ANGEL Seasons 1-5 DVD - Special offer TODAY ONLY

Sorry, but I just HAVE to pass this on as we really enjoy Joss Whedon's series of Buffy the Vampire, Angel, Firefly... Have you noticed that our cats' names are Buffy & Willow???

Anyway, got an email from Amazon.com this morning saying that they have a "GOLD BOX DEAL OF THE DAY" for "Angel: Seasons 1-5 (Collectors Set)". This offer is valid today only, April 30, 2009, and while supplies last.

Amazon's Deal of the Day price is just $56.99 (savings of $82.99) which is 59% off the list price of $139.98 for "Angel: Seasons 1-5 (Collectors Set)"

Enjoy the Whedon World!

St Martin Marine Flea Market May 2,2009 LAST ONE OF SEASON

This Saturday (May 2, 2009) will be the LAST marine flea market / boat jumble of the season at Time Out Boat Yard, near Sandy Ground bridge, Marigot St Martin.

It begins at 8am and is FREE for sellers and buyers!

We'll have stuff there, such as:

• XANTREX DR2424 Charger / Inverter (24Volts) - Works great. Loved it, but we no longer have 24V system. Adjustable up to 70amps. We plugged it into our Honda 2000i generator and it worked finest kind.
  

• SSB set up: ICOM M600 transceiver with AT120 automatic tuner - We bought this from a boat who's family insisted that he buy a new radio to cross the Atlantic, because he was in his 80s and they worried. I would have kept using the tried and tested unit that worked just fine rather than install a new unit which may have problems & that I wasn't familiar with... especially if over 80-years old. We've had it in storage and have not installed.
  

• Lots of other stuff such as 110V guitar amplifier, washing machine, fishing lures, bits & pieces!

Hope to see you there.

Photoshop Elements 6 MAC - Special offer TODAY ONLY

Wow, Amazon just sent me an email saying that they are having a special on Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 (MAC version) for TODAY ONLY (April 29, 2009). It is only $49.99

I was planning on buying this as I really liked Elements 2, but v.2 doesn't work with my new MacBook that came with OS.10.5, so as soon as I finish this post, I'm going to buy it.

CLICK HERE to order your copy

Their old price of $76.99 was pretty good, but order today and SAVE!

Funny Cat Cartoon... Time to Wake Up

Bob showed this funny cat cartoon to me this morning and I just have to share it. I can't wait until Friday to post it.

I'm sure most cat people will identify with this.



Buffy tries quite a few of these antics at 5:30am most mornings. Fortunately she hasn't tried the baseball bat, but one that they don't have is the kneading the hair trick. Quite often I wake up looking like one of the B-52s or someone from an early 60's beach movie!

Enjoy!

Catamaran's cool paint scheme

We passed by this Australian catamaran a couple of days ago in the Simpson Bay Lagoon on St. Maarten.

It's different... I like it!

Paradise Clothing - Nice Stuff

Need some summer clothes? Or perhaps you live in the tropics and need to add to your wardrobe? Check out Paradise Clothing Company:



I was surprised and quite pleased with their prices, and that's quite something coming from me :)

This code (AFF10) saves you 10% on orders of $75 or more, which is not too difficult... Or, if you prefer, use the code AFFFS50 and get free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

Check out their BARGAINS & CLOSEOUT section, too! You can't buy those Reef sandals for those prices here on St Martin.

They have Christmas stuff, too!

Happy shopping!

Check your EPIRBs vital 15 character code

This article came in our email this morning from the Sail-World.com newsletter.

"An inaccurate identification code can delay response in the first vital minutes".

That's the message that Cobham Life Support, ACR Products, the world's leader in safety and survival technologies, is trying to get to all beacon owners. They want all EPIRB and PLB owners to double check their 15-character identification code registration for errors.

Read the entire article HERE.

What's the world coming to?

I saw this article on the BBC newsfeed this morning (right, Big Brother?) and I'm really shocked by it.

Back when we lived in Europe, the Brits were very vocal and against have their photos put on their driver's license and now they are putting up with this violation of rights... Very sad indeed.

