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VOYAGES & DESTINATIONS
2006
~ Commissioning
   Fort Lauderdale

~ First Voyage
   Fort Lauderdale to 
   Newport R.I.

~ Newport &
   the Boat Show 
~ Block Island
~ Block Island to
   Baltimore
~ Baltimore 1 
~ Annapolis
~ Baltimore 2
~ Baltimore
   to BVI
~ BVI
~ St. Martin
~ St. Barthe
~ Xmas period
   tooing and froing

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~ Cruising Notes
~ Euro-Modifications

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St. Barts (St. Barthe)

December 6th, 2006

Alan's Log:
Joan's Log:

You are looking at Gustavia, the only port in St. Barthe.  On the left are the mega-yachts, apparently only the small ones are here now, the really big ones arrive just in time for Xmas.  We are anchored just past the mega-yachts in the harbor basin, surrounded by lovely yachts.  Actually we are not anchored, but tied bow and stern to buoys that keep us all lined up and neat and tidy. 

  
  
    

We rented a scooter for 3 days and toured the island.  The roads are impossibly steep and twisty, Colam Lane has nothing on this!  Amazingly our under-powered scooter hauled us up even the steepest hills.  The beaches here are beautiful, as are the beach denizens.  The locals tend to arrive in the afternoon for a few hours of prime-time power sunbathing on the more remote beaches.  Swim suits are rarely seen.

I blew out my flip-flop, musta stepped on a pop-top, and had to do some shopping, whereupon I bought the most trendy flip-flops ever built for man (judging by price!)  Others were buying Christmas Trees..............  

   

Joan really enjoyed the bakery.  It was good to be back in a foodie culture after the British Virgin Islands.

  
   

Easy riders J&A cruise into town after a hard day's beaching.

  

Skip a couple of days.  We did some more beaching.  One favorite was Grand Saline Beach.  It is approached via a rough track which  it opens out to a beautiful bay, and also took care of some Christmas shopping.  Then we left Gustavia where we have been hobnobbing with the rich and anonymous and sailed around the corner for a day at Shell beach.  This beach is close to Gustavia and was much busier, it has a small beach bar and the obligatory fashion shoot was going on around us.  Joan took advantage of the "world class" beach-glass collecting.
 
 

   
   
  



We then anchored outside Gustavia harbor off a small fishing village, and I just had the best meal of my life with the most amazing woman. (kids skip the next two paras).   To set the scene:  We are anchored with a bunch of other, mostly deserted yachts, some small and forlorn, some small and well-maintained and a couple of charter yachts. As the light faded a 100' Swan racing yacht arrived and anchored nearby, it has just arrived from an Atlantic crossing and most of the crew jumped overboard and swam to celebrate their arrival (100' racing yachts don't have showers it seems!).  There is a sail cruise ship in the anchorage with 5 masts and lots of lights. The racing yacht has underwater lights so the water around it is glowing in the dark.  Other than that it is dark.  We are anchored off a small village with a beach and a number of small wooden fishing boats are pulled up on the beach.  We are listening to music that Joan just downloaded from Grey's Anatomy (don't ask just do it).

I cooked a steak (we split a sirloin strip) and grilled vegetables in a hot pepper marinade on the barbeque (small potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, limes with skin).  Joan made a bernaise sauce for the steak and a bottle of Cab from the wine cellar (third cabin under the floor).  The meal was great and Joan wonderful company and beautiful too.

No matter how I look at this, it just doesn't suck.
 

    


St. Barts, what's not to love.  It's my favorite island so far. Like a piece of the French Rivera has been sliced off and placed in the Caribbean Sea.  It has beautiful beaches, impossibly steep hills, it is euro-chic, laid-back, clean, uninhibited and spontaneous.  The locals are warm and friendly, and you get a sense of their civic pride.  There is great shopping too!  Also, one thing I have noticed, being an avid animal lover, there are no starving, neglected dogs wandering around hoping you will  take them home with you.  VERY hard to resist!!   Just a few healthy looking goats and chickens.  There are very stylish restarants every few hundred yards and low-key, open air bars with live music.  Wonderful gourmet grocery stores loaded with French cheeses, wine and bread.  Very attractive young people everywhere, wearing or not wearing the cutest beachwear imaginable.  The only drawback is $$$$, just about everything is pricey!

Far too soon it was time to leave and take Moonstruck back to the BVI where she would stay while we return home for Christmas.  To check out of St. Barts we side moored next to Ultima III, the Revlon Megayacht and her sisterships
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Next......Toing and froing, Christmas 2006