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St Maarten Dutch Bridge Times Changes.. Amazon makes Mother's Day gift shopping easy.. INNOVATIVE WIFI BOOSTER.. Looking For Elvis - Heneken Regatta 2008 SXM St Maarten..
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St Maarten Dutch Bridge Times Changes
Just a reminder that May 1st is the day that the opening times goes to the summer schedule for the bridge into the Simpson Bay Lagoon on the Dutch side of St. Maarten / St. Martin.
The bridge will open only three times per day instead of six.
Outbound traffic goes first (boats leaving the Lagoon).
Opens every day (weekends & holidays, too) at:
- 9:30 am: Outbound, then inbound
- 11:30 am: Outbound, then inbound
- 5:30 pm: Outbound, then inbound
For more information about the Simpson Bay Bridge see our previous posts:
http://allaboutboats.blogspot.com/search/label/bridge
Amazon makes Mother's Day gift shopping easy
Amazon.com makes it easy to shop at a distance... Has Mother's Day snuck up on you once again?
In the past, I have had difficult paying Amazon with a credit card and sending my order to a different address than the billing address. I've solved this by buying myself Amazon Gift Certificates and send it to my email address. Makes the checkout much easier.
Happy shopping!
INNOVATIVE WIFI BOOSTER
Here's a post that Bob just pointed out to me on Latitude 38's 'Lectronic Latitudes Blog.
I think the photo was actually taken in the Simpson Bay Lagoon on the Dutch side of St. Maarten, but hey, that is off of Anguilla :)
I think that our set up works pretty good though. It is the Engenius external unit with an omnidirectional antenna. You can purchase it through Amazon : CLICK HERE .
Enjoy!
Looking For Elvis - Heneken Regatta 2008 SXM St Maarten
So many people come to this blog with the search term "Looking for Elvis" that I am posting this photo even though it is not mine. Looking for Elvis is a 48-foot Gunboat catamaran that we often see around St. Maarten.
This photo was taken from the Heineken Regatta website with a credit and copyright to Bob Grieser... Nice picture!
Check out http://www.heinekenregatta.com/ for more race photos and information about the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.
Coke Zero pricing at Gourmet Marche SXM
A couple of posts below this one I have written about some of the prices in St. Maarten.
Yesterday we went to the Gourmet Marche supermarket on Airport Road at the Portofino Marina and bought a few things. When we were walking back to the dinghy Bob said that he was surprised that the Coke cost more than Fresca. I wasn't paying attention to the prices, darn!
We have been buying Coke Zero in a plastic shrink wrap packaging with the cans arranged 3x4 and that will set you back $4.75. We were charged $7.20 for the same 12 cans of Coke Zero but this time packaged in their 12-pack long narrow (2x12) cardboard box. What gives here???
We will be passing by the store today so I will be armed with my old receipts along with yesterday's to ask about this.
LATER THAT DAY....
OK! The nice manager was in the store this morning so I asked him if the price was correct... What's the difference? Isn't 12 cans of Coke 12 cans of Coke?
No, it's not. The cans in the plastic packaging come from Dominica and the cans in the cool-pack cardboard box are imported from England which they are no longer purchasing... Thus, the British Coke costs more than the Coke distributed out of the Caribbean island of Dominica. Makes sense. But, I wonder why they got it from England and not Florida?
If I remember correctly, this 12-can cool pack box sold for $9 in Antigua. Can't check a receipt because I could not bring myself to spend that much money for Coke. We had plenty of Crystal Lite to drink :)
Hope this explains a bit about shopping in the Caribbean!
Different strokes for different folks
I thought that this was a pretty amazing article in the St. Maarten newspaper last Friday (The Daily Herald, April 11, 2008... No, not April 1st). It has prompted quite a bit of talk :)
Here are some bits and pieces of the article but you can read the whole thing here:
http://thedailyherald.com/news/daily/k275/pjia275.html
MPs object to treatment they received at airport
PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs), the highest elected officials of the Netherlands Antilles, have severe complaints about the treatment they have been receiving at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA).
