TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Happy Bay

Jeff, if your comment was directed to me, no I don't go over the speed limit. I Do go naked at a nudist camp. I just follow rules.

Just a thought on the Happy Bay C/O debate. First and foremost it is a public beach and NOT a designated C/O area. It is not as well known (that's changing rapidly) and as easily accessible as the "main" beaches and therefore some folks feel comfortable going nude. Whether in your own country or visiting another you must respect the laws of the land. Unfortunately some of us in the naturalist community(not me)feel empowered to do as they please regardless of who may be offended or what the law is. Those folks have no right to complain when they are either called out or cited for their arrogant and illegal behavior.

Here here!

Could not agree more. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

Happy bay isn't c/o. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

LOL - sorry to have started all that.

The report from Happy Bay today (Sunday) is that the beach was quite full of people. Surf was high. The left end (from the sea) of the beach was mostly nude (maybe 1/3 of the beach) and the rest was clothed.

I did see a bunch of fully clothed (well, swim suits) folks plop themselves down next to the nude folks and no one seemed to have a worry any way around.

My own opinion (and that's all it is) is that the locals don't really care that much one way or the other. I suspect most are more interested in making a living and having a life than they are worried about whether a few tourists (and French locals) have their clothes on or off.

And it doesn't really seem to be a 'law' issue either. If it were, wouldn't the Gendarmes or local SXM law enforcement be out ticketing and citing the law breakers? I don't know, it really seems to be a tempest in a tea-cup.

Anyway, Happy was happy today. Sadly (as a slight juxtaposition) there was one lurker/sketchy looking guy out there today, but he seemed pretty harmless. Just kind of creepy.

Lunch at Gutside was wonderful!

"And it doesn't really seem to be a 'law' issue either. If it were, wouldn't the Gendarmes or local SXM law enforcement be out ticketing and citing the law breakers?"

No different in our police not issuing citations for non compliance to the seat belt or texting rules we have at home. The police have far more pressing issues to deal with.
Just because they aren't doesn't make it acceptable or legal.

I am more interested to hear about lunch at Gutside. Is he open most days now?

LOL - Gutside: Richard confirmed that he 'retired' a while back and now Gutside is open every day except Monday, for both lunch and dinner. We arrived around 3 and had a nice chat with Richard and Lourdes. My wife had chicken and I had the ribs. Both came with a slaw like salad, rice and beans and plantains --- all of it was was tasty and hearty, we have no plans for dinner tonight as a result. It was really, really good.

We'll be happy at Happy tomorrow, I'll send a report.

Oh and had dinner last night at ti Bouchon in Cul du Sac area. The owner (Momo) was delightful and dinner was 1st rate - not cheap, but worth every penny. Wow - really good.

The news from Happy is still happy. The beach was beautiful today and while the surf was occasionally BIG, it was swimable and the water perfect.

Danny was there and my wife and I split a huge plate of ribs and chicken, had a beer and a punch drink all for $18 --- and we didn't have to do the dishes!

The beach was again about 1/3, 2/3 - C/O textile mix. No problems, no tickets and no Gendarmes. I love that place.

Paradise indeed.

Perfect example why we go there.... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

I know the law is the law.....but, the reason nudity became an issue on the French beaches in the first place was because of the Disney cruise. They complained and the French Govt decided to clamp down and enforce the "law". Now, if the nudists were the people responsible for the crime on the Island, I might think this was a good law. Since that is not the case, I will continue to be nude occasionally on Happy Bay and I will continue to respect others around me if they have a problem with it. Topless sunbathing has never been against the law on any French Beach.

I couldn't disagree more with your premis and believe that is more urban legend than anything else. You have a whole world of islanders, both French and Dutch, who just don't agree that people should be allowed to practice their naturist whims wherever and whenever. The complaints from the Disney people were just one more stake in the body of the practice. Orient Beach and Cupecoy, by tradition, have been accepted and tolerated for all the years we've been visiting but the other areas not so much and residents themselves became irritated with the assumption of so many that 'if it feels good.......' In honesty, I've always thought discretion was the better part of valor in this particular situation and personally speaking, I could care less, but many islanders both can and do.<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Respect

This is exactly the the type of rationalisation I was talking about. Simply because you are not challenged or cited for your presumptuous behavior (yet) doesn't mean you are not out of line, you are.You give the rest of us a bad name and give the impression of indifference to others. This makes it difficult to maintain the places that do accept naturalism. Just look at the reduction of C/O areas on Orient.

So, if someone comes up to you on Happy Bay and asks you to put something on, you would? Somehow, I doubt that.

OK, this thread is going nowhere fast and is done.