I woke early to the sound of the VHF, there was a MAYDAY situation developing north of Anguilla. I always keep the radio on, and despite all the ships in the area the VHF discipline is very good and the radio is silent most of the time. I’m off to the Dutch side today, if all goes well.
I fired up the engine to charge the batteries and made coffee and started the watermaker. I am going to have to figure out where to fill my fuel tanks before departing, as lugging canisters around and filling by hand is no fun.
According to the website for Anse Marcel, the Capitainerie where I can do my clearance, is open 7 days a week. But I’ve now learned not to trust that and have e-mailed them. Once they open this morning I’ll try to give them a call as well. Not surprisingly, their website also shows that they don’t close for lunch but I know very well (having waited twice) that they do indeed shut down.
Morning
During my second cuppa I received a response from Anse Marcel that the Capitainerie is indeed open today, so once I finish the coffee I’m going to head there in order to clear out and zip to the Dutch side to clear in! Well, “zip” might not be the appropriate term for my speed of travel, but mentally I’ll be zipping.
I weighed anchor and motored past Grand Case and into Anse Marcel. This was a lot easier and less stressful with the previous entry/exit tracks showing me the previous routes. The single-digit depths didn’t worry me this time.
Even though only one group was in front of me at the clearance computer, it took them a half-hour to complete the form. And they were French. And had done it before! I’ve gotten pretty fast at using the French keyboard and entering the information, so I was in-and-out of the air-conditioned container in next to no time and back aboard Zanshin. I weighed anchor and left the anchorage, setting both a full mainsail and as much of the broken genoas as I could. The winds weren’t strong and I never made much over 4 knots the whole way to Simpson Bay. But I knew I had until 17:00 to get there, so was in no particular hurry.
Afternoon
I anchored close the old sunken barge in Simpson Bay and dinghied to the Customs & Immigration office. After I filled out the forms I was cleared into the Dutch side in a surprisingly efficient and fast manner.
I dinghied into the SYMC to see if anyone I new was there and ended up having an early dinner (yummy ribs) before heading back to the boat. I finished my book and then just dozed in the shelter of the cockpit before retiring.
