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| How my morning usually starts while we are in a lovely anchorage. |
In our last blog post we mentioned that we had
heard that there would be a fireworks display in Marigot Bay celebrating the
start of 2025. Well, we felt quite fortunate as we saw fireworks displays from
three different countries sitting on the deck of Passages. We saw them from the
Dutch and French sides of the island and across the way on the island of
Anguilla, which is small British Overseas Territory.
We thought that would be all the celebrations,
however, that evening, New Years Day, there was a wonderful fireworks display
in Marigot Bay. It was almost as spectacular as the Perth Australia Day
fireworks, but then I am biased.
Back to now…. Mel’s leg. Well, it is healing
better than what the Dr’s first expected. Originally, the Drs wanted to attach
a pump to Mel’s leg so it could generate skin, but it is healing well and after
visiting the hospital every 2nd/3rd day for a new
dressing, Mel can now change the dressing himself and only needs to see the
Dr’s once a week. He still can’t swim but where we are currently anchored, we
can’t swim. (Thank you to everyone who has asked about Mel’s leg – it is very
much appreciated).
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| The International airport from Simpsons Bay Lagoon |
Due to the rocking and rolling in Marigot Bay, we decided to move to Simpsons Bay Lagoon. We had to navigate a bridge which is only open, three times a day. We have been here since Thursday, 2 January. The positives about being inside the lagoon are that it is less rolly, and we have anchored halfway between the French and Dutch side. However, like most things in life, there is always a trade-off, we can’t make water. We have needed to fill up the jerry cans with water and put them into the water tank. We decided to come into the lagoon as we needed to do some work on the boat. The never ending ‘To – Do – List’.
The main sail needed some new loops and telltales
sewn onto it, so at present we don’t have a main sail but are hoping to receive
a message soon saying it is ready for collection.
The biggest issue has been the oven. For quite a while now, the oven’s thermostat has been temperamental. Lighting the oven and setting the temperature has been an issue, so for the past few years, any baking I have done has been, well let’s just say, a bit hit and miss and interesting. Spare parts
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| The old oven. |
are no longer available for the oven, so we eventually bit the bullet and bought a lovely new one from Budget Marine, here in St Maarten/Dutch. We even had it delivered to the boat and the old one taken away. Everything had gone a bit too smoothly, as nothing is ever easy and straight forward on a boat. It did take Mel and I a whole day to put the new one in. However, true to form on a boat as every single millimetre counts, the oven fitted perfectly but there are small screws sticking out along the sides preventing the oven from swinging (up to 30 degrees) on the gimbles. This is vital when trying to cook on a boat that is rocking and rolling. The gimbles allow the stove to swing along with the boat’s movement, keeping the oven/stove level, as horizontal as possible. Mel is having to make some adjusts so hopefully I can eventually cook the lovely turkey Mel bought in the States for us to eat for Christmas.
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| Mel preparing to instal the new oven. |
While we have been anchored here in Simpsons Bay Lagoon, we met up with the owners of the boat, Evy, which is anchored behind us. David and Monica are from Canada. They have just bought their boat and are starting their sailing adventures. Thankfully David was around to help us, as last week our outboard motor on our dinghy stopped working about a kilometre from our boat. Mel started rowing when another fellow yachtie, Steve from Wales, came along in his dinghy and towed us back to Passages. Thankfully Steve is anchored parallel to us.
Mel arranged with the Yamaha agent to change the outboard’s the cooling water impeller the following morning and asked David to tow him to the workshop on the Dutch side of the island. It has now been fixed, after the technician almost
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| David taking Mel and our dinghy in for repairs |
gave up trying to loosen one of the nuts.
It hasn’t been all work and no fun as we climbed
up to Fort Louis which has spectacular views of Marigot Bay and the whole
island even the Dutch side of Simpsons Bay Lagoon. We’ve also been enjoying all
the lovely pastries especially on the French side. (Not good for the weight).
Our plans
for this year: we intend heading down the east Caribbean Island chain as far as
Martinique, before heading across the southern Caribbean Sea to Curacao in the
Dutch Antilles, which is part of the ABC islands north of Venezuela. Passages
will stay in Curacao for the next hurricane season while we return to Perth. We
have the whole sailing season (until the end of May) to get there so we will
visit some of the places we have enjoyed visiting in the past and intend visiting
a few new places like St Barts and Barbuda. We can stay for as long as we like
basically. This will be only our second time (2018 being our first) in our
cruising life, where we don’t have to rush anywhere (unless the weather changes
drastically and we need to head south).
Best wishes, always
Mel and Caryn
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| The lovely HUGE avocados we can buy in the Caribbean. |
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| Mel enjoying a Guavaberry to celebrate his birthday. 👉Sights of Marigot St Martin |
