Sint Maarten/St Martin - 26 Mar - 9 Apr 2011
Nimue
Sat 9 Apr 2011 11:52
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We were both looking forward to visiting St Maarten, as fellow cruisers
had advised that it is one of the best places in the Caribbean to purchase duty
free goods, with plenty of life and things to do. So after a quick 20 nm
trip from St Barths, we arrived in Simpson Bay anchorage in St Maarten.
Not long after we arrived a display of American WW2 display aircraft flew over
us; I think they were on their way to St Barths for the end of the Bucket
Regatta!
Simpson Bay anchorage, Sint Maarten
American WW2 display planes
American WW2 bomber plane (above & below)
Before I go any further, why does the island have 2
names? Basically after Columbus named it after St Martin of Tours whilst
sailing past it in 1493, the French and Dutch ended up fighting for control of
it. As legend has it, the Dutch and the French decided to partition Sint
Maarten/St. Martin from a march originating from Oyster Pond on the east side of
the island. The French walked northward, the Dutch south. While the
French quenched their thirst with wine, the Dutch brought along dodgy gin.
Halfway through the Dutchmen stopped to sleep off the ill effects, giving the
French a greater piece of the pie. The border is almost entirely
theoretical and without frontier posts, but each part has a different
administration system and manages its sea space differently. Although one
island, but sides are very different from one another, with obvious signs that
the French still want to cling onto to their European roots, whereas the Dutch
gearing everything around tourism and as a consequence is not quite so
attractive.
Map of Sint Maarten/St Martin showing the Lagoon area where Nimue was anchored We initially cleared into Customs & Immigration on the
Dutch side and paid our dues for one week, but when the anchorage got lumpy we
decided to go through the Simpson Bay swing bridge into the Lagoon for better
protection. This large Lagoon is part Dutch, part French and Nimue was anchored
virtually on the border, so we could have flown both Dutch and French courtesy
flags! Although we entered through the bridge on the Dutch side, there is
another entrance into the Lagoon via the French bridge in Marigot Bay, but the
depth of water just after the entrance is just too shallow for Nimue. The
anchorage in the Lagoon was much quieter, but very shallow and would always give
a big chop in strong winds. It took us a good few days to ‘find our
feet’ around the lagoon area and to find out where everything was, but found out
more by listening on the VHF Net run each morning by Mike at Shrimpies
laundry. Basically, he provided details on the weather, enabled cruisers
just arriving or leaving Sint Maarten to introduce themselves and allow anyone
with a problem or question to put it over the net. My favourite slot, was
‘Buy, Sell or Swop’, where cruisers were able to sell items they were trying to
get rid of, or ask anyone if they were selling something they wanted. I
was able to purchase some charts of the Chesapeake Bay area for around a quarter
of the price if had I purchased them new!
Following one of the St Barts Buckett race participants through the swing bridge into Simpson Lagoon
Passing by Sint Maarten Yacht Club   Swing
bridge
Customs & Immigration – Dutch side
View of swing bridge from inside the Lagoon Sint Maarten boasts 2 of the largest chandleries in the
Caribbean, (Budget Marine and Island Water World) both with their own dinghy
docks and selling items at duty free prices. We had already decided to
purchase a wind generator (a D400), as this would provide an additional boost to
the batteries when at anchor. We purchased a few other goodies including 2
new propane gas bottles (as it was getting increasingly difficult to get
European Camping Gaz bottles re-filled) and we managed to get a good deal on the
lot. The wind generator will not be fitted until we get to the USA, as we
need to have a stainless steel frame built made for the the back of Nimue, which
will hold the wind generator and also the sun panels, which are currently sited
on top of the bimini.
Many hours spent in both Budget Marine and Island Water World (above & below)!
As Jonas had just been given another month’s extended leave,
Sea Otter decided to sail from Antigua to join us, but again, as they were just
about to drop anchor in the Lagoon, they encountered yet another problem.
This time the anchor chain did not fit their newly purchased windlass, but
eventually with Michael’s help they managed to safely anchor. They decided
to purchase new chain, but successfully managed to sell their old chain using
the morning Net. By now we had been in Sint Maarten for almost a week, so
we checked out, paying exit dues to the Dutch authorities and then rode our
dinghy a couple of miles to Port La Royale to clear in at La Capitainerie on the
French side. This was a much cheaper and altogether easier process.
It all sounds very odd, but it’s all part of cruising way of life and keeping
the costs down!
Sundowners at The Buccaneer with Heather & Jonas off Sea Otter
Clearing in on the French side at the Port La Royale, Capitainerie
All finished and Michael climbing back into the dinghy |
