Antigua: In and Out

It is early in the morning on the 9^th of July. Mark and I are in a surprisingly good mood, despite the current circumstances. Together with hundreds of flying fish, we are flying south ourselves. It is blowing a perfect 15 knots and we are sailing quite a bit off the wind, which gives us speed and comfort. Finally. From now on, no more bashing into the wind. Supposedly. We made it to our last south eastern destination… and left. We are on our way to Guadeloupe. Who would have guessed?

Two days earlier, we were all ready for our crossing to Antigua. We were very excited about visiting this country and had looked forward to it for a long time. We knew we needed a current health certificate for Darwin and an extra rabies shot. We obtained a health certificate in St. Maarten on June 9^th and thought “Good we got it today, so we can change the date into 19 or 29 if we need to.” In St. Barth, nobody cares about dogs and when we were thinking of leaving there, we tried our best to find a blue pen that matched the ink used on the certificate and gave it a go. We changed the date to 29 and immediately felt bad about it. It didn’t look that good either, and now we really had a problem. So, we decided to hitch hike to Gustavia with Darwin, for a new health certificate and the extra vaccination… There was one other -irrelevant- test request in our email from the Antigua agriculture department, but we knew Darwin didn’t have the disease, we never needed this test before and we figured we could deal with it at arrival. We also knew we needed a temporary import permit once we got to our destination. That couldn’t cost more than $10…

Sailing to Antigua is not a fun event, since it lies pretty much in the direction of the wind. We waited for a nice weather window with north east winds, but it was nevertheless a very bumpy and quite uncomfortable ride, that made sleeping during our “off shift” impossible. But, we got to sail the whole way! When we anchored in Jolly Harbour, we were spent and ready for a nap. First, we had to check in. Mark and I lowered the dinghy, put its engine in place and drove the mile or so to the customs and immigration office. There, the officials told us we had to move Irie to their dock for check-in. So, back we went, with the dinghy. Then, we lifted the anchor and motored to the customs dock with our big boat. So far, this wasn’t an easy process…

We talked to the immigration officer, who gave us a bunch of forms to fill out. We could not officially check in, until a vet came to inspect Darwin. Maybe we shouldn’t have mentioned him? A lot of people got away with this… But, we don’t feel comfortable with that, so, we waited. For four hours. Then, the fun began…

The vet wanted to test Darwin for lyme disease and give him an examination. Lyme disease mainly exists in the north east of the United States, and Darwin has not been there for two years. That didn’t matter. When a dog has this disease, he shows symptoms, which Darwin didn’t have. That didn’t matter. Also, Darwin was just examined in St. Barth by a vet and received a health certificate, meaning: he was healthy. That didn’t matter. So, why did we have to spend $50 there to get a current health certificate? “You only spent $50? What a bargain!” was the vet’s response. There were more discussions, proving that the test was totally unnecessary, but what really threw us off, was its price: for this little joke, we had to pay the equivalent of $50! And, after that, we would be issued a temporary import permit for… another $50! We wished we knew all this ahead of time, so we could have sailed straight away to Guadeloupe from St. Barth, a way nicer sail.

If we wanted to visit Antigua with Darwin, we had to give this vet (or the agriculture department) 100 USD. That was outrageous! They really wanted to make money on this. In all the other countries we have visited with our dogs, we never had to pay more than $15 a dog. Most of the time a permit is free, not required or about 10 dollars, including the vet visit. This vet, who already had an attitude, got annoyed with our objections and suggested we’d just leave the country instead. To his surprise, we actually agreed. He stormed to the immigration office to tell them we were not allowed to stay! Now what? We were so very tired from this last crossing, it was already 2 pm and we knew we couldn’t make it to Guadeloupe, mentally, physically or by nightfall…

After this incident, which took place outside the buildings and was witnessed by all people and officials present, we had a nice talk with the immigration officer. He had sympathy for our situation and allowed us to stay one night in the harbor to get some sleep. The other officials were also very friendly, so our impression of Antigua wasn’t “all bad”. After going through the stream of paperwork to check in and out of the country and getting the required cruising permit for $12, we moved Irie back to the anchorage for some well deserved rest.

Now, back on the ocean, we have all this behind us, but feel good about our decision. Too bad we don’t get to see and explore Antigua, but… we’ll spend our money elsewhere, in places where our dog is as welcome as we are. On this 9^th of July, the elements agree with us. The sun sits bright in the sky, the wind keeps up, shooting us forward at an average of 6.5 knots. I think: “Look at us now, people, and be jealous. It doesn’t happen a lot, but now you are allowed to envy us. This trip is awesome!”

