A View from the Harbourview - Notice how dry the palm tree is due to the hot hot dry weather

After 2 weeks of non stop working on Bergy - never knowing what new challenge would greet us each day… we decided it was time to take a day off and spend the day in Philipsburg., the capital of Dutch St. Maarten

Our first stop was the Public Library to check out when the Spring Book sale was, unfortunately it had happened early in February so we missed it.

While we were there a class of students arrived for their weekly library visit.

Most public elementary schools in St. Maarten don’t have libraries and students are serviced either by the public library if the school is in Philipsburg or by the Book Mobiles which visit the schools and outlying areas.

This class we guessed to be Grade 1 or 2 and typical of children a few ran ahead in the excitement of visiting the library, however the teacher in charge ran a tight ship and those students found themselves quickly at the back of the line…

The children were allowed to enter the library 4 at a time while the rest of the class waited quietly in the outside covered waiting area. As each group of 4 children entered the library the teacher reminded them of their library manners and how they were to greet people with ‘Good Morning’! As we were leaving we passed a group and were greeted with ‘Good Morning’!

From the Library we made our way to the Boardwalk and Front Street. There were 2 cruise ships in so Philipsburg was busy.

We stopped for lunch at our favourite local restaurant ‘The Harbourview’, located at the end of the Boardwalk, and enjoyed a delicious lunch.

The wind was up so the people who had book tours on the America’s Cup Sail Boats really got their money’s worth. As we had our lunch we watched the boats sailing in Great Bay and they were moving - for both sailors and non sailors it would have been a thrill.

A quick stop at Penny’s a local department store and then back to the boat.

The break from the boat work had been good for us, things didn’t seem quite as daunting hopefully tomorrow we can finally get the mast up.

Looking forward to Splashdown

The Admiral and Gilligan
Still Living Aboard SV Bergy Bit - Bobby’s Marina Boatyard - Simpson Bay Sint Maarten

 As in other years, one of the first things we do when we arrive in Sint Maarten is visit our friends Mirjam, Jan and Anna aboard SV Katmar.

This year was no exception and on our first weekend in Sint Maarten we were invited to lunch on Katmar - we gratefully declined the dinner invitation as it was the day of the Mens Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Game!

Jan picked us up at the dock in Simpson Bay for our first dinghy ride of the year! A dry ride I might add, which is always a bonus.

With the Heineken Regatta only a week away Simpson Bay Lagoon was very busy, lots of boats anchored out on both the Dutch side and the French side.

Also on board Katmar this year was Anna’s friend Shirley. Shirley has been living with Mirjam, Jan and Anna while her parents were in China.

We had a lovely afternoon and enjoyed our time aboard Katmar, catching up on all the news of the past nine months.

Chef Mirjam had prepared a delicious lunch - on the menu was homemade soup, homemade bread, of course good Dutch cheese, wine and beer.

We are always in awe of the amazing food Mirjam cooks aboard Katmar, especially on very hot Sint Maarten days.

Like we have said in the past, one of the best places to eat in Sint Maarten is aboard SV Katmar, if you can get an invitation…

It was good to be back in Sint Maarten, on the water, enjoying good food with great friends! !

Thank You Mirjam, Jan, Anna and Shirley for your hospitality and a wonderful afternoon

It’s good to be back.

The Admiral and Gilligan
Living Aboard SV Bergy Bit - Bobby’s Marina Boatyard - Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten

We have been here two weeks now and have been busy getting Bergy ready to sail. 

 This year the move aboard was the smoothest ever, however trying to get Bergy in the water has come with many frustrations - the biggest probably is the weather with temperatures in the low 30C’s.  Most days inside the boat and on the deck the temperature has been 35C plus, making it almost impossible to work.  Believe it or not even Gilligan is finding it too hot….

The day we arrived was a wild weather day with high winds and torrential rain storms, which in fact lasted through the next day as well. 

Strong winds blowing from the West - which is very uncommon - as well as huge swells made Simpson Bay not a great placed to be anchored, in fact a bloody awful place to be anchored.

Our neighbour in the boat yard for the past 11 days has been a fellow aboard SV Severance, a sailboat that got caught in the huge waves and wind and was washed ashore on Simpson Bay Beach - right across the road from the Turquoise Shell.

