In 2007 while sailing in the BVI’s (British Virgin Islands) we first saw The Maltese Falcon as it was leaving Virgin Gorda. 

It was an amazing site and it wasn’ t until we returned home that we learned more about this amazing sailboat.

It is the world’s largest and most expensive sailboat and is owned by American  Tom Perkins.  Absolutely everything on this boat is computerized.

This year we saw the’ Falcon’ several times.  The first was as we were  landing in Sint Maarten - Bob spotted it anchored in Simpson Bay, we saw it twice in St. Barth’s and the last time was when we were anchored in White House Bay St Kitts.  It was sunset and on the the horizon we watched the ‘Falcon’ as it sailed to what we guessed were the USVI (US Virgin Islands). 

The Maltese Falcon at Sunset - Simpson Bay Beach - Sint Maarten 

The Maltese Falcon at Sunset sailing to Gustavia St. Barths. 

The Maltese Falconon anchor in Gustavia St. Barth’s  

The Maltese Falcon setting sail from St. Barth’s

 Even with the most modern systems you still have to know how to sail to win races…  pitted against other large sailboats in ‘ The St. Barths Bucket’  the ‘Falcon’ only placed 4th over all.

For those that are interested here is the link to The Maltese Falcon website  http://www.symaltesefalcon.com  as well as another link you might find interesting http://yachtpals.com/maltese-falcon-yacht-collision-3074

Next Time

Our brief stay in Nevis

The Admiral and Gilligan

SV Bergy Bit

 We arrived in St. Kitts just before the Easter weekend and having been in St. Kitts in 2005 we were prepared for the 4 day Easter Weekend closure.

Basse Terre was bustling as everyone prepared for the Easter weekend.  One thing we noticed was the number of people walking around with kites in their hands.  Kite flying seems to be a favourite past time in St. Kitts at Easter.

Good Friday,  Basse Terre was very quiet and we took a walk out of Basse Terre into the residential area. 

We saw people flying kites, children playing soccer in bare feet and watched a soccer game between a local team and a team of ‘tourists’ from a small British Cruise Ship.  We also walked by a neighbourhood ’curbside’ bar that was open and believe it or not was playing hymns….. 

On Easter Sunday I attended church at St. Georges Anglican Church in Basse Terre.  The church is located close to both the Catholic and Methodist Churches.  As the windows and doors of the church are  open you can often hear the music from the other churches.

St Georges Anglican Church - Easter Sunday 2009

The church was full (about 300 people) and was decorated in white and yellow, with huge tulle streamers of white and yellow stretched between the beams. 

St. Georges Anglican Churcn - St. Kitts - Easter Sunday 2009

Little girls in pretty dresses, little boys in suits, Ladies in Hats and Easter outfits - some floor length of African design, gentlemen in suits and ties, choirs were ‘robed’ and all the ushers (men) wore grey pants, white shirts, the same tie and navy blue jackets that had an emblem on the pocket and lapel pin.  It all added to the atmosphere of the day.
 
After church we headed over to WhiteHouse Bay.  A favourite spot of ours on St. Kitts.  It was a fairly calm day, so we used the iron tiller to go the 5 miles. 

We spent 5 wonderful days in White House Bay.

Next time we will tell you about our ‘Admirable’ launch but our not so ‘Admirable’ landing in Port Zante.

Until then.

The Admiral and Gilligan

Aboard SV Bergy Bit

To Our Friend Judy C

Wishing you a Very Happy ‘Milestone’ Birthday

 Enjoy being 30 Again and Again

 Sending you a Birthday Toast from aboard - SV Bergy Bit

Anse de Colombie

St. Barths.  F.W.I.

Some of our best memories of Sint Maarten are the times we spend with our friends Jan, Mirjam and Anna who live aboard the boat Katmar  (for those of you who don’t know, Jan, Mirjam and Anna used to own Bergy Bit)

As in other years, this year we were invited aboard Katmar for dinner.

 Jan and Anna picked us up. 

Anna, who is nine, has become a real little hostess.  She served us appetizers and our drinks as we watched the sunset over Simpson Bay. 

 Sunset on Simpson Bay Lagoon

Anna had also set the table, complete with folded napkins, had made coleslaw and at the end of the meal cleared the table and served dessert. 

 Our Hostess Anna

We were treated like very special guests…..

The menu for the evening, prepared by Chef Mirjam & her assisant Anna, was two kinds of quiche, quiche Lorraine and Leek quiche, two kinds of bread, green salad and coleslaw.  Dessert was a Dutch dessert called Flaav - chocolate or vanilla - along with mandarin oranges.

 Dining at it’s finest aboard SV Katmar

We enjoyed good conversations and swapped sailing stories, as we always do……

If you ever visit the Sint Maarten we highly recommend dinner aboard Katmar, if you can get an invitation…..

To Jan, Mirjam and our hostess Anna - Cheers ! !  and Thanks for the memories…….

One thing we like to do when we visit Sint Maarten is to visit the capital Philipsburg and this year was no exception.

Our visit this year was on a Saturday which happened to coincide with the Library’s Spring Book Sale, so our first stop in Philipsburg was the Philipsburg Jubilee Library. 

Unlike other years where there was an abundance of books in Dutch and a limited number of books in English, this year there was a good selection of books in English! 

The Admiral checking out the books.

The other thing we noticed was there are now 2 Book Mobiles.  Many primary schools here don’t have school libraries or even classroom libraries so Book Mobiles are used to visit elementary schools as well as people in outlying areas.

Book Moblies

For my colleagues at the Sechelt Public Library (and anyone else who might be interested) the Philipsburg Jubilee Library has recently gone live - with online access.   Check out http://www.stmaartenlibrary.org/

The library offers books in English, Dutch, French, Papiamento (which is the indigenous language)  and Spanish, totaling more than 60,000 volumes.  I wonder how they organize their book trucks??

One interesting thing about this Library is the Check In/Check Out/Information desk is completely out of doors.  I talked to one of the Librarians who said this always is a challenge on windy and rainy days and lately there has been lots of strong wind.

Check In /Check Out and Information Desk

After our visit to the library we headed over to the downtown Philipsburg and the Boardwalk. 

The main street of Philipsburg, Front Street, backs onto Great Bay Beach.  Front Street has been re-done to attract Cruise Ship visitors and in the last year a Boardwalk was completed on Great Bay Beach.  The Boardwalk is a favourite of tourists and locals alike.

We enjoyed our walk along the Boardwalk as it wasn’t too busy - only one Cruise Ship in port today and stopped for lunch at our favourite restaurant.

A Sint Maarten tradition for us, is to have lunch at the Harbourview Restaurant which  is located at the end of the Boardwalk. We weren’t disappointed.  Good food at a reasonable price with a spectacular view.

The View from The Harbourview

If you ever visit Sint Maarten we recommend a visit to Philipsburg and a walk along the Boardwalk.

We also recommend that you take a local bus.  Next time we will tell you about The Sint Maarten Bus Shuffle……

The Admiral & Gilligan

Aboard SV Bergy Bit Sint Maarten