Here's the link:
Plan to monitor all internet use - By Dominic Casciani, BBC News home affairs reporter

And here's a couple of lines from the article...

"Communications firms are being asked to record all internet contacts between people as part of a modernisation in UK police surveillance tactics.

... The new system would track all e-mails, phone calls and internet use, including visits to social network sites."

What's next?

Books : Cruising & Sailing with Pets - Cats & Dogs

Here are some books (available from Amazon.com) that those of you cruising / sailing about with cats and/or dogs aboard, might find interesting... This list might take a few moments to load if you have a not-so-fast internet connection as I do right now...



Buffy & Willow say hello!



... well, maybe after their catnap :)

Remember ANGELO from Yacht Haven St. Thomas USVI?

We are listening to YachtBlast on Island 92 in St. Maarten (91.9FM) and the host, Gary Brown, just said the name "ANGELO" which brought back one of those "blasts from the past"...

Hey, y'all... Remember Angelo who worked at Yacht Haven Marina in St. Thomas, USVI back when? Always brings a smile... Like the time he drove his cart off the dock :)

So Angelo, you might be gone but definitely NOT forgotten.

St Maarten Ghost Town - Charter Yachts are Gone for Season

Yesterday when we went to in to check to see if they had any new DVDs for rent at Island Video, I didn't recognize Palapa Marina. Just didn't look right. There were only two sailboats! Later on, there was only one sailboat. (NOTE: The 4:30pm bridge just opened and two more boats left. The megayacht had to blow his horn which always freaks out Buffy & Willow... back to the story).



As you can see it was quite overcast and gray yesterday. Here's three megayachts at Isle de Sol. I don't remember how many were there today. None at Simpson Bay Yacht Club and a couple at PdP.



Plus, there was no dinghies at the Customs dock in front of the St. Maarten bridge (blue building, just repainted).



We hope to be out of here soon, too.

Photos by Paradise Connections ©2009 - Please do not use without permission.

STAR TREK stuff for your desktop

Today, LifeHacker pointed to this web site http://iconfactory.com/startrek/ to give your computer's desktop a STAR TREK makeover.

Cool stuff!

I like the desktop wallpaper, too.

Bob & I saw the first Star Trek movie on opening day just after we got married in Victoria, BC. That will be 30 years this December!

Live long and prosper!

TWITTER or FLUTTER

I've been trying to get into the Twitter thing (WiseSheila) but I guess I just don't get it as some people seem to spend their day twittering... what's that about? I don't have enough time to do everything that needs to be done, plus do essential things such as snorkelling! Bob & I really try to stop everything and go up on the foredeck at 5:30pm for a sundowner and some quality time.

But, Bob just showed me this great video for Flutter :)

You can find it HERE

Enjoy!!!

FREE Audiobooks at Barnes & Noble... NINE of them!

Bob just told me about this, so I quickly went over to Barnes & Noble to take advantage of the NINE audiobooks they are offering for FREE! Offer ends May 16, 2009 at 2:59 a.m. Eastern Time



Click HERE

This will be a great addition to put on our iPod for night passages.

Enjoy!

Happy ROBIN KNOX JOHNSTON Day

Today has been designated Sir Robin Knox Johnston Day in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the finish of the Sunday Times, Golden Globe Race.

Robin Knox Johnston was the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world between 14th June 1968 and 22nd April 1969. Sailing 30,000-ish miles by himself for 313 days!


You may wish to read his book "A World of My Own". We read this many years ago back in Paris. It would be a great addition to So It Goes' library. Here's Amazon's Product Description: On Friday, June 14, 1968, Suhaili, a tiny ketch, slipped almost unnoticed out of Falmouth harbor, steered by the solitary figure at her helm, Robin Knox-Johnston. This is Robin's uninhibited account of one of the greatest sea adventures of our time.

At age 70 (born 17th March 1939, in Putney, London) he's still active in the boating world. In 2007, Sir Robin finished in 4th place in the single-handed round the world Velux 5 Oceans race.

