Today we sailed west from Sint Maarten, when would we return?
We have a tentative plan to go around the globe first, – for now, we just head west. The island of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin looked splendid as a gentle breeze powered us along at 8 kts heading for Panama. John and I left feeling content and inside us both we had a radiant glow generated by the experiences and friendships Sint Maarten had facilitated over the past 14 months.
Sint Maarten & Saint Martin had been our base for well over a year. Many colleges have become friends we care about, new yachting friendships have emerged and our weekly routines have been severely enhanced due to like-minded friends joining us and sharing their pursuit to get their boats “sorted”. Of course boats are never “sorted”, there is always something to improve or fix, however, we are pretty proud of how well Joline looks and feels after a year-long endeavor to get her ready for a circumnavigation. The best bit was sharing our journey with our friends over ribs on Mondays, Curry on Wednesdays and Pizza on Fridays!,
Jolines – refit program brought us closer to the lovely people who helped us. The ladies at the chandlery checkouts – always cheerfully greeting us. The fabulous team at FKG who put up with our endless requests, and Bobbie's shipyard that went above and beyond to try and meet our requests., and of course the mast painting team who battled the endless dust and heat to create a smooth professional finish.
Some of the refit highlights were; – the day the new generator finally arrived and we winched it on board, followed by a sleepless night as we worried it wouldn’t fit in the old generator cabin. Then relief as it dropped smoothly in with only 1 mm on either side to spare – good measuring John! A fun day was putting on the new stripe with friends one side and then with a few locals the next week. I have never laughed so much for a long time. (Don’t look to closely the stripe has a bit of wonky character!).
The refit also gave us four lovely months ashore in an air-conditioned apartment – a welcome respite from the heat of the summer and dust of the shipyard where Joline resided out of the water or the hurricane season.
John was in his element running a team at the Airport installing a baggage handling system – the team were a pleasure to work with and John thrived as he generated solutions daily and ensured the team exceeded our customers’ expectations.
The Lagoon 570 International World Championships – Sint Maarten to Antigua and back and a few wee races in around Antigua, were a major highlight over the New Year break. With Christopher (my son)on board, we had outstanding winds and meaty swells to ensure some robust racing. Pattie and Garry in their beautiful 2008 copper coated ( slippery bottomed)Lagoon, beat us on the way to Antigua. We had to work hard on the way back in rough seas to ensure we stayed ahead.
Christmas day was another highlight as our international guest – Swedes, Australians, Americans and Brits all gathered on Joline for a traditional roast dinner with cultural additions from all.
We have now said our goodbyes and packed up the boat with what we hope is enough provisions and spares for six months. Sint Maarten has been a blast and now we leave content that we have had fun, got the boat as sorted as it will ever be and very grateful for everyone in Sint Maarten for the friendships and experiences we have had. We shall miss you.
Now our new Adventure begins – Mission: Adventure 2O24. Chapter 1 – Sint Maarten to Panama.
Hope to see many of you guys in the Pacific...... thank you for being our friends.
Comments