Antigua & Barbuda
The catamaran left Barbuda at 1 p.m. and we got to Saint Martin at 3 a.m. It was a long day with little to do while sailing except for watching the waves and eating. The rolling seas did not affect me this time. I could not tell if it was the lasting effect of Dramamine that I took earlier or if my body was slowly adapting. I’d like to think it was the latter. In any case, it was the last time when I took the tablets.
I also passed time by playing patience ‒ I brought with me a deck of cards for it ‒ or listening to an audio book. Ironically, the book was “Float Plan” by Trish Doller. It is about a woman with little sailing experience who left from Florida in a yacht single-handed running away from her personal issues at home and planning to get to the Caribbean.
I wished I could go down to my cabin and sleep. This proved to be impossible. An aft bulkhead next to my cabin made a loud screeching noise when the catamaran rocked from side to side. While we were moving, this ear splitting noise never stopped. i did not notice it before; I always went to my cabin only after the catamaran parked.
Skipper Konstantin said that he knew about the screeching bulkhead. He tried to fix it and it didn’t work. His suggestion was to sleep with my head to the door to keep it farther away from the source of the noise. Well, that would not help much since my cabin was practically the size of the bed and the noise filled every corner of it. So, I dozed on and off on the couch in the saloon with the headset on missing half of the book chapters until the screeching ceased and I could climb into my bed.
Saint Martin is a Caribbean island split between two countries, France and The Netherlands. The Dutch call their half Sint Maartin. Initially, both countries wanted to occupy the entire island. Dutch colonists came from St. Eustatius, and the French came from St. Kitts. After a conflict, both sides realized that neither would yield easily and, preferring to avoid an all-out war, they signed the Treaty of Concordia in 1648, which divided the island in two. They now peacefully coexist side by side. The borderline is on the map only. Moving between French and Dutch parts is not restricted.
Our catamaran was in Marigot Bay which is the French side. The other yacht, the monohull, where the skipper was Valentin came the day before us. We parked close to her.
As usual, nobody paid attention to our boat. Nevertheless, this time, we were intended to officially check in. This island was the last stop before crossing to the Azores. We hardly had any food on board and were low on fresh water, fuel and gas. Getting supplies was going to take some time; we did not want any trouble with the authorities.
Konstantin and I went ashore in the dinghy. We swung by the other yacht. Valentin showed up on the deck and shook his head. He and his teammate Alyona had one drink too many to celebrate their arrival; he was not in the shape to do the registration that day. We left them to their own devices.
The corner store was supposed to have a registration desk. It was Sunday and the store was closed. At the gas station, they told us not to worry and to come again on Monday. Apparently, Valentin was right to stay on board. Konstantin and I returned to the catamaran without achieving anything.
