101 vessels still in the Lagoon abandoned or wrecked? That is terrible! Unfortunately this creates a situation where sailors wishing to visit SXM are limited with safe places to anchor.

The Lagoon is usually the preferred anchorage, both the French Side and the Dutch Side, for cruising sailors especially during the months of December - May. Having wrecks litter the Lagoon makes it very risky to anchor without causing damage to a vessel. In 2018 some insurance companies have refused to provide insurance coverage for sailboats visiting St. Maarten/St. Martin because of this potential risk, unfortunately.

Hopefully the government will help speed up the clean-up effort in the Lagoon and by doing so will attract more tourist dollars into the damaged economy.

That is the reason I asked about Simpson Bay Marina - having that marina, along with any others around the Lagoon available, would give sailors a place to tie up if the Lagoon is not safe to anchor yet.