Now we’re in the islands!!
Having had a gloriously uneventful 8-day sail south, we arrived in Marigot Bay, St. Martin on January 12. We are presently anchored in Simpson Lagoon, just off a prominent geographical feature called Witch’s Tit. Here, we are strategically situated between the abundant yacht services of the Dutch side of the island and the relaxed charm of the French side. Living is easy here, made so by the large cruising community and the fact that everything here is ‘duty free’. We can easily spend our days relaxing in the warm sun and steady trade wind breezes, enjoying fresh baked baguettes and pastries, affordable French wine and delicious cheeses; however, the opportunity to shop for the boat in order to make desired improvements has proven too tempting to spend all of our time just goofing off.
Nevertheless, we reserved today just for watching the inauguration. A water front sports bar, Ric’s, switched all 5 of their TV monitors to CNN to view the swearing in ceremonies of our new present, Barack Obama. The crowd was large and enthusiastic, frequently applauding during the telecast. By the way, we were surprised to find how positive and hopeful people from other countries are about the election of Obama. A Welch woman said that the whole world is looking to Obama for a way out of the crisis we all face. A very tall order – let’s hope he has some success.
We continue to make new cruising friends and have come across some old ones as well. We were happy to find Paul and Sandra Johnston on S/V Quarterdeck. They are a Canadian couple who we last saw in St. Lucia in 2006. They are real veterans as they have been cruising the world for 15 years. Their boat is a CSY 44 like ours, although they’ve made some extreme and wonderful improvements – it’s beautiful. Among the new acquaintances are Mark and Lee Maunder of S/V Manatee. Mark is actually an English Lord although the real estate over which he has dominion has long since sunk in the ocean off the coast of Kent.
It’s nice to feel like we’re part of a community, no matter where we go. We’ll probably be here to the end of the month before moving on south.
Having had a gloriously uneventful 8-day sail south, we arrived in Marigot Bay, St. Martin on January 12. We are presently anchored in Simpson Lagoon, just off a prominent geographical feature called Witch’s Tit. Here, we are strategically situated between the abundant yacht services of the Dutch side of the island and the relaxed charm of the French side. Living is easy here, made so by the large cruising community and the fact that everything here is ‘duty free’. We can easily spend our days relaxing in the warm sun and steady trade wind breezes, enjoying fresh baked baguettes and pastries, affordable French wine and delicious cheeses; however, the opportunity to shop for the boat in order to make desired improvements has proven too tempting to spend all of our time just goofing off.
Nevertheless, we reserved today just for watching the inauguration. A water front sports bar, Ric’s, switched all 5 of their TV monitors to CNN to view the swearing in ceremonies of our new present, Barack Obama. The crowd was large and enthusiastic, frequently applauding during the telecast. By the way, we were surprised to find how positive and hopeful people from other countries are about the election of Obama. A Welch woman said that the whole world is looking to Obama for a way out of the crisis we all face. A very tall order – let’s hope he has some success.
We continue to make new cruising friends and have come across some old ones as well. We were happy to find Paul and Sandra Johnston on S/V Quarterdeck. They are a Canadian couple who we last saw in St. Lucia in 2006. They are real veterans as they have been cruising the world for 15 years. Their boat is a CSY 44 like ours, although they’ve made some extreme and wonderful improvements – it’s beautiful. Among the new acquaintances are Mark and Lee Maunder of S/V Manatee. Mark is actually an English Lord although the real estate over which he has dominion has long since sunk in the ocean off the coast of Kent.
It’s nice to feel like we’re part of a community, no matter where we go. We’ll probably be here to the end of the month before moving on south.
Photos: Pam at Grand Case Carnival; Grand Case Tuesday Night Carnival; Grand Case Beach, St Martin; Witch's Tit in the Lagoon, on the French side (where we're anchored); View of Marigot Bay from Fort Louis; Hiking trail; Pam, on the beach at Philipsburg (Capital on the Dutch side); Goofy photo of Bill attop Fort Louis.
