KITTEN UPDATE: Buffy & Willow 16wks old

Buffy & Willow went to the vet this week for their third set of vaccinations. They were such good girls!


They both weigh the same as each other... 5.2 pounds. Chris said that they are going to be BIG cats.

Next Wednesday they'll return to the vet to be neutered, chipped and tatooed. Not looking forward to the night before when we won't be able to have food and water down for them after 8pm. Don't expect to get much sleep :)

Updating our Amazon Store

This morning I've been updating our ALL ABOUT BOATS and MORE Amazon Store.

I've added a "PET" category, plus I added a couple of books to the "Books: Cruising with Pets" category. I went to the first page in our "Pet" section which has a brush, cat grass, cat toilet training kit, and some pet carriers. This page has a "SIMILAR ITEMS" section in the right column with three items listed... the first was for catnip, the third was for a cat book, but the second item really amazed me... it was a PlayStation 3 Wireless Controller! Is this a cat toy? Is it to train one's cat? Funny :)

Remember to check out our A-Store. Sometimes it can be very difficult to find things on Amazon so we have done the searching for you... such as cruising guides. Unfortunately, not much new for Venezuela... just the Chris Doyle book which we'll have to get soon.

VOIPBUSTER - Skype alternative

The other day on the St. Maarten Cruisers Radio Net (VHF 14, 07:30a.m. AST), s/v Magic gave a report on VOIPBUSTER as an alternative to Skype.

Here's their link: http://www.voipbuster.com

We have a Skype subscription through December 2008 so we'll stick with them, plus Grand Central.

Buffy & Willow Venture Outside

lHere’s a photo I took of our kittens, Buffy & Willow.



They’ve gone out a few times this week but they’re cool about it. I was afraid that once they went out they would always be trying to get out but they went out for a few minutes while we were in the cockpit then they went back inside like it is no big deal.

Friday update: Here's the photo. Was finally able to upload it this morning. The cats were out in the cockpit when it started to rain. They looked confused. Bob wrangled them inside, but Willow jumped out again, and in, and out, and in.... Willow was actually pretty damp! Of course, they had to go and lay on the bed :) BUT, at least they didn't venture into the litter box and get clumping cat litter stuck between their toes.

Items in stores should be priced

RANT WARNING !!!

Aargh! This really bugs me. Today I bought some instant mashed potatoes in a foil pouch at the Gourmet Marche in Simpson Bay, SXM. The code has not been registered in the computer but for the last 3 weeks, we've been told it is 1.35 guilders. Today, there is a price for the plain potatoes at 1.35NAF but none for the other type... but it is in the computer now for 2.99 guilders. More than twice the price, but I didn't want to hassle and just bought the 4 pouches but never again as they are not THAT special. (I know, look at the bright side... I was actually getting the better product for a discount.)

So, I guess that helped to put me in the mood for Budget Marine. They still have pricing "issues". I had to wait in line for about 10 minutes while they were trying to figure out how much some 24V pump cost as they only had a 12V one in the computer and the catalog... Why they were looking in 2008 catalog (wait isn't this 2008?) I don't know because it is not an accurate source of prices.

Anyway.... We bought a 3oz tube of Super Lube. Bob told me it was $6.00 (tube had a code but no price) and I was surprised she told me it was $5.95 with my discount (plus everything is 10% off marked prices as it is). I went to the shelf and it was marked $6.80 on the label. Zeros and eights look very similar.... So when I got back up to the front of the line to tell her what the marked price was, she had to go to the back of the store and look for herself. Which is OK, but really all I wanted was the one item... she saw the tag and we went back and I got the right price. As it was an American product, I was happy that she didn't give me the "euro" excuse.

Well, at least it was lube if you catch my drift... )

WANTED: Good Mexican Restaurant

Bob showed me this blog post this morning on Guilty Carnivore for a wonderful looking Mexican taco stand (Taqueria Pico de Gallo) in South Tucson, Arizon.

Check out these photos and the receipt!





(Photos from Guilty Carnivore)

Do you think they would consider opening a restaurant in the Caribbean?

If you are having problems with the permalink for the posting mentioned above go to his home page and scroll down to the "Eating Tucson: Taqueria Pico de Gallo" post dated, February 4, 2008.

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY 2008

It's Groundhog day again! Will Monday be a bank holiday?

He saw his shadow so you know what that means... Yep, 6 more weeks of wintery weather.
,

Here's a picture that I took of Marigot, St. Martin this morning... just another winter's day...

