The Lagoon - St Martin
Once again we had an awesome sail from Statia to St.Maarten, anchored in Marigot Bay on the French side and for the grand total of 6 euros we were legally cleared into French territory.
When writing each blog, Debbie loves to discover the history and folklore that makes each country unique. Most sailors in these parts rely on Chris Doyle's cruising guide for information but Debbie prefers to delve deeper, it's the only time that she is sits still!
There is a St. Maarten saying: " Their money melted like butter against the sun". The translation for this is visit the duty-free shops in Philipsburg (capital) and find out.
This island is the world's smallest territory divided between two sovereign states; Sint Maarten (Dutch side) and Saint Martin (French side). According to M. Timothy O'Keefe, the reason why the two live harmoniously together is because they basically ignore each other as much as possible. The countries are connected by bridges, constructed in the 20th century!
It is doubted that Columbus ever came to the island and it was only afterwards that sailors called the land St. Martin. The Arawaks and Caribs called it Sualouiga which means "land of salt", which first attracted European settlers. The island lacked a permanent water supply so the Indians kept the island for 140 years after the discovery of the Caribbean. Occasionally there were raids by the Spanish to take slaves to work in their gold mines. The French and Dutch made plans to occupy the island but the Spanish forcefully returned building military protection in case of further intervention. In 1644, the Dutch West India Company, commanded by Peter Stuyvesant, attacked the Spanish and occupied the island. In1648, the French and Dutch settlers decided that life would be easier if they didn't fight against one another, unlike their motherlands. They signed a treaty of eternal peace. The French side is larger than the Dutch and as legend goes, this was determined by two men from each side. They started from the same point walking around the coastline of the island until they met. The meeting point established the boundary between the two countries. Both men were given a beverage of their choice to sustain them on their walk. The Frenchman had a bottle of wine, the Dutchman a bottle of gin. The Dutchman was delayed on his travels, therefore the French have the largest part of the island.
Dutch St. Maarten prospered growing tobacco, cotton and sugar until emancipation, then went into a steady decline until 1939, when the island was made completely duty-free. In the 1960s tourism became the major earner for this side of the island.
French St. Martin maintains it's French feel also relying on tourism.
Our main reason for staying here was for maintenance. M was repaired by replacing the starter switch and a new propellor. The generator required a full service and we had to replace the sound proofing. The hull and stainless steel needed a thorough clean. St. Maarten is ideal for boat parts and there are plenty of stores to obtain most of what you need at duty free prices. Stephen decided to sort through all his tools and rehoused them without taking any lock tight containers from the galley. The istore programme on his iPad was dutifully updated which is a form of stock control of spares and main tools and their location in the boat.
It wasn't all work and no play. We spent a lot of time with Ju and Clive on Sephina and Leo and Karin returned to Bubbles during our stay. We caught up with Ian from Yantina and spent a couple of times with Neil and Karen from Tiger Lily. Happy Hours at Jimbos, Hot Stone dinners, fabulous steak meals and French cuisine.....we were in heaven.
Our journey from Amelie on M to the others (who were in a marina on the Dutch side) was a two and half mile trip over the lagoon, going under the French bridges, which normally took us between 15-20 minutes and frequent stops at the Gas stations along the route. These journeys were eventful with a huge Stingray being disturbed by our motion and flying over the bow, absolutely soaking Stephen. A few days later all sea traffic came to a standstill by the French bridge to allow a dog to swim between the two banks.
We visited the Dutch capital, Philipsburg, several times for duty free shopping but our favourite area was the French capital, Marigot. Individual shops, markets and restaurants found on the waterfront or down tiny streets.
Popcorn and a film at the cinema was a treat that we hadn't done since South Africa. We were like excited teenagers. We even enjoyed all the adverts!
A visit to the Sunset Beach Bar in Maho Bay is not to be missed as it is located at the beginning of the international airport runway. We stood on the beach raising our arms as the huge KLM flight descended low over us click here to see the landing. Ju and I were determined to be in position when it took off. The noise, heat and particles of sand that blew over us while we held onto one another in case we got blown away was a hysterical sight for the others. YouTube features this phenomenon and is worth watching.
The Bus
Prior to our departure, Ju, Clive and the crew of Amelie decided to take the double decker open top tour of the island. The bus was full with American and Canadian guests from the cruise ships. We managed to get the back seats where we had a fantastic picnic and the odd glass of wine. The open top tour became a closed top tour as our fellow passengers were complaining that they were in the full sun. It then became a sauna bus tour. The tour guide was an elderly gentleman on his first day. His sound system was faulty and at times he had the mike in his mouth hoping he would be clearer. We hardly heard a thing but what we did hear sent Debbie and Ju into fits of giggles. He suggested that the island was a sinful place as it was full of casinos and adult themed clubs. Sugar was poison and the small sheep running around the sky (clouds) meant no rain. St. Maarten hadn't had any rain for months......we got absolutely soaked the previous day travelling across the lagoon and during our stay we often had rain overnight. He was extremely entertaining and the laughter from the bus must have wafted across the island.
We have mentioned before in our blogs how hard it is to say goodbye to friends and family. The time had come for Ju, Clive and Amelie to part our ways after spending almost ten months together. Sephina of Beaumaris was sold quickly to a great guy who no doubt will have many adventures in her. This pretty boat had been our friends' home for nearly two years and they had put several years of hard work and love into refurbishing her. They completed the ARC in 2013 which was pretty hairy at times and then explored the Caribbean. We met them in Grenada during the hurricane season and hit it off immediately. Many games evenings, cookery classes, meals, drinks, parties and of course the Sunday tradition of going to the Coconut Beach Bar were spent together. Kind, helpful and practical Clive with the lovely, bouncy, hysterical Ju were our companions together with their cats, Peri and Thornton. We celebrated friendship and an early birthday fo
r Ju with a last supper at L'Escargot and said our farewells. Dry eyed Debbie made it to the car park and then the tears flowed. Stephen was close too. They always have an open invite on Amelie and we hope to catch up with them in the near future.
Good Luck Ju, Clive, Peri and Thornton.......not forgetting Bon Voyage to Sephina of Beaumaris.