SXM-Boats,beaches and bollocks

24.01.2011

Sint Maarten, (Dutch), St Martin, (French), or SXM as it is also often called, has really grown on us. It is so much more than the smallest island in the world, controlled by two separate countries, which happens to be a duty free boating Mecca.
Only about 20% of the inhabitants were born on the island, with the rest being made up by “foreigners”, who have brought with them the skills and expertise that make things work.
Apart from the huge lagoon area, accessible to boats up to 200ft superyachts via two lifting bridges, it also has a huge Cruise liner docking facility in Philipsburg, which had 8 such vessels when we arrived before Xmas. The town of Philipsburg caters to these liners, with a top class beachfront lined with restaurants and palm trees, and one road back, with Jewelers and Electronic stores.
Thanks to a few island tours with Tom & Johness, we have got to see much more of SXM than many, including Grande Case and the big and beautiful Orient Bay, and its five beach areas of Kakao, Bikini, Waikiki, Coco Beach and Kontiki.
It was to this lovely area we were again taken yesterday. Yachts and Superyachts were anchored in the bay.

We started walking from the one end, with Tom and I discussing his challenges of starting a new business. I then noticed a fellow shuffling towards us, dribbling two coconuts with his feet. As he got closer, I could not help but detect that they were not coconuts, but two bloody great Brinjals in a floppy sack attached to his person where his legs met! Yes, we had just crossed over onto the Nudist, or “clothing optional” beach! I mean this poor man was in serious trouble! He either had had a transplant operation with a large bull, or suffered a serious medical problem caused by bruising as the brinjals were being kicked along the beach by his kneecaps! Now I have spent most of my life in clothing, and could not think of any pair of underpants, shorts or whatever, that could accommodate tackle on this scale. A babies pram, or a supermarket trolley could have done the job, but that would have looked equally silly on the beach.

All my life, I’ve always been a legs and boobs fancier myself, but its just not done, to stare and gape at the merchandise on display on such a beach! One has to adopt a carefree, nonchalant eyes down type of disposition. As such, it is only the extreme curiosities that one notices in ones peripheral vision. I was pleased to register that amongst the field of button mushrooms, there were only a couple of Boomerangs and Puff Adders. Most of what was on show , was fat ,floppy and flaccid , for both genders!

What did strike me as very unusual, was the removal of body hair….obviously an attention seeking highlighting technique. Now, many of us will have chuckled at the concept of an excited partner experiencing a “wide on”, but never had I imagined that it could be a physical reality! Normally such matters would be discreetly hidden behind a furry triangle, or carefully trimmed “landing strip”. But no, not here in the care free and hair free zone! What I had the misfortune to witness, was not so much a “wide on”, as a Dual Carriageway… ….Black River Pathway in Cape Town came to mind!

Thank goodness we soon made it back to Bikini Beach where we could sit down and have a quiet beer, lunch and a giggle, in a normal world. Even the pretty young mother, topless, walking hand in hand with costumed hubby and kids, looked totally “normal”!
My friend Etienne always believed that the designer of the bonnet on the old Volkswagen Beetle was inspired by women in bathing costumes. Truly, the sexiest costumes really are those that leave something to the imagination!

10 000 miles, as the sun sets on another year!

1.1.2011

Somewhere, between Antigua and St Barts, while the moon was hiding from the sun, Sheer Tenacity passed the 10 000nm mark since we sailed out of Hout Bay! To celebrate this milestone, as well as Christmas and New Year in St Maarten, we flew the 16 courtesy flags of the countries visited during this trip from our topping lift!