You may want to check out the official web site for Ground Hog Day and read the prediction: CLICK HERE

Remember, if you want to leave your particular winter wonderground and come on down to the islands for a quick getaway, contact us about a crewed yacht charter sailing vacation. CLICK HERE for our contact info!

Keep warm!

NOAA Weather now on VHF in St Maarten St Martin

NOAA weather is now relayed in St. Maarten / St. Martin on VHF Weather Channel 2.

Another beautiful winter's day in St Martin

Can't believe it is the last day of January already. Where has the time gone?

I just wanted to share this photo that I took this morning from out of our forward hatch. Not a bad winter's day, is it?


We are anchored in Simpson Bay, Sint-Maarten, Netherland Antilles. Just a 10-minute dinghy ride through the Lagoon over to Marigot, St. Martin (the French side).

Hope you had a nice day, too!

St Maarten Dinghies

Earlier this month (January 2008) there was a fatal, night-time dinghy accident in the Lagoon over by the French bridge (two dinghies). We've been told that since then that the Sint Maarten Coast Guard has been requiring that dinghies need to have a life jacket for each passenger, an anchor, oars, and an all-around white light (or maybe you can squeak by with a flashlight).

The Coast Guard does not display navigation lights on their dinghies so be careful. We spotted them one night just inside the bridge waiting for non-compliant vessels. Two nights ago I heard voices at about 2a.m. and they had stopped a couple in their dinghy and were by the sand barges. Afterwards, when the dinghy passed by our boat I heard the couple say something about flashlights. They didn't appear to have one...

Also, there are some new buoys in the Lagoon so be very careful, especially watch out for the half-sunken ones at night.

You've been warned :)

Funny cat photo

Here's a funny photo that Bob directed my attention to this morning. Pretty good expressions on the kids, too!


This picture came from Mr. Boat Blog, Everything Wet ... don't know where he found it, but thought we'd share...

Amazon's Kindle Reader - New in our Amazon.com Store

We like books, but unfortunately there is not enough room on our CAL-34 for all the books and everything else we would like to have with us.

We do have a few electronic magazine subscriptions with Zinio which is cool. We have subscriptions to American Cinematographer, Mac World, Cruising World, Saveur, etc. I prefer to read paper but the magazines are easily damaged (especially now that we have two kittens!) and they are heavy and space-consuming things. I find Zinio's interface easy to use and easy to read.

So, now Amazon.com has come out with their new-fangled Kindle Reader. Cool. They have thousands of books, plus magazines and newspapers!

We have added a KINDLE section to our AMAZON STORE: CLICK HERE

I also included the new Apple MacBook AIR computers to the store: CLICK HERE

Write a bit more later, as I'm now busy adding stuff to the store.

Nice day today in SXM... a bit breezy and a few drops of rain but definitely better than a lot of places!

FRIDAY CAT BLOGGING - My Brother's Ragdolls

No, they're not boat cats but they sort of qualify because they are my brother's cats.

There are six Ragdoll cats testing out the new quilt that they helped my sister-in-law make.



Front left is Koko, then Edgar, Brutus, Priscilla, Aquila and Frankie.

It looks like they've left room for Jet the dog to join them :)

DOME ENVY

The gang is back... The megayachts have returned to St. Maarten after their holiday charters. Boats with domes everywhere!



Here's the winner (below) with the largest dome. Does size matter?


Don't see many megayachts with a Canadian flag.

Budget Marine SXM - Unmarked Price Hikes

I just wanted to warn people that Budget Marine in St. Maarten has raised their prices on most items so check your receipt...

Monday when we were at Budget Marine, Bob picked up a pair of small fittings and was talking to someone while I paid for them. I thought they were pretty expensive but so it goes.... Bob was surprised when I told him they were $8.30/each and with our 20% discount for this item it came to $11.65.

Budget has been bad lately. Most of their items are not priced and only have the bar code. If you are lucky, there is a price tag sticker on the shelf or at the end of the rack. This one had a ticket at the end of the rack and it said $5.60. That's a big jump from $5.60 to $8.30 so I went to the cashier and I expected her to refuse my complaint and just tell me that the sticker is wrong and the price in the computer is right (I've had this happen too many times). But surprise... she gave me a refund! Plus the old price had a 30% discount for my account, so I only charged $3.92 for BOTH items and got $7.70 back. Wow, I was pleasantly shocked!.

DOLPHINS CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR WITH DRUMBEAT

Linda from the 72-foot charter yacht Drumbeat (one of our favorites) sent us an email today along with 14 great dolphin photos.

See the post and photos CLICK HERE

Thanks Linda!

