ST. MAARTEN WINDS OF CHANGE

The Winds of Change
St. Maarten Bridge and Mooring fees after 10-10-10


The winds of change are blowing in Dutch Sint Maarten. On October 10 St. Maarten became a country within the Dutch Kingdom. As we woke on October 11, it seemed little had changed. The new government gave themselves a day off while the rest of the population went about their normal business.

Before the change to country status it was announced that there would be a reduction in bridge and mooring fees for yachts visiting the island beginning January 1. This has been long in coming, it doesn’t go far enough, but at least it’s a start. According to the St. Maarten Marine Trades Association, high fees, introduced without prior notice two years ago, caused a devastating decline in arrivals and a major drop in business activities.
St. Maarten’s marine economy was built on the backs of the smaller cruising boats, reports say that this is where the largest decline occurred, with a sixty-five to seventy-five per cent drop over the last 24 months.

Much can be blamed on ‘mega yacht’ madness. From government and right down the food chain, the mega yacht was seen as the Golden Goose. Legislators appear to be doing something to put that right but, to be fair; many businesses are not without blame, they cranked up prices to shake as much cash out of the mega yachts as they could. “They can pay, they can pay, money’s no object,” was the cry. I heard it first hand, time and again.

Small boats were caught up in the madness and came up with their own answer. Instead of taking out a mortgage to pay for an hour of a service professionals’ time, they took their boats elsewhere and broadcast it to the world through social media.

Let’s hope that what started before country status will continue. That St. Maarten will lower all bridge and mooring fees, businesses will understand the threat posed by burgeoning competition elsewhere, and the island will regain its rightful place as the Yachting Capital of the Caribbean.

Effective January 1, 2011, fees for vessels in the categories eight to eighteen meters will change as follows: A thirty per cent reduction in bridge fee rates; and a rebate of two free weeks out of every eight consecutive weeks spent in St. Maarten.

Hurricanes drive me nuts!

Like everyone who lives in the islands, I spend part of the year with one eye to the east looking for, let’s keep it polite and call them ‘pesky’, hurricanes. This is the first year that our boat Strange Light has been stored ashore for the windy season and I’m not sure I like it. There’s something, well, perversely thrilling about bouncing around on your boat while all hell breaks loose. Of course having a steel boat, a massive mooring, and several big anchors, does help. There’s still plenty to worry about, like commercial boats run by jokers who think might is right except when it comes to anchors and seamanship. And yachtsmen who leaving their roller furling sails on their forestay where inevitably they un-furl and cause great entertainment before dragging the yacht away or tearing the mast out of the deck. Watching the apartment windows bow while waiting for the roof to blow off just doesn’t do it for me. My wife, on the other hand, thinks I’m nuts!

LION FISH ROAR IN CARIBBEAN

Gorgeous but deadly! That is how one diver described the Lion Fish he saw recently at 'The Bridge', a popular St. Maarten dive site. Having reported the sighting, the St. Maarten Nature Foundation swung into action and after a couple of attempts managed to capture the Lion Fish, which turned out to be a juvenile. A few days later, divers reported sighting a Lion Fish off the coast of Saba, so it seems they are beginning to establish themselves in local waters. If you are stung by a Lion Fish, then you are in for some serious pain and, under the right circumstances, contact with the wrong end of a Lion Fish can prove fatal. Injuries to divers and swimmers are bad enough, but the arrival of this invasive species will, if allowed to go unchecked, cause untold damage to Caribbean reefs and indigenous species. The Nature Foundation euthanized the Lion Fish and dissected it for study. But where there's one, there must be many. How did this threat arrive in the Caribbean? News sources say two Lion Fish found their way into the ocean after a tank at a Miami aquarium was damaged during a hurricane, and it's their progeny that are now working their way down the island chain. Divers and swimmers are asked to report all sightings of Lion Fish to the relevant local authorities. In the mean time, keep your fingers and toes out of the way or the lion that roars might be you!

Should the Coast Guard tow?

News that the St. Maarten Coast Guard failed to respond to a pan-pan message has caused concern. When the skipper of the yacht Silver Moon was dismasted shortly after leaving the Simpson Bay Lagoon on Monday, July 12, he reportedly broadcast a pan-pan for 30-minutes. The call went unanswered. Finally, the call was acknowledged by the regional rescue center in Guadeloupe. They rebroadcast the call and asked for any vessel in the vicinity of St. Maarten to respond. The message was picked up by the Amcon Lagoon Diving Service's tug Skutter which had just dropped off a tow. The tug had the yacht in sight and assisted the vessel back to the harbor, having first removed the mast from alongside the yacht. The owner of the yacht was so angry at the lack of response by the local coast guard, that he sent an article to the St. Maarten Daily Herald seeking an explanation. The newspaper contacted the coast guard and asked for a comment and, basically, were told shit happens. My thoughts are that either no one was monitoring the VHF or the coast guard are more interested in looking for illegal activities. Should the coast guard tow boats in distress? In St. Maarten, we have the answer.

Boat owner photographs Black Hole in inner space!

The work goes on. Bit daunted this week as work steamrollered, going from good to bad and back to okay. Taking a break at the point of giving the boat away, or hacking into the cabinets in the fore-cabin with a chainsaw, paid off, and things looked much better on third day of destruction. The photo shows the corrosion in the anchor locker, which isn't as bad as it looks. The cockpit is next!

Turtles at at the beach Bar. Will they hatch and survive?

Let's hope these turtle eggs hatch OK. The nest appeared outside one of St. Maarten's most popular beach bars. Lot's of noise, people and music. The St. Maarten Nature Foundation threw the cordon around it, and we'll keep you updated here.

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