MAY____________________________________________________2001
http://cg.thedepot.com/windsurf
Mac Barnhardt is the new
newsletter editor, publisher, and all-around info and article gatherer. Please
contribute to the newsletter by sending in articles and information. It can be
anything such as a trip you took (even if you didn’t windsurf), a great windsurfing
session you had, a lesson you took, windsurfing gear purchasing experience,
equipment tests, pictures, video review, equipment for sale, great web sites,
etc.
This is your newsletter so don’t be bashful – Contribute!
Also, this newsletter will be distributed via email to all members who have email addresses in order to save on postage, mailings, etc. Plus, we want to have more pictures in the newsletter and they turn out better in digital format on your computer as opposed to copied b&w print. When you print this out yourself, it looks much better than the copied version that gets mailed out. Attached with this newsletter is the latest member contact list. For those of you who received this edition in the mail, it’s because we don’t have your email address. Please send me your email address by emailing me at mbarnhar@cisco.com and I will get you on the subscription email list. If you don’t have email, you’ll continue to get the newsletter in the mail.
Don’t let the wind gods place a curse on you – send in your dues! If you haven’t already, it’s time to send your $80 to Keny Kirschtein, our Club Secretary/Treasurer. Keny’s address is 3102 Ardoch Court, Greensboro, NC 27410. Phone: 854-9057 and email: keny@elsouth.net
The Spring Emerald Isle Club Trip is booked. If you haven’t gone on one of these trips, you’re missing out. It’s a great opportunity to hang out with fellow club members and have a great time. Plus, the sailing is great down there. So be thinking about the 1st or 2nd weekend of October for our Fall Club trip. Stay tuned for details in a future newsletter.
On Memorial Day Weekend, several club members are
making their own plans to go to Cape Hatteras to sail. Most of them will be
staying at Frisco Woods Campground. Make your plans now and join your fellow
club members in Hatteras. You can contact Frisco Woods Campground by calling
1-800-948-3942, email them at friscowd@pinn.net,
or check out http://www.outerbanks.com/friscowoods.
See Jeff Shanklin’s comments below for more details.
Go ahead and tell your
friends and family. Let’s promote the sport and get folks out to our site for
our Annual Learn to Sail Day. Please bring any longboards and sail rigs (mast,
boom, and sail) that can be used for teaching. We need volunteers for various duties
such as registration, safety boat, teaching, etc. Please call or email Jeff
Shanklin to confirm your availability at 887-4928 (H) or 727-5632 (W). See
Jeff Shanklin’s comments below for more details.
Come out to our site to
help clean up. We need volunteers to cut down brush, cut the grass, clean the
container, pick up trash, etc. The more folks we have, the less time it will
take. If the wind blows, we’ll sail afterwards. Bring your own food and drinks
and we’ll have a party! Please contact Don Wrenn at 869-6256. Again, see Jeff’s comments below for the
details.
Club Member Changes –
Our President, Pam
Landsteiner, has taken a new job in Minnesota and has recently left us to begin
with her new employer. Jan De Looze has stayed behind to sell their house and
then he’ll soon be joining her in the Great White North. They will both
continue to be club members and will be our Minnesota Lakes (“Gorge of the
Midwest”) correspondents. The happy couple is getting married on an island in
Wisconsin on June 9. Congratulations you two!
New President
Since Pam has departed,
your new Club President is none other than our former Vice President, Jeff
Shanklin. Without further adeau, here’s Jeff:
Hello all. My name is Jeff Shanklin and effective immediately, I will be your new president. For those of you who have not heard, our recent past President Pam Landsteiner has taken a new position in Minnesota, and has recently moved from the area. Pam has been a real asset to BCCW since joining. She not only worked hard in trying to keep the club moving in a positive direction but she and Jan De Looze also hosted several social events at their house. I want to thank Pam for all her hard work and for her efforts in making this a productive and fun organization to be a part of. She will be missed greatly not only for her hard work but also as a good friend and sailing buddy. Please join me in wishing Pam the best of luck in her new life in MN.
I also would like to thank Herman and Lorna Heyge for being such gracious hosts on March 23rd. We all enjoyed a delicious Lasagna dinner, and were treated to hearing Lorna play her pipe organ. Not only is this an incredible instrument but Lorna plays beautifully. She also took the time to give us a little history lesson and explain the inner workings of the instrument. Thanks again for a great night.
