March 22, Great Bay, Philipsburg, St. Maarten
We … did it! We night sailed from Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda, to Philipsburg, St. Maarten. The body of water is called the Sombrero Passage. The waves came from the North, the wind from the Southeast, and we were close hauled and head to wind the whole way, motor sailing.
From St. Thomas Bay, on the West side of Virgin Gorda, we went up and over the island so we’d catch the wind at a slightly better angle. It worked. We had picked a good night to cross; winds were 10-15 knots, waves were 1-2 metres, maybe a bit higher around 3 a.m.
Compared with the stories I’ve heard, we had a pretty good passage. At 5-6 knots, we made the 90 nm trip in about 16 hours, heading out at 5 pm and finally dropping anchor at 9 am.
This was not our first night sail, but it was our first overnight inter-island passage. And it had been looming large in our minds the whole week before.
It was a very different kind of experience from any I’ve had: out there, at night, with an ocean on one side of you, and a sea on the other. The sky was vast and entirely lit up with constellations. As the hours passed, the stars became our friends, keeping us company as we sailed through the dark, showing us the way. But of course they change. And as you observe their rotation, you begin to really feel that you are the one on a spinning top.
March 24, Great Bay, St. Maarten.
After a big sleep and some minor rejoicing at being here, the big news is that we now have a dingy engine! No more rowing. Thank you over-my Budget Marine!
March 25, Great Bay, Philipsburg, St. Maarten
Cruising is making me domestic. I find that some of the simple “live aboard” pleasures include having just provisioned—your fridge, freezer, and dry storage filled with food, being clean (no matter how bad the marina shower stall was), and having an empty galley garbage. The fact that I enjoy a large empty garbage pail makes me understand that I need to get out more.
Luckily, this morning I’m going provisioning with some American live aboards, Scott and Janet, on Windswept, whom we met at the Doc Maarten marina. Scott helped build the place 40 years ago. They have a car and are driving to Le Grand Marche this morning, a big supermarket. Woohoo!
March 26, Great Bay, Philipsburg, St.Maarten
Well that didn’t happen. And we are finding that that is just part of the experience down here. You can make a plan, but like the legal drinking age in Quebec, it is just a suggestion. And that’s all right (the planning I mean, not the drinking law).
We did provision though, at Aphoo’s, in Philipsburg. They have better selection than the Cash n’ Carry near Bobbie’s Marina. Of course, this was only after another marathon shop at both chandleries in Cole Bay, Budget Marine and Island Water World. These are huge, well stocked chandleries, but still don’t always find what you’re looking for.
There are a lot of cruising services and tradespeople in and around Cole Bay and Simpson Bay Lagoon. We are thinking we might need to change location at some point.
Our friend Kamini and her son Rowan arrive this afternoon from Toronto for a week visit! This is good for many reasons, but mostly because it will make us stop working on the boat for a bit (a welcome break) and start enjoying our surroundings. Thank you Kam!