In a record time of about 7 hours, we would arrive in Deshaies, Guadeloupe. Checking in there is free and takes five minutes. One sheet to fill out, no stamps or permits required. No mention of Darwin…

Our Visit to St. Barth

We did it! We left St. Martin, without having to turn back, like many others who leave the lagoon after months and have some kind of boat problem from the moment they get “outside”. It was a close call, nevertheless…

On the last day of June, about a month later than hoped for, we arrived at Irie after one last errand that kept us in St. Martin until then. A certain “flower” in a certain Business made it her “point” to mess up another order that we expected there two (!) weeks prior. When we finally retrieved that envelop (the Wirie logo stickers), we were finally ready to leave. So, from the moment we possessed the prized envelop, we hoisted the dinghy and pulled up our main sail, only to discover that its shackle was broken… Ooops! Sail down, anchor back down, dinghy down and Mark on a mission. It was after 12 pm, so the stores were closed on the French side (lunch break). Mark rushed to the Dutch side, to scout the marine stores and –luckily- found the right size shackle. Our lunch was postponed and we were on our way again before 2 pm.

The goal was Ile Fourchue in St. Barth, but it was getting late. The first stretch went all right along the north coast of St. Martin, actually veering away from the island, tacking off the wind. When a huge squall was visible from the corner of our eyes, we made a wider turn, away from our destination, towards Anguilla. Not good. To prevent sailing back from where we came on the opposite tack, we decided to motor. The wind was not very favorable and time was running out. Just when we settled on spending the night at Tintamarre, a nice island east of St. Martin, the wind shifted North East. Hmmmm… That was a chance not to be missed and we changed course a slight bit to sail at a steady pace to Ile Fourchue after all. The last 2 miles, the wind died completely and we motored into another rain storm into the deep bay with free mooring balls, just before dark. We made it to St. Barth!

Ile Fourchue was nothing special, but gave us a good night’s sleep. The following morning, we sailed on to Anse de Columbier, a beautiful bay on the northwest side of “mainland” St. Barth and our favorite stop so far. Mooring balls are free to use, the water is as clear as in the Bahamas and the beach is wide, pretty and quite remote. The only way to get to Columbier is by boat or by foot. A 20-minute hiking trail brings you to this beach from a small town called Flamands. Mark, Darwin and I followed this trail in reverse a few times, to buy fresh baguettes and try to get online to deal with the Wirie website.

One evening, we got company from our friends Ellie, Tom and Jens on Madonna. It was awesome, to have drinks and dinner together, away from the oh-so familiar lagoon and exchange the few stories we gathered so far. They just finished a little sailing vacation to Tintamarre, St. Barth and Statia. In the morning we had a wonderful breakfast on the beach. We all felt like vacationers!

Another day, Mark and I decided to check out the capital Gustavia by boat. This big harbor is full of mooring balls and anchored vessels and is pretty deep. It took us an hour to find a place to safely anchor, a mile away from town. For this spot, we had to pay more than 12 euros (16 dollars), because the fees are calculated by surface area, and –yes- we are a catamaran, a little bit wider than most other boats. A mooring in front of Gustavia, deep into the harbor and close to all the conveniences and services was cheaper, but … none were available. The town does offer free showers for everybody and the port authority provides a garbage disposal and free WiFi, included in the fee. The WiFi signal, however, is weak at best and never reached the area called Corossal where we were anchored. For water one does have to pay nowadays.

Needless to say, if you know Liesbet and Mark (and their tight budget), we only lasted in Gustavia Harbor one night. We did utilize our time well with internet business and grocery shopping the first afternoon and a historical walking tour and filling our water tank the next morning. The tourist office provides nice maps and a written walking tour of town and that is the best way to see what there is to see. Mark and I walked along the harbor, to a couple of fort sites with good views and read about an array of historical buildings dating back to the time of the Swedes. Gustavia is a pretty city, clean and with a French attitude that is more than tolerable. Lunch in Le Select was the reward for a hot morning of walking – and to Mark – for a genuine effort to drag behind me and listen to the information in the brochure.

The same morning, we also walked across the island to St. Jean. The statue of an Arawak Indian at the roundabout represents all the symbols of St. Barth. The airport here is interesting in regards to the little planes that land over a hill and then practically drop down to the landing strip. An impressive act of competence and an awe-inspiring sight!

Since we were so fond of Columbier, we took our Irie back there. The wind was howling down the mountainsides and picking up a mooring ball became a huge challenge. In the process, we bent two boat hooks and lost one of them together with my hat. Lots of yelling. Not a good scene. But, we were still happy to be back in a peaceful harbor with a long beach for Darwin to enjoy.

