St Maarten/St Martin 19 March 2017 Newsletter Other newsletters Contests | Restaurants | Bargains and Happenings ISLAND NEWS

Weather: Last Sunday was a pretty good day, culminating in a mediocre sunset that lit up the sails on Passaat for us as she turned to go home (right). Monday morning found the haze clearing as a cruise ship came in past Saba. Tuesday was hazy on the horizon but Saba is visible behind Mercedes (middle) and on the right is a squall coming at us from the east with the aid of a very strong trade wind push on Saturday morning. The weather pano below was also taken on Saturday morning looking to the SW from Caribbean balcony. Today has scattered clouds but there is a chance of rain, the next two days will be partly cloudy, followed by two clear days, then three days with a chance of rain. Sounds mediocre except that the total rain is only a half inch. The temperatures are pretty solid: 81-82 for the high and 75-76 for the low for the next eight days.
Here's the detailed forecast from Weather Underground and here's one from the Weather Channel. Sunset tonight will be at 6:23 PM providing 12 hours and 6 minutes of sunshine. In 2017 the full moons will be 11 Apr, 10 May, 9 Jun, 8 Jul, 7 Aug, 6 Sep, 5 Oct, 4 Nov, and 3 Dec.

SXM-Beaches: WendyK says sand is beginning to return to the beach in front of Shore Pointe, but it's nowhere near a "beach" yet. Baby beach is still good, and the water is fine for swimming. She is now back on Cape Cod after a rather reduced visit to SXM. I went down on Saturday and found some sand (most of it moist) at baby beach (left). The monolith is not growing back (right) and the pano below is a pretty sad excuse for a beach. The pools are nice and it appears that you can get into the water safely, but that is about it - hardly any sand at all.

Running Blind by Lee Child - ($10 Kindle, $32 Hardcover) - Amazon.com Review: Jack Reacher is back, dragged into what looks like a series of grisly serial murders by a team of FBI profilers who aren't totally sure he's not the killer they're looking for, but believe that even if he isn't, he's smart enough to help them find the real killer. And what they've got on the ex-MP, who's starred in three previous Lee Child thrillers, is enough to ensure his grudging cooperation: phony charges stemming from Reacher's inadvertent involvement in a protection shakedown and the threat of harm to the woman he loves. The killer's victims have only one thing in common--all of them brought sexual harassment charges against their military superiors and all resigned from the army after winning their cases. The manner, if not the cause, of their deaths is gruesomely the same: they died in their own bathtubs, covered in gallons of camouflage paint, but they didn't drown and they weren't shot, strangled, poisoned, or attacked. Even the FBI forensic specialists can't figure out why they seem to have gone willingly to their mysterious deaths. Reacher isn't sure whether the killings are an elaborate cover-up for corruption involving stolen military hardware or the work of a maniac who's smart enough to leave absolutely no clues behind. This compelling, iconic antihero dead-ends in a lot of alleys before he finally figures it out, but every one is worth exploring and the suspense doesn't let up for a second. The ending will come as a complete surprise to even the most careful reader, and as Reacher strides off into the sunset, you'll wonder what's in store for him in his next adventure. As usual, Martha borrowed the book from our library via the internet and is listening to the audio book.

Sapphire Beach Club: Recently, Cheri Martel wrote: "We have now been at Sapphire for our first week. Things are definitely progressing but still need a lot of work. The pool and bar area look nice and the resort seems to be almost full. Lots of people and activity. Our two rooms have been completely renovated. We have had daily maid service. AC is working fine but can tell the new chillers haven't been installed yet. Staff has been great and it is great to see a lot of the same workers that have been here for years (that says a lot to me). We own 5 weeks and have paid all the assessments and maintenance fees as we feel that's the only way things will continue to get done. We've been asked repeatedly if things are okay in our rooms, they want to know every detail so it can be documented. This week the island has been packed with tourists for the regatta. Traffic is an issue if you don't know how to navigate. Hopefully this will encourage some of you to stick with your investment to give things a chance." On the right are a pair of dive boats checking out the remains of the Gregory in about 50 feet of water. Below left is Random Wind heading our for her daysail. Below center is our "beach" on the left side of our stairs and the photo on the right is the view to the right. There is sand, you can get in the water, but don't count on the sand being dry.
For those of you who wish to sell or rent their week or unit, we have opened up the Sapphire Beach Club website for that purpose. We charge $25 per year. If you wish to rent or sell your unit, send us some text (and $25 to esk@sxm-info.com via Paypal). If you wish to rent or buy a unit without high middleman fees, check out the website. At present, there are several sales and/or rentals available directly from owners. Given a 25 to 35% standard rental commission, there should be some bargains in eliminating the middleman and dealing direct.

