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The landing at St. Martin was spectacular. Immediately after the beach the airstrip came and the Boing pulled over the heads of the bathers. On the islands, it was a popular game to hang at the barrier fence when starting a flier when the engines where powered up. The people hanging almost horizontally on the grid.
The island of St. Martin was split in two. The South, in which there was also the airport was under Dutch management. The payment primarily was in U.S. dollars. The northern part, however, was French, and to pay the Euro was used. Generally, there was still the old currency of the island, the guilder.
At the airport I built my bike together and went fully packed on the island. Quite often the not entirely unwarranted question, what I did have to do with such a heavy bike on the island. St. Martin was not very big and it could be completely circumnavigate in a day. So the question was not entirely unjustified, :-). The island was crammed with American tourists. In Marigot, the French part I arrived, I already felt much more comfortable. Many blacks in colorful clothes, less tourists and more life on the streets. Here the French culture met the rhythmic sounds of the Creoles. Most foods in the supermarket were either from the U.S. or even Europe. From an old Euro bill, which I carried about two years from Germany with me I bought French pastries. What a treat! A piece of Europe in the middle of the Caribbean!
In the Fort Louis Marina, I quickly found the ‘Creole’.,which will take me across the Atlantic. Two days remained to organize the crossing. The team was now complete and the final preparations on the ship were done. We filled up over 1000 liters of water, 25 bottles of wine and 200 cans of beer. Our provisions were designed for four weeks and about 2600 nautical miles. The bike was disassembled and was wedged between the spare sails and fuel tanks in the skipper’s cabin in the bow. For the next few weeks we should see no land, and will not enter solid ground. Everything was ready and our skipper gave his first command: Anchors away!