New Years here too

Nothing new to report on the transmission. Still at ZF in Fort Lauderdale being fixed under warranty by the manufacturer. The days here seem to roll into one another and sometimes they are hard to keep track of. On both Christmas Eve and Boxing Day I was out on the town with friends here. Christmas itself was a pretty laid back day of reading and eating on the boat with a beach walk and a short stop at the "orphan's" party thrown in.

The new plan, once I can leave is to sail from here to Statia, then to Monserrat, on to Nevis, and finally to Guadaloupe. Each passage is under 35 miles so each can easily be done in a day and that will leave time to have a look around each place.

Today I finished troubleshooting the wind instruments. The problem is definately the masthead transducer. I have a new one but I will need a hand to install it. If not before, I will get it done during the Heineken Regatta. Thanks to Alfred at Budget Marine for making it simpler to solve.

Tomorrow is New Years Eve. I am racing on a 25 footer called Panic Attack. I am told it is a very very fast 25 footer. I get picked up here at the yacht club at 0600 and we drive to Philipsburg to pick up the boat. We then sail to St. Barth's to race. I think it is a round the island race. Afterwards we sail back to St. Maarten. I am told we should be back here by 1530 or so. We'll see. Little River Band is playing here on the island tomorrow night at the big party but I think I'll be too tired to go. I do have a ticket to see the Gypsy Kings on Jan 3 in a very small venue. Should be awesome.

Sorry for no new pictures but I really haven't seen that much new stuff. Once I get sailing again I will start posting more.

Merry Christmas

I finally got to see Marigot on the french side. Took a drive around on Friday for lunch and then went to the beach for a while. It's only take 4 weeks to make that 20 or 30 minute trip. Island time is for real.

Yesterday I got out racing on a 50 footer. That was pretty cool. It gave me a good idea of what the Heineken Regatta will be like. Vagrant may need a reef for some of the upwind portions. Afterwards it was off to the St. Maarten Yacht Club for their Christmas party.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Years.

Only in the Caribbean

Yesterday around 11:30 the power went out over most of the Dutch side of St. Maarten. By 4:00pm, only businesses with generators had power. The reason? We ran out of gas. Really, the power company GEBE literally ran out of fuel to run their generating station. Not only did they run out of fuel but on Saturday, they announced that they would be running out of fuel.

I am quite proud to inform everyone that during the blackout I was personally responsible for allowing the bar at the St. Maarten Yacht Club to remain open. Out of the 2 staff working and 15 customers enjoying cocktails as darkness fell, I was the only one who happened to be carrying a flashlight in his pocket (for travelling after dark in the Zodiac). With my little light, Omar was able to keep serving.

Disaster strikes again!

Three days ago Vagrant encountered yet another setback, this one the worst to date. While washing up the breakfast dishes I found that the filter on the french press was broken. Having mechanical problems and no way to leave here is bearable but not being able to make coffee in the morning is simply unacceptable. I spent two days gluing the various pieces back together with epoxy, fixing the cracks, letting it set, attaching pieces together, letting it set, etc.

Yesterday I made a morning cup and all seemed good again. Then it was dishes time again. Much to my dismay, plastic, epoxy, and hot coffee do not mix well. Time for a more direct attack. I poked a couple of holes in the screen and wrapped it tight with stainless wire. Success again, coffee this morning, although a bit gritty. Sadly, after breakfast the damage was worse and I have declared the french press a lost cause. Dear Santa...

Simpson's Bay Lagoon

St. Maarten and Simpson's Bay is probably, along with Antigua, the mega yacht capital of the Caribbean. Every year boats that spend the summer season in the Mediteranean start arriving here in mid to late November. Simpson's Bay Lagoon is 12 square miles of landlocked water accessible by passing through a narrow channel and under a drawbridge that opens three time per day for outbound and three times per day for incoming traffic. In the lagoon there are three marinas that can accommodate these boats, most of them in the 35 to 50 metre range. Everyone tells me the number of boats arriving this season is down but there have to be 35 to 40 here now with more arriving each day and the amount of cash I can see floating at the docks is nuts. Earlier this week Maltese Falcon (if you don't know it, Google it) spent two nights at anchor in the bay outside the bridge.


This picture is from the ocean side of the bridge. The building to the right is the St. Maarten
yacht club. Happy hour at the club is from 4 until 6:30 and the locals seem to all stop in on their way home to watch the parade of boats at the 5:30 bridge opening. Yesterday there were three sailboats and one big motor yacht.






This is a boat coming through the bridge. If I get a chance I'll try to get some beter pictures of a bridge opening.

Not much new to tell you about. Still waiting for parts from the states. The lastest word is that it is a manufacturers defect and therefore will likely be fixed for free. They want a bit more time to investigate. In the meantime a lot of other boat jobs have been finished. The new vented loop is installed in the head, I have the leach line on the jib fixed, the replacement for the broken furler part has arrivedalthough it is not yet installed and I am going to continue on with the jury rig until I have somehelp to take down and rehoist the jib. I discovered a problem with one of the cabin top winches that was causing trouble with the hoisting of the main so that is apart at the moment. One of the pins inside is bent and I am hoping FKG will have one in stock as they are the local Lewmar dealer.

I keep meeting people here. This weekend past I spent Saturday and Saturday evening with the captain and stewardess from S/Y Unplugged, a 35 metre sloop just arrived from the Med. Met them through someone else I know here. They are here to pick up a charter for Christmas. The general consensus around here is a slow season. A sign of the economic times I guess. We spent the afternoon at the Sunset Bar and Grill enjoying strawberry daquiris and watching planes land.

I have pretty much made up my mind to stay here for the holidays. Especially since it will be another week at least before I have a working transmission. Going to call a marina to see if I can get a slip for a few weeks once that is sorted out. Early in the year I will head down island to meet Jim and Freda and catch my flight home. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you in January. Not looking forward to Nova Scotia January weather though. Did I mention that it is 85 and sunny here every day?