Simpson Lagoon
Sint Maartin
18.02.721N
63.05.616W
About 5 am this morning, I woke up to hear the wind starting to pipe up. I got up and went topside to make sure the bay was staying in place and that no one had moved during the night. With the occasional gust really whipping, I turned on the instruments to get an idea of what was going on. I saw a range of between 6 - 33 kts and coming from a range of 45 degrees on the compass. I really feel sorry for the people racing. There are going to be more blown sails and broken masts in conditions like this.
We made a trip into town for some fresh fruit/veggie shopping then agreed to meet up with Gerry & Nicky at Shrimpy’s to make our internet connections. That’s when things really livened up. We had a fight at Shrimpy’s OK corral over dinghy parking.
As luck would have it, we had set up our computers looking out towards the dinghy dock. I glanced up and saw a man untie Gerry & Nicky’s dink and cast it adrift. Naturally, I told them and Gerry ran out a caught it before it drifted away. He came back in saying that the man was angry about dinghies tied too close to his fishing boat and smacking it with their engines. We continued to watch as the man went a got a pair of bolt cutters and cut the cables holding two other dinks. He then towed the two dinks out of the little marina, across the anchorage and out of sight. With the space now available, the next dink that came in tied up in the exact same place.
When the man came back, he went for his bolt cutters again and Dale went for the people who had left their dink and were at another table in Shrimpy’s. The dink owner, ran outside as the man untied the rope and threw the line in the dink. The dink owner started waving his arms and yelling that he was coming to move the dink but the man looked straight at him and then cut his cable with an unmistakable flair. That was it! A little shoving back and forth and a much heated discussion and the dink owner retrieved his dink and the man retreated into Shrimpy’s for another beer. Dale wandered down to the Harbor Patrol and suggested that they take a look into the situation.
Now, as the two men were in the same café, the heated exchange continued. About this time Don & Diane on Cloud Nine appeared with several people carrying suitcases. They walked out to the pier and looked around. Don bent down and picked up what remained of his cable, Diane assumed that universal “I’m not happy” hands on the hips stance and their guests looked dumbfounded. Another man who had watched the whole thing, turned and pointed towards Shrimpy’s so the whole circus started in our direction again.
Don confronted the man (cutter) and the original dink owner (cuttee) joined in the discussion. The cutter called the marina manager. Finally the cutter threw a punch at the cuttee and missed, then the cuttee threw a punch that connected and drew blood. Somebody called the police. A few minutes later, the police arrived and called the EMS technicians; there was blood after all (and I heard some missing teeth.) The Harbor Patrol Sheriff finally sauntered down.
I felt kind of sorry for the cops. They were trying to listen to everyone’s story and everyone is pointing and talking at the same time. Finally, as things started to quiet down. I saw them. Two more people looking dog tired, walked out to the end of the pier, looking first one way, then the other, then for some crazy reason they looked on the other side of the dock, like the dink sprouted wings or something (Cloud Nine had done the same thing) and the guy who had told Cloud Nine where they could find their dink approached the new people. Sure enough, he turned and pointed to the cops. It just got better and better.
In the end, the cops sorted the whole thing out and the dinks were returned to the rightful owners. No charges were filed against any of the thrown punches or stolen property and the marina agreed to pick up the medical bill for the missing teeth of the man to whom they had given permission to cut the cables.
If you really think about it, justice was served in the end.
Sint Maartin
18.02.721N
63.05.616W
About 5 am this morning, I woke up to hear the wind starting to pipe up. I got up and went topside to make sure the bay was staying in place and that no one had moved during the night. With the occasional gust really whipping, I turned on the instruments to get an idea of what was going on. I saw a range of between 6 - 33 kts and coming from a range of 45 degrees on the compass. I really feel sorry for the people racing. There are going to be more blown sails and broken masts in conditions like this.
We made a trip into town for some fresh fruit/veggie shopping then agreed to meet up with Gerry & Nicky at Shrimpy’s to make our internet connections. That’s when things really livened up. We had a fight at Shrimpy’s OK corral over dinghy parking.
As luck would have it, we had set up our computers looking out towards the dinghy dock. I glanced up and saw a man untie Gerry & Nicky’s dink and cast it adrift. Naturally, I told them and Gerry ran out a caught it before it drifted away. He came back in saying that the man was angry about dinghies tied too close to his fishing boat and smacking it with their engines. We continued to watch as the man went a got a pair of bolt cutters and cut the cables holding two other dinks. He then towed the two dinks out of the little marina, across the anchorage and out of sight. With the space now available, the next dink that came in tied up in the exact same place.
When the man came back, he went for his bolt cutters again and Dale went for the people who had left their dink and were at another table in Shrimpy’s. The dink owner, ran outside as the man untied the rope and threw the line in the dink. The dink owner started waving his arms and yelling that he was coming to move the dink but the man looked straight at him and then cut his cable with an unmistakable flair. That was it! A little shoving back and forth and a much heated discussion and the dink owner retrieved his dink and the man retreated into Shrimpy’s for another beer. Dale wandered down to the Harbor Patrol and suggested that they take a look into the situation.
Now, as the two men were in the same café, the heated exchange continued. About this time Don & Diane on Cloud Nine appeared with several people carrying suitcases. They walked out to the pier and looked around. Don bent down and picked up what remained of his cable, Diane assumed that universal “I’m not happy” hands on the hips stance and their guests looked dumbfounded. Another man who had watched the whole thing, turned and pointed towards Shrimpy’s so the whole circus started in our direction again.
Don confronted the man (cutter) and the original dink owner (cuttee) joined in the discussion. The cutter called the marina manager. Finally the cutter threw a punch at the cuttee and missed, then the cuttee threw a punch that connected and drew blood. Somebody called the police. A few minutes later, the police arrived and called the EMS technicians; there was blood after all (and I heard some missing teeth.) The Harbor Patrol Sheriff finally sauntered down.
I felt kind of sorry for the cops. They were trying to listen to everyone’s story and everyone is pointing and talking at the same time. Finally, as things started to quiet down. I saw them. Two more people looking dog tired, walked out to the end of the pier, looking first one way, then the other, then for some crazy reason they looked on the other side of the dock, like the dink sprouted wings or something (Cloud Nine had done the same thing) and the guy who had told Cloud Nine where they could find their dink approached the new people. Sure enough, he turned and pointed to the cops. It just got better and better.
In the end, the cops sorted the whole thing out and the dinks were returned to the rightful owners. No charges were filed against any of the thrown punches or stolen property and the marina agreed to pick up the medical bill for the missing teeth of the man to whom they had given permission to cut the cables.
If you really think about it, justice was served in the end.
Photo: A typical day at the dinghy dock in front of Shrimpy's. From the camera of Orpailleur.