Now that spring is here, it is time to dust off your boards if you haven’t already. For many of our members, they never dried off as February and March produced some great sailing days out at the lake. We are busy planning several events such as our semi-annual Emerald Isle trip, clean up day, learn to windsurf day, fun days etc. I have listed a brief description of each of these events below. Please mark the following upcoming events on your calendar:
May 4th-6th Emerald Isle Trip
May 19th Cleanup Day
May 25th-28th Hatteras (Memorial Day weekend)
June 2nd, 3rd Learn to Windsurf days
Twice a year we have a clean up day in order to do our spring cleaning of the trailer as well as cutting limbs, and picking up broken glass, etc. We try to do this before our Learn to Windsurf days not only so that the place looks nice but also so that it is safe for our guests. Please help out if you can by showing up on Sat. May 19th from 10 am to 2 PM with your sleeves rolled up. Don’t worry, it’s not all hard work. We have a lot of fun doing this, and we usually sail afterwards if there is enough wind. If you can pitch in, it is greatly appreciated and the more people that participate, the quicker we finish and get to sail. Just bring any tools you can; clippers, rakes, chainsaw, brooms, etc. but definitely bring a pair of gloves suitable for picking up glass. If you have any questions regarding this day, please contact Don Wrenn at 869-6256.
Learn
to Windsurf Day(s) June 2nd, and 3rd
Last year, the turnout for this event was so great (60
people) that this year we are planning on scheduling this as a 2 day
event. It is quite a challenge to
train, and monitor 60 people’s progress in one day and this year we are
actually expecting a larger crowd than that.
Please invite a friend or three and come out for the fun. If you would have any questions, please contact Jeff Shanklin at 887-4928 (H)
or 727-5632 (W).
Hatteras
Memorial Day Weekend Trip – May 25th-28th
This is not a club sponsored trip but rather an informal sailing get together at Frisco Woods Campground. Beginners are welcome, as Hatteras has been voted one of the best spots on the earth to learn to windsurf. It is actually easier to learn than the local lakes because of the waist deep waters and consistent winds. For those of you who have been, you know that there is nothing like sailing at Hatteras; consistent winds, beautiful sunsets, great food, and friendly people, and hey if the wind doesn’t blow…. You go to the beach.
We will soon be conducting a brief survey in-order to better serve our members. Please help us out by participating in this survey. It is important that all voices be heard.
We need volunteers to help out with the clean up day as well as the Learn to Windsurf Days. Please contact the people listed with these events or any of your officers if you are able to help out.
Now go out there and Sail Sail Sail! I hope to see everyone at Emerald Isle, or one of the upcoming events. Enjoy the spring!!!
Jeff Shanklin
A
Cool Web Site –
Rob Cornwell is our new Club Webmaster, here’s Rob:
Have you seen the web site lately? If not, go to the web and check out some of the latest pictures of club members at Windfest, Belews, Avon, and The Basin. Articles from newsletters are also going out on the web as well as web links to other good sites. If you have some good windsurfing photos, please send them in “jpeg” format to Rob at mbandrob@mindspring.com. To access the web site go to: http://www.thedepot.com/Groups-windsurf.
For all the members with email addresses, we will soon be sending you an email from the web site to join as a member of the BCCW page. By accepting the invitation, you will be given access to certain sites that other (non-members) will not be able to see. Once we get everyone on the web, this will make it easy for anyone in the club to send out notices to members.
Equipment
For Sale –
North Sails Spectro 6.5 -
"B" condition, still in very good condition. It's a great 3 cambered,
slalom sail. $75. Call Mac Barnhardt at 545-6355 or email mbarnhar@cisco.com
Mistral Competition 12' 4"
Great beginner board, stable and fast.
5 sails, 2 masts, 2 booms
All for $550
Contact Jeff Shanklin
887-4928
If you have equipment for
sale that you want listed in the newsletter, send Mac Barnhardt the details via
email mbarnhar@cisco.com
Web
Site Profile –
http://www.foxwatersports.com/
Fox Waterports has been a
long time advocate, supporter, and contributor to the Belews Creek Community
Windsurfing Club. They are one of the top windsurfing shops on the Outer Banks,
located in Buxton. Their site features a picture of the day, usually from
Canadian Hole. They have placed a Hatteras Island sailing site guide on their
web site. You can even buy equipment on-line. They also have a weekly wind
diary as well as good weather links. Check this site out and visit Fox next
time you’re in Hatteras.
By Rob Cornwell
I am into the third day of the annual windfest vacation, and the wind has been great up to this point.
