St Martin's strange hold
25 January 2010 | St Martin
Brad
We wake up most mornings by about 6-6:30am and have a cup of coffee before turning on the VHF at 7:30am to listen in to the St Martin cruisers morning radio net. Mike the Dutch guy that runs it most mornings recites a few standard jokes before asking for any arrivals and departures. It generally (OK, always) follows that for any new arrivals that anticipate staying only a few days (much like us) he notes that you'll stay longer than that, as St Martin has a habit of holding you longer...and indeed it does...although we are not sure why!
So we have slipped in to a fairly regular routine here. We don't have much to do before being back in Antigua in Early Feb and we have a load of mates here. Since the last blog; I've made another half dozen trips to the chandlery, but bought nothing; Kat has read another few books on her ever moving conveyor belt of literature and we've been hanging out with all the boats we know here. We managed a movie the other night at the Caribbean Cinema (good value at only $US6 per person), where we saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie (top movie and worth a look). We had a night at the Sunset bar which is famous for its close proximity to the end of the airport runway that receives everything and anything up to 747 size. Here you can stand within 100 odd metres of a 737 while it increases the throttle for take-off (just be sure to remove loose clothing and hang on to the fence! And yes Dad we did and we are fine!) Or you can stand on the beach as they land, skimming overhead only some 50m above. Alternatively you can just sit in the bar, listening to airport radio on the speakers, sipping a beer and watching the local inter-island cowboys landing in the most extreme fashion. Some approaching at right angles others landing in tandem and sometimes 3 at time! Good entertainment.
Last night was the first of our 3-night Australia day celebrations that saw us at the Sand bar on the super yacht island. A pool party complete with arm wrestling, pie eating, free jelly shots and a night of good ol' home grown Aussie music. Unfortunately for Kat our night was cut a little short after a drunken push/pull/fall into the shallow end of the pool saw her ankle sprained. Alas she now has a sprained ankle to add to her increasing collection of ailments!! Thankfully thought this is the least serious to date and should only see her resting for a few days.