Sint Maarten
Persephone... Cruiser/Racer
Nigel & Karen Goodhew...
Sat 25 Mar 2017 12:40
The next morning, Tuesday, we set off ourselves in broadly the opposite direction, downwind, 17 miles to Sint Maarten and Simpson Bay on the Dutch side of the island.
It was a delightful sail, under spinnaker and a full main, in calm seas, so we towed the dinghy behind us. This makes foredeck work a degree easier, as, if we do not deflate the dinghy, it rides upside down on the foredeck, and your friendly bowman has to slide around the side of it to do his magic up there. Furthermore, the foredeck hatch is covered over, so dropping the spinnaker into the hatch is no longer an option.
The calm seas on Tuesday made towing the dinghy a real proposition, and it all worked out well. All I had to do before setting off was to remove the outboard and stow it on its mount on the pushpit. Simples!
We slid rapidly across the strait between St Barths and St Maarten, past Philipsburgh and its cruise ship docks...4 ships in on Tuesday...into Simpson Bay and anchored a few yards off the beach known as Pelican Beach. This was an appointed rendezvous point for Karens brother Stephen and his wife Brenda were staying there on holiday.
Almost immediately after the anchor was down, we spotted them on the beach and they recognised Persephone too. As soon as we could get the engine back on the dinghy, it was ashore for some appropriate beverages and a catch up in the Buccaneer bar.
And another thing....the man in the boat ahead of us, tidying up after his day's outing with a charter group, came over to see us. I thought initially he was going to comment about the proximity of Persephone to his boat as occasionally happens in busy anchorages, but no. He used to race on Beefeater, another Sigma 38, recognised Persephone, and indeed, saw us in Simpson Bay 4 years ago, and came across simply to say hello.
In the evening, we dined with Steve and Brenda at a restaurant near their apartment, and planned a few days sailing....after a day in St Maarten and the mandatory visit to the beach at the end of the runway of the international airport....the spectacle never fails to amaze people as the planes swoop low overhead, or alternatively, raise their thrust to maximum levels before their take off, blasting the perimeter fence and the beach and sea behind them with astonishing force.
We planned a trip across to Anguilla...see the next chapter and how our visitors got on.
Will Brenda overcome her dinghy phobia? And how will Steve fare after psyching himself up for weeks for a spot of Caribbean sailing?
Sent from my iPad