Marina Life - Waiting for Parts

 Maria at the dinghy dock in Simpson Bay Lagoon

 

 Cruisers selling boat parts at Lagoonies on Sint Maarten

Long Bay Beach on St. Martin

Jan, Steve's Dutch running partner on Sint Maarten

S/Y Aspen – April 2, 2014 – Log #119
Aspen Position: 18 degrees 02’ N  063 degrees 05’ W
Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten

It has not been boring here on Sint Maarten/St. Martin, that is for sure.  Luckily we are still in the marina with electricity and easy access to land, especially since we still don't have our part to repair reverse gear on our main engine!

Actually we did receive a part but of course it was not the right part.  Geeze.  So we hustled around the many places here on the island and Island Water World located the correct part for us.  Now all we have to do is get the part down here to us!

Let's see, I ran a half marathon, around the entire Simpson Bay Lagoon and didn't die of heat stroke.  I thought that was an accomplishment.  I forgot how competitive the French and Dutch runners are down here so I was lucky enough not to finish last.  I won the Veteran age group but they didn't give awards for that.

We have been going to the many beaches around the island and enjoying the beach bars/restaurants and people watching of course.  The water temperature is a little cooler than bath water but not by much so sitting in the water is really nice and relaxing.

We ran into our Dutch friends that we have not seen since we lived here in 1997.  Wow, what a nice surprise that was!  I ran many many miles with them so long ago on the roads around the island.  They remembered Maria and I as if we had never left.  Good friends never forget, it seems.

Other Mainer friends (look that one up!) also visited the island for 2 weeks so we caught up with them as well, on the beach of course.  It has been a long winter in the northeast, they explained, and they didn't want to go back.  We just smiled and bought them a drink.

Another couple that we knew from 2006 built a villa on the Dutch side of the island and invited us to visit and enjoy their pool and view.  Wow!  You can see by the picture that it is spectacular and great to visit with them while looking at St. Barths in the distance and sipping rum punches.

Once I get Aspen working again we will sail further north to the BVI's and more fun times there.

Sail on, sail on Aspen...