Captain’s Desk
Plan your port call
Work through lagoon access, arrival formalities and the decisions that tie your berth, fuel and deliveries together.
Arrival and clearance
- 3 min
Simpson Bay Bridge: plan your transit
Understand the two lagoon bridges, how to prepare the radio call, and how a changed transit affects your berth, deliveries and departure.
- 4 min
Great Bay or Simpson Bay Lagoon
Compare Great Bay and the lagoon by access, work alongside, guest movements and departure flexibility, then build a berth brief around the actual call.
- 4 min
Yacht clearance in Sint Maarten
Prepare a Dutch-side clearance file, understand what Customs, Immigration and SLAC each handle, and keep arrivals, crew changes and departure documents consistent.
Berth, schedule and fuel
- 4 min
Can your yacht enter Simpson Bay Lagoon
Distinguish bridge, channel and berth limits; prepare the yacht’s real arrival profile; and understand why published dimensions cannot settle a close-clearance passage.
- 4 min
A short-notice port call, in the right order
Work out what controls a short call, sequence services around that dependency, and make clear decisions when a delivery, flight or clearance runs late.
- 4 min
Before you bunker in Sint Maarten
Define the fuel order, match the delivery to the yacht’s receiving limits, and understand what the delivery note, sample and quantity record each establish.
- 4 min
Will the shore power suit your yacht?
Understand voltage, frequency, phase and available power, then prepare a berth enquiry that lets the engineer confirm a usable shore connection.
Provisions, people and freight
- 4 min
Provisioning: write an order that works
Write quantities and substitution rules that a buyer can use, distinguish preferences from dietary constraints, and plan the handover into the yacht’s cold stores.
- 4 min
From SXM Airport to the yacht
Plan entry documents, commercial-terminal and private-aviation pickups, baggage delays and a changed berth without confusing flight arrival with arrival aboard.
- 4 min
Getting an urgent spare aboard
Identify the correct spare, establish shipping and Customs responsibilities, and follow the shipment from dispatch through release to the engineer receiving it aboard.
Rules, weather and jurisdictions
- 4 min
Waste, anchoring and protected waters
Separate waste streams for collection, understand the different MARPOL controls, and plan lagoon and marine-park activity without assuming that a berth or dive tag grants every permission.
- 4 min
Planning a yacht call in hurricane season
Set vessel-specific action times, read forecasts without relying on the track cone alone, and understand why Dutch and French storm arrangements require separate checks.
- 4 min
One island, two clearance systems
Distinguish Dutch and French vessel formalities, identify the French pleasure-vessel declaration, and keep port administration, passenger entry and cross-island logistics separate.
Your yacht. One agency.
Tell us about your call
Share the yacht, the dates and the arrangements on your list.