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Friday June 6th 2008
We dropped anchor in Simpson Bay outside the bridge at St.Maarten at 8am. OH boy was I happy that leg of the trip was behind us. It was a beautiful morning as we sat on the deck waiting for the 9:30am bridge opening, eating our breakfast of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, toasted bagels and steaming hot coffee, yes I had my appetite back.
St.Maarten is partitioned between two different nations, the French and the Dutch, and has been shared that way for 350 years. There is a charming legend that tells of the original partitioning of the island.
A Frenchman and a Dutch man were to walk in opposite directions around the island, starting at Oyster pond, and then meet at the other side of the island, in order to decide the division of the land. However the crafty Frenchman gave the Dutchman a bottle of wine and a bottle of gin as they left. So the Dutchman having worked his way through the bottles only made it as far as Cupecoy Bay. As agreed, the imaginary line between that beach and Oyster pond was drawn to constitute the border. So the French got the largest portion of the island, and the Dutch only 13 sq miles. This makes for a very cozy state of affairs and creates a unique cultural mix. For more information on St.Maarten/St. Martin, go to www.geographia.com/st-martin
We were having such a great time relaxing with our coffee and chatting we completely missed the 9:30am opening of the bridge, and as we didn't want to wait for the next opening at 11:30 we decided to move on. Our next port of call was St.Eustacia, colloquially called Statia.
We had a lovely sail over, quite different from our overnight crossing, and arrived mid afternoon. As we approached the island, we saw several tankers and large cargo ships anchored off the island. We motored into Gallows bay looking for a good spot to drop anchor.
The islands initial appearance is one of being run down and decrepit. A road runs along the front where you can clearly see the remains of the original buildings that have been devastated over the years by hurricanes, invasions and general battering of the sea. The Smoke Alley Bar is situated on the left at the corner of the bay, with an enviable position overlooking the ocean. The Old Gin House and bar, stands next to a newly renovated building, and next to that another hotel and bar with a balcony overlooking the bay. The well known Blue Bead Restaurant on the main road also has a wonderful terrace overlooking the bay, next to that are a few more tumbled down buildings, and a dive shop at the end of the dinghy dock. More remnants of original buildings collapsing into the bay, the pink customs offices, the pretty little tourist office building, some remains of previous warehouses, and random ramshackle buildings with their doors falling off and trees growing out through the windows.
It’s a messy initial introduction to the island, but then you look up; a steep cliff face goes straight up from the far side of the road running the entire length of the bay, on the top of the cliff are some quite beautiful buildings and gardens, a lovely little church, and the beautifully restored Oranje fort with all its cannons facing into the bay, next to the fort there are pretty trees and palms, its very picturesque, with the peak of the Quill dominating the landscape behind.
It’s such a shame that the shorefront below isn’t as attractive as the cliff top. Looking at it I can easily imagine how beautiful it once was and could be again. There’s some effort being made by a few locals to modernize and restore the shore front, but Statia will need a great deal of help from Mother nature, as it’s extremely exposed, and vulnerable to damage from future storms.
Very few tourists make the effort to visit this off-the beaten track Dutch outpost, which is a shame because it's definitely worthy of investigation, most particularly by hikers and divers, Statia’s underwater reefs are probably the best-kept secret of the Caribbean. The diving here is wonderful, but the island has yet to achieve a reputation for diving. There are fabulous virgin reefs, an abundance of fish and coral, sea turtles, and numerous historic wrecks. There are over 30 dive sites with buoys, mostly located in the South and Northwest where anchoring and fishing is prohibited. But before you go rushing over, you should know that diving in Statia waters is only permitted through local dive operators, and each diver is asked to contribute to the marine parks maintenance by purchasing a dive tag. This money is well spent, being used for the maintenance of the buoys and reefs.
Oranjestad is the only town on this tiny island, but what it lacks in beaches and shops, it more than makes up for with dramatic scenery. However unless hiking or diving is your thing, you won't find much else to do here. Culturally Statia is a world away from its well-developed neighboring islands of St.Maarten and St Barths.
We walked along the front past a pretty gingerbread house that's used as the local tourist office, colorfully painted in typical Caribbean style. The little gardens surrounded by white picket fences were bursting with brightly colored Bougainvillea, Hibiscus, Oleander, Frangipani and lush green palms, and were alive with Hummingbirds and butterflies. There is an atmosphere of tranquil beauty about this island. Statia truly is far from the madding crowd.
For the real history on the island you should visit the museum, which is located right in the center of the town. This peaceful little island is part of the Dutch Antilles, and has over 3000 inhabitants. It also boasts a dormant volcano, called The Quill, and there are some great hiking trails from the west side of town that wind gently up the slopes of the volcano to the edge of the crater, where a lush rain forest is grows within. You can descend into the crater to explore the rain forest, which is definitely worth the effort. The trail into the forest is very steep and not for the faint hearted.
Before we headed back to Daisy we stopped at the little hotel on the front for some cocktails. Bob was able to pick up an Internet signal and check the weather for the next couple of days, while Edi and I kicked back under the shaded terrace watching the glorious sunset and sipping our delicious drinks, I had a margarita, Bob and Edi had rum Punch's.
An hour later we were back on Daisy and I was busy preparing chicken satay for dinner. We ate on deck enjoying the warm gentle breezes, under a star filled cloudless sky. With a great bottle of wine, delicious food and great conversation, our evening couldn't have been better.
One of the many advantages of a sailing vacation for me is that everyone is together, and after dinner conversation is always fun. Some of the happiest times in my life are those spent on board with my family. As the boat rocked gently in the bay that night, we all slept like babies.
