores as I am with grocery stores!

Marigot anchorage from Fort Louis (look closely for CS'ta Time)..

Entrance/exit to the fort.

Cross with Christ at the base of the fort.

We are now sitting at an outdoor patio, enjoying a beer and blogging.

Winds are supposed to continue blowing 25 to 30 kts until Tuesday, so we'll stay put for a few more days.