Half Dutch and Half French

Our sailing friends Cindy and Dan on Sitatunga at the Bitter End on Superbowl Sunday.

The Bitter End, Virgin Gorda, BVI's

 Maria enjoying the Bitter End beach, BVI's

Biras Creek, North Sound, BVI's

Sailing on Aspen with Cindy and Dan on a shopping trip to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda, BVI's

 Maria at the Customs office in North Sound, BVI's.  We are checkout out of the country to sail further south.

It is Heineken Regatta time in Sint Maarten!!!

Our view of the Lagoon at Sint Maarten, watching the jets take off too.

Our marina docks at Heineken Race time.  Maria is standing across from Aspen who is dwarfed by the larger sailboats!

Our sailing friends Sherry and Ric from Sheric.  We are enjoying the cruisers party!

Captain Steve helping a 72 foot racing yacht named Sapphire dock next to Aspen in the marina.

S/Y Aspen – March 1, 2017 – Log #148
Aspen Position: 18 degrees 02’ N  063 degrees 05’ W
Sint Maarten, Caribbean

Aspen got a great weather window to sail further into the little latitudes and we arrived on the dual island nation of Sint Maarten/St. Martin.  It is great to be back on this island that is one of our favorite places in the Caribbean.

What could be better?  French food, French groceries, Dutch grocery stores with lots of USA items to choose from and great island friendliness.

Oh yes, there are lots of boat parts to be had on this island too!  Aspen loves to be pampered with the right things to fix whatever is broken at the moment.

Our neighbors from Colorado, Art and Liz, arrived on a Celebrity cruise ship one day and we toured all around the island.  French food, pastries, the town of Marigot and Orient Beach were at the top of their list of places to visit.  The weather cooperated and the tour was lots of fun.  We even got them back to their ship before it sailed away.

Simpson Bay Marina, where Aspen is tied up, had a volunteer day at a local orphanage for any sailors wanting to help out.  Maria and I painted interior walls all day in really hot conditions.  The resident’s smiling faces made our work worth the effort.  After our day of labor we got to visit Ile de Sol Marina, home of Superyachts from all over the world and enjoy a BBQ put on by the marina as a way of thanking us for our time.

Now it is Heineken Regatta time on the island.  Heineken Regatta is the largest in the Caribbean with over 200 boats racing around the island for nearly a week with parties everywhere.  Our marina docks are strewn with piles of extra sails, parts, anchors, and a few wayward sailors who didn’t quite make it back to their boat from the late night parties.  What an experience this is for little Aspen to be nestled among these tricked out racing boats, not to mention Aspen’s crew who are looking forward to seeing UB40 play at the finale this weekend.

Sail on, sail on Aspen…

Also, our book, Voyage Into Hell, is available at Amazon.com