Two More Weeks…

The end of April is approaching fast. Life on Irie is still pretty much the same as the last few months: busy, busy, busy. Mark has been working incredibly hard to test developments for our new product, The Wirie AP, and has been researching, correcting and rewriting code, while trying his best to communicate with the developers in Taiwan. In the meantime, business is good here in St. Martin and our worldwide customer support is active. I have been writing and taking care of boat errands and daily chores. We also attempt to locate boat parts and items needed for the coming cruising season and we completed a few boat projects. On top of this, we have a wedding party to plan and visitors to expect. The days are long, but they sure fly by!

Since my friend Rosie from SV Alianna arrived in the lagoon, we have made some progress figuring out wedding stuff. I’m very new to the whole thing and don’t care too much about fanciness, but there is still a lot to plan and organize for the ceremony and the party. Rosie has been a tremendous help and inspiration. She joined me to Philipsburg, where we found a suitable white summer dress and we also explored the wedding grounds again and came up with some villa and ceremony decorations.

Another friend, Eli, who runs Lagoonies, will help out with the food and Mark and I are busy researching recipes and sorting through music. I made a whole list of things to do and things to get and go through my planning and schedule a few times a week. Over 30 guests will attend our special day and we are looking forward to have family and friends together.

The “Liesbet and Mark’s Caribbean Wedding Party” will start at 5pm on April 30^th at our rented villa in Baie Rouge, St. Martin, where everybody gathers. Then, a small, informal wedding ceremony follows on the beach. Our friend Axel is in charge of the picture shoot and a first tropical drink will be savored. Around sunset, the party will move back to the villa for food, drinks and music. Of course, I can’t give too many details, but I promise a full report after the fact!

Weekend in Friar’s Bay

Circumstances and conditions were favorable for Irie and her crew to do something fun over the weekend. The Saturday morning flea market at Lagoonies wasn’t happening, because of the monthly boat jumble on the French side, meaning that Mark and I did not “have to” promote The Wirie that day. And, the following Monday and Tuesday were a bank holiday in Taiwan, so Mark was off the hook on Sunday. Other times, his work week and communications with Alfa start on Sunday evening, because of the twelve hours difference.

Together with our friends Sim and Rosie on SV Alianna, we planned to spend the weekend in Friar’s Bay, outside the lagoon, a mere four miles away. After an invigorating, fast and short sail, passing the Mirabella V out in Marigot Bay, Irie dropped anchor in the sandy bottom of the sweeping and pretty bay. It wasn’t too busy yet, being nine o’clock, but we didn’t care really. It was time for some relaxation and enjoyment, a (not so) typical weekend away. And, it was also time to hang out with our friends, setting aside our busy schedule for a change.

Mark and I had a lot of email catching up to do, since the internet connection at our usual spot in the lagoon had been down for days, so we started off the weekend with that, using our Wirie. After lunch, we picked up Sim and Rosie and aimed for the beach. The waves gently lapped onto the sand, making for an easy landing. We all walked the relatively short trail to our favorite St. Martin Beach: Happy Bay. Even here, the waves were less high than usual, thanks to the wind direction. Not too many nudists were in view this time and all four of us had an enjoyable afternoon in the lucid water and the shade of a palm tree. Rosie and I had many more things and wedding plans to discuss, which unintentionally chased the guys away…

Saturday evening was spent on Alianna, where Rosie and Sim whipped up a delicious meat pie. Even after some snacks and drinks beforehand, the four of us (being piggies when it comes to food) managed to eat the whole thing with mashed potatoes as a side. Mark and I were treated like kings, not having to do anything and enjoying every minute of it. Our bellies were bloated and even if we would have had to do something, it was impossible. We couldn’t move for an hour. The cheesecake would have to wait until the next day.

Sunday, after a tasty pancake breakfast, Mark couldn’t help but work a bit, testing some changes to the software of our long expected and anticipated new product. Rosie and I focused on my wedding day and in the afternoon I gave our boat some needed (cleaning) attention, top and bottom. At night, it was our turn to serve drinks, do the cooking, preparations and dishes. Once again, we had a nice and stuffed evening. By Monday morning Irie was settled at her mooring again and the crew started a new work week. I also made up a new rule: not eat quite so much from now on, before that white dress wouldn’t fit anymore! It’ll be a tough one…

An Afternoon Break – from Sun and Work

My friend Rosie loves to walk. I don’t. Not without a dog. Not in the beating sun and not when I have sooo much work to do. But, I do love my friend Rosie and I actually could use a break and –to be honest- it is not THAT hot quite yet, here in St. Martin, especially not compared to last year’s awful winter and summer. I also need some exercise to get those butt cheeks moving after hours of sitting on a cushion behind the computer, every day. The fat rolls on my belly could use some flattening out as well. I have a wedding coming up, in a dress! Plus, sunshine means tan improvement. So, enough reasons to go for a walk, together.