Here are some life highlights:

• 1995 : Knighted by the Queen
• 1995 : ISAF Yachtsman of the Year
• 1994 : UK Yachtsman of the Year (2nd time)
• 1994 : Jules Verne Trophy (for the fastest ever circumnavigation) on ENZA
• 1994 : IYRU World Sailor of the year
• 1990 : Silk Cut Nautical award Seamanship Trophy
• 1986 : Round Britain Race on British Airways
• 1985 : World Champion Class II Catamarans
• 1983 : Bull World Champion Class 2 multi-hulls (60 feet)
• 1977 : Whitbread Round the World Race on Heath’s Condor
• 1976 : Winner RORC Class I championship
• 1975 : Admiral’s Cup
• 1975 : UK Yachtsman of the Year
• 1974 : Winner, Round Britain Race on British Oxygen
• 1973 : Admiral’s Cup
• 1970 : UK Yachtsman of the Year
• 1970 : Winner, Round Britain Race on Ocean Spirit
• 1969 : UK Yachtsman of the Year
• 1969 : Awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire)
• 1968-69 : Only finisher in The Sunday Times Golden Globe on Suhaili; first man to circumnavigate the world solo non-stop after 313 days at sea

Here's a link to BBC Devon December 28, 2006 which is about RKJ's participation in the Velux 5 Oceans race on board his yacht Saga Insurance. It has a quote in this article that I really like...

"It was much easier 38 years ago, no messing around with technology. They said I was missing for four and a half months and prepared my obituary, but I always knew where I was."

Bob & I saw Suhaili once in London... that was a very special moment. Too bad we didn't have a camera with us at the time.

Boat bloggers are linking to other bloggers' RKJ posts: Go to BOATBITS

Have a wonderful day!

RECIPE : Charter Yacht Catamaran AMARYLLIS

We asked a few of our favorite charter yachts to share a couple of their favorite recipes whether it be an appetizer, main dish, or cocktail.

We have a new post for Chicken Curry with Butternut Squash from Laura, owner-operator of the charter yacht Catamaran AMARYLLIS.

By the way, Amaryllis is currently open for BOTH Christmas week and New Year's week in the Virgin Islands! Details about the Catamaran Amaryllis can be found on the recipe post.

Enjoy!

Woodstock & Hurricane Camille

Last Friday I did a post about the 40th anniversary of Woodstock.

My brother read the post and sent me an email saying that he wasn't even aware of Woodstock at the time because that was the same weekend as Hurricane Camille (category 5). He was stationed at the Air Force base at Biloxi, Mississippi who got a direct hit. The storm caused lots of damage on base, plus they were also involved with helping out the community afterwards.

I didn't realize that it was the same timeframe. Your perspective of events depend on where you are and what you are doing at the time, of course.

In the Caribbean, time is measured by hurricanes. Things like "yes, that was the year after Klaus". A very big year was 1995, with Luis & Marilyn. Later on in 1999 there was "wrong-way Lenny" which is a landmark for St. Martin. Ivan a few years ago. And we will never forget, Hurricane Omar which hit us last year.

It was a beautiful day in St. Maarten. Hope yours was fine, too.

TIME OUT BOAT YARD St Martin Sandy Ground Marigot

I was checking my pockets before throwing a pair of shorts into the laundry bag and I found a business card for Time Out Boat Yard. They are nice people so I thought I should post the information here.

Time Out Boat Yard is on the right hand side of the Sandy Ground Bridge channel as you are LEAVING the lagoon and heading out to Marigot Bay. It is just before the bridge and across from PolyPat Boat Yard who are also nice folks. We used PolyPat's wifi service when we were anchored in the bay just outside of the bridge last year.

