18-02.064N
063-05.342W

Docked
Simpson Bay Yacht Club Marina
Sint Maarten

December 1, 2002

The courthouse of Sint Maarten looks like a  two story church.  It sits on a small square,  in front of the main dock through which cruise ship passengers are ferried between down town and their anchored ship.  Often, as many as four cruise ships are nearby, disgorging as many as 3,000 passengers each.  One ship, The Norway, sparked palpitations in the heart of John.  He sailed that ship to England in June, 1964.  At that time, she was known as France.

We watched a trial for two hours, a man charged with robbing a jewelry store.  The problem was that the video of the robbery was not clear enough to unequivocally identify the defendant.  In Dutch justice, a single judge will decide.  The defendant spoke only Pamamiento, an island language.  Therefore, the court provided an interpreter for the defendant, who, after the trial, told us about the trial and about the system of Dutch justice. When asked for an exciting story, she mentioned the murder trial of three days earlier.  The family of the victim surrounded the court house, requiring full police authority to break up.  Later, during the preliminary phase of the trail, the defendant leaped across the court room, bracing on the interpreter's lap, trying to grab the judge's gavel, and to start swinging.  The police took charge, and no one was hurt.  At that moment while telling the story, the judge entered for the next trail, and we thanked the interpreter for talking to us. Then, the three of us, John, Chichi, and Kay Kelly, continued walking Philipsburg, the capital of Dutch Sint Maarten, just as we had walked Marigot, the capital of French St. Martin, the day before.

Sint Maarten, St. Martin, is the shopping mail of the Caribbean.  Anything you want is here, or available in two days.  Travel is the island's product, because it is one of few having a perfect harbor for large cruise ships, and a long clear space for an international airport.  With duty free shopping, what more could you ask?  The island is a kind of hub.  The  big planes land here, with a good percentage of passengers then heading for a ferry or a smaller airplane to the more remote, tranquil islands, such as Saba, St. Barts, and Anguilla.  Many boat charter companies operate from here, the perfect location to commence a one or two week charter.  Casinos are everywhere, as are jewelry stores and wine shops.

John, Chichi, Dave and Tim (see previous logs about our crew) left  Bermuda Thursday night,  November 14.  We arrived in Simpson  Bay November 22, anchoring overnight before taking dock space at La Palapa, inside Simpson  Bay Lagoon.  The trip was uneventful, but long and tedious, as the wind remained on our nose, southeast, the whole time, despite a unanimous  belief that trade winds from the east would give us a pleasant reach starting about latitude 25 north.  Oh Well. We take what we get.

Dave and Tim left Sunday, and Kay Kelly, long-time neighbor and close friend, who has spent perhaps as many as twenty Thanksgivings with The Guys, flew in to join us for still another.  Our Thanksgiving was made more complete by the presence of Fred and Kathy Fassman, owners of Crescendo, that docked next door.  Next day, John and Chichi took Kay for a six hour sail on Simpson Bay.  Kay left at 4 today, leaving John and Chichi alone for the first time in more than a month.  Our next job is to varnish the cap rail.  It is a five day job, starting tomorrow.  We plan to return to Indianapolis December 10.

December 7

One of our finest new friendships are Jochen and Anne Schwiezer.  We first met them by radio, leaving The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  After a drink or two, they accepted our referral to the rally leaving Newport for St. Maarten.  We met them again here, for one of our most enjoyable evenings out.  Their boat is Germania.  He is a former broadcaster for German television, having covered the O.J. Simpson trail and The Mississippi River floods, among other many other stories.

This is our last log for this phase of our trip.  We have finished varnishing, and we plan to both hike and SCUBA, depending on how we feel in the next few days.