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Sint Maarten

We had a fantastic, overnight sail to St. Maarten. With a consistent (and
very unusual) wind from the south and almost flat seas, we made the 86 mile
Anegada Passage crossing, under sail, in a little under 14 hours, anchoring
in Simpson Bay just before sunup on January 29.

Jay, in particular, had been looking forward to spending time here, because
of his memories of the fun time we had three years ago (click here to revisit
pix from that trip).

We found St. Maarten to be much like we remembered, except a little more
crowded, congested and with a lot of development construction in progress.
Cruise ships visit daily, in pairs and trios. There has apparently been a large
influx of labor from other islands to support the expansion of the tourist trade.
We've been advised that petty crime is on the upswing as well; whereas,
three years ago, hardly anybody bothered to lock their dinghy up, now we see
the grungiest inflatables secured with lengths of anchor chain and padlocks.

Also very different now is the number of mega-yachts tied up in the Simpson Lagoon marinas. Huge, 100+ footers, both
power and sailing yachts, moor gunwale to gunwale, not unlike the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor just before the day that
will live in infamy. The waterfront restaurants and clubs and the beaches are overrun with the crews from these
behemoths. When we were here before we arrived after the high season, and the bay, lagoon and beaches were much
less crowded.

Our plan is to spend two weeks or so in St. Maarten, mostly at anchor before sailing on to St. Barth's.

Killing time on the
overnight from Virgin
Gorda to St. Maarten

Mullet Beach, where Jay first learned to
shred his on his skimboard and where he
now perfected catching waves

A day trip by dollar bus into Philipsburg, capital of the Dutch side of the island,
to mingle with the cruise ship crowds. In yet another change from three years
ago, the picturesque dollar buses that run all over the island ("picturesque"
apparently being French for rattly, run-down, smoky, noisy and crowded ... but
cheap) now cost a buck-and-a-half!