MARIGOT – Mega yachts increasingly choose a mooring spot in Marigot to evade the high bridge and docking fees in the Simpson Bay Lagoon.

The picture shows the 49-meter motor yacht Zoom Zoom Zoom, anchored in the Marina Fort Louis in Marigot. Built in 2005 by Trinity Yachts in Gulfport, Missisippi, the yacht can accommodate ten passengers and nine crew members. It is the fastest conventionally powered motor yacht of its size ever built in the USA. At top speed, the vessel makes 24 knots per hour (for landlubbers: that’s close to 44.5 kilometers) with its high displacement 3384 horsepower Caterpillar diesel engine. It is capable to carry a bit more than 10,000 liters of fresh water and almost 62,500 liters of fuel. Oh, and if you feel like chartering it for a week, the price tag is between $210,000 and $245,000 US.

MAHO—It’s a bit more than a month ago since Hurricane Omar ripped through St. Maarten in the early morning hours of Thursday, October 16. The sunset Bar in Maho was one of the places that got badly hit by Omar. The complete terrace of the popular bar disappeared into the sea. The owners promised to reopen within a week with what was left of the structure and to rebuild the terrace within a month. That time frame was a bit optimistic, but the project is well under way, as the picture shows. Soon, lounging near the water and watching the planes come in will be a popular pastime again at the Sunset Bar.