St Maarten, here we come!

As we left St John and headed towards St Maarten I felt a wave of excitement and nervousness consume me. This is the beginning of our journey that will take us across the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. There’s a swarm of butterflies in my stomach. Mike and I have spent the last two years working up to this journey and I think it will be amazing. We have joined the Wold Cruising Club’s ARC Rally of around 40 other boats. We will spend the next two months in the company of like minded souls, sharing experiences, drinks and good times.

We have waiting in St John for a good weather window and although the journey will into the wind, we’ve been waiting for the rain and squally conditions to pass before setting out. We’ve decided to try to sail the whole trip which will require us to tack,probable several times and will extend the trip from just under a day to two days, but we have the time, so why not. It wasn’t a terrible trip. We’ve experienced worse sea conditions, but we were still beating the whole way. In retrospect, we should have motored.

The great part of the journey was the moon. It was full and bright in the night sky allowing for great visibility. I have come to see the moon very differently. In my previous life, the coming of a full moon was fraught with fear and dread, because it meant every one of my patients was going to be coocoo for Cocoa Puffs and every trauma was sure to be the worst I’ve ever seen. But now a full moon fills me with a sense of peace that is unmatched by anything else. It greets me with a vibrant smile and shows me the world in a beautiful light. This time was no different. The light however was different. Right now the air is filled with Sahara Desert dust. There is brown haze. And even though it resembles the smog looming over LA, the moon shining through it make a beautiful glow.

Sunset vs Moon rise

After two days and nights we finally arrived in St Maarten at around 2 am. We usually plan our journey to arrive during the day to make anchoring easier, especially in unfamiliar places. Nonetheless we entered Simpson Bay and anchored alongside several othe sailboats. I was surprised by all of the resorts and hotels lighting up the skyline when we arrived in St Maarten. So far this the most developed island we have been to in the Caribbean. It was a gorgeous site. It was a great feeling to finally be here on this island.

After getting a good nights sleep, it was time to go check into St Maarten. This island is divided, the French side and the Dutch side. Since the marina where will enter the Rally is located on the Dutch side, that is where we checked in. It was a very easy process. It’s weird though, if we were to take the sailboat to the French side we would have to check out of the Dutch side and then check in to the French side. However, we can take the dinghy, car, bus, bike or walkbetween the two sides without having to do anything. Stupid, if you ask me.

I’ve discovered that I have been spending way too much time and money getting health certificates and import permits for Stella to go to all of these islands. We have even skipped some because of import regulations. So far no one has wanted to see the health certificate and import permit. In fact, no one even asks about pets. But they do ask about guns. Who knew?! I will definitely know better next year when we visit the islands. I will get what I need for Europe though because we may take her between countries on the train.

Apparently this is the place to have packages sent as there is no tax to do so. Some of the other islands will charge 20-40% tax for items that aren’t boat related. This also seems to be the best place in the islands to have any work done on the boat. It’s a beautiful island and the amenities are abundant. In fact I finally found a place in the Caribbean where I can get beer other than Carib and Stag, both of which suck. There’s a cool little bar, called the Dinghy Dock Bar and Pub that has a large selection of craft beer, including my favorite sour, Unicorn Farts!

The water is beautiful teal and blue, clear and warm. I hope we spend more time here in the future. We took the dinghy into Simpson Bay Lagoon and spent several hours just driving around. We couldn’t believe how big it is.

It was very evident which side was the Dutch side and which was the French side. The Dutch side is much more developed and has a lot more to offer. There’s even a golf course.

French side

Dutch side

How’s this for a water trap 😂