Last month was busy. Sammy went to the vet to get her
thyroid fixed (again) so that we would not have to stick pills
down her throat forever. She is over her harrowing experience at sea
and is putting on some weight. Little does she know about Plan B.
In early January, we flew to Princess Juliana Airport (SXM),
to fulfill our Sint Maarten commitments. We were blessed with great
weather and great friends, both cruisers and folks at Sint Maarten. We
did miss SV Plane to Sea (maybe later this season or the
next). SV Moony succeeded in sailing here with a bit of difficulty where we failed.
Denise and
Wolfgang picked us up at the airport and took us to our hotel. It
was great seeing them but we were a bit jealous that they made it and we
didn't. Sigh.
We think we were in the same unit that Wolfgang's sister
used two years before. The view is great and staff are so kind. Still,
we wish we were in the Lagoon on Jule but maybe later. It is great to
be here again; and so good to see the Moony crew again. Wow, we even
have Fox News. Life is good!
Wolfgang and Bob volunteered Denise and Ann to be the pirates
at the new Blue Mall. They look like pretty good, don't they?
Wolfgang and Bob refused to participate because they are fuddy-duddies.
The Blue Mall was just one of the many places
that we visited while traveling through Sint Maarten.
We were fortunate to go on SV Moony while she was moored in
Simpson Bay Lagoon. It was good to be back on the Lagoon even if
it was not on Jule III. It was not so crowded there because they
were building a bridge across the Lagoon. Interesting.
One of our favorite places is the Sint Maarten Yacht Club.
It is a place to view the mega-yachts going through the bridge. Some
(not us) were wishfully watching to see some bumping. It is an amazing
sight to see all of these huge yachts go in and out of the Lagoon. The
Jule III crew enjoyed the Happy Hours here. We love SMYC!
We were blessed to meet so many of our friends at the
SMYC. Brian (and his girl friend) are still running the bar and
restaurant. It is busier and better than ever! We spent most evenings
there watching the yachts not banging into the bridges. We were so
happy to see Lucie Rybnickova (our lovely SMYC waitress and friend) and
Michele Korteweg (the director of the Heineken Regatta). This really
was a great finale of our trip!