NEVIS - New Yacht Mooring System

When we were attending the Charter Yacht Show in Antigua a few weeks ago, we were visiting a charteryacht and when we came back out into the cockpit to inspect the exterior of the vessel, there was this horrible little man monopolizing three of the yacht's (female) crew members showing them a promotional DVD about Nevis and spouting off about something... It was so loud we couldn't talk to the captain and the captain requested the man to leave as he was disruptive and annoying.

I managed to snag a Nevis Air & Sea Ports Authority (NASPA) Yacht Mooring System pamphlet from him. As you can tell, we did not hit it off. He was very rude and had a superior attitude... like I was "just a woman"...

Anyway, that's enough of that rant... now let's look at their new mooring policy...

NASPA Moorings are found along the West Cost of Nevis from Windy Hill to Charlestown.

Conditions of Mooring Use and Regulations:

1. All vessels must comply with the Immigration Nevis Air and Sea Ports Authority (NASPA) and Customs laws of St. Kitts and Nevis.
2. All vessels approaching Nevis are required to contact the Nevis Air and Sea Ports authority (NASPA) on VHF Channel 16 in order to be assigned a mooring within the first 24 hours upon arrival.
3. Vessels qualifying for mooring use must proceed to specifically-designated mooring after clearance.
4. Coastal mooring permits must be obtained prior to proceeding coastwise.
5. No vessel may use the moorings at any time unless authorized by the NASPA.
6. No anchoring of any vessel is permited without the authorization of NASPA.
7. The discharging of any bilge or sewage or the dumping of any form of litter or pollutant into the water is strictly prohibited.
8. All moorings may be used for short or long-term use.
9. Spear fishing is strictly prohibited. Harvesting of immature conch or lobster or an endangered marine species is strictly prohibited.
10. No flora, fauna or artefact may be damaged or removed during mooring, snorkeling or any other activity.
11. Water skiing may not originate from any moored vessel without permission from NASPA.
12. Jet-skis or other water sports vehicles must be registered with NASPA before use.

Mooring rates for 2008-2010:

- Class 1 : 0-35 feet
Up to 2 days: EC$ 27 / US$ 10
2 days to 1 week: EC$ 40 / US$ 15

- Class 2 : 36-60 feet
Up to 2 days: EC$ 40 / US$ 15
2 days to 1 week: EC$ 54 / US$ 20

- Class 3 : 61-90 feet
Up to 2 days: EC$ 54 / US$ 20
2 days to 1 week: EC$ 67 / US$ 25

Here's some other info from this pamphlet:

It's the Law

• Animals are not permitted to come ashore unless cleared by the Veterinary Officer.
• Do not bring ashore any fruits, plants or plant parts without the permission of the Department of Agriculture.
• Do not dump refuse in our waters or along our coastline.
• Do not take any coral, sponge, marine algae or starfish from the waters or beaches.
• Do not damage coral reefs by anchoring. Use the moorings provided by Nevis Air & Sea Ports Authority.
• Do not remove, damage, empty or cast adrift any fishing net, fish pot/trap, gear, tackle or other fishing equipment while in the waters of Nevis.
• Do not use spear guns for fishing in the waters of Nevis.
• Do not dive without a locally-licensed Dive Operator.
• Special permission is needed to pass through Fishing Priority areas or Marine Preserves when entering or leaving port.
• Do not anchor in any designated "safe swimming zone."
• Do not exceed a speed of 2 knots when operating tenders or other water crafts in the swimming zon right-of-way to the beach. All operators are requested to keep a sharp look out at all times when making way through this passage.

Another place off our list!

So it goes...

BUFFY & WILLOW - 2 months old

Buffy & Willow are 2 months old today (born Nov.1,2007) !!!



Willow likes cider. Last night she had her nose in Bob's glass and was trying to lap it up! We'll have to watch out for this one :)

They like to sleep on the quilt that Auntie Laura made for Bullwinkle.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008 - So It Goes

The beginning of a new year is always exciting. New things to come, new things to look forward to, etc.

It is another beautiful day in St. Maarten. Here's a photo I took around 10am this morning. Nice start to the new year.



Still lots of private planes at the airport. Sorry, but I didn't have the energy this morning to dinghy over and get a closer photo. You can click on the picture and get the full-sized picture if you like. There are more than a dozen over there...



We are going to have a wonderful New Year's brunch... Blinis, Scottish (of course) Smoked Salmon, with Sour Cream... and perhaps a nice bottle of French Normandy Cider.

Bonne Annee!

Kittens everywhere!

Blondie wrote to us to congratulate us on our new crew members, Willow & Buffy. She also adopted a new kitten on the same day... cool.

