After clearing into Statia, we decided to walk up the Slave stairs/road to town. The road itself was much wider than I expected and was made of stones and concrete.

There were some buildings and restaurants along the waterfront, below the main town of Oranj. This is a picture of the Gin House, which is a hotel. There were not many cars or people walking around the waterfront when we visited.

Statia’s main town of Oranj is located on top of the hill. The people of Statia built this beautiful drainage system so that water could cascade down to the ocean. It didn’t rain much while we were visiting Statia so we didn’t see any water flowing down. I can imagine that it would be a beautiful waterfall.

Statia is challenged with a crumbling hillside. In this picture you can see men putting mesh tarps on the side of the cliff to try to hold it in place. For many hours we watched them rappel down the side of the hill to secure the tarp.

Pulling into the bay at St. Eustatius, also known as Statia, was a little challenging, as oil tankers were parked outside of the northern port.  When sailing, it is sometimes difficult to determine if a tanker is anchored or moving.  Eventually, Steve figured it out and we were able to pull into the bay.  We anchored close to town.  The water is a gorgeous, light emerald green color and is crystal clear, even at the dock.  Unfortunately from the distance the water looks more blue than green. We can see the tankers behind us but where we are we mostly see a sleepy Caribbean island going about life. 

We arrived on Sunday after customs closed.  So, I raised our “Q” flag, which is a yellow flag that lets the country know that we haven’t cleared through customs yet. 

On 1/29/24 we hopped in our dinghy and went to clear in.  The dinghy dock within the customs area is a little challenging.  There are stairs down to the water, which is welcomed.  However, we needed to tie our dinghy a little ways away.  Once we got the hang of it, it was relatively easy to navigate.  On this island we had to go through customs and immigration and also pay the harbour master.

We were up early on Sunday and prepared the boat to exit the lagoon.  This meant moving some fenders to the port side, just in case.  Staff don’t work on Sundays but we had friends who helped us leave the dock.  This dock was challenging because the wind was blowing us onto it.  The day before we asked staff to help move boats back so that we would have some wiggle room getting out and that worked perfectly.  We were a little nervous because the day before a catamaran behind us tried to pull out and wasn’t able to get off of the dock.  Steve was able to keep control of the boat and we didn’t hit anything, which was wonderful. 

Next, we had to get out of the lagoon.  15 minutes prior to the bridge opening, Steve called the bridge pilot to let them know that we were planning to go through the bridge.  Then we headed to the opening and got in line to exit.  Like before, boats were jockeying for position while trying not to hit anyone else.  We were behind a superyacht and its tender.  After waiting for about 10 minutes, the bridge finally opened and we were off.  We put the sails up and headed to Statia.  One other boat was ahead of us and seemed to be heading in the same direction.

The crossing was quite pleasant.  We were able to sail for approximately a third of the crossing and motor-sailed for the rest.  The swells were 2 to 4 feet with an occasional 6-8 footer showing up every once in a while.  The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.  On the way to Statia, we were able to see St. Martin, St. Barths, Saba, and Statia all at the same time.  Saba looked beautifully clear with the sun shining on it.  It was hard being so close to that island and not returning to it.  I look forward to going back there.

There were probably 1000 boats or more in the the Simpson Bay Lagoon on Sint Maartin. And, we think there were at least 100 super yachts secured to docks. This is definitely a central gathering place for yachts.

I love pulling into a marina after a crossing.  It gives us a chance to clean up our boat again so that it is comfortably livable.  I started boat washing the top deck.  Steve took a nap, as he had done the majority of the sailing.  We went to bed early and slept comfortably through the night.  It was exactly what we needed after the long sail.

On 1/23/24 we headed to the restaurant/bar to watch the boats come through the bridge.  I took pictures of the nervous crews as they made their way into the lagoon. Then we returned to doing boat chores. Every once in a while, we would get some strong wind gusts.  Our friends said that one of the gusts was 49 knots so we were glad that we were secured to the dock.

On 1/24/24 we went to Lagoonies for dinner. We were part of a group of four couples who walked to the restaurant.  It is always nice to meet new people.  The three other couples were Canadian and very nice.  They were all tied up to the dock at the Blue Pearl Marina where we were so it was nice to be able to carry on conversations after dinner.  Two days later we ended up back at Lagoonies with our friends, Pam and Mark, for dinner.  This time it was just us four so we were able to talk in depth about a variety of topics.

We spent the rest of our time in the marina doing typical marina boat chores.  I finished cleaning the boat as much as I could and Steve worked on fixing things that magically broke while also doing some routine engine and water maker maintenance.  The Blue Pearl Marina was quite convenient.  Two chandleries, a laundry service, Lagoonies, and supermarkets were within easy walking distance.  It was also possible to walk to Ace Hardware, which was more like a department store with hardware items on the first floor and home goods on the second floor.  And, we walked to a pharmacy.  So, the location was quite convenient.