President of Parliament, Pedro Atacho told The Daily Herald it was usual at all airports within the Netherlands Antilles that MPs receive different treatment when going through security checks, based on their status as the country’s highest elected people’s representatives.
The main complaint is that in St. Maarten, MPs are also required to take off shoes, belts and sometimes even other parts of their clothing.
“The treatment is different compared to the treatment we receive in Curaçao. In St. Maarten we are basically being stripped down and are almost treated like criminals, while we are the highest elected officials of the country. We have no interest in doing illegal things and embarrassing our own country,” Richardson stated. He considered what happened a “serious incident.” My goodness!
Read the whole article here:
http://thedailyherald.com/news/daily/k275/pjia275.html
:)
RIB Inflatable dinghy tube repair - ClamSeal
I've been wanting to mention this wonderful product since last November but with this and that, I never got around to it. The ClamSeal is a two-piece thingy that clamps together. One part goes inside the tube and the other part goes on the outside. You screw down the nut and you have a tight seal. For pictures, visit Bob's Boat Bits blog to see the installation of our second ClamSeal repair [CLICK HERE].
Back in November, the day before we were leaving to sail over to the Virgin Islands to attend the to charter yacht shows in St. Thomas USVI and Tortola BVI, our Caribe 9L got a small puncture. It was in a difficult place to repair and the first patch we did, didn't take. The puncture was in the bow very close to the seam with the strip with the grommets in it. There was not enough room to get enough patching material to make a good seal. It was time to go so we stowed it on our foredeck with a very slow leak.
Our first boat show was in Tortola so we just made do by pumping up the dinghy a bit each time we used it. When we arrived in St. Thomas, our first stop was to see Harold at Offshore Marine, the Caribe dealer, to see if we could have someone patch our dinghy. Yes they could, but the guy was on vacation and would not be back for another 10 days. So, it was back to pumping up the dinghy before each use.
We went to Island Water World over by Yacht Haven Grande to see if they had a ClamSeal because they had them at the St. Maarten store. No luck there, so we bought a replacement valve but we were a bit nervous about installing it as we couldn't find instructions, plus we'd be back in St. Maarten soon and we're doing OK...
When we got back to St. Maarten we bought a ClamSeal at Island Water World. What a wonderful piece of gear. It's kind of frightening to make a 2-inch slice in your tube to install but Hey Presto it works and was EASY. Some people probably wouldn't like the look or perhaps not like that it is not flush but it makes our little boat distinguishable :)
Last week we admitted that we had another puncture. We were saying that the tube was a bit soft because it was cold last night... We found the little pinprick hole and tried a bit of crazy glue first but the next morning the tube was a bit soft again... So off to Island Water World. They only had two ClamSeals so we bought both of them.
Visit Bob's Boat Bits blog to see the installation of our second ClamSeal repair [CLICK HERE].
I think that anyone who has an inflatable life raft should take a couple of these along. I don't remember the book (was it "Adrift"?) but it was a guy in a leaky life raft and the instructions on the repair kit was to apply to a dry surface. Duh! How are you going to keep a leaky life raft dry when you are using it.
So, thank you Barton Marine Equipment Ltd for a great and reasonably priced ($20) product.
Peg Leg Pub New Location in St. Maarten
APRIL 2008 - We are very sad to see that one of our favorite restaurants in St. Maarten has moved. They used to be conveniently located for cruising folks as they had a dinghy dock in the Lagoon at Three Palms Plaza (across the water from Budget Marine & in between Pineapple Pete and Domino's Pizza).
It was the perfect place for us to have dinner before a movie which was just down the road a bit. They have half-price appetizers for happy hour between 4-6pm and $1 beers. We could easily have a good feed and a couple of beers for UNDER $20... for both of us, not each. I usually would not have room for popcorn at the movie which is really saying a lot for me :)
But now they have moved. I suppose we could tie up over at the little marina in the back of Port de Plaisance Marina where the French restaurant is and then walk up to the casino, but it's just not convenient for us anymore... We've been spoiled!
