Jouvet!

The official opening of the Sint Maarten carnival is a grand event called Jouvet, a conjunction of jour ouvert - or Open Day.  And to really open the day, the parade starts at 4 am.  That’s right, 4 in the morning.

Given the plethora - no really, almost an infestation of Canadian boats in the lagoon anchorage, many of us spent the night before in a sports bar owned by a Montreal couple, trying to cheer on the Senators to just one more win.  Finally overcome by Montreal and out of the playoffs, we headed back to the boat to grab a few hours sleep before the two of us were back up at 3:30 to find a way into Philipsburg for the party.  Not going to repeat it, but there was a distinct lack of Canadian representation at this early hour folks!

Andy and Judy enjoyed the wings and the game, but not the outcome.

This was some serious coverage!

The parade formed on the road that circles the salt pond behind Phillipsburg, with multiple large trucks, each one outfitted with a complete party.  Live music or DJ, pretty girls, free booze of the sponsoring company and an avid group of partiers doing the carnival shuffle and cheering behind the truck.  The trick was to find the one with the party mood you liked best, so we walked up and down the parade a couple of times before settling in behind the Heineken truck.  The infectious beat, paired up with a few “good morning” beers soon had us hooked and what started in the dark with amazing light displays from the trucks, gradually developed into a hot sunny morning as the sun rose over the hills.  The transformation continued as the crowds of dancers brought out bags of green paint powder that was liberally sprayed around, almost raising a green cloud behind the truck.  As if the paint powder were not enough, a liberal dousing of beer made sure that the green really stuck.  Hotter and hotter it became until we realized it was only 8:30 in the morning - had we really already been partying for four hours?  My empty tummy and tired feet certainly thought so.  What a fun and unique experience - I can still feel the incessant rhythm in my toes and am primed and ready for the big daytime parade on Thursday. 

These trucks had some serious sound and light shows on them.

All manner of creative costuming was seen - especially talented razor blade slashing of t-shirts.

The rhythms soon had everyone gyrating and doing the carnival shuffle step.

As the sun rose these two 'Caribbean Grannies' bounced past us - these two guys were shameless.

A whole tribe of indians had the most amazing costumes.

We met a whole group of Canadians who were from Sudbury, where I grew up!

Look carefully and you'll see that these two guys are doused in engine oil, and carrying spare jugs should the need arise.

Behind the Heineken truck the crowd got greener and greener.

And following along behind this troupe of French maids were ready to clean up.

End of the parade for us, and believe it or not, we're actually pretty clean compared to most around us.

One would think that after all that fun, the day would pretty much be over, but the fun had just begun!  On our return to the boat, we met up with our fellow boats from the BVI and set a ‘breakfast’ date for La Sucriere in Marigot. This was after Henry and I had revived ourselves with chicken curry empanadillas in Philipsburg, but who’s one to turn down a French pastry?  While in Marigot we finally met up again with Laura and Jason on Blue Blaze.  We reunited over a light lunch at one of the French restaurants on the lagoon and got all caught up on the last few weeks since we were together on St. John.  The day before we had also reunited with Robert, Sheena and Kinsley on Almost There, and Dave and Alex on Banyan.  I think at this point, just about everyone we know is here!

Doris & Francois enjoy a little Sucriere treat.

Not to be outdone though, a few new arrivals to the anchorage introduced themselves and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves down at Lagoonies for happy hour and a birthday and arrival celebration.  The party went mobile and we visited the Yacht Club and then a delicious shawarma shack before the night was done.

Was it finally time to go to bed??  Yes!

Going to Hog Heaven ... and St. Martin

Looking way up to the top of the hills above Gorda Sound we could spy a little green building with an inviting deck built out at precarious heights.  Of course, we decided we had to hike up to its dizzying heights but with the promise of juicy delicious ribs it seemed doable.

First we had to wait for a little rain shower (torrent) to clear

Cock of the Walk in Leverick Bay

The day before we had hiked to the west around Oil Nut Bay and been treated to an impromptu off road ride in a landscaping truck that greatly shortened our trek around the hills, but also offered us some insight into the development plans for this rather exclusive area.  We have to enjoy the area now because once the place is built up we will definitely be out of our league up there.

We had enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Fat Virgin Cafe in Birras Creek as a little respite from the heat - always a great place to watch the comings and goings in the anchorage and at the dock.

Enjoying the shade at The Fat Virgin Cafe

Freshly cooked roti and burger with loads of blue cheese

Today however, we set our legs in an uphill direction - and up and up and up we went.  The hills are steep, the sun was hot, and when we reached the turnoff we had the place almost in our sights - at least no more steep hills to climb!

There's our destination - that little green place on the hill

Don't worry, we're going to HOG heaven!

Dan was in charge of keeping all of us at the tables happy with cold drinks and delicious ribs while ‘mean cat’ as he called him, made quite a show of placing himself right behind Dan’s unsuspecting feet whenever possible.  That was of course providing he wasn’t scrounging juicy morsels from the diners.  The star attraction though is the view.