Photos Courtesy of St. Maarten Daily Herald

Because of the high wind and waves boats were dragging anchor.  SV Severance came to the rescue of a boat that was dragging anchor only to be broadsided by a huge wave and washed up onto Simpson Bay Beach.  Although the boat’s rudder sustained heavy damage, luckily the boat washed ashore away from the reef where the damage would have been considerably more. Thankfully there were no injuries. 

In the past two weeks we have seen everything weatherwise - Torrential rainstorms, high winds, unseasonably cool temperatures followed by unseasonably hot temperatures.  All of which have added to the frustrations of trying to get  Bergy ready to sail.

Looking forward to Splash Down.

The Admiral & Gilligan

Aboard SV Bergy Bit - Bobby’s Marina Boatyard - Simpson Bay Sint Maarten

Unfortunately the TV and newspaper coverage here was the pits and the Internet signals were too poor to pick up CTV so we often had to wait until the next day for results.

But we did manage to see the Ladies Gold Medal hockey game, the Men’s Gold Medal hockey game and Joanie Rochette’s Bronze Medal skate (at 1:00am - local time……)

Canada was well represented at the local American sports for the Gold Medal Men’s Hockey Game by the Pied Eyed Pirates - the two sailing teams from Deep Cove here for the Heineken Regatta - who, we understand, partied hardy and did Canadian Hockey fans proud……..

March 1st we were in the paint department of Island Water World when we heard a young man say Congraturlations - he actually said it 3 times before we realized he was talking to us and Congratulating us on Canada’s Gold Medal in Men’s hockey. He was genuinely excited to be talking with someone from Canada and was very knowledgable about hockey”. Kind of neat in a country where soccer is the number one sport! Others in the store also commented on how proud we must feel to be Canadian…

Walking back to the bus we passed a couple of young people who shouted - “Go Canada Go”….. We gave them a ‘thumbs up’

We were proud to be Canadian ! !

The Admiral and Gilligan
Living Aboard SV Bergy Bit - Bobby’s Marina Boat Yard
Simpson Bay Sint Maarten
p.s. Just in case you were wondering? How did people know we were Canadian. Easy by the ‘grins’ on our faces and perhaps the red CANADA t-shirts …… which by the way the Bay had been sold out of for weeks and yet there were 2 tables of them in the duty free shop at the airport - go figure……

Hello again from Sint Maarten

As Larry sent such a great report - including photos - we just wanted to bring him up to date on our arrival.

“An Ode to Silly L”

We have arrived in warmer climes
In fact our flight arrived on time…

To Silly L who wants to know
We arrived to rain with a torrential blow

A wild and windy day to say the least
With a 43 ft ketch washed up on Simpson Bay Beach

Unlike others who came to play
We started to work on our very first day

Unpacking dinghys, sails and beds
Emptying roach traps and checking ‘heads’

No time to play there is too much to do
Testing systems and watching The Olympics too……..

It’s hard to believe it’s only day four
And we are all ready to move aboard,

So there you have it Silly L
Not much to report, and all is well

Hello from Carter, Polly and Marcus too
We are enjoying our stay with the T-Shell Crew

We will keep you updated when the Internet works
On our sailing adventures and Bergy Bit quirks.

Signing off until the next time
The Admiral and Gilligan - sipping Carib’s and lime!

Hello from Sunny Sint Maarten

In January Donna’s Brother Larry and his lovely wife Brenda spent some time in Sint Maarten before heading over to St Barts.

As they were in Simpson Bay and close to Bergy Bit, The Admiral had thought perhaps they could help out with getting Bergy ready to sail.

They very kindly checked Bergy out and sent us the following progress report (complete with pictures).

