St Martin

It was a pleasant overnight sail from Antigua to our last stop in the Caribbean, St Martin. The island is split in two, half belonging to France and half to the Dutch Antilles. After getting used to the Caribbean currency (EC), we were suddenly faced with euros on the French side, Antillean Guilders on the Dutch side, or American dollars which are widely used on both sides. Thankfully, English is spoken pretty much everywhere.

We anchored inside the shelter of Simpson Bay Lagoon, where the boat was dead still from sea swell. It was not the most tranquil setting, however, being directly under the main international flight path, and lots of building work going on so the constant sound of pile driving.

The water in the lagoon was a bit murky and not very tempting for swimming but it was obviously good for marine life - when Dave checked the bottom of the boat before leaving, he discovered thick growth – all within ten days of being here.

We chose St Martin as we had been told ‘you can get everything there’, which is pretty much true. The island is duty free and Philipsburg (the Dutch capital) specialises in cheap electronics. We have finally got up-to-date with technology and got ourselves a ‘wi-fi’ card, which allows us to get free internet access in many places.

We have caught up with several jobs on board, getting the boat ready for the trip to Bermuda. Most has been routine maintenance, touching up peeling paint and varnish, but also a new set of batteries have been installed and Dave finally has a helm seat to navigate in comfort.

Lots of boats seem to congregate here before heading back to the Azores and Europe, so lots of goodbyes and for some the end of the cruise. We are now ready to sail away from the warm Caribbean waters and prepare ourselves for the cooler temperatures further north.