TIME OUT BOAT YARD
Sandy Ground Bridge
Phone: 05 90 52 02 88
Fax: 05 90 52 02 89
eMail: timeoutboat@hotmail.com

BOAT PAINT & STUFF
French & US Navy Antifouling
Marine Paint - Resin - Fiberglass
We like this shop. We bought our antifouling from him as we've been told that it's very effective and it's a good price. We will apply it soon, so I hope it's good stuff. He also sells epoxy, polyester resin, and all the assorted stuff that goes with it, from mixing pots & paintbrushes to fillers & fabrics.
Phone: +590 690 55 65 41
eMail: bbval@domaccess.com

SXM SELLERIE MARINE
Canvas
I spoke with him at the last marine flea market / boat jumble. He had a good attitude. Doesn't do sail repairs but makes cushions, etc.
Cell: +590 690 36 23 36

Other businesses:

Greg Mecanique - gregssxm@yahoo.com 0690 58 72 49

MarinElect herve@wanadoo.fr 0690 54 27 00

I'm never sure about the French-side phone numbers... the country code is 590 and if you are dialing from a Dutch-side phone you must enter the French-side country code and leave off the leading zero, so it should be +590 590 52 02 88 for Time Out and I think if you call within the French side you leave off the country code of 590 and put a zero in front of the number... Time Out would be 0590 52 02 88, for example. Hope this is right. If it doesn't work try, try again :)

Maybe we'll see you at the next boat jumble which should be Saturday, 2nd May 2009.

40th Anniversary of Woodstock this year

Wow, I just received an email from Amazon.com saying that I can pre-order their special DVD set of Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music Director's Cut (40th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition with Amazon Exclusive Bonus Disc).

I like how the box has a fringe... those were the days.

No, I didn't go as I was 14 years old and all the way on the other side of the country... So to paraphrase that movie (what film & what was the line?), I didn't go but I could have!

What makes this especially interesting is that Amazon has a special bonus disc)... Here's their description:

The limited and numbered Amazon Exclusive 4-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition features more than three hours of extras – two hours of rare performance footage plus a third hour of featurettes showcasing interviews from Martin Scorsese, Director Michael Wadleigh, and Producer Michael Lang. Included in the set is an Amazon exclusive bonus disc with additional never-before-seen performance footage from Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Country Joe and the Fish plus three additional featurettes!

This set is available for pre-order which is usually cheaper than buying it when it is released, it's definitely a good deal for $42.99. Quite a few hours of entertainment that you'll want to watch over and over again.

This boxed set is available in Blu-Ray and DVD.

Take a little trip, take a little trip, with meeeeeee back in time.

RECIPE : Papaya Pineapple Bran Muffins, Caribbean Crewed Charter Yacht THREE MOONS

We asked a few of our favorite charter yachts to share a couple of their favorite recipes whether it be an appetizer, main dish, or cocktail. Shelly, owner-operator of the 72-foot crewed charter yacht THREE MOONS (Virgin Islands) sent us one of her latest recipes: Papaya Pineapple Bran Muffins.

We have posted the recipe on our All About Yacht Charters, Sailing Vacations blog.

Enjoy these tropical treats!

Cute Sailboat Candles Make a Great Gift

I was just reading my friend's blog (My View From 30,000 feet) and in her latest post she mentions that she's down at her sister's place working on their business website...

Well, I checked it out and found these really cool little sailboat candles...



You can order them on their website HERE

This is a great gift idea for our sailing / boaty friends! I'm going to look around and see what else they have :)

Tasty Appetizer or Dessert Recipe for Easter BBQ

Here's a tasty and easy appetizer that you could try with your Easter BBQ this weekend: Tropical Fruit Egg Rolls!

Found this at the baynews9 who gives credit of this recipe to Chef Javier De Jesus of Pacific Wave Restaurant in downtown St. Petersburg.

The filling is basically pineapple, mango, dried cranberries, toasted sweet coconut and macadamia nuts.

Tropical Fruit Egg Rolls

What you need:

• ½ cup diced pineapple
• ½ cup diced mango
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ toasted sweet coconut
• ½ cup macadamia nuts
• 1-cup pineapple juice
• Egg roll sheets
• 1 egg for an egg wash
• 1 tablespoon each of brown and regular sugar and cinnamon

What you do:

