Yes, we are still having a great time in the islands.

We've spent over 2 months in St. Martin and enjoyed the company of my sister Estelle and her husband Armand.
We rented a car to tour the island then travelled by boat to Tintamarre, Ile Pinel and Grand Case.

We are now heading south and are passing by the same islands for the third time.
We are still amazed by their beauty and the friendly people who are here.

We are presently in St. Lucia where we will enjoy the company of friends who have rented a villa. We'll be meeting Terry & Randy, Diana & James and another couple at the beach this afternoon and will be treated to dinner at the villa tonight.

I will be spending the summer in London to take care of the grandkids, Autumn and Noah.
Dan will stay at the boat to take care of the long list of projects he has chosen to undertake. He will fly up at the end of summer at which time we plan on travelling the Montreal/Ottawa region.

We won't be continuing the blog for a while but do welcome emails from everyone.
The recipe book will also have to wait since I only received two replies...thanks ladies!

We have a dear friend who is presently battling cancer and would ask that you keep him in your prayers.

We are anchored in the second bay at the top of the caption picture.

Yes, it is winter in St. Martin.
Although not as drastic a change as in Canada and the US, there is a drop in the air and water temperatures; not complaining but it will be nice when we have our warm evenings again.

As we are anchored near the airport, we were aware of plane cancellations due to inclement weather; it was weird not seeing the huge Air France jet not make her mid-morning landing and late afternoon departure.

Dan, with the help of our friend Sylvain, got a few projects accomplished on the boat.
The first one was replacing our 30 amp battery charger and 1000 watt inverter for a Xantrex 55amp charger and 1000 watt inverter combo. Instead of two separate units we now have one and no longer have to go to the back locker to activate the inverter.
This project took the better part of a day as it involved disassembling, wiring and mounting.

The second project involved designing a method to add an incline to the largest of our solar panel so we can pick up maximum power from mid-day until sunset.
Over a few ti-punch Dan & Sylvain came up with a plan and off went Dan the next day to get the necessary materials.
The following day the guys are at it again; they have as much fun as a kid with a mechano set.
This project was done in half a day.

The final project was a minor one Dan undertook himself.
He installed an accumulator on the water system that prevents the water pump from running intermittently when there is a leak somewhere in the system.

All work no play you say…..not.

We’ve had our share of entertaining aboard Triumph and have been entertained on buddy boats as well as the occasional lunch at local restaurants.

We also rented a car for a day to tour the island. Among the stops along the way, we had lunch at the Dinghy Bar in Oyster Bay. This was a familiar area for us as we had chartered a sailboat in this bay with Nancy & Jack and Suzy & Mike back in 2006. The lady who made the awesome banana rum is no longer there…awwwwww.

We are also preparing for the arrival of my sister Estelle and her husband Armand. They’ve been aboard Triumph in the North Channel but this will be their first visit with us in the Caribbean. Hopefully the weather will cooperate that we may leave our anchorage and sail around the island. We are hoping to get to Grand Case, Ile Pinel and Tintamarre.

I would like to get a cookbook together and invite you to email (click in right hand column) me a recipe, with picture if you have one; the categories would be appetizers, salads, main course and deserts.
For those who are following our blog and we have never met, please include your name and boat name (if you have one).
I have a few requests: Faby, I want your jambon a la biere and Nancy I want your cheese fondue recipe.
Please forward by the end of the month.
I am anxious to see how many replies we receive.

Happy February….don’t forget Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
We had a great time with friends on board Triumph last night, to welcome the new year.
Our dilema was which one of the six fireworks display around us to watch at midnight.
My vote went to the Maho fireworks...hey Heather & Judy, you missed a great one.
What a treat!