Maho Beach

We decided we had to come and see this tourist attraction and it didn’t disappoint. You cannot anchor near here due to the approach/departure path of the airport. Between watching the aeroplanes coming in and out and watching the photographers getting thrown across the beach it was a lot of fun. Despite all this, it is a beautiful beach. There is a large casino and hotel to the north side with a restaurant close to the beach which we tried out called Tortuga. There is also a real beach bar – the Driftwood Boat Bar.

On the other end, there are several other restaurants which you can watch from. They will serve cocktails and food in takeaway containers so you can go down to the beach to be closer to the action.

The rocks below the bars and restaurants contain several birds that seem totally unmoved by all the activity and noise.

Road Trip

When we asked what was good to go and look at there were only two places that were recommended one was Loterie Farm and the other was Parrot Ville. On the way there we thought we should stop in Philisburg the main town on the Dutch side. The area has many of the big retail shops/chain stores as well.

Philipsburg

This trip was the first time that we had been to the Dutch side – other than the area around the marina. Philipsburg is a cruise ship town. It is dead if there are none there which was the case this weekend and so it was very quiet when we walked around and all the shops were either shut or had about 5 staff and no patrons. There is quite a pretty beach and the boardwalk caters to tourists as does the first street back from the beach so it was all very quiet even at 10am. Here are a few photos to give you an idea of the town.

The electricians who were working on the alternators on the yacht were out racing in trimarans this weekend so here are a few pictures of the yachts.

Parrotte Ville

Parrotte Ville is privately owned and operated https://www.facebook.com/parotteville/. It is a very low-key large aviary in one of the suburbs of Philipsburg. They give you a small cup of seeds to feed the birds and the birds can hold onto the edge of the cup so they are quite happy. They are very friendly birds and if you don’t move much they will climb all over you. I had to give Hew my cup as I was trying to take photos but the birds were happy to come and talk to me anyway. At one stage Hew had 5 birds on him. It was great fun and very relaxing to see so many happy friendly birds.

There is a viewing platform in the middle of the aviary and some of the birds like to hang out underneath it. You can see parts of it in the pictures. There were many forms of climbing frames and ropes for the birds to play on. There were also birdhouses all around the enclosure and many had been opened or had the entries made larger by various birds to suit themselves. There was also a lot of vegetation in the gage similar to Taro plants that they both used as shade and occasionally nibbled on. The guide for the days says they do not usually wreck the plants as they just regrow so a good one to have.

The Toucan is kept in a separate enclosure because it is a meat eater and the meat attracts rats and mice. Funnily there were lizards in the Toucan enclosure as well and they did not seem particularly concerned. His favourite place is under a table, probably for the shade.

Loterie Farm

Loterie Farm https://loteriefarm.com/ is a private nature reserve of 54 Hectares on the french side. There are walking tracks, a zip line, swimming pools, and a restaurant. It was midday by the time we got there and we felt it was too hot to go walking so we just took in the restaurant with a nice lunch, a lovely cocktail, and a large iguana walking over the roof. We then had a relaxing couple of hours around the pool for our afternoon siesta.

Sundays

We decided last week that we would get a rental car as we had several jobs to do that needed to go all over the island.

Since it was Sunday and all the shops are shut or shut at lunchtime we thought we would go out for a late brunch and then onto the beach. We walked around Marigot town and it was empty and only new thing was another painted wall I hadn’t seen before. I love the street art you find in these islands and wonder why we do not make more use of our blank walls in New Zealand.

We finally found an open cafe for breakfast near the airport. We then headed up the coast past Maho to find a beach. After driving up and then back down the coast past many gated communities we finally went and had a swim at Mullet Bay beach. A lovely beach and surprisingly sheltered. It is one bay over from Mahoe so you can still see the arriving aircraft. It has a very steep sand bank at the moment. There is only a small beach bar and no big development like Maho. The beach is backed by a golf course which I assume has kept it from becoming totally developed.

Iguanas

On Monday Hew needed to get a new gas bottle and fittings as our Italian ones could not be fitted here and we couldn’t find adaptors so off to Philipsburg again. We managed to get all the parts and a bottle at one stop. Just down the road, we watched as a huge Iguana near the bus stop decided to move out of the sun and up the hill. the Iguanas are very common around the island and often sun themselves on the rocks around the bridges. Their colour really depends on their background. You can see the difference between these two photos and the one above at Loterie farm which was very green being on a very leafy tree.

