Leaving St Maarten

We'll , I really can't say that we saw St Maarten.  I just would not want to judge the island by the scuzzy lagoon and of course the endless long bouncy dinghy trips thru the whitecaps to ... where else....The Chandlery.  I must admit they were the best stocked that we have found and we did pick up a lot of little incidentals that were on our list as well as the Anchor, Cockpit table construction and we also bought a new stereo to replace the 2nd Jensen that did not work "again".  So, it's packed up and ready to ship back. 
The great part of that stay was meeting up with Bill and Maryanne and sharing some happy hours and a nice trip up to Grand Case to a wonderful french restaurant overlooking the bay and then heading back for the Virgins with them. They are a wonderful couple from Maine and we hope to connect with them later in the season and maybe get together in Maine or Haliburton this summer.

Exiting the bridge was a little hairy. It opens up and us and everyone else were all jockeying for a place  waiting in line with a huge crosswind and the true to form stink pot boats ( motor cruisers)  just butting in and passing with no regard that they have twin engines , so have way more maneuverability than us single engine sailboats.  And, we all have No Brakes. we got 3 feet outside the channel and touched ground while the stink pot crowded us over. Yes, it's that shallow and tight in there.

We are  leaving St Maarten behind on our way back to the Virgins to time our pick up of Wendy and Elmer

The trip back was beautiful , starting with a gorgeous sunset then a wonderful a starlit , almost full moon sky.  In a following sea the ride is like a gentle, endless surfboard ride. We arrived as dawn was breaking and cruised into Leverick to grab a ball so we could change out the anchors.

Out with Old, In with the New

Now, Where to stow that Faithful Danforth that hooked us well. In fact so well in Simpson Bay Lagoon that we had to drive over it and over it, and over it, to try to get it loose when we were trying to time that bridge opening. We thought she just didn't want to leave.   Must have actually liked that scuzzy, stinky water.  Go figure!  Who could possible understand the thoughts of an Anchor.