Keen observers might also notice the “at anchor” ball on display at the bow, in deference to the number of USA boats around! Legally of course, a 40 foot yacht, with sails packed away in a bright red stackpack, and secured to the seabed by 40mts chain, connected to a well set anchor, with a loop of chain hanging over the bow roller , and attached to the boat by a chain hook on a nylon snubbing line , in a designated and chart marked anchorage, with a tender hanging off the stern, cannot be assumed to be at anchor!!! Americans lawyers, in particular, need to see your black ball before they can be expected to know this!
Anchored here in Simpson lagoon, we are definitely one of the smallest yachts. Each day, the road bridge over the channel between the open sea and the lagoon, opens six times to allow incoming or outgoing boats. We had arrived in Simpson Bay at about noon, so we had to wait until the next Inward bound opening, which was at 17.30hrs. The St Maarten Yacht Club pub and deck area overlook the bridge , and channel, and the crowd gather on most nights to watch the procession. Our entrance was no exception, and we were one of about 12 to 15 boats entering the lagoon. This is accompanied by flashing cameras, vocal encouragement, and bellowed instructions from the Bridge Operator to …”Move along… little Sheer Tenacity, we haven’t got all day! “
We were sandwiched between a 170ft power cruiser, and a 70ft classic yacht, which was followed by a 140ft Peroni Navi schooner . Its enough to give a man a complex!
Tom & Johness took us on a drive around the lagoon, by road one evening. We stopped for a sundowner at the legendary “Sunset Beach” restaurant/pub, which overlooks the beach, and the end of the Airport runway. There is a nonstop stream of jets, from Jumbos to sleek private Lears, landing and taking off. The beach is only separated from the runway by the narrow access road, and a wire fence. It is quite something to see all these airliners coming in so low over the beach, and touching down just beyond the fence. Tourists line up on the beach, filming these planes as they approach, and skim just over their heads. Nuts! But not quite as nuts as the guys who stand on the beach behind the Boeings, as they build up their revs to maximum thrust for take off! The sandstorm blizzard, screaming jet engines and yelling from sandblasted bodies creates a most unusual form of entertainment! The only escape is to run/ get blown into the sea!
Being a duty free Island has led to St Maarten becoming a very busy and successful boating service, refit, and supply area within the Caribbean. Everybody with expensive boat work to be done, or equipment to buy, comes to St Maarten. The Marina’s all cater for the crewed Superyachts, and the salaried crews in turn spend their dollars in the local pubs and restaurants. The end result is a young, buzzy crowd, of relatively cash rich, skilled, and generally well behaved folk , living life like one big party!

Guadeloupe to Sint Maarten

22/12/2010

Little Fredlet enjoyed the new point of sail, and we covered the 50 miles from Deshaies to Jolly Harbour, Antigua, arriving shortly after lunch. One look at the entrance, the customs jetty, and we decided to save our time and money, and continue to St Barts, after a few hours rest.
We anchored around the corner in Five Island Bay, a beautiful big and protected bay, which we had almost entirely to ourselves, from where we watched the sunset, and, saw our THIRD Green Flash since we left home! Behind us, the full moon had risen, heralding the winter solstice, and creating a golden loom over the water.
After a light supper and a rest, we hauled anchor at midnight, and set off on the 80 mile leg to St Barts, taking advantage of the quieter 15knot breeze, and the full moon!
Unknown to ourselves, we were about to witness a once in 400 year heavenly spectacle! A total lunar eclipse, ON the Equinox! Our huge bright yellow moon slowly morphed into a big red/brown orb; the night turned dark, and all the stars brightened! An hour or so later, the whole process was reversed, and we watched the full bright moon setting in the west, shortly before the sun rose in the east. We could only imagine all the pagans, Stonehengers, Inca’s et al, sacrificing goats, chickens, as well as the odd child or virgin, to appease the gods, beseeching them to restore the heavenly bodies to their normal routines!
This little heavenly display played havoc, of course, with our watch keeping schedule.

