by Gary
(Surprise, AZ)
"Stressed" in the Caribbean ;-)
We share your love of Saba.
From 1994 to 2002 we cruised the Caribbean on our 35 foot sailboat, Shadowtime. A lot of time was spent at anchor in Simpson Bay on St Maarten.
Since Saba is very steep to (that means no good place to anchor), we did not want to take our boat over to visit.
We took a motor boat, about 50 people, that left just out side the draw bridge on St Maarten. We loved Saba, so clean and neat and great people. Some of the people on the boat even WALKED up from the harbor, not my bride and I. If that was a ski slope it would a double black diamond.
My wife and are used to the sea and its motions, most of the people we went with on the motorboat were not. I never saw so many people get seasick. We enjoyed the beer and rum punches.
We were chatting with one of the stewardesses and she said Saba is nothing...every other day they go to St Barts or St Barfs as she called it. It is into the prevailing seas and more than one passenger has flown back to St Maarten. Both Saba and St Barts are open water trips.
Nothing is worse than being seasick so take this little advice... take the plane to St Barts and Saba. Both would scare Lindbergh on landing, but it is the way to go.
Do we have a favorite island in our 8 years in the Caribbean?...not really they are all wonderful and I hope you and your family enjoy your time down there. I am sure you will.
Nori's Reply: Saba is pristine! Walking up from Fort Bay? Ha ha! Walking in Saba is not a leisurely exercise, it is so rigorous. I have heard that the boat ride to St. Barts and to Saba are rocky ones. I believe it. The sea around Saba is always churning and angry. I wonder if I could handle it? I always find rocky boat rides fun... Hm... Sailing through the Caribbean must have been a dream. One day I hope to do something so exciting (I don't know how to sail, but I can learn!). Thank you so much for your interesting stories, Gary. :-)