Where do you walk in St. Martin, near the vicinity of the lagoon and heavy traffic? It doesn’t really matter. After putting the dinghy at the closest dock, we followed the road and the parked cars westwards, arriving at the airport parking lot. The airport building provides welcome air conditioning for about five minutes, then, it’s back to the heat and the one road, with room for walking on the side. The first beach we passed is Maho Beach, which is famous for its landing and departing planes VERY close by. To have them land right above your head and take off displacing half of the sand on the beach is very exhilarating. Make sure you hold on to your belongings!

Our destination was Mullet Beach, a ten minute stroll past fancy shops, casinos and restaurants and through a run down golf course. By the time the magnificent blue water came in sight, our hot bodies craved for a refreshing swim. After a well needed chitter chatter and a rest in the shade, we walked the length of the beach sinking into the sand. Good exercise! At the quiet end of Mullet Beach, Rosie dished out her shampoo bottle and we took our salt water shower, only this time the bath tub consisted of turquoise sea water instead of green lagoon water. When we turned around to head back, our eyes were met by a massive, ominous looking rain cloud…

Now it became clear to us why everybody packed up and left the beach. Wanting to make it back to the dinghy before dark, we decided to start walking again, not bothered by the sun this time. Soon enough it started with a few drops, turned into a little shower. Being brave women, we agreed upon continuing on unless it was a real downpour. About two minutes later, dripping wet, Rosie stated: “I think this is called a downpour” after which we sheltered in a dilapidated hotel lounge. We stripped down to our bikinis again and took a generous fresh water shower, while the traffic splashed by.

Finally realizing that we couldn’t get any wetter, we finished our walk towards the lagoon, hoping that our other halves thought about closing the hatches and collecting the precious rain water. With little warning, the bright sunny sky had turned into a grey wall of water and we had gotten a free shower out of it. With all our talking and resting, not too many of my previously mentioned goals were accomplished, but we solved many world and wedding problems and since there are many more topics to discuss and opinions to share, we’ll just go for another walk again soon!

(Photos courtesy of Karmen Chow and Rosie Burr)

How to (Not) Claim Permanent Lagoon Residency

It was a very calm and sunny day in the St. Martin lagoon (where else) earlier this month. Irie was anchored close to her usual spot near Explorer Island (aka Grand Ilet on the charts). There was no wind and the green water was still and flat like glass. Contrary to what most people might think, the lagoon is pretty clean in our area and on days like this, we can see the grassy bottom. Only, this time, right off Irie’s stern, there was no grass to be seen. All I noticed was something white. Something large. Was it a sandy spot? Was it a block of concrete? A wreck? The next time a shower was needed, I stayed in the cold water a little bit longer and brought my snorkel mask…

It was shallower underneath me and two huge concrete slabs stared me in the face. One of them had steel loops coming out of it and the largest chain I’ve ever seen. The links were as big as my hands and I –for sure- had stumbled across a massive hurricane mooring, suitable for a barge! What a great place to install our own mooring equipment and “sit” on that instead of our precious anchor and falling apart chain. If that would work for the next few months, our own ground tackle would get a break from deterioration. The “our own mooring” plan was formed and all we needed to do was find the right ingredients. In the meantime, we marked “our spot” with a fender.

A very friendly chap Charlie provided us with a ten foot ½" chain in great condition, our single handed girlfriend Patti gave us an enormous shackle she didn’t have any use for on her small sailboat and we dove into our own anchor locker to claim a ¾” line for mooring purposes. We gathered these parts over the last couple of weeks and Mark got to work and spliced the line onto itself in a loop with a piece of hose and onto the chain. With all the preparations taken care of, it was time for our good friend Angie to offer her assistance…

Mark, Angie and I braved the water to assess the situation. Massive shackle in hand, Angie dove down 8 feet, only to come up with the news that it didn’t fit any of the even more massive chain links on the bottom, nor the thick loops! After a few more tries, she found one spot to fit the shackle a certain way. Mark redid some of the attachments on our mooring assembly and Angie retrieved her dive bottle. Now, the serious work could start. Our friend went down again, with plenty of air this time, and managed to attach the shackle to one of the big loops, screwed the finger thick pin in it and secured the contraption with seizing wire. Job well done!

So, that’s how we happened to inherit our own serious mooring in Simpson Bay Lagoon. Irie is now safely (we hope) sitting on her home base, pretty fish eating off the barnacle covered concrete block underneath us. We are a bit apprehensive about the fact that nothing (like an anchor) will slow us down if we drag or get loose. We also have to check the underwater scene once in a while to make sure all is sound. But, that’s a small price to pay to “own” a private piece of property in the glorious Simpson Bay Lagoon. And, for the record, no!, this new mooring development is NOT an act of (semi-) permanency!