We checked into St Barts by noon, knackered but elated. The upside was, that unlike all the Cruise Liner passengers, who we learnt later, had to pay mega dollars for tickets to be in this corner of the globe on this night….. we enjoyed it as Free entertainment while on night watch!
St Barts is known as the French Riviera of the Caribbean. It is the ultimate show off playground of the SERIOUSLY wealthy …. Those whose wealth exceeds most countries GDP ! This showplace, seemed to us, to be unaffected by the global financial decline and meltdown. All the Superyachts, both sail and power, all the Big Names, and Chartering “wannabe’s”, on show . with their big beautiful toys
Mary and I felt quite honoured to be able to show these poor misguided folk, what a REAL cruising yacht looks like, crewed by real old farts, in faded t shirts, instead of Hunks and Hostesses, wearing pristine white uniforms and gold braid!
I mean, Uplights to show how tall your mast/masts are, Downlights to turn the ocean into an Aquamarine wonder world, Wet Bikes and Jet skis for all the kids, the odd helipad , 35ft rubber duck tenders, powered by twin 350hp outboards, smaller tenders for the big tenders ..,the list is endless, but so it appeared, was the money!
Yet back in St Maarten, which is the refueling and restocking depot for the Superyacht industry, we were told that the numbers were down, the marina’s empty in comparison, local businesses that service and supply this market, are suffering. Where has it all gone? The answer it seems, is that when the USA catches a cold, the Caribbean gets pneumonia ! Not all is as it seemed in St Barts!

Our Route March North..............

20/12/2010

With “perkins” sporting a new water pump, we were now able to think about our trip north to St Martin, where we had arranged to meet Tom, Johness, Alex and Dom for Christmas. Only 400 odd miles….. a doddle! Well, I suppose it could have been, if we had decided to do it all as one passage …. 3or 4 days max, leaving two weeks to spare and get to know St Martin.

We decided instead, to island hop, and stop over at all the places we wished to see, so that we would have a better idea about where we would like to spend more time on the return trip. Suddenly, it becomes a very different exercise, with all the checking in and out, the customs hours, the queues…. As well as the socialising en route!

We left St Georges (Grenada) and beat our way up to Hillsborough in Carriacou, where we had to check out of Grenada. We then sailed round to Chatham Bay on Union Island, where we spent the night. An early start allowed us to do the 30 mile beat to Bequia, where we checked into St Vincent, and spent a great couple of days. Imagine our surprise to see another Shearwater, sporting an SA crew flag. It was Magnus Murphy and family, who now live in Canada,on “Losloper” , previously “Ithaka”, and before that, “Slivermoon” . Magnus started the Shearwater Owners Face book website a few months back, and was moved to feature “Sheer Tenacity” once again on this medium after our Bequia meeting!

Early on the 11th, we headed off to St Lucia, detouring around St Vincent, once again on a breezy fetch, where we anchored under the famous “Pitons”, ( EC $ 40 for a mooring buoy) where we checked in again.

The next day we motored up the lee of the island to Rodney Bay, where we anchored. While there we watched about 15 of the ARC boats finish their crossing from the Canaries, bringing up to about 120 of the over 200 boats taking part in this years ARC….. All of the yachts to have arrived so far make Sheer Tenacity look like a little day sailor! We liked Rodney Bay, and St Lucia in general, and look forward to spending a lot more time there.

We sailed over to Martinique on the 14th, and anchored at Anse Mitan, just outside Forte France. It struck us as being rather jaded and tired. Unlike the crime and grime of some of the Caribbean, the empty hotels, and half built and abandoned timeshare resorts, reflected a more global financial picture. The French shops, however, were certainly a pleasure, albeit rather expensive. Even the little ‘8 au Huit” supermarket up in St Pierre was fabulously stocked with treats and cordon bleu goodies!

Another 60 mile beat up to Portsmouth in Dominica, where we were approached miles out by “boat boys”, who now label themselves “boat services”. In fact, after anchoring, we welcomed the offer of their service to take us, in their boat, down to the customs office, and back. The sea was pretty wild, and there was no way we could have launched our dinghy and safely tied it up on the dock landing for the duration of our checking in process! EC $ 20 well spent!

During this leg, however our new Raymarine auto pilot died, so once again we had to pull out our trusty little “Fredlet”, the rubber band driven autohelm 3000, which served us so well from French Guyana to Trinidad. On closer inspection, it transpired that the failure was in fact NOT the Raymarine bits, but the hydrolic ram, which was the last remaining component from the B & G setup. I had this unit serviced and rebuilt, with new brushes and seals by a specialist in Trinidad. I had been concerned about the workmanship at the time, because when it was eventually returned to me, the only apparent sign that it had been worked on, was a half empty fluid reservoir, and a cursory wave of black spray paint! (When stripped in Sint Maarten, the B & G specialist confirmed that the unit had never been opened, let alone fitted with new brushes and seals ! I had paid US$200 for a spray paint con job!)

