St. Maarten

So then onto St Maarten.  The island is divided into a French side and a Dutch one, there is a lagoon which is accessible by a bridge on either side.  Our boat is too wide to go through the French bridge, 

without risk of touching the sides, just not worth it really.

Anchoring on the French side involves no charge, and there are boats there that appear to have been totally abandoned.  Some have sunk and some are on the verge of it.  Indeed one of them sunk whilst we were there!

A scary figurehead on one of the yachts in the marina.

At the end of the runway, youngsters hang around at the bar and wait for a plane to get ready to take off.  They hang of to the fence and wait for the pilot to give it the gun.  If it is a large jumbo, they can literally get blown into the sea, a small plane isn't as much fun!

The dividing bridge that the Dutch are in the process of building.

This is the ship that brought the middle of the bridge into the lagoon leaving again.  It has about six inches either side of the bridge to spare.  A fantastic piece of seamanship.

A great spectator occasion too.

On the Dutch side you have to pay to anchor, but we needed to be close to the services and the workman charge for their time from the minute they leave their workshops, so better to be close.

This Swiss boat 'Turanor - Planet Solar' from Basel are trying to motor round the world on solar power.
There are huge panels that fold out like wings that provide the power for this rather striking vessel.

There it is gone, well almost gone!

A few days later, the same boat being lifted, pumped out and craned away.

St. Kitts cont.

Daryl came and collected me in the middle of my blog posting, there had been a massive downpour and  we were both ashore, with all the hatches open!
Rushed back and sorted it out.

Found an ideal place for lunch, out of the rain and enjoyed a light lunch and a glass of wine.

Watching a political rally in Basseterre, this couple have the most amazing hair.

This beautiful giant Saman tree in the grounds of Romney Manor is about 400 years old.  It is covered with air plants and is almost a garden on it's own.