Check it out on Blondie's web site My View From 30,000 Feet

I find her blog very interesting... especially her recent post on delayed, cancelled, and overbooked flights over the holidays. Don't the airlines realize that many of their crew will "time out" by the end of the year which is the busy holiday season???? duh!

Here is a picture of Annette's (Blondie) new kitty, Emmie...



All the best!
Sheila

2008 - New St. Maarten Fees

Since today is December 31st, 2007 I thought we should go and pay our port fee for last week before the rates go up tomorrow.

Last week for a 9-14 metre boat (we are documented as 33.5 feet) we paid $10.30

For the coming week, for an 8-13 metre boat it is twice that... $20.65

She told us that she didn't charge us for the bridge though. What? We are out in Simpson Bay and do not intend to come into the Lagoon. I asked her about bridge fees and she said for a boat our size, it would cost $10 each time we enter the Lagoon.

I went to their web site http://www.sxmlagoonauthority.com/ but they don't have the new fees posted.



So, it will be interesting to see what happens. Will we have more neighbors out here in Simpson Bay? Most people think it is too rolly. Or will they not want to pay twice as much and go over to the French side?

I'd like to check out the French side and see what is happening there. Last July, the French Port person told us that they have mooring fees in place but they haven't enforced them yet. He said that they probably would in the coming season.

So it goes :)

FRIDAY BOAT CAT BLOGGING - Buffy & Willow

The population on So It Goes has doubled this week... Meet Buffy and Willow.



We adopted the little girls last Thursday and brought them home Saturday. They are now 8 weeks old and are quite a pair! They have quickly adapted to the boat.

We adopted them from the animal shelter at our vet's (ANIMAL HOSPITAL OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES) in St. Maarten. See a previous posting with a photo of how to get there... CLICK HERE

I think it is best to park the dinghy at the PdP (Port de Plaisance) Marina and walk up as shown on the photo but you can also get there easily from Island Water World but that road is not as good to walk on... not much of a shoulder when there is one and lot of cars. From the PdP marina you walk up through the parking lot of the casino/hotel to the main road where there is a sidewalk.

Lots more to come... Sorry for being so far behind with the blogs.

Happy holidays!

Gosh, it's almost Christmas

We have been so busy sailing to the various boat shows the past 6 weeks that Christmas has once again snuck up on us. I can't believe that it is almost the end of 2007. Time flies, even island time :)

So, what to do... I'm going to send some Amazon Gift Certificates. They can be sent via email, by "normal" mail, or along with an electronic greeting card. Not as personal as a specifically chosen gift, but I'm sure they will be very useful & appreciated.

Here's a link:
CLICK HERE for AMAZON GIFT CERTIFICATES

Happy Holidays!

Sorry for no posts, been busy

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, but we've been busy with the two charter yacht shows in the Virgin Islands and also the Antigua charter yacht show.

We just arrived in St. Maarten yesterday (Monday) after an exhilarating sail from Antigua.

More soon come :)

St. Maarten fees going UP

Just saw in the paper (CLICK FOR ARTICLE) that the fees are going up.

The exchange rate for Dutch St. Maarten is One US Dollar = 1.80 NAF but what they call Guilders in St. Maarten (Netherland Antilles Florins)... go figure :)

The new departure fees, commonly called bridge fees, for cruise ships (megayachts) per one-week stay or part thereof will be NAf. 18 for vessels with a length of nine metres or more but fewer than 14 metres; NAf. 27 for vessels with a length of 14 metres or more but fewer than 20 metres; NAf. 45 for vessels with a length of 20 metres or more but fewer than 28 metres; NAf. 81 for vessels with a length of 28 metres or more but fewer than 36 metres; NAf. 153 for vessels with a length of 36 metres or more. For all other vessels the fee will be NAf. 18.

The new harbour fees that are due for passenger ships or yachts per one-week stay or part thereof will be NAf. 36 for vessels with a length of 8 metres or more but fewer than 13 metres; NAf. 72 for vessels with a length of 13 metres or more but fewer than 18 metres; NAf. 108 for vessels with a length of 18 metres or more but fewer than 23 metres; NAf. 162 for vessels with a length of 23 metres or more but fewer than 28 metres; NAf. 216 for vessels with a length of 28 metres or more but fewer than 33 metres; NAf. 270 for vessels with a length of 33 metres or more but fewer than 39 metres; NAf. 324 for vessels with a length of 38 metres or more but fewer than 43 metres.

We just did a week in Simpson Bay and it cost us $10.30 for 2 people aboard a Cal-34. Then when we checked out there was a $2.07 fee. Not bad... Antigua is costing us $44 for the week but that does include a months' cruising fee.

So it goes....