ST MAARTEN/ ST BARTS/ ANGUILLA

Energized from our adventures in the BVI, I decided to plan two trips for 2010. The first is right around the corner… St Maarten/St Barts/Anguilla. We start with a sleep aboard on Friday, February 12th and will return to the blustery north on Sunday, February 21st.

For this trip, our sailors hail from Oregon, California, Illinois, South Carolina and Washington DC. Our adventure will start off by flying into SXM. From all the pictures it’s quite the landing, right over the water/public beach. Good thing the prevailing winds are from the northeast and the forecast is for a lovely 80o and sunshine.

We’ve chartered an Oceanis 52.3 through Tropical Yachts. The boat has 5 cabins and 5 heads. I’ve taken the liberty of collecting multiple refreshing sprays, diffusers, and air fresheners to make the head “seem” refreshed! Apparently, coffee in premade filters and dryer sheets make good diffusers but if that doesn’t work I picked up some sprays and stick-ups. I’ll let you know what works the best.

With only ten sailors on the boat everyone will have a little more privacy as no one will have to sleep under the table or in the galley. Although, I’m sure a few of us will sleep on deck enjoying the salty air.

Our boat is docked in Oyster Bay, on the Dutch side of St Maarten. Most of the crew is arriving Friday, February 12th at 9pm, but a few will be there early to pick up provisioning, check-in, and get the blender rolling.

Once everyone is aboard and we’ve check out, we’ll set sail Saturday morning. The route is still being worked out but since Mardi Gras is Tuesday, February 16th, you’ll probably find us in Grand Case, St Martin (French Side) participating in the parade and festivities. We will be visiting St Barts and Anguilla on our trip, but if the weather holds we might venture south to St Kitts!

Keep watch for posts while we’re on the trip… and if you're not one of the fortunate 10 embarking on a tropical sail, we hope to see you in Greece in September.