10/24/2009 Today I checked into St Barts with Immigration and Customs. It is very relaxed 
here for checking. I was not even asked for my passport and I only had to fill out one paged. I was given a blank piece of paper with an official stamp on it that I paid my fees for anchoring in the harbor. This is the most expensive place I ever anchored. They charged by the square foot of the boat. It cost 11 Euros or close to US$20 a 
day to just anchor in the remote harbor. That did not include a mooring buoy.
After clearing in I found Tommy, Mariane and her father Roger. We went for a quick ride and they took me to their home and I met Mariane’s mother, Yolande. Roger and Yolande Berry are both from the island of St Barts and have a rich family life there. During their working and family raising years Roger and Yolande lived in Florida. Mariane has a brother and sister that still reside in the US.
Roger and Yolande have built a beautiful home on top of the hill that overlooks the Caribbean to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. It is a
well laid out home that has a nice breeze blowing through it all the time and a wrap-around porch for dining and napping in the hammocks. Roger cooked up delicious yellow-fin tuna that he had caught earlier. I am thankful for them offering the hospitality that they have. It is great hanging with old friends and new friends.
10/25/2009 Today Tommy and Mariane picked me up at the harbor and along with Yolande went to Flamands to park the car and walk the path to Columbier Beach. This is the exact opposite I had 
done in May when Jim and Alecia had visited. We 
met a cousin of Mariane’s 
there and hiked the trail.
We swam in the early morning and sat around the beach. A little later Yolande’s sister arrived, along with her daughter and
family. The kids had a boogie board that they took down the beach to a sand dune and we all tested out the board, using it like a snow sled, and rode it down the dune.
We then proceeded to have another great lunch of leftover fish from the day before and another siesta on the back deck.
10/30/2009 While I had some muscle on the boat, I had Tommy hoist me to the top of the mast. This is my first time all the way to the top of the mast. In fact, it is my first time to the top of any mast since going up on a 
Catalina 25 many, many years ago. I needed to replace the anchor light bulb on top. You can say this was a little high stress. I did not take any pictures from the top as I did not want to let go of the mast and dig around my bag for the camera. I did stop at the top spreader and took some pictures from there.
Afterwards we cleaned up and took off for lunch. We went to the west end of the runway at the international airport and had hamburgers and watched the
planes land. If you are there at the right time, you can watch people do the tumbleweed act and blow down the beach from the jet exhaust during take-off. 
Then it was time for Tommy and Mariane to jet back to the US. I want to thank them so much for allowing me into their lives while visiting family and a special thanks to Roger and Yolande Berry for making my visit to St Barts a special treat.
here for checking. I was not even asked for my passport and I only had to fill out one paged. I was given a blank piece of paper with an official stamp on it that I paid my fees for anchoring in the harbor. This is the most expensive place I ever anchored. They charged by the square foot of the boat. It cost 11 Euros or close to US$20 a 
day to just anchor in the remote harbor. That did not include a mooring buoy.After clearing in I found Tommy, Mariane and her father Roger. We went for a quick ride and they took me to their home and I met Mariane’s mother, Yolande. Roger and Yolande Berry are both from the island of St Barts and have a rich family life there. During their working and family raising years Roger and Yolande lived in Florida. Mariane has a brother and sister that still reside in the US.
Roger and Yolande have built a beautiful home on top of the hill that overlooks the Caribbean to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. It is a
well laid out home that has a nice breeze blowing through it all the time and a wrap-around porch for dining and napping in the hammocks. Roger cooked up delicious yellow-fin tuna that he had caught earlier. I am thankful for them offering the hospitality that they have. It is great hanging with old friends and new friends.
10/25/2009 Today Tommy and Mariane picked me up at the harbor and along with Yolande went to Flamands to park the car and walk the path to Columbier Beach. This is the exact opposite I had 
done in May when Jim and Alecia had visited. We 
met a cousin of Mariane’s 
there and hiked the trail.We swam in the early morning and sat around the beach. A little later Yolande’s sister arrived, along with her daughter and
family. The kids had a boogie board that they took down the beach to a sand dune and we all tested out the board, using it like a snow sled, and rode it down the dune.We then proceeded to have another great lunch of leftover fish from the day before and another siesta on the back deck.
