Kathy, Paul and Cathy travel Cleveland to San Juan and then on to Saint Martin. We arrive around 7:30 p.m. at Oyster Pond. That turns out to be a blessing as we beat the heat of the day. In addition, traveling on a Monday makes airport congestion much less. And we had the whole weekend to pack and finish up some business. Mindy, however, has an adventure getting to Saint Martin. First she drives seven hours from Gulf Breeze to Jacksonville. She sleeps through 3 alarm clocks in her van causing her to miss a shower and breakfast and catches her flight to Miami and then on to Saint Martin. Sunsail gives her a blur of an explanation of the boat systems and she is overwhelmed. We have a quick cheeseburger in paradise at the dinghy bar and fall into bed.

Tuesday March 19

At 9 am we have a chart briefing. After a nice lunch of salads at the Bounty, a new store and restaurant at the marina we are off to Ile Fourche. After a quick swim and a hike, we go back to the boat for dinner. Extra thanks to Paul for getting the dinghy motor on, assembling the grill and barbecuing the hamburgers and chicken. Hopefully we can purchase a snorkel in St. Barts for Paul as he forgot to pick on up before we left.

Wednesday March 20

After a lovely night under the stars at Ile Fourche we set motor sail for Gustavia on St. Bart's. The marina was filled with yachts from many different countries yet K &P insist there were few boats anchored today. The colorful streets filled with French speaking people and tiny cars I do not recognize. After eyeing may of the local wares from the windows and Kathy turning red and dry-we sat down to eat at the Paradesio. It had a lovely West Indies atmosphere in colors, fabrics and style of furniture but the food was definitely French. The food was so good we had dessert too. Crab mouse, mahi-mahi, curry chicken with sweet potato salad and more! Yum! Now for errands-many merchants have closed down for the afternoon- including the grocery and marine store. After being resigned that we wouldn't find a snorkel for Paul, we set off for a hike across the way to the museum. It was an old building filled with remnants of life here previously. Kitchen aids-irons, toasters, sewing machines, fishing gear and photos of hurricanes. Upstairs was a biblioteque-that is short for library-pretty wood floors and cool book. Then we found an open dive store and purchased a snorkel. Its getting late and we motor to Colombier, a bay that was mostly owned by the Rockefeller and now is a nature preserve. We set anchor and went for a much needed swim. The starfish smile up at us from below. We found swimming off the back of the boat and running the engine don't mix as Kathy had a spell of not feeling well and decided to feed the fish. So much for a good lunch. Dinner turned out to be great with a green salad and spaghetti!

Thursday March 21

We had another night of beautiful stars with some rolling. Paul got up to secure banging objects. After breakfast we are off to hike across to Anse Des Flammands in search of fresh pastry and beautiful island vistas. What a view of the beaches, rocky hillsides, cacti fields and nooks and crannies along the way. At the end of the trail was a store with EVERYTHING! We return to the boat with our groceries and to get our snorkel gear. We snorkel the north end of the bay and see lots of fish and coral. For a brief moment we lost sight of Cathy and panic a bit. But all is well, she is but a short distance away. After a quick lunch we set sail for Grand Case. Grand Case is known for its vast numbers of eateries with great water views. Since they all seem to have great French food and we are 3 girls and 1 guy, we decide to pick the eatery with the best looking waiters. We settle for Le Marine. The waiter insisted he was the best looking on the island and guaranteed the drinks and food to match. We had an awesome fish dinner cooked tableside. The apple tart, chocolate covered cream puffs and kiwi/banana rum were the grand finale. As we return to the dinghy dock we find a traffic jam with lines everywhere. Once untangled we can't get the engine down, so we paddle back to the boat. During the confusion of trying to get the dinghy free, we left a Frenchman trying to hitch a ride back to his boat. Luckily Paul fixes the engine mount in the morning with a few bangs from a crescent wrench.

Friday March 22

We had a light shower last night and morning. We skipped snorkeling and mad our way to Marigot. We easily found the grocery store where we found a great selection of food. Paul and Kathy volunteered to return the groceries to the boat while Mindy and Cathy shopped. Then we had a great sail to Road Bay. We dined on grilled salmon and finished with dates and wonderful dark chocolate with pecans!