In St. Barth, you can check out 24 hours before leaving the country. This meant, we had to go back to Gustavia for this event. We had been communicating with the agriculture department of Antigua, our next destination, about temporarily importing Darwin and things seemed to become more painful than we thought. Darwin has been totally in sync with the UK regulations and requirements for four years, but yet, for some countries that is not enough. He has a micro chip, all his health records and all the needed vaccinations. The last thing we read in an email from Antigua was that he needed a current health certificate, a rabies vaccination that is less than 1 year old (the one he has is good for three years and he is approaching 2 and a half years) and a performed lyme disease test, something we have never heard of or needed!

Instead of taking Irie back to Gustavia again, we chose the more adventurous option. We hiked to Flamands and hitched rides to town, with Darwin. There, the vet inspected our dog, proclaimed very healthy, and gave him a pet passport, with a current health certificate and the proof of another rabies shot in it. Price: $50. Armed with all the right paperwork and the thought that, if a test for lyme disease is really necessary it could be performed at our destination, we were ready for Antigua. The only thing between us and this popular island was a night crossing to the south east…

The Last Months in St. Martin

All right, this is supposed to be the last blog written in St. Martin. Mark and I have been here almost four months (that’s a third of a year!) and are almost ready to go. Even Darwin would like to leave, get the attention he deserves, swim in clear water and run on white sand beaches again. Irie is more than itching to go, so we can clean her very dirty, crusty and slimy bottom. We’ll take plenty of barnacles away from the lagoon! As a cruiser, in my opinion, two weeks in St. Martin is enough. One week to fix boat problems and provision, the other one to do some sightseeing, beach bumming and city roaming. We stayed here this much longer, because there is a huge cruising community in Simpson Bay Lagoon during the high season, meaning potential income.

During April and May and into June, Mark has been helping out fellow cruisers with computer issues and I have been doing some freelance writing online. I created walking tours about Marigot and Philipsburg and developed three extensive lesson plans for books read by American high school kids. Over the course of these months, Mark and I also invented “The Wirie”, a complete wireless internet solution for boats. Our Wiries are waterproof, easy to use, within the cruiser’s budget and have the best chip set on the market. Now I feel like I’m giving you guys the sales pitch here, sorry, habit. Anyway, we order the parts to St. Maarten and assemble the units on Irie.

People are pretty excited about the product and they are selling well. The best part is that we have been connected to the internet from the boat ever since the prototype was built! Except when we sold our own unit, because all the others were gone. Then, we had to run ashore again with all the hassle, time and fuel that comes with it, until we built new ones. We’re not doing that again! Our Wirie stays this time. For more info, check out our business website www.thewirie.com.

Even though starting a business out of the Caribbean isn’t an easy feat, life here wasn’t all work and stress. We did find some free time after hours and on Sundays to enjoy ourselves. Every other week or so, I went out for Ladies night with other “youngsters”. From 9 pm onwards, we had free entrance in two clubs, drank free drinks all night and enjoyed free sushi. Not too bad! On Sundays, we relaxed, snuck in a bit more work, organized a brunch for friends or went to Maho Beach for exhilarating experiences with planes. You are so close to the runway there that planes land right above your head or make you hold on for dear life to the fence, when they take off.

We also had some fun nights socializing with Michael and Angie from Germany, Tom from England and his girlfriend Eli from Italy/Egypt/Holland/Germany, Chris and Christine (who we first met in Luperon) from the States, Charlotte and Peter with their three year old daughter Denise from Sweden/Germany, Karen and Mike from England, John, Bobbie and their teenagers from Canada/New Zealand and many other cruisers. Did I ever mention St. Maarten is a cultural mix, even on the water?

When a black dog got dumped on the island across from us, we fed it and tried to find it a home. When we found a cute stray one night in Philipsburg, we almost brought him with us. The bus driver didn’t want him in his van and we weren’t quite ready for another dog, so with pain in our hearts we left him behind. We hoped to see him again in the future, but that never happened.

One day, I didn’t pull our dinghy high enough up the beach where we take Darwin multiple times a day. Wake or the tide helped it afloat and there it went… Since it was my mistake, I didn’t contemplate long, before I waded into the salty, dark and unattractive lagoon, in my underwear. Soon enough I was swimming as hard as I could to catch up with our only dinghy. The distance kept growing, the wind picked up and the harder I swam the more tired I got. Finally, totally exhausted, breathing hard and loud with mouths full of yakkie water, I reached our dinghy. My arms were too tired, though, to haul myself up. So, I held on to our shore vehicle and slowly swam back towards our boat upwind. There, I was able to climb aboard the dinghy via Irie to go fetch my stranded loved ones on the island.

