Captain's Log Page 15

Tideline Yacht Sales
17 Lockwood Drive
Charleston, SC 29401

PHONE: 843.813.3711
FAX: 866.467.8840
Email: glen@tidelineyachtsales.com

      The island itself is divided into the French and Dutch sides. The history of the division is uncertain, although the prevailing opinion is that the countries decided not to go to war over such a small island, and agreed to split it into two sectors. The Dutch sector is part of the Netherlands Antilles, which comprises of St Maarten, Saba, St Eustatius, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Each island is represented by a star on the flag. They formed a confederation once they gained independence from their Dutch colonial masters. The Dutch heritage is well represented in the food and architecture that still remains.

The French side is completely different, and like all the other French possessions, one could be forgiven for not thinking one is walking down the promenade in Nice or Cannes. The waterfront on the lagoon side has been developed, and the money used was generated by the movie "Speed II". After the devastating hurricane season the producers decided the location would be perfect. They bought the boats that would otherwise have been totaled, and used them in the movie.

Needless to say, we had heard a lot about St Maarten. The Dutch bridge that opens twice a day cannot be radioed. The bridge operator arrives 15 minutes before opening the bridge, and insists that boats wishing to come into the lagoon have to fill out forms in his office! Once that has been done, he opens the bridge at precisely the correct time. We found the only way to do this successfully was to send someone in the dinghy to do the paperwork, and then meet them once we had gone through the bridge. I am not sure how someone who is alone is expected to comply with the regulations, and make it inside! Once inside we had to find a decent place to anchor, while not crowding those who were there before us. The lagoon has an average depth of 10 feet, and anchoring should be relatively easy. We met up with another couple who had taken the same route as us – South Africa to the Caribbean, and he had dragged anchor in the lagoon. He was ashore at the time, but managed to get back to his boat before it hit another boat and did damage. We opted to clear customs on the French side, which was closer. The customs on the Dutch side was in Philipsburg, which was a bus ride. It was easier to go by dinghy to the French side and walk to the customs office.
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