crossing.
Not a great deal has changed here in the last 3-4 years,
businesses
have grown, changed names, vanished, Marina and harbour fees have
increased to a comical level (more than in the Med!!) but the place
still feels the same, which is great for us.
But what is the same is the volume of big motor yachts, certainly
more than was in any one place in the Med that we visited, big boats
here everywhere,
right up to the 430ft Rising Sun!
St Maarten is a strange place, half the island is French the other
is Dutch which really feels like a casual version of America.
Together
they are very different, crime is quite a problem on the French side
but not on the Dutch.
Prices on the French side are significantly higher than the Dutch.
Euros prevail 220V power and you really need to try and speak
French. BUT they do have the great food, French shops and Fashion
stores are everywhere - not so on the Dutch.
But either way it's a great Island, lots to see and if you are on a
boat, there is no better place in the Caribbean to find things, get
things done and provision the pantry and celler. St Maarten has it
all.
This would explain why we were there for so long... a good month
infact. We did however make several trips to St Barts - a short 15
mile sail
away, to soak up the beautiful beaches and hit the chic boutiques.
Did a bunch of boat things, hunted like crazy for a Spinnaker pole
( no joy) put some solar panels on the boat, fixed up a few small
things, increased Reverie's battery bank ( x 2) and provisioned like
crazy!! and had a ball.
After a month it was time to get moving again, this time it was West
with
a little north in it, back to the BVI, British Virgin Islands where
we first started in late 2003!!!.
J&J
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