St Marteen
Tuesday 6th Feb – Thursday 8th Feb
Simpson Bay
Another tough sail, loads of wind, loads of waves, loads of spay. We get drenched. Good news is the passage is quite fast so by 3pm we are anchored in Simpson Bay. The swell is high and it is another not so protected bay. It is busy though and there is a lot of traffic with many super yachts going in and out of the lagoon through the bridge. Going to clear in is an expedition, waves and wind.
We meet with Diana and Jeff (Canopeas) who give us a few pointers about where is best to leave the dinghy in the lagoon. Our first foray ashore is disturbing. The Lagoon is strewn with wrecks afloat, half submerged, or at the bottom , marked by buoys. There are a lot of them and it is upsetting, As for the buildings they are mostly devastated all around the lagoon. The contrast with the super yachts with all their beautiful, perfect hulls and spars is a sharp contrast with the destruction around them. Ian is beside himself, Budget Marine and Island Waterworld have huge shops here. Of course, they need to be visited. Again most buildings are in a state of disrepair. It is very sad. God knows what it looked like in the immediate aftermath of hurricane Irma.
Friday 9th Feb – Thursday 15th Feb
The wind is getting stronger and the swell makes the anchorage very uncomfortable. There is a cruisers’ net on the VHF every day, not as entertaining as in Grenada but a good source of local information. We learn that there are some buoys available in the lagoon and we decide to go in so we can be better sheltered, especially as the weather is due to worsen with wind peak upwards of 30 knots for at least 4 days. Don’t think we can manage this where we are, especially as Carnival on the French side is starting on Saturday and we do want to be able to come an go without too much faff. We need to wait for a guy to come and talk to us, we wait for most of Friday, he does not show up. So we make arrangements to go and get a berth in Port de Plaisance on the other side of the lagoon with good access to the French side, with buses and taxi available. Of course it is at an exorbitant price ($68 per night), but at least there will be a minimum of facilities…showers!
In the meantime a bit of drama, a French boat without an engine has just arrived in the bay and is requesting assistance to get through the bridge and into the lagoon. We can’t really help, the boat is over 50 foot long, but everyone is mobilised to try to help. In the end they have 3 dinghies to tow it and he makes his way into the lagoon just before we do. His troubles did not end there though. Once through the bridge, he his anchoring in the lagoon and finds himself grounded despite the help of the guy who was supposed to direct him. Glad we did not follow them. There are too many wrecks and shallows for comfort and we are pleased to be alongside just as the wind strengthens. The lagoon may have been a nice and safe place to be but not anymore. Too many wrecks around some visible other just marked by buoys. It is a bit nerves wracking. We are surrounded by huge catamarans and super yachts. The crews are really busy around there. Some boats are lying at the bottom of the water on some quayside and some vessels have obviously not fared well in the hurricane. Going to the facilities is an expedition. And the showers are housed in one of the few buildings still standing… it is so eerie.
We meet Christophe, who has bought a beautiful damaged hull. His vision of what he can make it is astonishing, there is so much work to be done and he reckons he will take him 8 months and over $250,000 to get Life Song back to its former glory…. Amazing, especially when you learn that his wife will be joining him with his newborn son in the next few weeks…. can’t resist hearing more of his stories, so we have him for dinner on board.