We really like Jack & Linda so I'm sure we'll still pass by, but not as often as before as it would be a specific trip and not a "hey, it's Tuesday so it is Meat Loaf for the lunch special... Let's GO" Perhaps we'll just have to do Pineapple Pete instead as a pre-movie deal. Haven't been there in a long time and I seem to remember something about a wings special...
Anyway, this is what it says on the Peg Leg website:
Peg Leg Moves In April!
Peg Leg Pub & Steakhouse moves early in April from Simpson Bay to the former location of the "Surf and Turf" just inside the Casino entrance at Princess Port de Plaisance. The schedule:
APRIL 6TH LAST DAY AT OLD LOCATION
APRIL 11TH FRIENDS AND FAMILY DAY
APRIL 12TH ON OPEN REGULAR HOURS
Our new Port de Plaisance location is much closer for people in the Cupecoy area -- just 20 minutes through Marigot. That's a lot better than 1 1/2 hours thru Simpson Bay!
Join us at our new location starting April 12, 2008!
All the best for your new location & hope to see you soon, Jack & Linda. Your restaurant has it all... Good food, Good service, Good specials, Good hospitality!
Keep it up!
SHOPPING - PRICES IN ST. MAARTEN APRIL 2008
SHOPPING - PRICES IN ST. MAARTEN APRIL 2008
Prices in US Dollars in April 2008, St. Maarten, SXM Netherland Antilles
Gasoline, 1 gallon: $4.77 ($1.26/liter at Island Water World)
Gasoline (essence) on the French side is cheaper. Usually 1 euro = 1 dollar
Water, 1 gallon: $0.15 at Island Water World
FAST FOOD:
Kentucky Fried Chicken: #1: Leg & thigh, small mashed potatoes, biscuit, drink: $7.00
Burger King: Whopper, fries, drink: $5.99
MacDonalds: #2: QuarterPounder, fries, drink: $5.59
Domino's Pizza: on Lagoon across from Budget Marine, near Pineapple Pete. Will deliver to French side
- Large Pan Pizza, unlimited toppings, $12.00
- 12" Medium: $10.65 +$1.25/topping
- 14" Large: $12.50 +$1.50/topping
- Two for Tuesday! Buy one get one free.
GRAND MARCHE / GOURMET MARCHE:
Eggs, medium, one dozen: $2.22
Potatoes, Idaho, 5 pounds: $3.50
Onions, 3-pound bag: $3.00
Pepsi Max, 12 cans (12-pack plastic shrink wrap): $4.50
Coke Zero, 12 cans (12-pack plastic shrink wrap): $4.75
Coke Zero, 12 cans (12-pack cardboard box): $7.20 (WHAT? Imported from UK)
Fresca, 12 cans (cardboard packaging): $6.50
Rum, Appleton dark, 1 liter: $5.53
Rum, Cortez dark, 1 liter: $3.75
Cookies, McVitties Bourbon Cremes: $1.35
Cat litter, clumping, 7-pound jug (gallon size): $5.50 & $6.00
Cat litter, Tidy Cat, clumping, 14-pound jug: $8.80
COST-U-LESS:
Coke Zero, 12 cans: $4.50
Batteries, Duracell AA 8-pack: $7.78
Cat food, Purina Delicat, 10-pound bucket: $10.55
Cat litter, Fresh Step Clumping, 28-pound bucket: $16.66
Rice, parboiled 10-pound bag: $6.66
LD's SEVEN ALIVE Supermarket across from Palapa Marina:
Milk, 2%, 1/2 gallon = $1.45
BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO WACKA, our first boat cat
April 1st is April Fools and poisson d'avril, but for me it is foremost Wacka's birthday.
Wacka was 16 years old when she passed away the week before Hurricane George in September 1998.
I know a few of my old friends from OECD in Paris will remember her:
- Sandra will remember Wacka's very loud & persistent voice when she graciously drove our stuff from our apartment in Paris out to the boatyard at the Charles de Gaulle airport where we built the first Loose Moose.
