Just spoke with someone who recently returned from 10 days on the Island. There is a man renting chairs at Orient where Pedros used to be, his name is Colin. He previously worked for Pedro for many years and now has a rental business. Prices are the same as Club Orient I was told , new chairs , umbrellas and drink tables. I will be there in 2 weeks and give him a try.

Nice to know this. Thanks for posting. If possible, when you get back can you provide any updates regarding the former beach bars, shops and restaurants north of the old Pedro's. Just trying to monitor the progress being made with them. When several of them return then we'll all know that Orient Beach is 'coming back' and that should bring more tourists in. Kakao was our favorite, but all of them were good and it was so sad to see them wiped out nine months ago.

Just observing and guessing. Cedric has his setup of yellow (with s couple of blue) umbrellas toward the middle-to-north end of the CO beach; there are about 10-15 grey umbrellas where Cedric's end, right near Pedro's. They look like nice chairs - mesh vs. strap style. My guess is those are the ones by Colin. Only problem, at least for us, is that this is right where the taxis drop all the cruise passengers.

How is that a problem? Do they not have the right to use a public beach also? I am sure the chair vendors are just as happy to rent chairs to them as they are others.

I think they were probably talking about using the chairs nude...

Actually the taxis are pretty much dropping everybody at Perch Lite.

Yep, it is what it is and everybody seems cool with it. We have not seen any issues.

Probably true. Sounds like poster thinks they have an exclusiveness on the beach for only nude visitors. It is a public beach for the use of all.

Nice reporting.

Colin is back

Some people, more women than men, are not comfortable being nude on a clothing optional beach, and if a woman will not go nude on a clothing optional beach, if there are a lot of clothed/non-nude men at the beach.

Is it possible for a poster here to refer to that lack of comfort as a problem for them, without being told expressly or implicitly that they wrongly believe they have a right to have the beach exclusively reserved for nude use?

I do not understand why you guys need to jump on this so aggressively every time such a reference is made.

I surely understand and respect both points of view regarding this. But, given the situation at hand any chair and umbrella rentals on Orient Beach are a welcome addition -- nude or not. In time, when more places are rebuilt to the north of the old Pedro's I'm certain there will be a greater degree of separation between clothed and non-clothed guests. But, the one thing that makes SXM and Orient Beach so much better than other islands (and Mexico) that we have visited is in fact the 'clothing optional' status of this beach (and Happy Bay Beach, for that matter). In Jamaica, for example, there are some very nice Couples resorts that have a private nude beach nearby. But, there you have no choice. You must be nude, or you are asked to leave that portion of the beach. Even those of us who enjoy the au naturel approach on the beach have times when we may want to choose otherwise. This is certainly the case with my wife and I.

We have not been visiting St. Martin as long as many others on this board, but based on our past experiences the clothing optional feature of Orient Beach sort of had 'distinct' sections to it. For those wishing to be nude and not encounter too many textiles, you could set up shop down near Papagayo's near the bend (if you could get chairs down there). For those wishing to sunbathe in the buff but not really caring about who saw them, there were the blue chairs near the rocks that extended down to the original Perch bar. And, for everyone else there was the middle section where it was primarily all nude with the occasional cruise ship people strolling by in their swimsuits. We've not been back to St. Martin since April '17, so I can't verify any of this but maybe as more chair and umbrella rentals pop-up that type of separation will re-establish itself. Those wishing to be nude without textiles around could head further to the south, and those who are ambivalent to this will choose chair rentals more towards the old Pedro's. Is this happening presently, or is everyone just kind of mixed together wherever you can find seating?

"clothing optional beach"
Those are the key words. If people have a problem being nude in front of non nude people or visa versa then they should go to a different beach or location on that beach. Plain and simple.

And will naked people be welcome further down the beach once the "textile" operations open back up? I suspect that once again many will forget that Club O is an anchor business for the area that welcomes all regardless of the amount of clothing they are wearing...

"And will naked people be welcome further down the beach once the "textile" operations open back up?"
They never were allowed legally to do that towards the north past Pedro's. South of Padro's was clothing optional and nudity is legal. Not sure of your point.

For many many years people could walk the beach nude, and some of the establishments even welcomed them. I've had very pleasant meals at Andy & Cheryl's, Le Pirate and Kontiki for example all sans clothing. But as that section became more popular some of the less welcoming establishments started to complain and a crack-down was implemented.

I don't know if nudity is technically legal anywhere on St. Martin, but it used to be tolerated (even welcomed) the length of Orient beach. It's unfortunately that the whole beach isn't as welcoming to all comers as the Club O end has always been.

Club O is the only legally sanctioned nude beach area on St Martin.

Thank you....

Nudity is officially tolerated (i.e., "legal") on Orient Beach from the south-eastern end of Orient Beach to where the road that runs along Club O's western boundary would run into the water if extended or, as more commonly stated, to the "rocks." The northern part of that stretch of beach is controlled by a vendor other than Club O - I have always understood there is some underlying deal between Club O and Pedro's but I have no idea of technical details.

Nudity is officially tolerated (i.e., "legal") on Cupecoy beach in Sint Maarten.

So long as it triggers no complaint and causes no issue, nudity is unofficially tolerated on other beaches not in built up areas - so long as you act with discretion and cover up if asked to do so, it is extremely unlikely to cause you any problem.

All references to nudity are to "simple" nudity and nudity involving lewd or lascivious (among other words) behavior is not legal any where in public.

Jenni, you're always the voice of reason whenever this "debate" comes up.

Sorry but I do not equate "tolerated" with "legal" when it comes to this or anything else. Tolerated by whom? People of your own mindset? People of a different mindset? Local people?

There is also something known as respect. Respect for others, especially local people and their customs, beliefs and overall lives.

Sometimes people on both sides of this debate show little respect for each other. I get tired of the term "textiles" and "nudies". Very sad at times.

Well said ruralcarrier.

Many Locals (especially those of the older generations) still see nude sunbathing as obscene and provocative, but Club Orient has always been a popular clothing-optional beach and the Locals and Cruise Ship visitors all know that!

I understand that but since Club Orient essentially does not exist currently, the conversation has grown to include other areas and some lose sight of the "clothing OPTIONAL" thing.

With that, this one is done.