On Tuesday (1st day), the wind was incredible, blowing 28 to 35 (N to NNE) all day long. I stayed with a 4.7 the whole day on my F2 Ride. By the afternoon, after 5 hours of sailing, my hands were looking pretty harsh, as this was my first real sail in months. Pace (Mark Pace) pulls in around 3:30 that afternoon and gets rigged up for a late afternoon punch. Unfortunately for him they were calling for gale force winds and the local officials were calling people out of the sound. He made it down to the water with his gear but never hit the water. I had the video camera ready as he was going to try his first loop of the season.
The first night in the Frisco cabin was a bit chilly. It was in the 30’s, raining and windy. Pace and I were pretty darn cold without a heater, but a few good card games offered some relief…nothing like a good game of WAR. We had called Mac to make sure he brings down a heater, TV, VCR and Microwave (all the things you need when roughing it in a cabin).
On Wednesday morning the wind was howling straight on shore (NW). There were a few people already out in the early morning on 3.3’s and 3.7’s. Pace and I had some breakfast and then we got on the water…me with a 4.7 and Pace with his 5.6. We had a blast. Mac pulls into the campground about 11:30, after making some good time on the road. The wind had died down by the afternoon to about 15 to 20. Mac rigs his 7.5, I rigged my 7.9 and Pace rigs his 7.8. From the time we hit the water we were planing the whole afternoon. The wind picked up some more (6.0 to 6.5 sail), but we stayed with our sails by pulling them down a little. The wind dropped in the mid afternoon for about a half hour to around 15 (WNW) so we went in for a break. Mac and I decided we had not had enough and headed back out to the water to find 18 to 25 (WNW)...it was a great time as we were about the only ones out on the water watching the sun go down.
Jim and Angela Crawford showed up that evening and we headed to the Mad Crabber for some seafood (crab cakes) and beer (a couple of pitcher of Bass). The night was pretty uneventful as we were worn out. Pace and I were disappointed that “Cabin Boy” (Mac) did not bring any of the luxury items that we had requested…and how many Wal-Marts did he pass on the way down?
On Thursday morning, the first day of Windfest, the wind was blowing 15 to 20 (NW) in the morning. We had 3 good hours of windsurfing before the wind died down to around 10. I took out a couple of new light air boards (the HiFly 282 and the JP 140 liter). The JP beat out the HiFly in this contest. We did not get back on the water this day, but had a great time watching the free style contest. We saw a kid about 8 years old who was ruling the contest like you would not believe. Mac and I also found a shop that offered internet access, so we went and plugged into email for a while.
Of course, we hit the Windfest happy hour at 5:30 where we think we were drinking Bud, but Pace was suspicious. We ate some finely prepared cheeses, crackers, veggies and pretzels for a pre meal warm up. Mac, Pace and I exchanged windsurfing talk about how we got started into the sport, and by the time the happy hour was over, we were exchanging tips on how to do forward and reverse loops. We closed down the beer truck and headed over to the Gingerbread House for a large pizza.
That evening the money was thrown on the table and the boys were ready to play some poker. Mac and Pace hit me hard on the first 10 games….putting me down about 4 to 5 bucks in under an hour. However, one game of High/Low cured that as Pace made a decision to go for the pot, but ran out of luck by pulling the wrong card. Mac and I were very sad to see all of those dollar bills go into the pot. Halfway through the evening, Clark (Jeff Clark) pulled up. We resumed play and the dynamics of the game now changed. I believe everybody but Pace walked away from the table satisfied that night.
It is now the 4th day (Friday morning) and I am the only one up at this time. The temps have come up. Yesterday was in the 60’s and it is supposed to be in the 70’s today. I just heard on the radio that winds are to blow from the South at around 20 today. We are thinking about heading North to Barton’s site (Hatteras Island Sail Shop in Waves) to catch some better wind. Frisco gets a little less wind when it blows South.
Saturday morning….60 degrees and sunny….paper has been read….just had breakfast….Mac, Pace and Clark are still sleeping (missing a great morning)….forecast is for winds from the SW 20 to 25. Getting back to yesterday, we went over to Barton’s place around noon and caught some lunch across the street at Top Dogs (the burgers and sandwich’s were awesome). The wind was blowing around 12, so Mac rigged up his 9.6 Aerotech for his AHD77. While most people were schlogging along, Mac was cruising and having some fun for the first hour.