We also needed sheets and went to a great store called Cost for Less which was very like Costco in the USA – everything in bulk. We decided that we really did need a list so we did not buy anything extra and left the shopping for another day.

Seamog

Matt and Jo friends from the South Island who we met cruising last year had turned at the end of the week. We had a lovely dinner at Dock 46 with them on Friday. Then on Tuesday, they needed to come into the marina and since it was fairly full they tied up alongside. They too are off to Europe.

It looks like it is going to be a social week again.

The alternators are finally in and the belts arrive today. We are expecting Di and Pete tomorrow and to be off the dock the day after. I hope all will go as planned.

Simpson Bay

When we arrived in Simpson Bay it was noticeably less busy than Marigot Bay. It was also obvious that there were several boats waiting for the bridge to lift. The bridge opens five times a day with different times for inbound and outbound boats, and you need to call in on the radio and list your boat. The yachts all then follow very closely through or they get a hurry up from the operator. The most difficult maneuvering is waiting outside just before the bridge opens when everyone is trying to get in line, especially if the wind is blowing from abeam the boats.

Once inside the lagoon, it is much calmer. There is room to anchor or you can go onto buoys. We took the early bridge opening and went straight into Lagoon Marina which is commonly called Lagoonies after the restaurant and bar at the end of the pontoon. We were due to be on the marina for a month but only had a week before we returned to New Zealand for a quick visit then we were back up again to do some delayed maintenance work. If you stay longer than a month they charge you at a higher rate. Our extra two weeks cost as much as a month.

Maintenance

The reason we were coming into the marina, apart from having a place to put the yacht for the trip to New Zealand, was that our new boom had finally arrived.

FKG

The process of ordering the boom had taken a year and as soon as we got in we went to make sure it was actually there at FKG which is next door. It was beautifully packed in its very expensive wooden box. Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of the box. If we were in NZ we could have sold the box or used it for all sorts of projects but here there was nothing that we could do but leave it for the yard.

We did not move over to the FKG dock as it was full so they just wheeled it around and put it on the boat using the topping lift. Very new and shiny.

FKG is a working dock and yachts usually are only there for a couple of days. One side is for fabrication and the other side is for the rigging crews. It is very busy. FKG did the boom for us, but they also then mended the helm seat which had failed, installed a bracket for the Starlink aerial ( more later), and fixed the hydraulics for the passerelle. Since we had a new boom we also had to get a new sail cover and the sail maker also made the chaps for the dingy.

When we also purchased a new dinghy to replace the interim one, that we had purchased in Jamaica, we then had to sell this dinghy and engine. We put up a notice on the wall and then let Hyacinth in the Business Point office know and left for New Zealand. Two days into our trip back to New Zealand and the temporary dinghy and motor were sold. Interestingly the guy running the cruisers net told us we would not be able to sell it because the engine was Chinese, but he was wrong!

We spent quite a few dollars with FKG and they were good enough to let us assemble the new dingy there. You might ask what did we assemble? Due to the lack of everything in the Caribbean, we ended up buying a dingy from an AB dingy agent, a Suzuki motor from a second agent, and a console meant for a Highfield dingy from a third agent. With the three items from different companies, Hew had to be an assembly man.

The next time we came into FKG to fix the hydraulics on the passerelle we did end up on their dock.

Appliances

The other big reason to come to Saint Martin’s was to buy replacement appliances for those that had failed. The yacht is run on a 220v system because it was European so we had not been able to find any appliances in the last six months as most of the Caribbean is 110v. One of the first stops in Saint Martin was the appliance shop. A new washing machine, and a new espresso machine, and of course we had bought the new microwave with us from New Zealand when we originally came up to Panama in October.

Just having the washing machine made the yacht feel cleaner and so much easier than constantly having to find laundries at each stop.

Lagoonies

Lagooon marina and the FKG dock next door are very social due to the Lagooonies restaurant and Bar which runs every day except Sundays – though if there is much going on like races it runs then as well. Because they have a large dingy dock many of the yachts around the lagoon come in to use the wifi, have dinner or drinks and listen to the live music which is 2 to 3 times per week.

They also run once a month a buy, sell and swap for yachties at no charge which creates a great deal of interest – if only to chat. We also managed to get rid of some of our “treasures of the bilges”!