On a better note and more fun was the Carnival in Philipsburg. We went over there one night in April with some friends, all dressed up to find that- other than the carnival groups themselves- we were the only ones to do so. Nonetheless, we had a great time watching the colorful parades and getting deaf from the loud, pumping Calypso music. The costumes were very elaborate and beautiful and the groups danced all day long despite the beaming sun.

In between all our tasks, trials and tribulations, we managed to kind of keep up with the usual chores of laundry, cleaning, shopping, cooking, fixing small boat issues and running Darwin to shore. We still need to focus on getting Irie ready to go and we wish we had more time for Darwin. We are neglecting our child, but hopefully for not much longer. The best part about still being in St. Martin is the availability of French cheese, wine and baguettes. After all these months, it is still as tasty as the first time we started enjoying these delicacies. We can’t get enough, but it’s not going to keep us here!

Our Little Vacation

A few weeks ago, Mark, Darwin and I took a little vacation. I hear you think: “Huh? Aren’t you guys on vacation every day?” No, as a matter of fact we are not. I know this sounds hard to believe, because how can life on a sailboat in the Caribbean NOT be a vacation, right? Well, with vacation, I mean that Mark and I took “the week off”, went on a sailing trip around St. Martin/St. Maarten and did exactly what we wanted, without responsibilities. We sailed up and down wind (to circumnavigate an island you have to do it all at one point), took Darwin for walks on the beach, sat in the cockpit with cocktails, enjoyed sunsets, rested, read a lot and did absolutely nothing whenever we pleased! It was a great vacation…

The first stop on our sailing trip was Grand Case. You’d think we would be sick of that place by now, since we took ourselves and our parents there multiple times, but… it is a nice anchorage and we hadn’t been to the weekly Tuesday festival yet. From 6 pm on that day, the main street is closed off and a lot of artisans and artists have their booths set up. Food is readily available everywhere and some live bands cheer up the night. We didn’t think it was too special, but –once again- we enjoyed the cheap BBQ food at the lolos for dinner. $4 ribs or $2 chicken with a side for another $2. You can’t beat that!

The next day we actually back tracked a bit and anchored in Friar’s Bay. That bay is famous for the reggae bar and restaurant on the west side of the beach. The place is called “Kali’s” and we had to stop by. Sadly enough, our Kali wasn’t around, but nevertheless, we gave our girl some extra thoughts that day. There actually was a dog that looked a bit like Kali, but he was leading a happy life and we’re not ready for a second dog (yet), so we left things the way they are. The drinks were expensive, so cocktail time was on Irie, as usual.

From Friar’s Bay, there is great walk over to Happy Bay, which is only accessible by foot and by boat. Happy Bay has a pretty stretch of white sand with a few palm trees and is very quiet. You see a few nude people, but they don’t bother anyone and we don’t bother them!

Next, we sailed over to Tintamarre, a raved about island on the east side of St. Martin. It was pretty indeed and especially the water was pleasant and beautiful. During the day, however, a lot of charter boats and day trips have Tintamarre as their destination. The beach and the anchorage get very crowded. There is a trail leading to the ocean side of the island, where more peace can be found, but where the sea is pretty rough, resulting in a lot of seaweed on the beach. Between 5:30 pm and 9 am, the island is quiet and attractive. Then we also felt comfortable taking Darwin to shore without the chance of getting yelled at, since Tintamarre is part of a National Reserve.

Closer to the mainland sits Green Cay. We anchored near there, opposite Orient Beach, which is famous for its big nudist resort. Since nudity is nothing new for us anymore and we did visit this area overland, we weren’t inclined to drop our dinghy down. The anchorage was also very rolly, so we just stayed for lunch. In the afternoon, we had a good sail to Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch side of this island. Here it’s called St. Maarten.

Philipsburg is a very pleasant town. We took the bus there several times and always wondered how the anchorage would be like. The bay is very protected and the water is clear and calm. All the amenities are reachable by dinghy and the wide beach is perfect for strolls with Darwin. A lot of cruise ships stop in this harbor, especially during the high season from November through April. That results in a lot of business and activity in the center of town and on the water. The ferries transporting people back and forth create wake, so we bobbed back and forth quite a bit. After five o’clock, though, all becomes calm and peaceful again. I inquired for some work (with thousands of cruise ship passengers a day descending on the town how could they NOT need somebody else to help?), but the season was dwindling down and no extra help was needed anymore.

