Sint Maarten St. Martin

Two countries, two vastly different cultures, and so much fun.  We arrived in Sint Maarten Dec 24, 2021. After two weeks we sailed down to Antigua for a few weeks and now we have returned to St. Martin, the French side en route to the BVI. We really like the French side of St, Martin and we really like anchoring off Marigot. Everyone we asked told us to go to the French side, Marigot, but like rookies, we sailed into the Dutch side and anchored in Simpson Bay. That may seem like a big mistake to experts, but we needed to get a new outboard motor and the store, Island Water World, was close to Simpson Bay. So, this seemed to make sense to us.  Luckily for us, John Knight of IP 420 Adventuress was here and he towed us into the store to for out outboard. After that, we were free to move anywhere and we quickly moved to the French Side and learned what everyone was talking about.  Here is a map of the overview of the two sides and the harbors everyone uses.

Why the French Side?

With a running dinghy, we moved over to Marigot, the French capitol and main harbor, and learned how we can easily take the dinghy thru the lagoon to the Dutch side. On the French side, the harbor is less rolly and the swell is blocked by the island to the north, Anguilla. So this large harbor is far better than Simpson Bay. Add in the French Bakeries and coffee and baguettes and you have just landed in Paradise. I always say…  THE FRENCH LIVE THE BEST…. and their food and restaurants prove this slogan of mine.

Food, I usually do not post about food

When in France with fine French cheese and shrimp and wine and you can share this with good cruising friends, well, life is good. When we sailed back into SXM, we bumped into IP445 No Wahalla with owners Lisa and John who are heading southeast to St. Barts and then Antigua. Let’s get together and share some cocktails. Check out this little cheese plate and fun time on Island Spirit. We did this same party on their boat first. We need to sail on before we hurt ourselves 🙂

Dining out, Oui Oui, Viva la France!

When in France, one must go out for a fine meal. We moved up to Grand Case so we could go snorkeling off Rocher Creole with Lisa and John. We found some great coral and tropical fish on the side of the island at the cut. The waves were about 1 foot but it was still well worth the swim. The next day after a major storm, the rain stopped just in time and we were able to stick with our dinner plans at Ocean 82 in Grand Case. This meal will go down as one of the best ever, with the presentation even more artistic than any photos will show. John and Lisa had a lobster flambeed table side and I had Mahi Mahi and Radeen had Lobster linguini.  Fine wine and beautiful desserts completed the meal. Again, it was French, so what would you expect? INCREDIBLE.

Sailing Antigua / Barbuda to SXM

The sailing here from Antigua / Barbuda was downwind and was a dream. We are looking for more of the same on the upcoming Tue / Wed overnight 95 miles from SXM to BVI. Yes, we will finally make the British Virgin Islands.  We hope it is as great as our many other times there. Here are a few sailing photos from out trip here to SXM.

Reflecting on quality time

No TV since Dec 20, limited cell phone calls, SiriusXM satellite radio for BBC, NPR, CNN and FOX to keep up with all the varied “talking points” and internet thanks to Google FI, but we are still a bit disconnected. We tend to like this peaceful life, taking time to reflect. Our advice is: Take time to watch a sunset most days. Take time to share a cocktail or coffee or tea while watching a sunset. Talk to friends and family and plan goals and objectives together. This is quality time and it really comes to full life on a cruising sailboat. Welcome aboard. Now, watch that sunset or sunrise today…

Thank you for sailing along. Please leave us a comment. It will be sent to my email and we will reply as soon as we can.

PS Wine? Wine? Did anyone say wine?