Socialising

When we returned from New Zealand we found that Chris from Ari was in the dock and he was going to travel back to Europe with several members from the Vikings Group who we had crossed the Atlantic with., so we had to join the dinner organised in Lagoonies

After a three weeks of work and still waiting for parts we decided to take 4 days off and go for a cruise up the coast. The northern end of the island has a large park and two small islands are included.

Ile Tintamarre

Ile Tintamarre is a small uninhabited island with a lovely beach on its western side. The island has been inhabited in the past but only a few rock walls remain. Apparently an airline operated out of the island in the 1950’s until the plane crashed! There are paths over the island to walk around and it is part of the National Park area.

The waters are clear and good for snorkeling and diving. One of the most interesting snorkels was right between the boat and the southern headland where there was a whole school of Tarpon. They were not the least worried about snorkellers. The turtle was directly beneath the yacht and was much shyer.

This is a short video of the snorkelling and diving around the island. https://youtu.be/sErA1saAv-g

There are supposed to be two wrecks off the island but we did not get a chance to look at them. We may go again before we leave.

Isla de Pinel

Isle de Pinel is also part of the nature reserve with two restaurants, composting toilets, and no water so there is only bottled water on the island. There is a lovely walk over the island where you can see not only the western beach but also the northern beach and the SE Beach. It is very dry but Iguanas and rare cacti are common here.

The anchorage is really shallow, especially behind where we are anchored, then there is another entrance on the NW side of the island to get to the anchorage in the background but they are all local boats.

We stopped at the restaurant for a long lunch, they don’t do dinners, and it was very relaxing.

The next day we decided that we needed to walk around the island before we left. It is very dry but it was interesting to see the iguanas and the other two beaches. The Sargossa weed build-up is a problem in the Caribbean and it was interesting to see the amount that ha gathered on the SE beach.

With no fresh water, there are only composing toilets with very good signage to explain how they work.

The island is covered in grass and some shrubs. The best cover is near the beach on the western side and above that the shrubs are sparse and are only just coming into leaves after a long dry winter. There are iguanas around the island but they are fairly shy and hard to photograph.

Back to Lagoonies – More work and more socialising

This time we were back in the same area but on the FKG dock to fix the passerelle. To make life easiser they used a floating dock to stand on and just used our boom to secure the passerelle while they removed the lines to get replaced and the ram to increase its length slightly thereby making it more upright and allowing more room and a higher lift for the dingy .

We also decided to replace all the grommets in the trampolines at the front. When the grommets were ordered they did not have enough silver ones so they sent us silver and gold and we alternated the colours around the rim. We had the help of a young Polish guy called Jan which was great. He had also helped Hew when I was down in New Zealand.

When we arrived back after our a few days away firstly Sue and Reg – ex-Vikings on Misty Blue, decided we had to all have dinner at Dock 46. This meant our yacht, Misty Blue and their crew, and Chris and his Crew. We had a lovely night – photos from Sue.

Chris felt that we needed to have dinner with his crew who had missed the main party because they were still arriving. They were also ex-Viking sailors who had volunteered to cross back to Europe as a crew for Chris. So dinner was organised at the yacht club which is on the opposite side of the harbour from Lagooonies.

From the right Hew, Chris, Barb, Dave, Andrew

The following night we had agreed to have dinner with other friends who were anchored in the lagoon, Hans, Irene, and Thomas on Pacific Blue. We had met them in Providencia at the beginning of the season and kept in touch over the following months but this was the first time we had been in the same place at the same time since a very windy bay in the Dominican Republic. It was really great to catch up. They were also leaving to cross back to Holland.

After another few days on the dock and the Passerrelle fixed we were still waiting for alternator parts so we decided to leave the lagoon for a few more days and travel up to Anse Marcel and join Chris and his crew for their last few nights.

Anse Marcel

This is a lovely sheltered bay that also has a marina though we would be a very tight fit trying to get into the channel. It has been completely rebuilt after cyclone Irma and the hotel and grounds around the marina are lovely and they have a great Italian restaurant. The other advantage is that you can also check in and out here if you wish, at slightly more cost than the boat shops in town.