Thanks guys………

“A Sea Shanty for Bergybit”

(Sung to any tune that uses a Squeeze Box and a Tin Whistle)
(Optional Equipment: Eye Mask, Bottle of Rum and Jolly Roger)

Oh! Li De Di De Di De Di De Di De Di De Di

Alas there is poor “Bergybit” a sitting on the ground
She’s on the hard on the stands with doggies all around
She looks so small and forlorn, she’s as tiny as can be
Just imagine Admiral and Gilligan sailing on the Caribbean Sea

Oh! Li De Di De Di De Di De Di De Di De Di

Without permission we climbed aboard to take a look at last
It must have been a windy season for the tarps they didn’t last
There she sits with a list so long of jobs that need to go
So once she’s in the water she can tack and gibe just so

Oh! Li De Di De Di De Di De Di De Di De Di

But alas she sits in the Bobby’s Boat Yard awaiting on her crew
To hoist the mast, rig the sails and check the hanks and clew
Too much to do for us land based folks, our time here’s kind of thin
So we’ll just head back for a Carib Beer, at the Turquoise Shell Inn !

Our early return to Sint Maarten allowed us to spend time with  friends before we hauled out.

Mirjam, Jan & Anna treated us to a  barbeque at a favourite spot of theirs on the ‘French Side’ called Belle Creole and although it was a windy day we managed a fairly dry dinghy ride to Belle Creole in Jan’s Boat.     

We were treated to Barbeque Chicken, Barbeque Pork, Baguette and Fresh Vegetables.  And of course no cook-out would be complete without marshmallows. 

Next year though we will have to teach Anna how to make ‘Smores’………

Like dinner aboard Katmar we highly recommend a Barbeque with Mirjam, Jan & Anna - if you can get an invitation! !

To Mirjam, Jan & Anna Thanks for the Memories !

It was a wonderful day!

The Admiral & Gilligan

After almost 3 weeks on the hard and another week waiting for a weather window we left Sint Maarten April 2, 2009 headed for St. Barthelemy more commonly called St. Barths.

Having sailed this part of the Caribbean before we have some local knowledge which made the trip as ‘bearable’ as possible. 

The crossing from Sint Maarten to St. Barths is ’slog’ and this time fortunately was less of a slog and more of a sail.

After leaving Simpson Bay Lagoon we motored out into the  Caribbean sea and checked the conditions - too many times we have put up our sails only to discover that although the marine forecast says NE winds, the winds are from the SE or some other direction.

Experience has taught us  the winds are ‘fluky’ and very unpredictable along the Coast of Sint Maarten. This day was no exception so we motored along the coast  in 4 - 6 ft swells with the wind in our teeth. 

When we cleared the end of   of Sint Maarten we motored North to get in a good position to sail to St Barths.  By now we were feeling the full effects of the Atlantic Ocean - 15 - 17 knots of wind and lots of swell 6 - 8 feet.  Once  in position we put the sails up with a reef in the main and despite the very rocky rolly conditions - very typical of this part of the Caribbean - we had a great sail to St. Barths.

We spent a few days in  Anse de Colombier before heading over to Gustavia. 

We swam, relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather.   The wind however continued to blow which made the anchorage in Gustavia VERY rolly………  We only spent 2 nights in Gustavia before heading back to Anse de Colombier to wait for the wind to die down.

We always enjoy our visits to St. Barths.  A very clean island with a French influence.  We had a wonderful lunch at a little bistro in Gustavia and of course bought some great baguettes for lunches on board. 

Gustavia like Sint Maarten sustained damage by Hurricane Omar.  The wooden boardwalk along the harbour was completely wiped out and the millions of shells on Shell Beach were washed away leaving sand and exposed rock and only ‘areas’ of shells.  It still is a lovely beach despite the loss of the shells. 

              Hurricane Damage                                                              Shell Beach                               

As we were in Gustavia on Palm Sunday I attended St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church.  Wonderful wonderful music.

Back in Anse de Colombier we went ashore and hiked across the mountains to Anse de Flamand.  On the trail we met a lovely lady named Nancy.  Nancy was staying at Petit Anse close to Anse de Flamand and invited us to join her for lunch with her.  Thanks Nancy for your kind hospitality. 

We have hiked that trail several times and every time we are amazed by the beauty.

It was here in Anse de Colombier that at sunset one evening we watched in awe as the Maltese Falcon headed for Gustavia under full sail.  Amazing doesn’t even describe the worlds largest sailboat.

We had a wonderful time in St. Barths - despite the very windy weather.

Next time

Sailing to St. Kitts

The Admiral and Gilligan

SV Bergy Bit