The docks on the marina were in good repair and the staff were very attentive.  We were able to hook up to water and electricity, making our stay in the marina quite comfortable.  We would return to this marina because of the convenience and service.  We ended up extending our stay in the marina until Sunday because the winds were still blowing, we hadn’t finished cleaning, and we were having fun with our friends. 

We cleared out of Sint Maartin on 1/27/24 and were planning to leave when the bridge opened on Sunday around 8:30a.  We busily finished prepping the boat for the crossing and said our good-byes.  We really enjoyed our stay in the marina, especially because we knew so many people there.

The next challenge facing us was going through the drawbridge and tying up to the dock in the lagoon at the Blue Pearl Marina.  We thought we would only have three feet on either side of us when going through the bridge.  We had our fenders off of both sides of the boat and I had one in my hand for an emergency.  The other challenge was that the wind was gusting and blowing boats around. 

Around 10:15a we called the bridge pilot and let them know that we wanted to enter the bridge.  Then, we pulled up our anchor and got in line.  There were super yachts in front and in back of us.  Other boats were trying to cut into the line from the sides.  The wind was blowing and the boat captains were trying to maintain control of their boats in the tight quarters.  We were in line for approximately 20 minutes and then the bridge finally opened.  The first boat started going ahead and everyone followed, closer than we felt comfortable.  In fact, Steve said that a superyacht immediately behind us was so close that he could have easily thrown them a rope. 

As we proceeded through the bridge, we found approximately 10 feet of water on either side.  So, we were nervous about this part for no reason, luckily.  As soon as we went through, we saw a lot of people to our right having drinks and waving.  The bridge opening is entertainment and this restaurant/bar had a prime location to watch everything.  We will feel much calmer when it is time for us to depart the lagoon.

I scurried around the boat moving our fenders to the starboard side so that we were ready to tie up to the dock.  While I was doing that, Steve was winding through the channel through the lagoon.  We passed probably 100 superyachts and I don’t know how many other smaller boats.  We are guessing that there are 1000 boats in this part of the lagoon alone.  The Blue Pearl marina is at the back end of the lagoon, which was fine by us.  We were hoping that it would be calm during the high winds.  We found our way to the marina and staff were there waving to us to let us know where to go.  They helped us tie up and we were finally able to relax.  We hooked our boat up to the electricity and water, and like magic our boat is a floating apartment. 

On 1/20/22 we sailed back to Spanish Town in Virgin Gorda to clear out of the country.  It was about a week earlier than we would have liked.  However, we’ve sailed between the BVIs and St. Martin before and knew that if we found a good weather window, we should take it.  We have to go into the wind to get to St. Maartin which means that the crossing is rough and we will need to use the motors most, if not all, of the way.  It took us about an hour to get through customs and then we hopped into our dinghy and headed back to Spring Tradition.  We then motored back to Benures Bay on Norman Island for our last night in the BVIs. 

We were planning on a 20-hour crossing from the BVIs to Sint Maartin.  Steve planned the trip with us leaving at noon so that we would arrive around 8a on the 22^nd, in the light.  It can be difficult to pull into an anchorage without having good visibility.  The last day and during the sail were picture-perfect Caribbean days.  It was sunny and in the low to mid 80’s.  The wind was rather calm, under 15 knots. 

We let go of our mooring ball at about 11:40 and were on our way.  We motor sailed for the first four hours or so and headed east.  Then, as the winds started shifting to the north, we took the sails down and headed southeast towards Sint Maartin.  The wind was between 6 and 15 knots and the swells were between 2 and 4 feet.  This was the calmest crossing that we have ever had.  I took some seasickness medicine and was fine the entire way. 

Sailing at night is an adventure.  Our AIS wasn’t working so, while we could see other boats, they couldn’t see us.  We sailed with our lights on throughout the night to help boats spot us.  Steve did most of the sailing but I gave him breaks during the afternoon.  Then, around 11p I took over the helm until about 3:30a.  It was a clear night and the stars were a vibrant white.  Just as I took over the helm, I spotted a falling star that went into the ocean.  The moon was about ¾ full so we were able to see the sea as we motored.  Steve saw two cruise ships crossing and I dodged two freighters as well as a 45-foot sailboat.  There was one sailboat about an hour behind us on radar and we could just make out their lights on the horizon.  Otherwise, we couldn’t see anyone around us.  Around 4a the stars somehow seemed brighter, bigger, and lower to the horizon.  They were beautiful. 

As we got about 15 miles off shore, we started looking for fish pots.  We will see markers floating in the water and have to maneuver around them so that the lines don’t get wrapped around our props.  By this time there was salt caked onto the plastic sheeting around the navigation station so it was difficult to see.  We were also heading towards the rising sun, which made it challenging to see.  However, just as Steve planned, we arrived around 8a and dropped our anchor in Simpson Bay without any mishaps.  As soon as we could, we dropped the dinghy in the water and headed toward shore and the customs building.  It took us about 45 minutes to fill out our paperwork and clear into Sint Maartin.  We were tired, but happy to be there.