The next day saw us in another boisterous beat

up to the delightful “Saints”, (to which we will definitely return.) They are a quaint, very French little group of islands, 5 nm south of Guadeloupe, which was our next stopover, Deshaies, on the top NW wingtip of this butterfly shaped island, will also see us again. We liked the look of this town and anchorage and the surrounding wildlife attractions.

Our next leg is 50 odd miles to Antigua, past the volcanic Montserrat, and thankfully is also the leg, where our point of sail eases from a beat to a reach, in these fresh NE trades.

When will we ever learn?

22/11/2010
In my last blog I was crowing about being in danger of being able to see the tunnel, (not the light at the end of it, mind you !), but we then had the temerity to set sail on a Friday nogal! I justified that by declaring it a “Fishing” trip around to St Georges, as opposed to a “Passage!” Klaus (see pic of the 4 of us at La Sargesse) says we still broke the rule, so what did we expect? But he’s German and inflexible!!
Our leisurely trip started well with a barracuda in the bag even before we reached the drop off line, some 7nm south of the point. On the run back up the line we were hoping for the odd Tuna and Dorado. Fat chance!
As we turned the 270deg to head back, the fresh water pump started screaming like a banshee, sprouting water and generally declaring itself U/S. We were forced to sail the 9 miles back, against the 2.0 knot current, with only 6 to 7 knots of wind on the nose!
We nurdled and tacked our way backwards and forwards, using every little black cloud we could find, and managed to make about 5 miles in 5 hours towards St Georges. Just as we were showing signs of progress, with our perfectly trimmed sails, (making a whole 1.5knots), then the wind stopped… as in zero ! “Shwopper” had to be launched, and lashed alongside, with the little mercury 3.3hp going at full taps. We resumed our progress at a credible 1.4knots, and were able to drop the new Rocna in the often poor holding area outside St Georges. On arrival , I dinghied in to Port Louis and arranged for a mooring, a tow in at 10.00 am next day, and for a mechanic to then visit us at 11.00am. A quick dive on the anchor indicated that it was lying upside down like a wanton woman… Without an engine or breeze to help set it, we could only hope that when push comes to shove, as it were, it would turn around and dig itself in alright!
By 10.30 the next morning, there was no sign of our arranged tow. My phone call at 11.00 only elicited a promise to phone me back! This came at 12.00 with the news that Management Policy had now changed, and they were unable to offer this service. When reminded that we had done the same thing three weeks earlier, I was told that the Insurance policy rules made it impossible now. You will have to make your own arrangements we were told !
Fellow cruiser‘s love a challenge, and are often more useful than Marina hands anyway, so it did not take long before we were safely moored thanks to a fellow cruiser with a 15hp dinghy, while we were watched by the Marina staff from their High Risk twin 60hp Port Louis Marina boat. By now we had missed the mechanic, and were forced to rearrange his visit for Monday.
Day one in the new superyacht berth saw a vicious swell ricocheting off the dock, which caused a terrible jerking and snatching on the docklines. The midship cleat began to move, allowing the pouring rain to soak all our manuals, and when the bowline snapped, we ended up with a deep scratch down the side! I would hate to be in here in a hurricane!

Needless to say I was underwhelmed with Port Louis this time around, and decided to check up on the “policy” stories with the GM, and at the same time offer him a couple of choices.! He could either admit to poor management who failed to a advise their Dock Manager and staff about the “new” policies, ( they had no idea about this when I made the plans with them), or, he could tell me there had been no change of policy, and his team were just slack assed liars! I ran into him in the Marina offices, and asked him to take his pick! He chose a third option! No change of policy: The dock manager forgot to tell the experienced boat driver, who then also failed to pitch up for work. The new boy did not want to rat on his mate once I started phoning, and he did not feel competent enough to do it alone, and leave the marina unattended, and therefore became creative with his excuses. Sorry says GM! i.e. slack assed liars! (S.A.L’s)