As there was still not enough wind for me, I hung back and caught some of the Super Clinic that was going on. I listened to Dasher talk about carve jibes and demonstrate the duck jibe. Within a short time, the wind picked up to 15 to 22 SSW. It was interesting that the wind picked up right when Pace decided to go back to the campground to sail the demo boards. From the time we hit the water, we were keyed in to the wind. The wind started to fall around 6pm, which gave us time to get our equipment in the car and back to Frisco for the Windfest Italian dinner.
On Friday night, we had plenty of pasta, lasagna, salad, brownies and beer at the Windfest party. After dinner they were giving away prizes (each person eating there was given a raffle ticket). I was lucky to win a Windsurfing Magazine 2001 calendar. After this we watched the board toss. For those of you have not attended Windfest, they find a used windsurfer and allow everyone to take a toss. The person to throw the board the furthest is the winner. The trick for this year (as was last year) was to keep the board low and to let it slide over the land. Jeff had one of the better throws, but the board turned on him a little. I was able to catch a good picture of this on Pace’s digital camera, so be looking out at the web site for this pic. To end the night we threw down a few games of cards. Mac started out taking most of our money, but by nights end it appeared that Clark and myself were the big winner this night.
On Saturday morning the wind was already blowing. The forecast was for it to blow 20 from the SW. From the time we hit the water around 10:30, we were planing for the entire day. Mac and I stayed out in the water until around 5:15, as they were drawing raffle tickets for someone to win a new 105 liter HiFLy Board. We bought 5 to 10 raffle tickets each which gave us about a 1 in 50 chance to win….not bad odds. Unfortunately, our names were not pulled. We had dinner (a BBQ) at Windfest that night and drank more beer. They had some other give aways and Mac won a weather radio. We were all pretty tired and ended up spending the rest of the night taking it easy and packing (as we had heard the wind on Sunday was only going to blow 10 to 15).
After eating breakfast together on Sunday, we all took off for home with a smile on our face as this turned out to be a good windfest. We will be out there again next year, and would encourage more people to attend.
Rob
St
Barths & Anguilla by Mac Barnhardt
WARNING: This was written in sickening detail. Reading this will make you want to go to a Caribbean island. If you don’t want to have a longing sense of wanting to go to a warm island really bad, don’t read this.
My wife Kris and I took a week long vacation to St. Barths and Anguilla. St. Barths is an island in the French West Indies of the Caribbean. It’s located just Southeast of St. Marteen. Anguilla is in the British West Indies and is located just Northeast of St. Marteen.
We had been to Anguilla before after my wife had discovered it in a travel magazine many years ago when she used to fly for the airlines. When we used to fly for free, we went there twice. It had been almost 6 years and we had the itch to return to this island known for having the friendliest people in the Caribbean, the beautiful beaches, and the great food. But we wanted some more variety and venture to a new island too. So we included St. Barths on our itinerary.
Since we had vacationed to Hatteras Island the last 2 years so I could windsurf, my wife decided it was time to return somewhere to the Caribbean with the intent of doing other things besides windsurfing. But if the wind blew while we were there, I figured I would get in some sailing. I’ll get it out of the way right up front – I didn’t get to windsurf because the wind predictably arrived as soon as we left. But we still had a great time. If you look at the official St. Barths website (listed below), it says windsurfing is one of St. Barths most popular sporting activities. St. Barths has a couple of good rental shops and great spots to sail. While we were there, I did spot some locals’ trucks and vans loaded with windsurfing gear. Anguilla has some potentially great spots to sail but there aren’t any places to rent good gear. So read on to discover what these islands are about.
As it turns out, USAirways had just put in a direct flight between Charlotte and St. Marteen. It’s amazing to be in the heart of the Caribbean in just 3 ½ hours. We took that direct flight out on a Sunday morning and were in St. Marteen in mid-afternoon. From the airport, we took a cab to the port of Marigot to catch a 45 minute ferry ride to St. Barths. We had a beautiful sunset to view while we sat on the top, open area of the boat. As we started to get close to St Barths and were closing in on the port of Gustavia, we passed by several huge yachts. We were obviously arriving in one of the playgrounds of the rich and famous. These yachts were something to behold. When we arrived, our hotel/villa Village St. Jean, had arranged for our rental car to sit waiting for us at the ferry port. We followed a rental car staffer to Village St. Jean Villas to check in. We were escorted to our villa which sat on a hill overlooking St. Jean Beach. We were then given some restaurant recommendations for the evening and we chose a nearby French eatery.
