A continuing saga of Bareboating (or not) in SXM

Today I boarded our chartered catamaran KuDu for the return sail to SXM .We made a terribly undignified departure from Gustavia- failure to secure our dinghy resulted in shouts of dismay from the crew. Our dinghy was dangling from its hoists; the gas can completely unsecured and almost adrift. With much scrambling it was rescued, and unbelievably these people next decided that we should put up the sails. Another 45 minutes of chaos ensued. At last, in relatively calm open water, I was coaxed into taking the helm. With a lot of “atta girls” from the crew I navigated Kudu parallel to SXM’ shoreline – and immediately spied a long stretch of beach with a patch of yellow at one far end. TTOL research was paying off - that was Orient Beach and the Club O umbrellas! But we were bound for Grand Case today, so I continued at the helm, pointing out tiny Pinel, and Tintamarre to the crew. Anchoring in Grand Case resulted in another zoo-like scramble. But now it was time to dinghy ashore and make those dinner reservations. Crewmember Tal made it no further than Talk of the Town. One whiff of those ribs and he parked himself at a picnic table and would not budge. He radioed back to his wife, still on board, that it was ribs for dinner!

The rest of us wandered the streets checking the menu at Le Cottage, L’Alabama, noting with a little disappointment that none of the dining rooms were air-conditioned. We finally settled on beautiful l’California, hoping that it’s beachside location would provide a breeze. Back to Kudu we went, to pick up the rest of the crew. I tried to take a semblance of a shower in the miniscule cabin with its sink no larger than a coffee mug. Decided to just put on shorts and camisole, even though I had looked forward the “big” night in Grand Case for months. I jammed more clothing and toiletries in an overnight bag – and urged Andy to do the same ( this time planning to leave Kudu permanently behind for the rest of the trip). Well, as luck would have it, everyone successfully survived the dinghy trip back to shore but me……..hubby Andy dropped me most ungracefully in the surf at the dinghy dock, and I had to swim ashore fully clothed. Thank goodness my “spare” clothing remained dry on dock, and with a quick change at Talk of the Town, I was off to l ‘California sporting dry clothes and sopping wet hair.

I quickly forgot my embarrassment and discomfort, as the seaside breezes, French wine and divine scallop ceviche and monkfish curry arrived. A request for after dinner rhum brought two bottles of the nectar to our table, compliments of the house. Then a quick taxi ride whisked Andy I away to our pre-booked rooms at the Royal Turtle.

When I stepped into the Turtle Pier restaurant, it was to the tantalizing steel pan rhythm of Flash, and the warm welcome of host Alan. He immediately noticed poor Andy sitting dejectedly with the luggage (Andy still believed he was in the doghouse after that dinghy incident) and proceeded to prepare rum punches for both us. I kicked off my shoes, and spent the rest of the night dancing barefoot on the pier to the tropical steel pan beat. This had to be the SXM that TTOL had promised.