10/26/2009 Today I took Roger, Yolande, Mariane and Tommy for a sail around the island. We took off from Gustavia and did a counter-clockwise trip around St Barts.
We stopped at Grand Saline Beach for a swim and lunch. There is technically no nude beaches on St Barts, but the officials eyes are turned away on this beach. Just as on all of the French Islands, topless is not an issue. Roger brought some ham and cheese sandwiches and the fantastic French bread you find on this island.
After our swim we took off again to finish our trip. The southeast corner of the island was taking a pounding from the weather blowing in from the southeast. The seas were very confused, along with steep and choppy. Unfortunately all of my passengers did not fair to well on this part of the trip. I don’t blame them as when I did get
off of the boat to take them ashore after we arrived back in Gustavia, I felt it also. I usually don’t feel anything from sea movement. After we cleared the northeast point, we were in the protection of the shore and all calmed down. It was pleasant the rest of the way in.
I had a great day sharing my little bit of the world with new friends. Roger was at home on the boat and had the joy of a little boy in a candy store. Mariane is a fish at heart and has earned some of the ASA sailing credentials and it was fun to see her and her dad interact in different duties on the boat.
We stopped at Grand Saline Beach for a swim and lunch. There is technically no nude beaches on St Barts, but the officials eyes are turned away on this beach. Just as on all of the French Islands, topless is not an issue. Roger brought some ham and cheese sandwiches and the fantastic French bread you find on this island.
After our swim we took off again to finish our trip. The southeast corner of the island was taking a pounding from the weather blowing in from the southeast. The seas were very confused, along with steep and choppy. Unfortunately all of my passengers did not fair to well on this part of the trip. I don’t blame them as when I did get
off of the boat to take them ashore after we arrived back in Gustavia, I felt it also. I usually don’t feel anything from sea movement. After we cleared the northeast point, we were in the protection of the shore and all calmed down. It was pleasant the rest of the way in.I had a great day sharing my little bit of the world with new friends. Roger was at home on the boat and had the joy of a little boy in a candy store. Mariane is a fish at heart and has earned some of the ASA sailing credentials and it was fun to see her and her dad interact in different duties on the boat.
10/27/2009 Today I stayed around the boat for the better part of the day until I went into town
looking for some wi-fi (or on a French Island, wee-fee). I found an internet shop and caught up on my email. I then walked over to Shell Beach. There was a photo shoot going on for swim suits. St Barts is a beautiful place for photo shoots and the local French magazines bring out the best of the island.
looking for some wi-fi (or on a French Island, wee-fee). I found an internet shop and caught up on my email. I then walked over to Shell Beach. There was a photo shoot going on for swim suits. St Barts is a beautiful place for photo shoots and the local French magazines bring out the best of the island.10/28/2009 Today we had lunch with Roger and Yolande again at the house. Today was goat. There are many wild goats on the island and it is alright to hunt the goats. Most of the time they are caught by trap, but once in awhile they will need to shoot the goat. The meal was fantastic and very flavorful.
10/29/2009 It is time to leave St Barts. I am taking Tommy and Mariane to St Martin on No Rush so they can fly back to life in Colorado. We had a fun downwind sail with the spinnaker the whole way to St Martin. After getting settled into the anchorage at Simpson’s Bay, we checked in with Customs and Immigration and headed off for dinner.
10/30/2009 While I had some muscle on the boat, I had Tommy hoist me to the top of the mast. This is my first time all the way to the top of the mast. In fact, it is my first time to the top of any mast since going up on a 
Catalina 25 many, many years ago. I needed to replace the anchor light bulb on top. You can say this was a little high stress. I did not take any pictures from the top as I did not want to let go of the mast and dig around my bag for the camera. I did stop at the top spreader and took some pictures from there.Afterwards we cleaned up and took off for lunch. We went to the west end of the runway at the international airport and had hamburgers and watched the
planes land. If you are there at the right time, you can watch people do the tumbleweed act and blow down the beach from the jet exhaust during take-off. 
Then it was time for Tommy and Mariane to jet back to the US. I want to thank them so much for allowing me into their lives while visiting family and a special thanks to Roger and Yolande Berry for making my visit to St Barts a special treat.
No comments:
Post a Comment