We crossed the Atlantic!! Done, done, and done! We made it to St Maarten!!
We came in on the Dutch side because the drawbridge on the French side is still out of order. Glad we did because we have a great spot just NW of the bridge, and we took a tour of the french side of Simpson Bay Lagoon yesterday and it’s a disaster. Very little seems to have been rebuilt since Hurricane Irma. There are still wrecks all over, so coming through there at night would be pretty dangerous. The French side near Fort Louis Marina, that used to be pretty touristy, is nearly dead. Granted we went through on Sunday when most businesses were closed, but there was still plenty of devastation evident. So many boats on the bottom or washed up ashore in pieces. Many shops and houses are skeletons. It’s pretty heartbreaking.
On the brighter side, the Dutch Sint Maarten seems pretty recovered. There is still plenty of destroyed shore-side businesses evident, but many are operating and seem to be thriving.
We are so glad to be here. It was a very nice trip. A trifle slow, but easy conditions, and decent to good speed most of the time. Some days were just beautiful and a real pleasure to be on the sea a thousand miles from anywhere. Some were uncomfortable, but never did it feel dangerous, except the large fishing boat from Africa that crossed our stern a little close for comfort, that we considered might contain pirates. I started the engine to give us some more speed, and changed course as soon as they were out of sight in case they had nefarious intentions. We also ran without lights for most of the night. Just in case.
