St. Martin: May 13 - May 21, 2010
Click on the above thumbnail for a map during this time period
More Hikes!
A member of our editorial board is of the opinion that we are devoting too much
space to descriptions of hikes. So we content ourselves here with a few
pictures, taken on a hike of the ridge east of Simpson Bay Lagoon. We
walked up the steep road to the saddle point of Cole Bay Hill, took the path
north along the ridge, and exited down a path just south of Marigot four hours
later.
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Early panorama taken from half-way up the road to Cole Bay Hill
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Every ridge light has its own ladder
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Panorama of Philipsburg
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Trail often paralleled a stone wall ...
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... and sometimes went right over it!
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Trail zig-zagged up and down the ridge
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Juliana airport
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Barb at a peak
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Barb and Devi
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Panorama from Barb and Devi's position
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Lunch
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Spider set her trap on the trail -- hoping to catch a goat?
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We were all stung by this type of stinging nettle
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Trail is well marked ...
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... with well-maintained ...
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... signs
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Short rest near the start of our descent back to "civilization"
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View of Marigot
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And then several days later we took another hike, starting from the same place
on Cole Bay Hill, but this time going south, first up a steep concrete road and
later on a path that sometimes was along the top of a stone wall. At
the peak we found another light, of course.
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Wild orchads growing beside a stone wall
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Fruit on a cactus
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Barb up on the light at the peak
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Devi has a bright idea!
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And then several days later the Terns and Chuck found a way, following at
first a concrete road up from the Caribbean Movie Theatre, up to the top of
"Billy Folly" Hill, where we found a huge water tank and yet another microwave
tower.
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Water tank up at Billy Folly Hill
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Surprising sign at the top
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Panorama down on Simpson Bay Lagoon
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Looking down southwest
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Looking north to "Witch's Tit"
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So what are we doing when we are not hiking? Lots!
Barb has been doing a lot of sewing and rope-splicing: She has done some
repair work on some of our flags, including our large American flag. Her
biggest project has involved constructing a drogue for Tusen Takk II,
using a design provided by Sail Rite. First, she sewed about one
hundred cones. Then, with some tutelage from Rene (Gypsy Blues) and
Hunter, she learned how to splice double braid rope. Then she attached the
cones along the length of a long line that sports at its ends her handsome
spliced loops. What is a drogue for? It would be deployed if we
experienced a loss of power in rough seas; the drag created by the drogue would
pull the bow around to point into the waves and therefore minimize our roll and
therefore facilitate efforts to deal with the cause of the power loss.
Chuck has been varnishing the cap rails. With the help of Hunter, Chuck
has been preparing for the eventual installation of poles to support our
flopper-stoppers used for minimizing roll of Tusen Takk II while at
anchor. That involved designing a plate for the top of the mast; said
plate to be used to attach blocks for the lines that will support the poles.
Then getting the plate manufactured at a local rigging company, then installing
mast steps to facilitate the installation of the new top plate. Then
installing the new plate, and while up there, installing the associated blocks.
Hunter also provided a tool for testing the tension of the steel cables that
provide lateral support for the mast. We used the tool to monitor
our efforts to tighten the cables; they had gotten quite slack. Since we came to trawlering via small motor boats, rather than sailing, we
hadn't known about the tool. Trawler owners, if you are similarly
ignorant, ask a sailor about the tool!
And then there are the usual maintenance activities: Routine oil and
filter changes and routine refreshment of battery water. Replacement of
impellors (and chasing down loose vanes there from when an impellor fails before
it is replaced). Cleaning of the filter baskets in the various raw water
strainers. Polishing the stainless steel rails. Waxing and polishing
the boat. (And when we are in clean water -- not the Lagoon -- cleaning of
the bottom.)
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Measuring the tension on a mast stay
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Hunter tightening a stay
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Chuck installing mast steps
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Hunter delivering something that Chuck dropped
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Barb working on the drogue
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Strange craft that passed by our anchored position in the Lagoon
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