The afternoon wound slowly to its conclusion and found us preparing for a night departure for St. Martin.  The winds were forecast at only 5-10 knots with flat seas under 3’ - it was a perfect night to set out.  Making the crossing with us were two other Canadian Boats, Jacob’s Ladder and Amelia I, which was a first for us.  Being able to be in contact via VHF radio made the distance seem just that little bit shorter and we had a ready-made celebration on arrival.  We set off about 3 hours before the others, preferring to travel at night rather than in the searing heat of the day.  Anchor up at 9:15pm and back down again after a totally uneventful crossing to Simpson Bay on the Dutch side of the island at 12:15pm.

Sunrise between the BVI and St. Martin

Sailing past the airport and Maho Beach as CanJet prepares to take off

Heading back to Canada!

The bridge to the lagoon opened at 3pm so we joined the little boat parade to make our way through.  Our first bridge opening!  Since we did not travel down the ICW on the east coast of the U.S. we had not had the pleasure of this little right of passage before.  There was plenty of room for us, but it boggles my mind how some of the mega yachts we see in the lagoon manage to get through.

Let the boat parade begin

We were fourth in line with two more behind

Even though we know we have loads of room to get through, it still looks tight

Bridge is up!

Jacob's Ladder and Amelia I following us through to the lagoon.

Anchored in the lagoon behind Distant Shores

First sunset in St. Martin

While we’re here in Sint Maarten we will be visiting the many chandleries and boat services places as well as participate in some of the annual carnival celebrations (more on that later).  Hopefully we can escape to the south with a few dollars left in our wallets!

Brought to You by the Colour Blue

No matter how long we cruise down here, I never cease to be amazed by the colour of the water - azur, cerulean, teal, turquoise, sapphire, ultramarine ... BLUE!

Today, we made our way from Trellis Bay up to North Sound under an almost cloudless sky, and as a first for us we anchored off Saba Rock.  We usually head for Leverick Bay on the other side of the sound but decided to give this end a shot.  Not that we haven't been here many times, we've just chosen not to anchor over here and now I'm really not sure why.

 ... a study in blue

One of The Dog islands halfway between Tortola and Virgin Gorda.

Mosquito Rock - part of the reef that guards the entrance to North Sound.

Incredible changes in colour mark the various depths of the water and tells us somewhat what lies beneath.

Making our way through the channel in the reef, these guys sure were in a rush.

Relax guys, there are lots of mooring balls, and we don't want one anyway.

Looking back at the reef - blue is good, brown is bad.

Blue all around us.

Dropped our anchor and this is our view - all shades in one eyeful.

And a short swim to shore through beautiful blue-green waters.

Before we left Trellis we heard stories of two vessels come amuk - the first was Sunday morning when we watched the rescue helicoptor on the north shore of Tortola.  If you remember I commented on the swell and hence our move to Trellis Bay.  A small sport boat got caught in the massive surf in Josiah's Bay and was washed up on the beach, luckily with no loss of life.  The second was a fire that completely destroyed a vessel in Christmas Cove.  We are now checking our fire extinguishers, evacuation plan and ditch bag - just one more time to make sure we're prepared.

See how low the helicopter is right behind the sailboat.

On a happier note, this little guy was our company on the boat behind us the other night.  His crew had left for the evening so he was doing his rounds before settling down for the night.

Has it Really Been Six Months??

These days we mostly just tell time with our day clock... But it's still hard to believe that we have now been aboard Mowzer 6 months!

Six months ago we were flying to St. Thomas, the stress of selling the house, shipping our stuff, ordering boat parts, saying goodbye to family and friends, and making the move still very much upon us. I remember waking up the next morning with an unbelievable feeling of lightness, thinking that we had actually pulled it off, we were living on a freakin' boat.

Here are the stats (remember, I used to work as a data analyst):

• 182 days, very rarely are we more than 10' apart,
• 412 square feet of living space plus open decks - this includes galley, dining/living, 2 berths, 2 heads and our outdoor cockpit for all living and storage,
• We have travelled 1002 nautical miles (1855 km) and ironically today we sit just 25 nm (46 km) from where we started,
• We now find it cold if the temperature dips before 80F (27C) and break out a blanket or a sweater if it goes below 70F (21C),
• Based on six months of spending we find we need (in USD) 1200/month for health & boat insurance, 1500/month for boat and travel related items such as maintenance, fuel, customs & immigration, and moorings, and 2500/month for all people expenses such as food, entertainment, household and other travel related expenses. This brings us to a total of about $5,200/month.
• These numbers don't include the initial outlay we had on our various boat projects including the water maker installation, solar panel installation, radar, AIS, new batteries, dinghy replacement and multiple other small jobs that put us into cruiser mode.

So those are the cold hard numbers, but really what this six months has been about is acclimation to a new lifestyle. It is said that the highs and lows of cruising life can be extreme and that has certainly been the case for us, but in hindsight and with talking to others we know that we've had it pretty good and have probably had more highs than lows. Karma will probably pay us a visit for that! As I sit here I can see a search and rescue helicopter scouring the coast of Tortola so I hope they are doing a training exercise and this is not an example of someone's really bad day, but it is a sobering reminder of just how bad things can get if you're not careful and have a bit of luck on your side too.

