TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Wednesday, April 13th

It's Wednesday and we're going to Anguilla!! Tbcont............

OMGoodness! What a very nice day it was.

Our wake-up call was for 6 a.m. And needless to say, we were long awake when the phone rang. We had our coffee and, and then prepared for the day. We were picked up in the lobby here at 7:30 for the Sugar Rush Anguilla trip. The taxi van ran a little late and just as we started to get concerned, there he was. We picked up a few others at Maho and we were off to Simpson Bay to catch the boat. We did this trip last December and had a good time so we opted for a redo. So glad we did........

We walked down the wooden dock, removed our shoes and walked aboard a good sized catamaran which would supposedly be suitable for about forty or so guests. We were a very congenial group of mostly Canadians with a few other Ct. Yankees and I think a couple of Floridians and at least one or two from Pennsylvania thrown in for good measure. Sixteen of us in all and all sixteen eager to do the trip since all but two of the Canadian contingency had done this trip before and enjoyed it.

The day started with juice, coffee and pastries as we lined up in the lagoon with the few other boats awaiting the 8:30 bridge opening. And at the appointed moment we were off.

We headed out through Simpson Bay, past Burgeaux Bay and around past Maho Bay. Too early for plane watchers but the beach looked great.......lots of sand and no rocks to be seen all across the length of it. We continued past Mullet and Cupecoy where the big Abromovich (sp?) super yacht is hanging out in all its glory and then on past Baie Longue and up the coast. The crew was very nice about noting points of interest - everything from the French sewage treatment plant (who would want to miss that?) to the Donald Trump Estate with its twenty plus bedrooms and baths and all its other forms of largesse.

We continued up the Coast until we reached the Creole Rock area and our first stop for snorkeling. We didn't personally snorkel though Sarah did, but not for very long. There were a lot of boats and people in the water and from all reports, seemingly more people than sea life. There were two very avid and knowledgable snorkelers who said the reef/area has a long way to go before it comes back to being a good local snorkeling option again, something about the coral being bleached out which he went into with more depth than I can handle.

So back on the boat and into the Anguilla Chanel where our captain David cut the motor and raised the sails to go across on wind power - how great was that! He had fishing lines out hoping for dinner I guess and he did get a few small fish which were all thrown back. Just before we arrived at Rendevous Bay they got another bite. The pole was really arching and when the fellow that was doing the fishing finally pulled it in he had about 10-12 inches of some kind of fish that apparently had been caught by the pole on one end and by a much larger predator fish (perhaps a shark? per our Captain) on the other end. The part still on the line was alive - sort of - and still wiggling and thrashing right up to where it was severed in half and freed of the rest of its body, all bloody and icky. Yuck!! Needless to say they threw the part he still had on the line back for more chum. It was kind of grosse but still a unique thing to see.

So we got to Rendevous Bay where we were dinghied - or as the mates told us with a smile, we were dinkied - into the beach for lunch at the Great House. It was a typical chicken, fish or ribs buffet which was not too bad and as we finished lunch we were free to enjoy the beach and pool and lounges. It was a very nice day right up to the three o'clock call to head back to our boat and ultimately back to St. Maarten but with a quick stop first at LaSamana beach for another swim.

I think the day was $119.00 pp plus an additional port fee of $15.00 each which included everything - livery to and from the boat, the boat itself, lunch and the time on Anguilla with beach and pool loungers, too. This was the second time we've done this particular day sail and I have to say, we enjoyed it this time, too. The boat Captain and his crew were great and the trip itself was a very pleasant excursion. Not a good way to see much of Anguilla if that's your ultimate objective, but a nice boat day for sure.

So back to the Towers, showers, dinner and soon to bed. We've got a very busy day planned for tomorrow!!

Thanks for yet another update. You always seem to have the best times.

Fish for dinner?

I live vicariously thru your daily reports! You so eloquently paint a picture of your day. Thanks muchly!

Fish for dinner? Not hardly after witnessing that little fiasco. The boat captain felt it had to have been a shark of a decent proportion to sever the body from the rest of the fish, which itself had to be of a decent size judging by the amount and size of the head and mouth and all that was left on his line. Again I can only say.....YUCK!!

And yes, we do usually manage to have a good time on our little adventures. Life is too short not to enjoy all the different experiences it has in store for us... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Sounds great Pat, we may need to try this trip in June. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

Sounds like another lovely day. A trip to Anguilla is always fun regardless of how you get there.

Which charter company was this? We have done a couple but not this one.

Thank you..we are enjoying your daily updates...

Very much enjoying your daily updates!! All these years and I've yet to get to anguilla! This sounds like a lovely day, thanks for the ride along <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

Don't think they are part of a larger company. An independent and the name of the boat/trip is Sugar Rush/ Anguilla trip. We get the boat outside of Cuginis Restaurant and there may be an activity booking center there if there isn't one where you're staying. It's a nice trip - lots of drinks free flowing but a smaller group and not such a party hearty atmosphere, not that there's anything wrong with that, but we did those trips 35 years ago and then the family boats with our kids and now we enjoy just being on the water and don't need/want all the hoopla of the bigger boats.

On Canton Island in the mid Pacific Ocean each day the schools of tuna herd flying fish into the opening to the lagoon and catch fish in midair. Sea birds would do the same. Sometimes the tuna would get a bird that just caught a fish. The natives would show up with long polls with string. Some flying fish would land on the shore and they were used for bait. The whole thing was a sight to behold.