February 28, 2011 Arrr I know every rock and shoal on this coast...and there's one of them now!

By 7:30am we had pulled up our anchor and were holding our position outside the channel near the bridge to spot it opening.  While we waited, we did some more knot tying practice.  Today's new knots were the clove hitch and double sheet bend.  These are both useful knots I learned to tie while commercial fishing in the Bering Sea back in college, and they came easily to me now.  The others on our crew seemed to pick them up quickly as well.  Knots in our arsenal now include: Bowline, Round Turn and 2 Half Hitches, Clove Hitch, Figure 8, Stopper Knot, Double Sheet Bend and Cleat Hitch (a proper cleat hitch!). At this point we can each now tie them with ease and little thought.

Once 8:20am rolled around the bridge wasn't open yet so Mike H. tried raising them on the VHF to inquire as to the status.  They were unresponsive, but a few minutes later the bridge started to Raise! ~Island Time~  First we waited for several boats to exit from Simpson Bay Lagoon, and then we received the green light from the bridge operator.  We were first in queue to approach the bridge from the sea, so after the exiting boats were clear we started on in under motor.  Gabe was at the wheel, and I was port side lookout. Jen was starboard side lookout along with Mike R.  The clearance on either side is perhaps collectively a meter at best -- so guiding correctly is paramount.   Astern of us, around 100'-200' back, was a 50' monohull sailboat motoring in as well.  As we came up to to the bridge it was important to have a bit of speed built up so as not to be affected by wind and current.  As our bow passed the first section of bridge we were looking in great shape, and many tourists were congregating about the end/edge of the bridge to watch.  It is not completely rare to watch someone misjudge their clearance and wreck or damage a million dollar boat here. We were told somewhat recently a boat of our size misjudged and ended up significantly damaging one of their hulls, and one of the shrouds caught the bridge, tearing down the mast.  


As Gabe kept the wheel steady, we started drifting a bit to port.  From my vantage point forward-most on the port sponson, it was apparent if we continued on this way we would definitely scrape, if not collide, with the bridge. At this point we were half-way through the bridge opening.  I signaled to Gabe who quickly and smoothly altered our course slightly to starboard.  Gabe is very, very good at the helm. He proved himself in 30kt winds yesterday, and after that today was a breeze.

At about that moment a dinghy shot out from near the boat astern of us and was rapidly approaching.  It turns out this was one of the crew from our charter company and he was biting his nails (that's putting it lightly) we were doing the bridge passage on our own.  On the radio the evening prior, they said we would take the boat into the bay and then they would meet us at the fuel dock.  Well, that is not what they meant (French!).  As their crew member approached our stern in his dinghy, we cleared the bridge and let out an applause and cheer!  Then, once through, the dinghy made it to us and their crew member was visibly anxious about what had just happened.  He was so relieved it went smoothly!  He then took the wheel and brought us over to the fuel dock to fill up.  

On our way through the channel en route to the dock we noticed a larger monohull (40-50') that had tried navigating a bit outside the channel buoys and just ran aground!  That boat was being chartered by a group hoping to participate in the big Heineken Regatta kicking off on Weds (in 2 days).  The french crew member of Dream Yacht who was now steering our boat joked, yet was serious, "I hope zey stay zair! You know zey weel rew-een my boat een zat race weese all zee bew-eeze to nav-ee-gate! Zey cannot even clear zeese chann-el!"  We were laughing pretty hard, including him. 


Because the tide only fluctuates less than a foot here (unlike the 15' swings in tide we get back home) I asked Mike R. how do you go about fixing a situation like that.  Mike explained that first you can try to heel the boat away from the shallow side by either moving all your crew to that side of the boat or if the wind is favorable raise sails to push that way -- or both.  If that doesn't work you can try reversing (by motor) out the way you came in.  If that fails, you run a halyard from the top of the mast out to a powerboat and pull in the direction away from the shallows.  The strain on the mast and rigging is very bad, however, if this last measure is employed and can ruin your rigging and mast.  

After filling our tanks we motored over to Dream Yacht Charters to secure our boat.  We then had some breakfast of fresh croissants Mark went out to get for us, scrambled eggs onboard, and pretty much whatever else was left in the galley.  Mike R. did checkout with the French crew member, and then one by one we said our goodbyes.  Vicki and Mike H. were headed off to the B.V.I's for a week, and Mark and Jen were staying another week in St. Marten at Grand Case.  Mike R., Gabe and I had booked a hotel about a mile or so across the bridge from Marigot where we docked our boat.  

The hotel was great -- far better than we expected, with a loud pool and a quiet pool, a couple bars and restaurants, and a pretty nice beach albeit on the inside of the lagoon.  After checking into the hotel I made my first call home in over a week. That felt really good and was much needed.  After that we caught a cab to Orient Bay and rendezvoused with Mark and Jen.  This was around 3pm and the weather was excellent.  It was pretty cool, yet bittersweet, to see Green Cay out there in Orient Bay where we had anchored less than a week ago and spotted our first lobster.  Also, there's something weird about being asked to pay $6 for a chaise on the beach when a few hours ago, and the whole week prior, we cold go to any beach we wanted -- beaches everyone on shore can't touch -- and now that we're back on the crowded beaches a premium is demanded.  We walked a ways down the beach and found a great spot to hang out.  Before we had even laid out our towels, Mike was already swimming out through the surf!  I quickly joined him and we enjoyed body surfing for about an hour, then we hung out on the beach with Gabe, Mark and Jen.  Mark and Jen gave us a lift to Grand Case where they were staying, and a short while later we all went to dinner together -- phenomenal local cuisine!

After dinner we took a stroll down the street lining the water and dropped into a bona fide Italian restaurant, Il Nettuna, for a little dessert!  Mark ordered a round of lemoncellos for all of us, and the desserts we ordered were sinful.  We all shared a little of each other's.  Each of the desserts set a very hard to reach bar for how amazing each one, respectfully, can be!  Mike ordered the chocolate mousse.  He said being out at sea usually gives him quite the chocolate craving.  If his craving were a match aflame, this chocolate mousse would be like using a whole pail of water to extinguish it.  He was served a beautifully decorated plate with a slab of perhaps 1lb of delicately cut mousse in the middle of a shallow pond of raspberry syrup or purée.  Gabe's cheesecake had a presentation equally pleasing to the eye, and brought pure contentment to the palate. Mark ordered vanilla crème brûlèe, and whereas crème brûlèe commonly provides a substantial law of diminished returns as a function of each spoonful, he polished off the serving with the last bite as eagerly inviting as the first.  Jen's lemon tart was the most perfect tart I have ever tried, and she kindly let me indulge in more than one spoonful.  Tiramisu has long been one of my favorite desserts, and here I was in luck! They brought my generous cut of tiramisu on a large plate completely, yet tastefully, dusted with cinnamon.  This dessert just melted in my mouth, bite after bite.  It was markedly better than any I had ever enjoyed to date.  We took our time enjoying dessert with our drinks, and then had the restaurant call a cab for Mike, Gabe and me.  It was around 11pm, so we crashed once back at the hotel.  I called home once more before calling it a night.  We plan on sleeping in, catching the breakfast buffet, then just kicking back until departing at 2pm for the airport.