Day 56, Year 1: Last Day in St. Martin
Date: Monday, December 12, 2005
Weather: Still Gorgeous
Location: Marigot Bay, St. Martin

Today we traveled to the Dutch side of the island, Sint Maarten. We took the dinghy through a canal and into Simpson Bay Lagoon. There are two great chandleries there, Island Water World and Budget Marine, and they had everything and more than the West Marine stores back home. Unlike here in French St. Martin, almost everyone there spoke English, but much of the charm was lost. It was just a little too much like being back home. Another difference was the clientele. Here in St. Martin, there are numerous sailboats at anchor, one monster sailboat anchored out a ways, and some large Windjammer sailboats at anchor from Nassau-but no mega yachts here. Sint Maarten, on the other hand, was jam-packed with mega yachts. We enjoyed the great service, but definitely prefer the French side.

Tomorrow we are off to Guadeloupe. From our anchorage here, we have had beautiful views of the mountainous island of St. Martin in front of us and views of the long, low lying island of Anguilla to our north. It has been a beautiful anchorage, but I am already looking forward to new views of the islands further south.

051212 Day 56 Caribbean, St. Martin–Day Trip to the Dutch Side