SXM-Hotels: The Azure Hotel on Simpson Bay will be closing on 15 May for renovations. They will reopen in November of 2018. Mike says maybe they have a room for you, but hurry! On the right is a photo showing they are on the beach. No photo-shopping. No alternative facts. They are about in the middle of one of the longest beaches on the Dutch side. Moreover, there is little public access.

SXM-Activities: Richard Santaga went out on boats from Aquamania Adventures to view the Heineken Regatta up close for these photos. In the Ocean Racing Class, SFS II won the around the island race in record time shaving 2 minutes and 5 seconds off last year's mark. El Ocaso (left) won CSA 3 (Caribbean Sailing Association) by winning 3 of 4 races during their three days of racing. Scarlet Oyster (right) won the overall cup for Most Worthy Performance; they took 3 firsts and 2 seconds.

SXM-Activities: On Tuesday night we went to Karakter on the beach in Simpson Bay. Ronny Santana has put together a soul and blues group called Soul Dressing with Norbert on keyboards, Ayan on vocals, James on drums, and Bill on bass. They cover all the soul hits of the 60s and 70s. It wasn't my favorite music then, but it sure can get geezers out of their chairs and galloping about the dance floor. The evening ended with Procul Harem's Whiter Shade of Pale.

Rental Cars: This week's gas report is brought to you by Jimmy Fitzpatrick at Leisure Car Rental. His office is just across from the Winair ticket office, next to Sixt Car Rental. Gas: The Nettle Bay Cadisco was charging 0.88€ per liter and not doing 1 to 1. Delta Petroleum on the western side of the French bridge in Sandy Ground is at 0.89€ and taking dollars at 1 to 1. The Cadisco on the other side of the French Bridge is still charging 0.88 and giving 1 to 1. Delta's station in La Savanne was charging 0.92 and not doing 1.1. The Artsen station near the Super U was charging 1.02€. The Cadisco in Orient was charging 0.90€ and doing 1 to 1. The Blue station near Marigot's beach at Galis Bay was charging 1.01€ and not doing 1 to 1. The Artsen station near the Super U was at 1.02€. The winner seems to be the Cadisco station along the eastern side of the French canal. The Delta station in La Savanne is no longer in the running. Dutch side prices have been higher for almost all of the 26 years I have been on the island.

With the Euro getting a bit stronger against the dollar, restaurants doing 1 to 1 become more interesting. It behooves those of us with dollars to check the exchange rate offered by restaurants. For several years French side restaurants have been offering better than market exchange rates, especially for cash. However, if a French side restaurant offers a bad exchange rate, ask for your credit card to be charged in Euros. Assuming you followed my advice below and got a card that has no charge for foreign transactions you will get the wholesale rate on the exchange.

There was an article in the NY Times about credit cards and travel benefits. Check it out here.

You should not be paying a currency transaction charge as there are many credit cards that don't have this onerous charge. My United Mileage Plus Explorer/Chase card no longer charges it and gets my first bag checked free for all United tickets purchased on the card.

We now use the Capital One Quicksilver Visa Signature Card that gives us 1.5% cash back - no fooling around with miles. They do not charge an exchange fee on foreign transactions and they do provide rental car insurance. This has been our primary card as airline miles are not as valuable or as easy to use as they used to be.

We always notify our card companies of our travel. Chase and Quicksilver actually accept this info on-line, making it much easier than working through the hell of telephone answering systems.

There are discussions on Credit card Forum and Daily Markets that may help you decide what card is best for you. The first one has a review of the new Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. It gives you 2 points for travel related purchases and then allows you to take 20% off when purchasing your rewards through their Ultimate Rewards portal. It's tempting.