December 13thAlltech6321 minutes agoCant get here fast enough since I'm working in Chicago till the 11th and it is too cold for this southerner at the current moment. This will probably be our last trip to SXM for a while as we will rotate to a different Xmas location after spending the last 2 in SXM. But as always staying at a different place we will be trying the French side and staying at 2 different boutique hotels instead of a Condo this time 1 week at Karibuni and 1 week at Bleu Emeraude think I will need the 1st week just to thaw out.
Over the years, I had come to the conclusion that upwind sailing generally isn't worth it... adopting kind of a "gentlemen don't sail to weather" attitude.
Recently, I had guests on board that were small boat sailors and interested in learning, so we had a sail tacking upwind from Norman Island to Cooper Island. I had a guest at the helm while I handled the sails and gave instructions. I was really surprised how much I learned in the process, here are some of my conclusions - dissent welcome. This is obviously somewhat specific to the type of boat we were on ( Leopard 42 ) and the conditions ( 16-18 kts with occasional gusts into the low 20s ).
* Close-hauled courses need to be hand steered. These cats don't point well and just don't have the performance margin for a compass course. All opportunities to gain height must be exploited.
* If the telltales are flying, you are probably not pointing high enough. The headsail has to be on the verge of shiver.
* Trim the genoa fairly close, but not overly flat. Then sail by SOG. Every wind increase must be turned into height, not speed. Settle on a SOG ( like 6 kts. ) and try to keep the boat there. If you're accelerating, you missed an opportunity to come up. Puffs must be watched for and anticipated. Fall off in lulls just enough to preserve boat speed.
I'm pleased that the L42 has much better helm feel, less weather helm and overall seems to be a better sailing boat than the outgoing L40.
LIO KAI is now listed on the Moorings brokerage site, MANTA was just offloaded in Tortola and is at the Moorings dock awaiting comissioning and paperwork. We are very excited for the next 5 years.
Verizon Wireless chargesCincinnati_KidYesterday at01:58 PMAlthough I did not make or receive any phone calls in St. Martin, and kept my cellphone in my suitcase, except perhaps to recharge the battery, I received three separate 12 dollar charges from Verizon, identified as Anguilla, which they declined to reverse. Anyone else have this problem? I have in the past tried to call the US without success.
I had a bad tummy so did not go far today. Lunch in the room. Hung out at the pool. We were supposed to go to D's for their Thanksgiving Buffet. Cancelled. Dinner at Roma for pizza. Split a Ceasar salad and had a great pizza. Gambled a bit after & lost what I was ahead. Oh Well. A lot of great entertainment at no cost.
Day 7- The road home.
Breakfast @ Zee Best. Not the best we have ever had there. Slow service and food not as ordered. Off to airport. Spirit 101 as scheduled. Check in kiosk froze as we were trying to get our bags checked. The attendant took us though it & we wandered on to security. Short lines and off we go. Kill a couple of hours before boarding. Flight arrived early into FLL. Didn't matter as it was a cluster F@#$. Had to get bags 1st. No info as to baggage belt. Unusual as immigration used to be 1st & then baggage & customs. Hotel shuttle was a long wait as we had a park, sleep, fly. It was about 40 minutes from my call to pickup. Home safe & sound @ 11 p.m.
Conclusions
Spirit was an OK deal. Big Front Seat package was a good thing. Great seats, lots of room, & free snacks. Plus any drink you wanted including alcohol. $1400 for 2 compared to Economy+ on AA @ $2000. Will probably do MIA in the future as it is just a smoother in & out situation. Much better park, sleep, fly option. Price drives choice so I would not rule out a repeat of this itinerary but it will not be my 1st choice. I was hestitant about Spirit but they delivered. FLL not so much. It's really little difference for us in travel to the airport. Either straight in off Alligator Alley to FLL or a slight turn south to MIA.
Royal Palm was great. Beautiful restored accomodations. Only had lunch 1 day & it was OK. We are spoiled by the much bigger pool at LaPlage and the easy access to grocery items, shopping, and restaurants.
BTW - The smoking lounge is not yet open at the airport. Same old place but a bit smaller as it looks from the concourse. Big orange gate blocking the entrance.
Book up to two weeks ahead for same day return flights to Saba ($139 or so) or Statia ($79usd or so). What a great option to explore.
They also added flights to various southern islands like St V, St L and Barbados.
Winair is promoting BF flights for the new year if you are on the fence.
Otherwise, there's a ferry (Makana??) from sxm to Saba, Statia and on to St Kitts. They don't sail daily and i find their schedule confusing but that's my brain looking for a pattern in a cross sided data table. Its good to have options.
Trip report 25th through 29thcandj11/29/202407:00 PMWe are on SXM for 19 days. The first 4 days, we have spent no time at the beach as we have spent most of our time shopping for Xmas. Phillipsburg was busy everything we were there as there were 4 or 5 ships in Port. Did some shopping in Maho and it too was really busy.
Had dinner at the Greenhouse, Yacht Club, 3 Amigos and had Thanksgiving dinner at Pineapple Pete's. The Greenhouse has changed it's recipe for their Bang Bang shrimp as it sauce was soupy and real spicy. The taco Tuesday at 3 Amigos is a great deal at $2 per taco. Pineapple Pete did a real good job on a traditional Thankgiving dinner.
The weather has been humid and rainy but we are headed to Orient tomorrow.
Arrival on the island was a breeze. We still had to use busses to get off the plane and customs never asked for our SXM pre-arrival document. However, AA in Char.otte looked at the SXM pre-arrival document. From the time we entered the building to getting our luggage was probably 15 minutes.
Couples San Souci Sunset Beach?Oui_Play11/29/202402:45 PMWe've read a few reviews that the nude beach shoreline at Couples San Souci is rocky and it's rather difficult to get in and out of the water there. We love our nude beaches but we also love being able to cool off and go for a swim in the ocean.
Can anyone who has been to Couples San Souci recently comment on how rocky it actually is? Sure we could put on water shoes, but we're there specifically to not have ANYTHING on at the beach!
The beach is back!!!!Colour111/29/202411:15 AMCheck it out!!! After MONTHS of no beach and or just part of it. It's back in full!!! Always one of our favorite beaches to take a dip and watch the planes after a bite at Driftwood!! Best rum punch IMHO on the island!!
