This island, just a short overnight passage from Antigua, is half French (Saint Martin) and half Dutch (Sint Maarten). The Dutch side is much smaller that the French and rumour has it that when deciding where the dividing line should be the Dutch started on the Southern shore and the French, the northern. They marched towards each other and where they met they would drew a line from east to west. The Dutch side is smaller because the Dutch stopped at every pub while the French marched on.
Despite being ravaged by hurricane Irma (known by the locals as The Storm), Sint Maarten’s people are charming and the most friendly, helpful and considerate people on any Caribbean island we’ve visited to date. The Dutch being very efficient have restored the infrastructure and have been rebuilding the towns and clearing the lagoon of wrecks.. The French side is still waiting for the new building codes to be issued from Paris and for insurance companies to pay out. Irma was Sep 6, 2017.
We came to meet our friend Alex, who we know from the Amel Forum but whom we'd never met. Here we all are on the French side with Marigot Bay in the background. Alex hired a car and took us on an Island tour where we saw much of the devastation left by the Storm. Alex's neighbour, Deborah also came with us to distribute posters for the Heineken Regatta. It was a fun day out.
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| Leanne, Alex & Dave at Fort Louis |
We drove as far as we could to the highest point on the Island but the roads were so bad that we had to leave the car and trek the rest of the way. Repairs are underway to restore communication towers on the French side. Only one of three towers has been returned to service.
The view from Pic Paradise is pretty spectacular with St Barts visible in the background. See the movie below.
Here are some of the devastating images of the destruction reeked by Irma.
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| Boat blown over in a boat yard |
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| Once a restaurant, Grand Cas |
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| Once a Hotel, Grand Cas |
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| Sunken boat, French side of Simpson Bay Lagoon |
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| Docklines after the Storm |
Despite being ravaged by hurricane Irma (known by the locals as The Storm), Sint Maarten’s people are charming and the most friendly, helpful and considerate people on any Caribbean island we’ve visited to date. The Dutch being very efficient have restored the infrastructure and have been rebuilding the towns and clearing the lagoon of wrecks.. The French side is still waiting for the new building codes to be issued from Paris and for insurance companies to pay out. Irma was Sep 6, 2017.
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