November 2018 – SIMPSON BAY

IGY Simpson Bay Marina has 1 dock available (out of 3). No wifi or fuel.
Electricity was 0.54USD/kWh. Water was either 0.15USD or 0.20USD per gallon (don’t remember exactly). No pumpout available. The surrounding area has a good grocery store (diverse options; prices were on par with any American metropolitan area), good breakfast at Zee Best, and various snack bars/bars/ food along the road. Sidewalks are scarce.

IGY customers have pool access to IGY Isle de Sol (on Snoopy Island). Turtle restaurant at Isle de Sol not open yet; we were told they would be open very soon.
Regarding clearing in or paying the bridge fee – just show up at the bridge, hail on channel 12 to ensure they know you are trying to enter and motor through FAST. They do not like keeping the bridge open for any longer than they have to.

You can take up to 24h to clear into customs. We ended up paying the bridge fee and lagoon fee a couple of days after we arrived because the office was closed when we showed up. Customs office and bridge/lagoon payment office have different hours. There is a dinghy dock for the customs/bridge office, just outside the bridge. You can anchor inside and then dinghy to the office. They also have a dumpster for cruisers at the police station parking lot.

The party boat is docked right next to the Dinghy Dock Bar and will be there for a while for repairs. Meanwhile, they are still partying hard. Do not anchor too close to them (noisy!). Soggy Dollar Bar also had a lot of noise on some nights. Lots of large flies and sand gnats in the anchorage. Good luck…

Budget Marine is very similar to West Marine in the States. Their inventory is more sparse than normal, due to looting after Irma. They still have a lot of stuff though. Prices are reasonable. Island Water World is a much more dense space and seems to be more fully stocked (especially for electronics, dive equipment, fishing, and books). Prices may be higher than Budget Marine for most items.

Also, their dinghy dock is more crowded. Note that their dinghy dock is split into two parts — the north half is for short-term parking and the south half is for long term parking. They have water and a fuel dock at reasonable rates (approx 1USD/L for diesel; water was cheaper than at IGY Simpson Bay but don’t quite remember.)

Mega ACE Hardware is a short uphill walk from Island Water World. Be careful; there is no sidewalk and the street was slippery in places. Also a lot of stray dogs. This ACE is large and has a lot of inventory.

November 2018 – MARIGOT

LOTS of wrecks; anchorage gets shallow in places, so stay on the channel as much as possible.
Fuel dock — be prepared to pay in euros. We had trouble trying to pay with USD.

March 30 2017- Dropping off / picking up crew at the docks along airport road is now frowned upon. We were successful at the dock behind the Hertz Rent A Car lot, but not at the ferry terminal, or office adjacent.

The other docks were all in a state of disrepair. We did not try the marina that is just past the Airport going toward the French side. Note also that on older charts the Anguilla ferry terminal has moved and is now located adjacent to the airport and is staffed by customs agents.

SY Vent de Soleil

Our experience with Sint Maarten harbour authorities does not quite indicate that sailors are appreciated and regarded as a resource. Apart from paying fees of course.

One should think that professionally keeping track of practices and being able to provide service and correct information to sailors would be part of their job. Sint Maarten, the Dutch side of the island, has only two ports of entry. Sailors entering at one of them and leaving at the other should be no unexpected event.

The customs/harbour office in Philipsburg is not so conveniently located for an anchored sailor, so I called the harbourmaster on VHF to check if I could pay the anchoring fees in Simpsons Bay when later checking out from there.

Check-in had been in Philipsburg. I was told this was not possible due to separate systems. So I walked to the harbour authorities office to pay the fee. They could not understand why I was coming and told me it would be better to pay the fee when checking out in Simpson Bay! The harbourmaster must have misadvised me they said. OK, OK…

Upon arriving in Simpson Bay and waiting for the bridge to open into the lagoon, I called the bridge on VHF 12 and asked if it was necessary to pay the bridge fee in advance, as I would anyway have to go to the offices to check out. I was told to call a phone number. The number is given in the Doyle guide, so this might be expected.

However, none of my SIM cards was able to complete the call. Time before the bridge opening was approaching, and a visit to the offices by dinghy might have caused us to miss it if there was a queue. So I called the bridge again and asked if they could get me the information because I was not able to call on the phone. There was almost no VHF traffic. After answering the initial call, the operator just refused to communicate with me anymore.

So then there was no option but to hurry to the harbour office before the bridge opened. They said I had to pay before entering the lagoon.
When I told them I was upset because there was no answer on the VHF, the clerk said: “Well, that is not how we do it here”.

So, being helpful to sailors (customers) is not the way they do it at the bridge in Simpson Bay.
A supervisor, overhearing this conversation, said she would check on it.

As sailors often experience, the authorities want our money. Giving good service to sailors is not quite as interesting.

Do the Harbor fees apply to vessels anchored in Great Bay, Philipsburg or only those in Simpson’s Bay and the Lagoon?

Posted on Yahoo Cruisers Network Online – 3 February 2015

The fee for entering through the Dutch side bridge depends on length. 12 meters or less is $7 US. The costs go up if you are larger. Every week you stay on the Dutch side costs $20 US. Dutch C/I is at the Bridge and you actually see 2 people (not 3).

It costs 5 Euros each day to anchor in Marigot Bay on the French Side with an initial charge of 20 Euros when you first arrive if you anchor in Marigot Bay. There is no charge for anchoring anywhere else on the French Side, either outside or inside the Lagoon.

The channel from the French side bridge has shifted because of hurricane Gonzolo and varies because the marks are also missing. It is best to enter through the Dutch side bridge and then go through the new Causeway bridge to the French Side. There is no charge for the French Side bridge.

Most people come in the Dutch Side and then decide either to anchor or just proceed to the French Side and check in, once in the lagoon. Or you can just anchor in Marigot Bay with lots of room (because of the daily charge).

We left Sint Maarten/St. Martin 3 days ago so this information is current.