Year: 2026

Hey everyone, Hayden here from SV Island Spirit! After a wonderful couple of months exploring Antigua in January and February, we sailed over to Sint Maarten / St. Martin for March and April. This was hands-down one of our most chill seasons yet. No big mile-crushing passages—just settling into the rhythm of island life aboard our little IP35-165.

St. Martin (the French side) and Sint Maarten (the Dutch side) offer the perfect blend of cultures, cuisines, and cruising convenience. We spent most of our time anchored in the protected Simpson Bay Lagoon. It’s a cruiser’s paradise: calm waters, easy access to both sides via dinghy, and a mix of bustling marinas, quiet anchorages, and stunning views. Our 35-footer was often the smallest boat in the anchorage, tucked among 40–55 footers, but she held her own like a champ!

Life in the Lagoon

We alternated between anchoring outside in Simpson Bay (a bit rolly but scenic) and inside the lagoon (glass-calm and protected). The lagoon felt like our floating neighborhood—great holding, easy provisioning runs, and frequent diver visits. We had the bottom cleaned twice while there, and our paint held up beautifully thanks to the solid prep work back in Jolly Harbor.

Daily life was simple and joyful: morning coffee with views of the hills, dinghy explorations to Marigot for fresh baguettes and French pastries, and afternoon swims. We loved the easy access to everything—chandleries on the Dutch side, gourmet markets and beaches on the French side. No major boat projects, just maintenance and enjoyment. This is what slow cruising is all about.

One highlight was simply watching the world go by from the cockpit. Sunrises over the lagoon, planes landing at the nearby airport (always a thrill!), and colorful sunsets that painted the sky. We felt grateful every day for this lifestyle.

Favorite Moments

• Exploring both sides of the island by dinghy, Dutch vs French
• Quiet evenings at anchor/mooring with the gentle lap of water.
• Meeting fellow cruisers and sharing stories.
• The pride of seeing our little Island Spirit thriving in big-boat territory.

As April wound down, we prepared to head back to Antigua for haul-out and storage. Season 26 wrapped up feeling refreshed and recharged. St. Martin delivered exactly what we needed: beauty, convenience, and that special Caribbean soul.

If you’re planning a visit, I highly recommend spending time in the lagoon. It’s cruiser-friendly, scenic, and full of surprises.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from our time there (capturing the essence of daily life, anchorages, boat views, sunsets, and island vibes):

Thanks for following along, friends! Drop a comment if you’ve cruised St. Martin—what was your favorite part? We’ll be back in the islands for Season 27 come December. Fair winds!

— Hayden & Radeen, SV Island Spirit (Follow us on Facebook @svIslandSpirit for more real-time updates)

Season #26 started off in Antigua, Jolly Harbor Marina, as we launched the boat on January 8th. As we have posted before, the Jolly Harbor Marina is the best-run, best-customer-service marina we have ever used in 36 years of boating. The team run by Lindsey is the best, because they have a motto of…”Captain, what can we do for you to help?” This attitude runs through all the marina staff and it shows. This is also the attitude of the Antiguan people, they are kind, caring and very helpful. So, the season started, and we are elated to be back up and running.

Move to Condo

We have found these Jolly Harbor Condos a perfect way to prepare or to tear down your boat. We have rented two different condos here and they have docks behind the condo where we can tie up our boat. So, right after launch, we moved the boat to the condo dock and we moved into the condo. The boat down below is a wreck, so we never try to sleep aboard until all the sails and canvas are up. Once rigged and the beds made and interior cleaned we move in. This usually takes us 4-5 days. Here is the boat behind the condo!

Mission #1, DEEP BAY

We finished the set up of the boat and moved onto the boat Jan 16th. Task #1 was to drive the boat 6 nm north to DEEP BAY, drop anchor, and enjoy one of our very happy beaches! For some reason, this bay we just love, sure they are many others that are great, Like Bird Island and Green Island and Jolly and Fryes more, but this one is a simple beam reach up, pull into 10-20 foot water and drop the hook. Lay out 120+ feet of chain off our well set Rocna 55lb anchor and LIVE! 

The SAILING is also Easy

Basing our boat out of Jolly Harbor, the sailing is so easy, because Jolly Harbor, Deep Bay and others are on the west site of the island. With the steady 15-20-25 knot EAST Tradewinds, these anchorages have winds blowing off the beach blowing out to our anchored boat and they are calm. We had 25 knots gusting 30knots for days here, NO PROBLEM. Unlike the fronts of Florida and the Bahamas, the wind is ALWAYS EAST, not clocking winds placing you on a lee shore as the winds go west then northwest and north. This is one of the hidden treasures of Caribbean Sailing, the East Tradewinds that are so steady in direction.

Ahh, the NESO Shade Tent

Back to Deep Bay, we headed in to set up the Neso Shade tent. These are great but they do not like winds over 12 knots and 15 max. It simply blows over. But, when the sun is late afternoon and the winds die down, this is the best way to enjoy the beach. Dinghy in and anchor the dinghy, then walk into the beach and set up the tent. Now, enjoy the view, enjoy the swim, and simply slow down. THIS is the BEST life there is….hands down.

Radeen Loves to SAIL

The reason svIslandSpirit.com has been so successful for 26 years is RADEEN. She loves to travel, she loves to sail, she loves sleeping on the boat, and she makes our boat a real HOME. She is amazing, and I am so lucky with the team we have built and the places we have sailed. She is amazing….

Thank you for Following Along

NOTE: We publish nearly LIVE posting of our sailing onto our FACEBOOK PAGE called svIslandSpirit. If you check that, or better yet FOLLOW us then you will be notified when we share. This can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/svIslandSpirit

PS: Where have we sailed? Here is a short list

• • 20 times! New England to Biscayne Bay Florida (the ICW) 
  • 10 Bahamas Abacos and Exuamas winters
  • 3 Runs Annapolis MD to Caribbean Sea
    • 5 Winters in Caribbean
  • 2 Storages in Puerto Rico (Fajardo)
  • 2 Storages in Grenada (Clarks Court!)
  • 2 Storages in Antigua (Jolly Harbor Marina #1)
  • 50,000 nautical miles