- Derek will treasure the memory of little Wacka's fragrance on his pillow when we all lived aboard the barge Black Moon along the Seine in Le Port Marly outside of Paris, France.
Wacka was a good sailor. She was with us on Loose Moose when we traveled from Paris down the Seine to Le Harve, then sailed up to St. Valery Sur Somme and then through the canals back to Paris and then to our spot on the Marne at Joinville Le Pont.
Bullwinkle joined us a few years later and they really helped out during our transatlantic crossing aboard Loose Moose 2.
They were both good cats. We miss them and have many fond memories.
Frightening - The Osmands 50th Anniversary Concert
Yesterday, I received a scarey email from Amazon.com notifying me of a DVD available for pre-order.... The Osmonds - Live in Las Vegas 50th Anniversary Reunion Concert
What?! FIFTY years !!! This concert was in 2007 which means 1957 when I was 2 years old. Wow, they must have been young and Donny wasn't even a twinkle way back then, was he?
So, here... take a look! Such a deal at $14.99 for a concert DVD. There's a video clip you can watch... Wow, blast from the past!
I'm sure this will bring back all sorts of memories for you, too! ...or if you're a "young whippersnapper" your parents :)
New portable generator All-Power 1000W with inverter
Last week we had to purchase a new generator. We had our Honda EU2000i for over 5 years so I guess it was finally "it's time". It still runs perfect but it doesn't produce power. We've checked the obvious electrical bits but no joy, so we think the inverter is kaput. We searched the web for other people having this problem but hardly anyone has any problems with this Honda generator. They are great machines!
We had great success with the Honda as we never did much maintenance-wise. Changed the oil and cleaned the air filter a few times. I always meant to make a cover for it but that project is still on "The List". We used the Honda for electric power for use at night before we hooked up the inverter. Then we used it to run the Xantec 24V charger/inverter, run power tools, charge the 12V when necessary... that sort of thing.
 So, we didn't want to pay $1200 for a new Honda in St. Maarten and we bought a 1000W Honda clone, an All-Power 1000W for about $450. It is a 4-stroke, portable, silenced unit. It works well but it didn't have enough ooomph for our Xantec charger/inverter. We turned down the charger and got the new generator to charge at 13amps but if we turned on the circuit breaker so we could run our computer, the generator stopped producing power and saying "overload"... darn. We are again wasting time as we are now taking longer to charge the batteries and we cannot get on the internet while charging. It did the 12V battery charger just fine.
It is not as quiet as the Honda EU2000i either, but not that bad... just not as good as we are used to. But, we'll use it for now as we have it and we can decide what to do about generating power as we go along... so it goes
Hurray! NO Leylon Sneed in Christmas Cove, St. Thomas, USVI
Wow, they actually did something right! The 115-foot Leylon Sneed will NOT be allowed to moor in Christmas Cove (Great St. James island) off of St. Thomas, USVI.
Christmas Cove is such a beautiful, peaceful, place with great snorkeling. We were there over the past Thanksgiving weekend and we always stop by there for a few days when we sail to the Virgin Islands. This is also where many crewed charter yachts spend either their first or last day of charter.
Could you imagine a Willy T's type of place there? What an outrage that would have been. Hopefully they won't turn around their ruling... fingers crossed.
Here's a copy of a St. Thomas Daily News newspaper article about the Sneed being a floating bar. Click image to make it larger.
Here are two links to articles in the St. Thomas Source:
Here's a picture of Marolanga who invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner 2008 in Christmas Cove.
Looking forward to seeing Gus, Marcella and Sasha!
ST MAARTEN SIMPSON BAY PORT & BRIDGE FEES - 2008 SXM
This afternoon I went in to the Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority office to pay up our harbor fees and I asked for a copy of the document with the fees and regulations. I just checked their web site (March 19, 2008) and they still have not updated it with the 2008 fees so I thought I'd type out a bit of the 5-page document for you...
I just called them to ask if the fees apply to Philipsburg and was told no, just Simpson Bay and the Lagoon. Mmmmmmm, might check that out as we just paid $247.42 :)
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