• Put all these ingredients in a pot.
• Pour in some pineapple juice and let it reduce on low heat.
• The pineapple juice will simmer and slowly evaporate to create a sort of a syrup with the cooked fruit.
• So you get a nice thick consistency.
• To prepare the egg roll, place an egg roll sheet on a flat surface.
• You can buy these at any supermarket and if you can't find them, go to an Asian specialty store.
• Put a nice dollop of the mix off center of the egg roll sheet.
• Roll it once.
• Brush a little egg wash on the edges of the sheet.
• Now fold the corners in and roll it until it's compact.
• You have to deep fry the egg roll, so make sure you use canola oil and it's at 360 degrees.
• Just drop the egg roll in the deep fryer.
• That will cook for about two to three minutes or until the egg roll is golden brown.
• Take it out of the fryer and let the grease drip off.
• Now they're going to be very hot, so be careful.
• But take this opportunity to cause an outside sugary layer.
• Place the egg roll in amixture of brown sugar, regular sugar and cinnamon.
• And roll the egg roll on the sugar mixture.
• Trim the ends off or keep them and enjoy this tropical fruit egg roll with some ice cream.

Mmmmmmmm.... try it you'll like it :)

Adobe Photoshop Elements PC & MAC

This morning I received an email from Amazon.com to let me know about the great deals they have on Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 (PC version) and Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 (MAC version).

I used Photoshop Elements on my old MacBook which died last year. I was sad that the version of Photoshop Elements that I had did not work with my new MacBook's operating system (10.5).

They talk about the product for storing photos, etc (sort of like iPhoto). I liked it for it's graphics potential. I could use drawing tools and remove backgrounds, blend images, add text, etc. This is what I want it for...

I believe that the user interface of this program has changed somewhat between version 2 and version 6, but it was such a good, easy to use tool and, at an affordable price of $76.99, I think I'll bite the bullet and go for it!

It's another beautiful day in St. Maarten!

Today's chores

Today, I feel pretty good because I've just updated a big portion of our website ParadiseConnections.com, adding and updating pages for charter destinations other than the Caribbean. It is still a work in progress, of course, but whew!

Also, I just finished a new post on our European Canal Barge Cruise Vacations blog. There is a new barge that is being converted and fitted out. We received photos from the owners and have posted them. For several years Bob & I lived on a barge that was being converted into a houseboat on the Seine outside of Paris (La Péniche "Black Moon" in Port Marly, France), plus we built two sail boats, so we really enjoy "baby" pictures :)

Now it's past time for a sundowner... But, we are still going to have a Pastis (how French!) on the foredeck and have some quality time together with the cats.

St Martin Marine Flea Market Postponed & Today's Photos

Today we went to the French side to pay for our storage at Time Out Boat Yard. We found out that Dominique only works until 2pm so, we'll have to go back tomorrow. We don't mind... it's a bit of a dinghy trip (and sometimes into a nasty chop), but we can buy a nice baguette which makes it worthwhile.

We heard a rumour that there would not be a Marine Flea Market / Boat Jumble this Saturday (normally 1st Saturday of the month from December through June). This has been confirmed. Fabrice is getting married! Felicitations!!!

There will not be a flea market the following week because that is Easter weekend... My guess is that it will not happen this month. JC is back and he'll probably make an announcement next week on the SXM Cruisers Net (VHF Ch.14 @ 07:30am, Mon-Sat).



We walked over to the store (US Import) and bought a hunk of brie, two baguettes, a $3 bottle of Pastis! Mmmmmm!!! Guess what we are having for sundowners today.

We then returned to the Dutch side and stopped in at Gourmet Marche to pick up a couple of things, returned the DVDs, and checked our mail at The Mailbox.

We had to laugh and get a picture of the menu signboard outside of Taco Macho...



Moosrum sauce?!

A dodger like this megayacht's dinghy has would come in very handy when traversing the lagoon.



They are definitely going to keep their shopping dry.

And here's a picture of Buffy... doing what cats do so well :)



This is one of their favorite places to sleep... on top of the cat carrier. How they have grown!

It has been a beautiful day. Hope you're having a good one!

More April Foolishness!

Check this out :)

CLICK HERE

Hope you're having a great day!

April Fool's Message

As Steve Martin put it so well, some 30+ years ago...

Best Fishes

for poisson d'avril !!!

Happy birthday, Wacka