We awoke the next morning and embarked on an island discovery drive. We usually like to begin our trips by driving all over the island to discover the best places to go. We started with some popular beaches. First, we drove to Grand Cul-De-Sac Beach. This beach is known for its reef protected bay. As a result, it’s turned into one of St. Barth’s best windsurfing spots. We stopped by the St. Barths Beach Hotel where the windsurfing equipment rentals were located. They had nice performance gear for rent and I hoped to be back later in the week when the wind blew…..it was not to be.
Next was Saline Beach. We soon discovered that the French like to be naked. We’re talking birthday suits, folks! What’s a redneck to do in these parts? The good thing was that there were supermodels out there but the bad part was that there were also 90+ year old folks out there. So we took in the French “culture” and laughed at ourselves. Oh yeah….Saline is a beautiful beach with the usual clear blue water and white sandy beach. Gouverneur Beach was next but not before lunch at a hilltop restaurant with incredible views of Saba, St Eustatious, St Kitts and Nevis islands. Here we met two elderly couples from the Midwest. One of them has been coming to St. Barths for 25 years and have a house on the island. They gave us some great local tips and told us about the celebrities that come to the island. Little did we know we would have a celebrity sighting later in the week. Harrison Ford, David Letterman, and Liz Claiborne have houses there.
Gouverneur was a bigger version of Saline and many sailboats and yachts were anchored not far offshore in the protected bay. We then proceeded back to our villa by way of Gustavia, the beautiful, bustling port town on St. Barths. That evening, we dined at our hotel’s own restaurant, which had Italian fare….very good. Another interesting French “culture” shock item – The couple sitting next to us brought their dog with them to dinner. I understand that this is not unusual in France. The dog was a small poodle and it fit in the woman’s purse. We didn’t notice the dog until it barked from under their table while we were eating. We were wondering what in the world that was. We saw cats running around the place (I think this is an island thing), then saw the dog pop it’s head out of the purse. The man scolded the dog, calling it “Ji Ji”. He ended up holding the dog through the rest of dinner…..a pitiful sight. We saw the same couple again later in the week with the dog strolling not far behind.
The next day, we went on a half-day sail on a large catamaran owned by a local couple who captained the boat while us and a few other visitors took in the sights. We sailed to a beach that can only be reached by boat or a 30 minute hike. We snorkeled, ate a great lunch on deck, had a few island drinks, caught some rays, and enjoyed a nice sail back to Gustavia. Once we got back, Kris and I hiked around Gustavia to shop and take in the local scene. We stopped by Le Select for a drink. Le Select is a local bar & restaurant made world famous for inspiring Jimmy Buffet’s song, “Cheeseburger in Paradise”. Buffett still shows up now and then to sing a few tunes on the small stage outside with the local musicians.
We wrapped up the afternoon with a swim at our local beach, St. Jean. St. Jean Beach is located right next to the island’s airport. The landing strip is very small and can only accommodate 19 seater planes or smaller. Plus, pilots have to navigate a big hill that sits just before the strip which means once you cross the hill, you have to nosedive into the landing. If the winds allow, you can land from the other direction, which means you have to fly right over St. Jean bay, bank hard to the right, and buzz a few people’s heads on the beach to bring it down. Either way, you have to have a special pilot’s certification to land here. We never got bored of watching the planes land there. Strangely, there had never been any serious plane accidents. On March 24, three weeks after we returned, a 19 seater crashed on that large hillside, hitting a house and killing all 19 people on board plus one on the ground, ending that safety streak. We were shocked and saddened to learn this news. As of this writing, there is still no cause of the crash.
We spent our last full day on St. Barths discovering some more beautiful beaches, including Flamands. Here we also found a beachside grill where we had fresh whole grilled lobsters. Later, we drove to one of the highest points on the island for some incredible views and took some pictures. That night, we ate at Maya’s, known for attracting celebrities. We weren’t disappointed, as Chevy Chase sat at the table right next to us with his daughter. They were sitting so close to us that we could hear bits and pieces of their conversation. We didn’t talk to him since we figured that celebrities came here so they wouldn’t be bothered. No one on St. Barths seems to think it’s a big deal. Nevertheless, we were still tickled to see him since we’re big “CaddyShack” and “Vacation” fans.
The next morning, we caught the early ferry back to St. Maarten and connected via another ferry to Anguilla. On the first leg to St. Maarten, we spotted some whales a great distance from us. One of them had it’s tail stuck straight up out of the water and was slapping the water with it repeatedly. They were splashing around and we could also see them blowing water out of their blowholes. I wonder if it was mating season.
