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I'll be on one of the committee boats again this year, with the best seats in the house for the races

Apart from the biggest boats, who travel faster and further and have marks at places such as Anguilla or Tintamarre, all of the boats will be turning marks close to Simpson Bay and Philipsburg. See page 9 of Sailing Instructions 2023 for the map from last year.

The race officer for each class gets up before sunrise on the race days and, armed with wind, waves, weather reports and the speed ratings of the boats in each class, will compute the best race courses. The goal is to make it fun and challenging (not just windward-leeward) but keep the times around 2-3 hours per race. It is a both a science and art to do this; there's safety aspects about not crossing courses or having head-on potential at the marks or finish. All this means that the courses for each race can be changed until about 10 minutes before each class starts on a race. And the second set of races on each day are set after the race officer looks at the result of the previous one.

All this means that nobody can know with confidence which of the many turn points are going to be used. If you are on a spectator boat with a knowledgeable captain, he or she will know which of the course marks are most likely to be used. The only guaranteed places are the start and finish lines (the finish is separate to the starts at the Heineken).

Thanks Kim, so then I'm looking at Saturday for course racing to get my photos.

The course could also change because of weather conditions. I think last year the round the island was changed. This year (2025), it’s scheduled for Friday.

Thanks for that info JD. I know as a sailor that you cannot predict the weather or the courses until "game time". We're just trying to lock up our reservation with Aqua Mania on the right day to get the boats rounding the mark and setting their spinnaker sails.

This link might provide some information. #11 might provide some insight. From what I recall, courses and days are subject to change depending on conditions.

https://yachtscoring.com/event_documents/16772/2025_SMHR_NoR_June_22_2024__As_Published_8_PM.pdf

Does anybody know which of the 3 days of racing is the day that the boats are racing a course around the marks? Last year we went out on Lambada or Tango for the around the island race but I think I could get better pictures on a course day. I figure Zanshin would know as he is on the committee boat.
Thanks

Just curious, were roads on the French side similarly affected?

I've logged close to 300 dives through this dive shop. Check it out. Unless you are an experienced diver I would not recommend Saba.
LINK

Fortunately we did not watch that mess. Got home on the 11th. Thank goodness for new Saints coach.

I haven't done this myself but a younger family member who vacationed in St. Maarten went diving in Saba and reported the scuba diving there to be "awesome". Might be worth looking into.

The launch from Texas was a test of SpaceX starship and not a Starlink launch. This rocket is supposed to be used for the next Moon trips.

Interesting that MAHO at SSB bar is back today but La Plage right next door has no beach, huge rocks and waves smacking the retaining wall and and a couple of times today coming up and over my first row beach lounge….dave

Cool to see..

That was it! I’ve seen the satellites before but didn’t realize that was a booster. Seemed so low!

The sand has returned to Maho.
Three boats in today and the beach is packed with cruise sheep.

It was a Starlink launch from Texas.

I saw it too in the North Sound.

Ocean Explorers on Kim Sha beach is the best on island.
https://stmaartendiving.com/

Yes, it seemed like a drone but didn’t make any noise. Also, we never saw it again after it went over the hill behind the resort.

I’m hoping someone else saw it!

Thanks very much for your loyal and continued great loving support 😊👍👏

We will be down in March with my two sons and their families. Older son has his Scuba cert and is interested in doing some diving. Any recommendations? We all did a discover Scuba trip years ago with Octopus in Grand Case, but I really haven't thought about it since then. Also, he is trying to talk his brother and I into taking classes here and doing the checkout dives in St Maarten. Any recommendations for that?

How big was it? Sounds like a drone?

No - this was just overhead. We thought it was a small plane but it didn’t have any running lights. Plus, the strange cloud around it.

Starlink launch from Texas

Todd, another confirmation, I drove thru lake mullet(LM) last night on way to Porto Cupecoy for dinner and it was no problem. But you are right because of how really bad LM has been for DAYS, it basically has closed down everything past LM. That's a choke point and intolerable for the reputation of SXM…..dave

I want to start this thread by acknowledging that this is going to sound crazy! Last night, we were moored at Cooper and saw a strange, glowing light moving very fast over the anchorage. This was just after sunset, around 6:30. The light was sort of a semi-circle, and looked like it was encased in a cloud, but there were no clouds around. It did not look like a plane and it didn’t have any other lights. It was also silent.

Later that evening, I ran into another sailor at the bar who saw the same thing, but neither of us had any idea what it was. Did anyone see this last night? Or has anyone experienced anything like this in the past? Sadly, we didn’t get a photo because it happened very quickly.