The week end brought a cruise ship, a rainbow and a little R & R in pretty St Georges, before we placed the order for a replacement pump from Tortola on Monday. It arrived in Grenada on Wednesday morning, but took 6 days to be cleared.. This despite daily follow ups, and a Friday promise that I would have it by 10.00am on Monday ,….and that it would be fitted that afternoon! More S.A.L’s ! Having received it at 5pm on the Monday, the fitment was rescheduled for the next day. On Tuesday, however, we learnt that this too would not be possible as they had other commitments! It took an x -rated tantrum , before the plan was revised, and another mechanic was sent to do the job.
Meanwhile “Lord Perkins Sir Diesel”, has now been officially demoted to “perkins”, until he shows a change of attitude and behaviour. When the new pump is fitted, we will give him an oil change and a few new belts, and put him on “Final Warning”. Perhaps he will see the error of his ways, and behave a little better as we restart our trek north!
“Swhopper” *, on the other hand , was given a smart new UV protective cover, by Mary, as a thank you for his valiant efforts ! The scratch has been fixed, and toe rails re-varnished, so by tomorrow evening we hope to be back to square one, but just a bit more platsak! Visitors from the Cruise liner polished our egos too, by declaring Sheer a really beautiful boat!
But before the mechanic arrived we were asked to move to another mooring, to make way for “Party Girl”… the biggest luxury charter yacht in the Caribbean . (Look it up on Google!! 146ft of opulence.) This confirmed that the no tow policy was nonsense, as we were given all the help we needed, to make room for Party Girl!

*
“Swhopper” is the Gemini dinghy given to us

by Alan Cook, who gave it this name after seeing Terminator 2 , and hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger tell all his men to “get into the Schwopper” ( Helicopter)

Waiting for "Tomas"

June too soon, July stand by, August you must, September Remember, October its Over!! So they say!
24th October saw us beating our way back to Grenada, only to find ourselves in the first stages of a Hurricane panic! “ A large area of Low pressure tropical disturbance, associated with a tropical wave 1050nm south east of the Windwards, has a 20% chance of becoming a tropical storm within the next 48 hours!” This was the National Hurricane centre report that we faced on the 25th October. The next day it jumped to an 80% probability, and the models projected paths ranging between Venezuela, and Trinidad to St Lucia in the North.
Where to duck to……. What to do… ?? People upping anchors and heading North , South, and West! Hyper activity everywhere!
Our planned strategy has always been to run south at the first definite tracking signs of a tropical storm. It was not yet a storm, and the track projections too varied, and we still had 72 hours at least before it reached our longitude. So we prepared the boat, and sat tight in a rapidly emptying Prickly Bay, and decided to make our call the following day, based on the latest information. “Tomas” was named the following day as a Tropical Storm, and a probability of escalating to a Hurricane during the next 48 hrs…. but more significantly, the projected path was showing a more North Westerly track, and indicating a passage through St Lucia. Being in the SE quadrant as it approached , meant that we should miss the worst of it by just staying put, and at worst , it might just give Grenada a glancing blow!

Hurricane holes and mangrove swamps were filling up fast, despite maximum expected winds gusting to 40knots. We moved to a slightly more protected area in Prickly Bay, and deployed our 30kg Bruce on 50mts chain to port, and our new Rocna, also on 50mts at 60 degs to Starboard. Our 25kg CQR, on 20 mts chain, and 60mts nylon warp, was coiled on deck in event of an emergency.
Shops were emptied of water and foodstuffs, and the island waited….. The Grenada Emergency Authorities instructed all non essential service workers to stay at home….and still the island waited. Talk show hosts on radio ratcheted up the hysteria to fever pitch… and everyone waited…. “H” hour came , and went….. No wind…. No rain…. Tomas twitched further north West, punishing Barbados , and heading through St Lucia and St Vincent.
Cruisers start checking the well being of their mates further north. A few boats were damaged, but thankfully all our friends were safe. Mike and Lesley ( Extasea) were in Bequia, and winds maxed out at 50knots, and a few boats around them dragged sustaining some damage. They had a charter group on board, who were just disappointed not to be spending their time at the Cays.
The seas got up a bit for us, but the winds never came! We swung around, and around, and around on our twin anchors ,and created a great big steel koeksister, which took far longer to untangle than it took to deploy! The biggest wind that came our way, was 24knots…… two days after Tomas had passed. A normal sailing day in Hout Bay!
Without doubt, the biggest blessing for cruisers these days, is the incredible advance warning and forecasting services available via wifi and internet, which enable cruisers to make informed decisions and plans. I am including a number of the actual images we saw, as events unfolded. Most of these are thanks to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami, plus the satellite based Grib files.
Tomas came, and went, and we were left unscathed , and better prepared for any future threats , and will stick to our rule not venture further North than Bequia in the Hurricane Season!