In hindsight here are our lows - not too long or significant a list:

• Fluky weather on our trip to Dominican Republic which meant we had light winds for the downwind sail and heavy winds and seas on the return windward trip. The weather woes continued with that horrible night and day at anchor in Bayahibe. All that bashing probably contributed to the fuel problems we had by the time we got back to Culebra along with dirty fuel that we picked up in the DR.
• Sure wish we knew Spanish - it definitely would have helped make our visit to the DR more enjoyable.
• Snagging the fish pot line in the dark and the ensuing worries about damage to our propellor.
• Scary moments of wtf when the chart plotter would cut out at night, typically close to a reef which we now think was the result of a shorting wire in our electrical system.
• Henry just added the fact that we are still in the BVI, he has itchy feet to explore farther afield, which is what the next six months will all be about.
• We still break out and bicker when tensions get high, such as coming into a difficult anchorage or if the sailing gets tricky. I suppose that's nothing really new, just new situations.

The highs are what we're here for and thankfully there seems to be something most days to celebrate. I mean, who wouldn't when living in these beautiful islands at such a relaxed pace of life. Thinking progmatically though, it could be the relaxed pace of life that will do us in - Henry would like to move faster whereas surprisingly I am more content to sit in one place for a while. The converse though is that once sitting, Henry is content to just "be" while I need something to do, be it blogging, sewing or something else around the boat, and of course we both love getting off the boat to either meet other people and/or go exploring.

• Jim's visit to St. Martin at Christmas including our third visit to Saba, and visiting with the gang in Dominican Republic.
• Picking up our new ride in SXM - we still love our new dinghy and motor.
• Puerto Rico was a surprise to both of us. I don't think either of us expected that we would enjoy the south coast villages and anchorages as much as we did.
• Meeting up with new and renewed friends along the way. We both realize just how much we need some social interaction and the fun of making new friendships, especially with folks that we know we'll see repeatedly along the way is a highlight.
• The daily high of learning some new skill or completing a new task. For example, Henry completed our first oil & filter change and transmission fluid change yesterday. Not a big deal for someone who has done this before but new for us and something we will have to do regularly. The sewing projects I've completed would also fall into this group and I'm absolutely thrilled that I decided to get a Sailrite machine to have onboard.
• Getting about on foot really slows you down and gives you a chance to look around. Whether walking through an urban setting and checking out people's yards and businesses or hiking through a landscape that can vary from seasides to arid bush to rainforest, all in one hike, gives you time to really start to understand the space around you.
• We both feel more fit and healthy, we both dropped about 15 pounds and I can certainly hike up a hill and get less winded. On the converse, the level of alcohol consumption in the cruising community has been well noted by others and we can definitely attest that a day without at least one drink is a very rare event.
• Never wearing long pants - other clothing is debatable.

There you have it, I'm sure we've missed lots along the way but for that you have to read back through the blog ;-)


The next six months will see us move on to St. Martin (again) and then into new realms. We will fly home from Antigua for a couple of weeks to celebrate Jim's graduation and see family and friends, and then on our return will see us making quick tracks south to get out of the danger zone for hurricane season. This means that for June and July we could be visiting Guadaloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines and then finally making Grenada our destination for the most dangerous months of August through October.

 

Kids About Town

Coral Bay is an itsy-bitsy town at the east end of St. John and the vibe is all about being laid-back, the last cruiser hang-out in the U.S. territories. Some of the folks here look like the last time they left was the 70s, and others just look like that's what they're trying to look like. Make sense? Hippies are cool these days.

The town is starting to look a little more upscale though, firstly noticeable with the nice new dinghy dock; a few years ago the dock would settle underwater as you stepped "ashore". Skinny Legs and The Mad Dog Trading Company are still the same, but this time we opted to walk around the bay and try out Aqua Bistro for lunch.

As we rounded the corner, our escort picked us up just outside the firehall. They'd picked out some choice rides for us but we opted to walk so they made sure we had uninterrupted passage down the middle of the street, stopping all traffic in both directions to let us pass.

They walked us quickly past the local school and even demonstrated the route should we need to evacuate for an incoming tsunami.

Wait for us, we're still coming...

Despite ambiguous directions, they figured out which way we wanted to go and when we arrived at the junction and promptly turned left,

taking a shortcut past the pink restaurant and the blue bus shelter.

At this point communications broke down a bit since we definitely didn't want to follow them into the mangroves and scrub at the side of the road.

We knew they'd be coming back shortly though, since they left some of their youngest crew by the parking lot.

As we rounded the corner and looked out over the bay we found a local launch that might be the reason the kids scampered into the bush... A little afternoon truancy perhaps? (Check out the name on the side of the boat.)

Ah, finally, some empty seats still available for our lunch outing. Thanks for showing us the way!

Note that I chose lamb from the menu and not goat ;-) ... and it was very good.