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May, 2004
We made it to Sint Maarten which is the Dutch side of St. Martin island. We left BVI on Thursday, May 20th around 6:15 pm without our mail package and with slightly rough conditions, 5-8 foot seas. It was a bumpy ride with a few exciting moments. We had a full main out for a little extra speed (1 knot extra) and balance. During our journey, we heard a loud pop, as soon as our hearts started beating again, we quickly determined that our outhaul line broke. This is the line used to bring out the mainsail and hold it in place while sailing. So our main was literally flapping the wind which was blowing about 20-25 knots. We quickly decided to bring in the main which was done without issue, and decided to keep the main furled. Shortly thereafter, we heard a MAYDAY call. The signal was very strong and we could hear the conversations between the Coast Guard and the vessel. The original call indicated a boat taking on water and aground. After about two hours and much discussion between the distressed vessel and the Coast Guard, it was determined that the vessel was not really taking on that much water and they weren't really aground their depth sounder wasn't working properly. So, everyone was safe and they were just a little embarrassed which I am sure made everyone happy. We arrived in St. Maarten on Friday, May 21st around 12:30 pm, a little tired and very glad to be here. We rested our first night and then met some friends for dinner and cocktails actually margaritas which might explain these photos. We did a bit of exploring, working and relaxing. We, of course, got together with friends (Windborne, Schardo, and George & Ney) to eat, drink and enjoy good conversation. Then, we spent a day touring the island via a jeep with George & Ney and also visited their beautiful home near Orient Bay which has an exquisite view. We had a few boat chores to do like fixing the outhaul line, filling the propane tanks, etc. We also decided to have a little work done on our electrical system. The work was done quickly, and on Saturday, March 29th, we left for Philipsburg, St. Maarten for a quick stop before we headed to St. Barts. Philipsburg is just a couple of hours (by boat) from Simpson Bay, so we arrived with plenty of time to roam around town and then have dinner with our friends on Schardo. Unfortunately, later that evening we noticed smoke coming from one of the electrical instruments (not good). So, the next day, we headed back to Simpson Bay and have been here finalizing repairs. We hope to have everything finished and working by Thursday, June 10th so we can head south. Since our schedule was delayed, we may miss St. Barts on this trip and head straight to either St. Kitts or Montserrat. Until our departure, we've been keeping busy with boat chores ... there are always boat chores. Here's a quick update to the previous paragraph. Our repairs weren't finished on June 10th like we had hoped. While we waited, we continued with our chores and enjoyed the luxury of having air conditioning while staying at the marine. We were finally able to leave St. Maarten on June 15th, and like we expected our schedule didn't allow a visit to St. Barts. We sailed directly to Monserrat. You may want to see a few more photos of St. Maarten before continuing to Monserrat.
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