Be Informed from the Getgo!

Whilst in St Martin we started to explore and develop our “local” knowledge of the Caribbean.  We began to appreciate the importance of weather, cruising guides, and security to our voyage planning.  Needless to say, we used the internet where-ever and when-ever we could for information updates and home communications!  Isn’t Skype marvellous?

Trying to get a connection, any connection

Weather:  IF we could pick up an internet connection, our first search was always for weather - hurricane reports as well as local weather.  This is far superior to listening to local anchorage “gossip”. We had a few favourite sites such as Jeff Masters, NOAA and CaribWX.  Later we discovered a few more that were locally specific and quite helpful – windguru and ibiseye.

Cruising Guides: We added to our collection of local cruising guides.  Chris Doyle’s are very good – you would hardly need charts, the descriptions are so clear.  We purchased others to fill in a few blank spots and importantly to get another point of view.  “French for Cruisers” by Cathy Parsons is also money well spent, particularly when you find yourself in a supermarket in French St Martin or trying to negotiate laundry costs in Guadeloupe. 

Guard Iguana at a fuel depot St Martin

Security: We found a monthly newspaper, the Caribbean Compass, gave us an eye on the cruising community.  It made for good reading although we were concerned about news of killings and robberies, especially in Venezuela and even St Vincent.  We chose to just be cautious, lock up and ask locals questions.  We left our dingy strapped firmly to WJ3 & out the water in Dominica.  In St Martin and St Lucia we waited to launch until confirming with marina staff that dingy theft was not an issue.  The crew decorated our outboard with paint and removed evidence of its horsepower.  We also invested in hefty chain & locks.  

The Safety & Security net is also a helpful compilation of reported crime, which makes for interesting reading & useful advice.  Lastly, we came upon regular cruisers’ nets (eg in Trinidad it was VHF Channel 68).  This is a daily update for cruisers on weather, security, general information, equipment swaps/trades and social happenings.
 
St Martin/Sint Maarten was a great place to take stock simply because it caters for all us cruising and/or racing sailors.  There are plenty of well stocked chandleries, all easily accessible and a willingness by staff to assist customers no matter how big (or small) your budget. Then there's the hardware stores but don't get me started....