Sailing, baguettes, camembert and liver pate: a great vacation in St. Martin

April 8, 2008

Kristen’s parents are on the plane back to chilly Vermont after spending 10 days aboard Whisper in St. Martin. We all had a fun time exploring the island, eating good food and sampling the various nude beaches. As was evidenced by a previous picture, Rod really got into the spirit!


The Millers at sea!


Fed up with waiting for the winds and seas to abate, the other day we sailed around the lagoon for an hour or so, until Rod was so scared he threatened to jump overboard! We quickly anchored and poured some rum cocktails to soothe frayed nerves.



The three main reasons to love St. Martin: cheese, wine and bread.

We spent a couple days walking around Philipsburg, including a excellent lunch at an Indian restaurant and we spent more time on different beaches catching the sun. Yesterday, the winds finally blew a little less than 20 knots and the seas were 6 feet instead of 9-11, so we weighed anchor and sailed the eight miles to Tintamerre, an island off the east coast of St. Martin. The sail was fast and fun, and wet when Helen was steering and buried the cockpit winch in the ocean! Hey, we’re not racing! The beach was pristine and Rod found plenty of private places to frolic.



Rod and Hans outside the airport.


Rod checks out Tintamerre Island.


Happy Beach... very nice.


Rod keeps a lookout.



Kristen laughing.... at Rod probably.



Helen and Rod at the top of the "Witches Tit" hill, overlooking the lagoon.



The St. Martin lagoon, looking towards the French side.



Last night Jim came over for dinner and brought a very tasty pork and spinach curry. It was an early night since everyone was tired after the day’s sail and this morning we woke up refreshed and ready for a plane journey.




Jim and Rod chumming it up.



It’s always sad to say goodbye, but we all really enjoyed the 12-day visit and Helen and Rod are planning their next trip aboard Whisper.