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| Philipsburg, St Maarten (Dutch side). |
The past few weeks we have had variations in the wind. For one week, there was hardly any wind, and it was so hot! (Not as hot as Perth – my goodness!!). We just bobbed around the anchor, with most boats in the anchorage facing in all different directions. This past week, it has been the total opposite. We have had winds of 20 knots gusting to 28 knots and more on a regular basis all day and all night. We have had squalls race through the anchorage, making us rock and roll quite a bit, but not for too long. Thankfully, the holding in Simpsons Bay Lagoon is exceptionally good, its mud, so the anchors are sucked into the mud. It is always interesting taking the anchor up when mud is involved as it takes a little longer as we want to get the mud off the chain and anchor and to not fill our anchor locker with sticky, dirty mud. Mel knew our anchor wash switch was not working very well, so he has been busy replacing it with a new one, ready for when we eventually leave Simpsons Bay Lagoon and head out to Marigot Bay before departing St Martin for St Barts. We are not sure when this will happen as the weather does not look too good over the next few days due to these high gusting winds, which are often referred to as the Christmas winds.
We know we must be patient and until then
continue to tick off things on our ‘To Do List.’
Mel enjoying his breakfast.
Since our last post, Mel has been given the ’all
clear’ with his abscess. It is still an open wound but is healing nicely having
risen 6 mm. That was the depth of the crater in his leg. I had to visit the dentist
as one of my crowns came off. Luckily, I did not swallow it as the dentist was
able to glue it back in place. It was sore but my goodness almost half the
price of Australia and that is taking the Euro/Australian exchange rate into
account.
I have been enjoying using the new stove/oven,
which keeps a constant temperature when set so I have not burnt or overcooked
anything yet. (Fingers crossed). We enjoyed the turkey Mel bought while in the
States so had a very belated Christmas meal.
We spent time at the beach, which was lovely and
refreshing, plus we caught the local bus to
Enjoying our belated
Christmas dinner.
Philipsburg, the capital of Sint
Maarten – the Dutch side. We visited the cheese factory store and bought a wheel
of matured Gouda cheese, called the Black Cow. We have cut it up into sections
as we are trying to ration ourselves so it can at least last for most of our time,
sailing this year. A challenging task as my dear Mum often referred to me as
her ‘Little Mouse.’ Cheese never lasts long in our fridge at home. While we
were at the cheese factory, we both were not shy when it came to tasting
samples.
Other than
the usual chores of shopping for fresh vegetables and fruit, we have spent time
on the boat enjoying our various activities: Mel working on his electronics, Me
– reading and sewing. I made a storage bag for the wind vane rudder, so it can
be attached to one of the lifelines when not in use. Now, I am trying to make a
cover for our outbound motor.
As mentioned earlier, we are waiting patiently
for a pleasant weather window so we can sail to St Barts, a place we have not
been to. It is an expensive place to anchor so we do not anticipate staying for
very long. From there we will sail to Antigua – to English Harbour/ Freeman Bay
to be precise. We have been to Antigua a couple of times: we went on holiday
and spent Christmas there in December 2011 and then sailed there in 2014,
anchoring in Jolly Harbour and Falmouth Harbour.
So, until next time…. Take care, keep well, and
stay safe.
Best wishes, always
Mel and Caryn
P.S. We will not have access to Starlink while we
are in Antigua, so if you do not hear from us for a while, or the blog entries
are a bit delayed, you will know why. We are not sure how long we will be staying
in Antigua. Bye