Little things come together to make a BIG difference

My blogs have been a bit scarce of late, but our chores and boat work are collectively coming together, and improving our peace of mind, and cruising lifestyle!
We did a night run down to Trinidad a few weeks back, with a big list of things to do, buy, and people to see! Replacing Lord Perkins timing belt, ditching the Mase genset, buying a wet /dry powerful small vacuum cleaner, a Honda 2kva Inverter generator, a 25kg Rocna anchor, new windlass gypsy, momentary foot control switch for the windlass, a new push button Eco stove, security grids for the butterfly hatch, updating the software on the Mastercharger… etc etc!
Amazingly, we nailed it all in two weeks, and still had time to organise a South African cruisers braai at Crews Inn Marina! We were joined by Nick and Lynette Marvin ( Ukulele Lady), Mike and Lesley Blamey (Extasea), Larry and Marlo D’Aguiar ( Beatrice), Walter and Jackie ( Jean Marie) Joop & Jaqualette ( Goody), plus Steve (Cinnamon Girl) and Ralph (Uvubu)
We had a great evening discussing launch dates, plans and routes. While we were busy jolling however, unseen by us, a cruiser moored below, was broken into by ever more brazen crooks, and relieved of computers, cameras, cell phones and cash. Sadly, this is no longer unusual in Chaguaramus, as, two days later, another neighbour had his 14ft dinghy and 40hp outboard stolen one night, even though it was “lifted and locked”. Police and authorities don’t seem to be doing much about it, and the local business folk are resorting to patrols and neighbourhood watch type efforts, to protect their businesses, which are battling in the general economic down turn, combined with worries about crime and Piracy issues. Made me feel like we were back in Hout Bay !
We helped Ukulele Lady to splash (our sister ship Shearwater 39), after a very extensive and professional refit, and two days later, were able to sail back to Grenada in the company of a smart and shiny repainted “Beatrice”. We left at 4.00am for a mostly daylight passage ( so that we could fish), and made Prickly Bay 13hrs later with two Dorado each!
No sooner were we back in Grenada, than a widespread general depression decided to grow into Tropical storm Tomas, which put all jobs on hold, put everyone in a tizz, and caused a lemming like exodus from Prickly Bay ! More about Tomas in the next blog! We battened down the hatches, deployed two big anchors, with a third on standby, and started planning our route up the Island chain in time to join Tom and Johness ( Springtime) in St Martin for Christmas.
Once Tomas had passed through, it was back to the job list, where a new big 185w 24v solar panel was added to the array. The 2 X 85w 12v panels were put in series, and then put in parallel with the new 24v unit, and regulated via a new Blue Skies MPPT Solar controller. What a huge difference!! It pumps in between 18 and 24amps for about 5 hour a day! We have also fitted new “Silent” blue carbon fibre blades to the wind generator, and it too is more efficient, as well as quiet! Together with our little Honda genset, and high output alternator, it seems that we are at last beginning to win the power struggle!!!
The new Rocna anchor , which sets incredibly, the new footswitch, and rust free anchor chain ( courtesy of a Nick Marvin discard!), are all helping to simplify and clean up our anchoring routine. Whereas we only ever knew about the light at the end of the tunnel, because we were told it was there…. We are now in real danger of seeing it!
We have booked our haul out for August to November 2011 in Grenada, and will be flying back to RSA for Oct/Nov, after overseeing the re-spray in August. Between now and then, we hope to explore the Leewards, the Virgins, and possibly the Bahamas, before making our way back to Grenada.