We spent a few days in the Dutch capital before finishing our sail around the island. To our surprise, the fees ended up being pretty steep and a little bit ridiculous (pilot fees??) in Philipsburg harbor, so that dampened the fun a bit, but we still enjoyed our stay there. We rounded the west side of the island, saw a few planes land over Maho Beach and studied all the other beaches from a distance. Once the big hotels, condos and casinos made place for smaller buildings or no structures at all, we were on the French side of the island again. We arrived in time for the 2:30 pm bridge opening in Marigot Bay and entered the lagoon again for another extended stay. Now, it was time to focus on money.

One of our goals during our circumnavigation of St. Martin was to check out a new wireless device we put together. This prototype worked splendidly and we could call online from every place we anchored, except Tintamarre, where we actually didn’t even try to connect. Now, we knew we could order more parts and start putting these marine wireless solutions together. One of our many work ideas before we leave this country!

Our Parents' Visits in St. Martin

When Mark and I found out both sets of parents would visit us at about the same time in St. Martin/St. Maarten, Mark got a bit stressed and initially didn’t like the idea. How were we going to split ourselves up, spend enough time with everybody and not give the parents an overdose of each other on this first occasion they met? I promised him it would all work out fine and was excited about this great opportunity for all the parents to meet, the first opportunity in over four years!

My parents, Jacques and Agnes, arrived early March, a week before Carol and Stan (Mark’s parents) showed up. They planned to stay on Irie for a week and we all hoped to sail around the island and explore several anchorages along the way. Bad timing brought us a serious engine problem and just like that, the four of us (and Darwin) got stuck on Irie in Simpson Bay Lagoon. Luckily for us, we were anchored in a very safe, comfortable and convenient spot (with a beach for Darwin and stores for us), before we became immobilized. My parents and I, sometimes with Mark and Darwin, decided to do most of our explorations by bus and one day, we all rented a car to see the sights of the island.

Grand Case, the only other place in St. Martin we had taken the boat, was visited for a tasty lunch and my parents walked from there to Friar’s Bay and cosy, pretty Happy Bay. During their stay, we walked around in Philipsburg, the capital of St.Maarten and in Marigot, the

capital of St. Martin a few times.

We tried the beaches of Mullet and Maho Bay. The second one is famous for its setting, right at the end of the runway. Big planes take off from here, creating a blast that might throw you in the water and when a jet arrives right above your head, you instinctively take a few steps back, because it feels like the roaring machine will hit you. Exhilarating to say the least!

On our tour of the island, the five of us walked some trails on Pic Paradis, the highest mountain on the island with some spectacular views. We had lunch on Orient Beach where we made sure that the southern end of the beach is, indeed, full with nudist. This phenomenon is also noticeable at other beaches on the French side of the island, but never as prominent and publicly as here. In the afternoon, we checked out Oyster Pond and the ruins of Fort Amsterdam near Philipsburg.

By the time Carol and Stan arrived, my parents were settled in their comfortable hotel in St.Martin, bordering the lagoon. We focussed on Mark’s parents for a bit, doing very similar things than with my parents and visiting the same towns and sights. They stayed in a very roomy, self-contained condo at Simpson Bay, St. Maarten, where one of the most beautiful beaches on the island is located. Mark, Darwin and I enjoyed spending time with them and relaxing in the condo and on the beach. Once in a while, I, or we, would go over to my parents’ hotel to check in on them and their activities.

A big highlight was the meeting between the parents. The first time, we all had lunch on the French side and that went well. Everybody got along fine and more “appointments” followed. The whole family spent an afternoon on the beach near the condo, went sailing on Irie and concluded the visits with another lunch near Marigot. Mark’s parents had brought the new piece we needed for our broken engine and from the moment that was fixed, we arranged a day sail for everybody. It felt great to finally leave the lagoon! Mark manoeuvred Irie through the narrow bridge and before long, we glided through the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. We stopped at some rocks near Grand Case to snorkel and had lunch on the boat. My mum was still suffering from seasickness, so I brought her and my dad back to shore in Grand Case. The rest of us sailed a couple of hours longer along the north coast of St. Martin and back. On the trip, we crossed the “border” with Anguilla and gazed at the contours of Tintamarre and St. Barth. The weather was wonderful and the sailing awesome!

Mark’s parents left ten days after they arrived and my parents stayed for three weeks on the island. Everybody had a good time and it all worked out fine. We hope to get together again in the future. Mark and I both appreciate the effort of our parents to fly these long distances to see us and be with us. I guess we are a good excuse for a distant vacation and an encouragement for them to see different cultures and places. But, I’m sure, deep in their hearts they would like us to stay put somewhere, ideally within reach, and live a normal life…