JULIE AND ALLAN ARRIVE ON VALENTINE'S DAY

1400 Hours, February 14, 2015, Simpson Lagoon, St. Martin: Allen called to say the cab driver had dropped them off across from the IGY Yacht Club at Isle Del Sol. Julie and Allen's cruise on the Star Clipper had ended that morning in Phillipsburg, the main town on the Dutch side. Julie my sister, and Allen her husband, had picked up a cab from Phillipsburg, which is to the east of Simpson Lagoon.  IGY has two Marinas in Simpson Lagoon, the Simpson Bay Marina, where we were, which has a few super yachts and mostly smaller boats, and the Yacht Club at Isle De Sol which has only super yachts. Although the Marinas are across from each other on the water their  land entrances are a quarter a mile apart. This was too far to walk with their luggage so we decided to meet at the St Maarten's Yacht Club (a bar and grill overlooking the Dutch entrance to Simpson Lagoon, on the Lagoon side), which was closer and had a dingy dock. 

On our way back to Catalina Sunshine we went around IGY's super yacht basin and the 30 plus super yachts docked their. Among those we passed was the 315 ft Limitless owned by Leslie Wexner, an American who owns the Victoria's Secret Brand along with others. We had previously seen this boat that has a 41 ft beam, in Palm Beach. The Bridge into the Simpson Lagoon only has a 56 ft horizontal clearance leaving very little room for a 315 ft boat with a 41 ft beam. 

After settling in we all went to the market across the street from the Marina. This was a relatively large store with most the brands we like, a good selection of fresh vegetables and meat, and reasonably priced. As this was Valentine's day we decided to do something special for dinner. The day after arriving in St. Martin I had explored both the Dutch and French sides of the Lagoon. At the north end of the channel that runs from the body of the Lagoon up into Marigot I had found a waterside village with a number of french restaurants on the docks surrounding a small turning basin at the end of the channel. Although these French restaurants were a distance of about 4 miles it didn't take long to get there by dingy on the relative smooth waters of the Lagoon. 

The sun was beginning to set as we pulled up along side other dinges, which were tied off on the dock at the west side of the turning basin. We locked the dingy to a dock cleat, and immediately started to interview restaurateurs asking questions about the French and European dished on their menus.  They speak French in Marigot, and English with a French accent. With only a 20 minute dingy ride we had arrived in France. With the sun now setting we interviewed restaurateur after restaurateur with our mouths watering as they described in detail each dish they would be serving this Valentine's day. About half way around the turning basin, moving in a clock wise direction, a restaurateur was sautéing the vegetables for Paella in a 3 ft diameter paella pan along the edge of the dock. The aroma made our mouths water even more. By the time we had conducted the last interview we knew we had found a very special place and were faced with a tough decision between many great choices. 

We turned the decision over to the girls who picked the third interviewee, Le Galion. We set on the edge of the dock for an outstanding meal which started with French wine and garden fresh garlic snails.