St. Barthelemy, FWI

May 10-17, 2011

This, our second trip to St. Barth’s, was unhurried and allowed more time to do the “touristy” things we’d missed on our previous 24 hour stop. We walked the historic tour up and down the hills that surround the Port of Gustavia.  We shopped the “End of the Season Sales” and came away with some great bargains.  We lazed around Shell Beach that literally has more shells than sand.  We snorkeled the Reserve Naturelle of Anse de Colombier, another area donated by the Rockerfellers. While there we hiked up and around the rocky ridge to Anse de Flamands  to have lunch at a beachside cafe. 

Capt. Dan and a real anchor.



Entertained by the local sailing school



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Relaxing on Shell Beach



Going Dutch

We finally sailed on to explore some of St. Maarten, the Dutch side. Our first stop took us to the dock at Captain Oliver’s Marina in Oyster Pond Bay with the objective of synchronizing our batteries.  NO, No, we didn’t lose any overboard (again).  This time we plugged into shore power to give them a total charge so they’d work more efficiently. 

A few days in Phillipsburg proved to be interesting as it is a hustling, bustling, bargain shoppers “Mecca” IF there’s a cruise ship in port. There were so many shops here that Dan & I split up and went our separate ways.  We made a few good purchases and were delighted that the prices were mainly in US dollars or Netherland Antilles florins which are worth less than dollars. On the French side, we had gotten used to everything being priced in euros and kept trying to mentally convert from euros to US dollars to determine if we were getting a good deal.  There’s a beautiful beach here and a rainbow of coordinated umbrellas and chaise loungers appeared daily when the ships were in.

Simpson Bay is another long stretch of perfect sand lined with 2-4 story resorts/condo complexes.  We anchored here for a few days while we contemplated our next course.  Watching the Simpson Lagoon Bridge traffic provided some entertainment, as it opens only three times daily so vessels can jockey their way into or out of the lagoon.   

"RUM is the answer..."

“What was the question?”  Island t-shirts emblazoned with this saying are a favorite although neither of us owns one yet.  This blog entry has nothing to do with rum or any sort of liquid libation, but it does focus on us finding solutions for two problems that have perplexed us since Exit Strategy became our home.

Problem #1: Our refrigerator-freezer has ample space, but has never seemed to keep its contents cool enough consistently.  About a week ago, I was laying around for a few days trying to get over a 48 hr. flu that Dan passed on to me after his 48 hr. bout.  In between dozing on the settee in the salon, I began to review the ES Boat Manual and discovered that we had been setting the thermostat for the fridge-freezer incorrectly.  As soon as I felt stronger, I defrosted and cleaned it and reset the thermostat according to the manual.  VOILA, it’s fixed!

Problem #2:  We had family sail with us during the first three months of this year. (That wasn’t the problem.)  During each trip, we experienced varying degrees of trouble with the engine.  Oil was added and filters checked; fuel filters were changed more than once; additives were put in the fuel tank to clean it; a new fuel tank gauge was installed; starter battery was fully charged and tested. Dan even thoroughly studied the engine manual.  Yesterday, we sought the help of St. Maarten’s Horizon Yacht Charter staff.  Ian asked a lot of detailed questions and then said, “Get a new starter battery.”  We did and ALLELUIA, it’s fixed!