My timing for the run to St. Martin could not have come any later, as I drank my last pods of Nespresso coffee for breakfast this morning! I motored around the corner to Grand Case mid-morning and finally got the nerve to go in very close to shore. The water didn’t shallow out as quickly as I’d feared and I got a spot quite close to the docks this time and still have 6 feet of water beneath my keel. I locked the boat up a 11AM and walked to the Econocar lot at the far end of Grand Case to rent a car for two days so that I could take care of all the provisioning I needed. First stop with the car was the Island Waterworld store on the French side to clear in to the country. This must have been a popular day for clearing in/out since I was 4th in line but those ahead of me were all French so they were pretty speedy with the keyboard and I soon had paid my 2€ and was entitled to remove the yellow Quarantine flag and put up my French courtesy flag.
Next step was to drop by the big trawler at a marina close to the airport which had transported my Waeco fridge and assorted parts from Europe for me – he’d originally stated that he’d be in St. Martin in February but had just arrived (due to delays and bad weather) and I put the 2 cartons in the trunk and drove back to Grand Case, stopping at a store in Marigot to get a vacuum cleaner (to replace the broken one aboard the boat) and then Bacchus in Hope Estate to get a case of the brut-nature Trivento sparkling wine and a backpack full of Nespresso pods.
The next trip took me to Philipsburg just after the crowds from the 5 cruise ships had departed and I got a new Sigma lens to replace the one that had broken and shopped around for a pair of sunglasses, but there is a bewildering amount of makes and models and I’m not sure which one is best for me so I didn’t get any yet. I might just get a cheap disposable pair from a dive shop.
I watched the 17:00 bridge opening from the SMYC and then returned to Grand Case, where I got a visit from Mark of Sanctuary and we talked for a while, catching a nice sunset with green flash as the day drew to a close. I wasn’t in the mood to go ashore for Calmos Café’s Salsa Night so made a small meal aboard and then read for a while before hitting the sack.
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