St. Barths was great and we had fun exploring a new island. However, it was nice to get back to a familiar island, one where we could just be on “automatic”. We arrived at the same hotel we’ve stayed at twice before – Rendevous Bay Hotel. We stepped into our villa which was literally 10-20 feet from the water. Rendevous Bay is a very long white sand beach with very clear aquamarine blue water. It’s usually as calm as a pond with little waves. But there was a Nor’easter that had been brewing on the U.S. East Coast that week and it was starting to produce some big swells in the Caribbean. Rendevous Bay now had 3-5 foot waves….a rare event. On other parts of Anguilla that week were bigger, more monstrous waves. Anguilla is surrounded by a lot of coral reef systems so there were some beautiful big peelers just like you would see in Hawaii. The wind was blowing too. However, Anguilla doesn’t have any performance gear rental shops.
We went to Scilly Cay, one of our favorite places on the island. Scilly Cay is a tiny island smaller than a football field just off the northern shore of Anguilla. To get to it, you have to walk out on the long concrete dock jutting out from the shore. You wave to Scilly Cay and one of it’s employees drives a boat over to pick you up. When you arrive at Scilly Cay, you are greeted by Eudoxie, the owner and proprietor. Eudoxie is a funny, outwardly nice, popular local man who charmed the socks off of an American woman from Atlanta many years ago. Now they are married, living on Anguilla, with two of the tannest and blondest little boys you ever saw. We picked one of the many nice shaded spots that dot part of the island. We were then on our beach chairs, reading our books, and sipping island rum punches. Later we had Eudoxie’s specialty….fresh grilled lobster with some unbelievable island spices. While we were there, we met some folks from Roanoke, VA…..small world. Next was a jaunt to Shoal Bay, rated one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful beaches. There, we had more drinks at Uncle Ernies, another popular local beach bar. Then a stroll along the white sand beach watching the huge waves created by that Nor’easter so far away. That night, we dined in our villa.
Imagine this – you wake up in the morning, the French double doors are wide open, and you can hear the lapping of the waves against the sand. You get up, walk out on the terrace with your sunglasses, a book and some juice. I write this and I feel like I’m there right now. After some time on our beach, we left to visit some other parts of the island. We drove to Little Bay. Little Bay can only be accessed by boat or by hiking a short way from the road, then climbing down a steep rocky cliff on an anchored rope. It is a very small sandy beach surrounded by high cliffs on three sides and clear blue water on it’s fourth. It normally has great snorkeling too. But because of the swells still hitting the island, the water was too rough to snorkel and the waves were crashing all the way to the cliffs not leaving any beach to hang out at. We drove on to another place called Limestone Beach and watched the crashing waves on the big coral outcroppings that produced huge sprays of white water. What a sight. We have a picture of me standing on one of the coral outcroppings with my hands stretched high and the wave hitting the outcropping, making a white water spray 10 times higher than me.
We went on to another popular beach hangout, Smittys. Smitty is another popular island local who has the biggest hands you ever saw and makes the meanest rum punch you ever drank. Then we went to Johnnos, yet another popular beach bar. Here we had great fish sandwiches. We drove around some more to see more familiar beautiful beaches but in the end that afternoon, we wanted to be on Rendevous Bay. When we returned, we saw more whales splashing in the distance from our beach. We ended the daylight hours with the hotel’s own two Golden Retrievers laying beside us on the beach. After a beautiful sunset, we went to Pimms, a nice restaurant located at Cap Juluca. Cap Juluca has been rated as one of the top five resorts in the world by more than one travel organization.
The next morning, we had only enough time to hang out at our own beach for a couple of hours before we had to depart on our ferry back to St. Maarten for the return flight home. We soaked in every single last moment we could on the beach before departing. In a cruel twist of irony on the return ferry ride to St. Maarten, I spotted several windsurfers planing out on the open water. Oh well, I’ll get my windsurfing in another time (thank you WindFest).
St. Barths and Anguilla
are two small unique islands with different personalities. St. Barths has the
French culture and people, is more mountainous, has beautiful beaches, and
great food. It also has an abundance of water sports available such as
windsurfing, sailing, snorkeling/scuba diving, boating, and surfing. Anguilla
is very flat with some of the most beautiful beaches you’ll ever see. They also
have the friendliest people and some of the best restaurants in the Caribbean.
It is much more laid back and has less to do…..but this can be a very good
thing when all you want to do is relax anyway. Just watch out for the rum
punches at Scilly Cay and Smittys! Both of these islands are very different
from the larger, more crowded islands of St. Maarten and St. Thomas. If you
liked what you read, I highly recommend going.