St Kitts - St Maarten
After 3 nights tied up in a marina with the luxuries of a cold shower and a bed thatstays pretty much still it was time to say goodbye to the kittens of St Kitts & give them one more square meal before heading for Statia (St Eustatius).
A pleasant sail with the wind from behind and the trawling line out - caught nothing, of course.
On arrival in Oranje Baai we picked up a mooring (same fee as anchoring, 10 $US) & headed for customs & immigration. We wanted to leave early the next morning but were disappointed to learn that we couldn't check in & out at the same time & would have to return at 0800 the next morning. We just hoped it wouldn't take too long as the next leg to St Maarten was 35M.
Anyway, next up was a look around Oranjestadt. It's the sort of place where you ask where the centre is only to be told that you are already in the centre. It was not without charm though & the locals were v friendly. We treated ourselves to veggie burgers & fries &, later, a pina colada! Then back to 1494 & the reason why few yachties stay long: The anchorage was terrible! We were rolling so much that Susi had to sleep on the floor!
Never mind, the next morning all went smoothly and quickly & we were off at 0830. We needn't have rushed: It was bloody windy!Our course was almost due N &, with the trades blowing strongly out of the NE or ENE, we were hard on the wind the whole way with 2 reefs & half the genny. There was plenty of solid water comming over the decks & whoever was helming was soaked within minutes. But we were quick, making about 6 knots we arrived in plenty of time in Philipsburg.
We weighed anchor & headed downwind to Simpson Baai the following day (Tue 04/03). Following a tip from Eve & Michel I signed up as a water taxi driver for the Heineken Regatta &, as a result, got wasted on free Heineken & have to show up for work tomorrow at 0700!!! Watch this space.......
A pleasant sail with the wind from behind and the trawling line out - caught nothing, of course.
On arrival in Oranje Baai we picked up a mooring (same fee as anchoring, 10 $US) & headed for customs & immigration. We wanted to leave early the next morning but were disappointed to learn that we couldn't check in & out at the same time & would have to return at 0800 the next morning. We just hoped it wouldn't take too long as the next leg to St Maarten was 35M.
Anyway, next up was a look around Oranjestadt. It's the sort of place where you ask where the centre is only to be told that you are already in the centre. It was not without charm though & the locals were v friendly. We treated ourselves to veggie burgers & fries &, later, a pina colada! Then back to 1494 & the reason why few yachties stay long: The anchorage was terrible! We were rolling so much that Susi had to sleep on the floor!
Never mind, the next morning all went smoothly and quickly & we were off at 0830. We needn't have rushed: It was bloody windy!Our course was almost due N &, with the trades blowing strongly out of the NE or ENE, we were hard on the wind the whole way with 2 reefs & half the genny. There was plenty of solid water comming over the decks & whoever was helming was soaked within minutes. But we were quick, making about 6 knots we arrived in plenty of time in Philipsburg.
We weighed anchor & headed downwind to Simpson Baai the following day (Tue 04/03). Following a tip from Eve & Michel I signed up as a water taxi driver for the Heineken Regatta &, as a result, got wasted on free Heineken & have to show up for work tomorrow at 0700!!! Watch this space.......
posted by cinnamon at 3:11 PM
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