For some reason I did not take any photos there but here is a link to give you a good idea of the bay https://www.youtube.com/?v=W62zjy3Ecjo

I did go snorkelling but the water was full of the algal bloom in the small islands off the bay and even when I went around the NW corner it was not much better. I did not have the swimming bouy with me as Hew was driving the dingy but I almost got run over by a large rib cutting the corner of the point at full speed. Of course, I got yelled at and it was a warning to always take the buoy with you. Hew had been hiding on the sheltered side of the point but they were not paying any attention to him even though they could see him.

We had dinner with the Ari crew of Chris Dave and Andrew and said our goodbyes as they headed off back to Europe and we headed back to Lagoonies again for hopefully the final round of repairs.

“We love SXM” is the logo for all the advertising in Saint Martins(the French side) and Sint Maarten( the Dutch side) and it is everywhere in painted signs and advertisements. It is great to see such a pragmatic approach to the island and the entry procedures were similar. Once you are on the island you can go to either side by dingy or car or on foot, there is no division. If you want to change your yacht from one side to the other then you have to check out on one side and in on the other, but it is cheap, easy, and efficient. We wished more islands were las easy as this.

Street Art

Street art exemplifies a welcoming and inclusive feeling.

Marigot Bay

We arrived in Marigot Bay on the French side and checked in at Island Water World. Yes, you go to the local boat shop and they have a computer there dedicated to entry and exit permits. You fill in the information, print it, and the shop assistant checks the passport numbers you entered on the form match your passports, stamps it, signs it, and hands the entry permit back to you all for €2. Why can’t all countries be this simple?

Marigot Bay has moorings and areas to anchor. It is close to the markets and town and has a large dingy dock to make access easy for cruisers.

There is also an excellent French bakery close by – luxury after months of very basic food.

The center of the town on the French side also has many restaurants and some lovely clothing stores. We had been starved for more sophisticated shopping and my supply of bikinis was getting really tatty so some money was spent here.

Time to go

After two days Robyn and Cameron were ready to continue their travels to Houston and then back to New Zealand. I had purchased a new tablecloth for the boat at the market and we decided to celebrate in style.

After drinks on the yacht, we headed off to Dock 46 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083611140570 for dinner. This is a real yachtie bar and restaurant but they have a great chef who will cook anything you want that is in the fridge/freezer at the time, even if it is not on the menu for the night. The food is beautiful. It has a great dingy dock and next door is Shrimpy’s laundry which also runs the cruiser’s radio net. It does not look much from the outside but is great inside the restaurant( at least on the ground floor). Much of the French part of the island still looks dilapidated from the cyclone 4 years ago and many places are only partially rebuilt.

After dinner, we decided we should go for a cruise around the lagoon. We were amazed at the number of boats there as we had not had a chance to go during the day. Also, the Causeway Bay bridge is lit up at night with great colours. This bridge which runs across the lagoon is a swiveling bridge whereas the two bridges that go out of the lagoon to the sea are both lifting bridges.

The Sandy Ground bridge on Saint Martins’s side only opens twice a day and is covered in decorative tiles.

Many of the boats that are used daily for visitors are low enough to travel through with the bridge down, as can all the dingys belonging to the yachts anchored inside and outside the lagoon,

Rebuilding after Cyclone Irma

We found remnants of Cyclone Irma that happened in 2017 everywhere. Most of the Dutch side has been rebuilt but many areas on the French side are still incomplete or forgotten. There are derelict boats everywhere, and many yachts have been repurposed for cruise boats so you see many without masts.

After Cameron and Robyn departed for Houston we had a few days before we were due into Lagoonies Marina, Sint Maarten for some maintenance so we explored the next couple of bays up the coast

Brewers Bay

Brewers bay has a lovely beach and was sheltered from the northerly so we anchored up in the NW corner which was quieter during the daytime. We had two lovely days of doing nothing then we felt we should move on to check out the next bay.

Grand Case

Grand Case was a much busier bay with a beautiful beach, with lots of bars and restaurants, and a colouful little town.

There was also a good snorkeling area around Rocher Creole but the water was not particularly clear. There has been an algal bloom around Saint Martins/Sint Maarten this year and it is still affecting the visibility, some places much more than others. Therefore you will notice that the shots in the video that are further away like the Turtle are not very clear, however you still get to find some great fish.

After two days there we headed off around to Simpson Bay and Sint Maartens to check into Lagoonies marina for some maintenance work. https://kiwiflyingfish.com/?p=13252