Saturday March 23

We wake up to another beautiful day and make our way to Immigration and Customs. Then it is off to Crocus Bay to snorkel off the cliffs. Looking at the cliffs was as interesting as the snorkeling. Lots of pelicans feeding and awesome cactus. Paul wasn't meant to have a snorkel this trip as he promptly lost his snorkel we just acquired at St. Barts. After snorkeling we go back to Road Bay for the night with intentions of going to Moonsplash. After finding out that the music doesn't really get going until 10 p.m. we settle for dinner on the beach and retire early.

Sunday March 24

We woke to another beautiful morning in Road Bay, Anguilla. It was a lazy Sunday morning. Paul and Cathy read while Kathy and Mindy swim. Kathy misjudges the sun and gets quite a burn. About noon, we decide its was time to head out. We'd been hoping to see some of the local boats race. Instead the action was a sea turtle surfaced a few times by the boat. Paul decides that we will take the long way around the island back to Grand Case. We sailed the east along the north coast of Anguilla, then through the pass between Anguilla and Scrub Island. When we were downwind, Kathy served smoked salmon & cheese sandwiches. Once at Grand Case we notice that the bay is even emptier than before. Kathy is eager to set into town for another great dinner-she even wears a dress! Tonight's restaurant selection criterion is the dessert menu. We settle on L'Hibiscus, a small and colorful place. We each have an excellent dinner. Tonight we had no trouble with the dinghy. We are getting more proficient with the dingy but not nearly as smooth as the couples that managed to enjoy their drinks in the dinghy and step off without missing a sip. It was a very windy night with mini willow-wa's. I guess we should of warned Mindy because they frightened her.

Monday March 25

After breakfast, Paul and Mindy set into town to arrange for Mindy's taxi to the airport. This task turned out to be much harder than planned because you needed a local phone card to make any local calls. At the pavilion where they grill mass quantities of food, they found a local who would arrange for a taxi. Then it was off to snorkel the rocks. Snorkeling was great! Then we rushed back to the boat to get Mindy washed up and off to the airport. Mindy will have a long day. After landing she will have to drive back to Gulf Breeze and be ready to work at 9 am the next morning. Back to reality, oh well. After lunch and a bit of reading we went back to Marigot for more groceries. We sailed back to Grand Case to anchor for the night.

Tuesday March 26

It rained overnight but not so much that the boat was hot. We had a lazy morning reading. After waiting out a short shower we make our way to Tintamarre. We decided to have a quick lunch before snorkeling. It was just as well as another squall came in that dragged two boats. Our anchor held just fine. We snorkeled the south end of the beach as hordes of tourist were brought the beach by big cats. Then it was back to Ile Fourche. We set anchor just as the sun had set.

Wednesday March 27

We avoid the dive boats and snorkel the north end of the bay. Why haven't we snorkeled this sooner! It is awesome here. Great corals and fish. Kathy gets spooked by a school a barracuda. After a quick shower and lunch it is back to Oyster Pond. Kathy was not happy when Sunsail said, "just bring the boat in" as she was hoping for a pilot. We did fine. Two loops around the boat basin got the main down and the dock lines set. Then we stopped to take on 26 liters of fuel and back to the docks for our last night. We dodged the rain to get to another French dinner on the hill.

Thursday March 28

We had showers on and off all night long. We shower off the back of the boat, as the public showers are broken. We did a great job on provisioning and water. We had used 310 liters of water and still had a whole tank left. Liat is very late causing us to have an escort to the gate. All ends well, we make the plane and land on time in Cleveland. We are only sorry that our vacation has to end. Now we have the weekend to get ready for reality on Monday. Cruising was very easy and relaxed as we have been to St. Martin before. It was also very empty. The events of September 11th, the economy, and previous hurricane damage have caused tourism to drop a bunch. It was great for us as we don't like crowds but I did feel sorry for the locals trying to make a living. We had great fun watching Mindy discover "cruisin". And of course Cathy is always a joy to have around! Thanks to all. We need to do this again!