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ST. MARTIN AN ISLAND PARADISE WHERE THE BIG JETS KICK SAND IN YOUR FACE
STORY BY DENIS CONNOLLY For a number of years now I have been attracted to the Island of St. Martin in the Caribbean. I suppose it would be only fair to say that as an aviation enthusiast I have been more attracted to it by its airport Princess Juliana International Airport, which is the most accessible airport in the world and where hundreds of locals and tourists stand on Maho beach at the end of the runway threshold to brave the huge hurricane type jet blasts and to be blown off their feet and catapulted into the sea as the big jets take off. THE FLIGHT Having crossed the Atlantic to Boston, I overnighted with my aunt and next morning I was back at Logan airport in Boston to begin the first leg of my journey to St. Martin. I was checking in for American Airlines flight 1065 to San Juan, Peurto Rico. Standing in the queue in terminal B, I got an eerie feeling when I heard the 8a.m. flight for Los Angeles being called. I suddenly realized this was the first flight (American Airline Flight 11) hijacked on the morning of September 11th 2001. The flight has now changed to "Flight 25" to disassociate other planes from the one used in the attack and out of respect for those who had died in the attack. An American flag now flies on the jet bridge that Flight 11 departed from at Logan Airport. The renamed flight also changed the aircraft used on the route. Instead of using a Boeing 767-223ER, a Boeing 757-223 is used. Yes I was checking in at the same desks those deadly terrorists had that dreadful morning. However security was taking no chances here now. The removal of shoes, belts and jackets as standard practice and even some hand luggage had to be screened twice. I even saw a small 12 month old child being laid on a chair and being searched all over in case any device had been attached to it. Having got through without a hitch I boarded the flight feeling a great sense of safety for the 4 hour flight to San Juan. Arriving in San Juan I had a couple of hours to look over this beautiful airport before I boarded an American Eagle ATR 72 for the 1 hour trip to St. Martin. THE ISLAND Arriving on the island and into the airports brand new terminal, one would be curious to know why the two spellings. The island is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands; it is the smallest inhabited land mass in the world that is divided between two nations. The southern Dutch half is called Sint Maarten; the northern French half is called Saint-Martin. Collectively, the two territories are known as, "St.-Martin/St. Maarten", "St. Martins", or simply, "SXM" SXM is the IATA (International Air Transport Association) identifier for Princess Juliana International Airport.
Sint Maarten is officially an "island territory" part of the Netherlands Antilles, which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands though not in the European Union. Its currency is the Antillean guilder (however, the United States dollar is widely accepted). A proposed restructuring of the Netherlands Antilles would see Sint Maarten become an independent component of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in its own right. The capitol is Philipsburg.
Saint-Martin is a French commune part of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas région and overseas département of France and is therefore in the European Union. The official currency in Saint-Martin is the euro (though the U.S. dollar is also widely accepted). In 2003 the population of the French part voted in favour of secession from Guadeloupe to form a separate overseas collectively of France; this has yet to be implemented. The capitol is Marigot.
Sint Maarten, the Dutch side, is known for its festive nightlife, fun beaches, and plentiful casinos, while Saint-Martin, the French side, is known more for its world-famous nude beaches, jewellery and clothes shopping, exotic drinks made with native rum-based guavaberry liquors, and rich French Caribbean cuisine. Add the glorious sunshine all year round it’s easy to understand why St. Maarten has become one of the most popular islands of the Caribbean and without any import/ export duties or sales tax, it is also one of the best free ports in the entire Caribbean and a shopper’s paradise. THE NAME In 1493, Christopher Columbus embarked on his second voyage to the New World. According to legend, Columbus sighted and perhaps anchored at the island of Saint Martin on November 11, 1493, the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours. In his honour, Columbus named the island San Martin. For those who don’t know, Saint Martin of Tours (316/317 – November 11, 397) was a bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela (St. James’s final resting place). Around his name much legendary material accrued and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Roman Catholic saints. HISTORY When Columbus sailed these seas, St. Martin was populated by Arawak or Carib Indians. The Arawaks were subjugated by the warlike Carib Indians from South America a short time before the arrival of the Spanish who followed in Columbus' wake.
The Caribs' territory was not completely conquered until the mid-17th century when most of them perished in the struggle between the French, English, Dutch, Danes and Spanish for control of the West Indies. The Dutch first began to ply the island's ponds for salt in the 1620s. Despite the Dutch presence on the island, the Spaniards recaptured St. Martin in 1633 and one year later built a fort at Pointe Blanche to assert their claim. The Spaniards introduced the first slaves to the area in the 16th century but the main influx of slaves took place in the 18th century with the development of sugar plantations by the French. Slavery was abolished in the first half of the 19th century, whereupon the British imported Chinese and East Indians to take the place of slaves. Thus, St. Martin and the other islands are peopled by a mixture of Amerindian, African, Asian and European peoples. West Indian cultures such as in St. Martin are, consequently, exceedingly rich and varied, scarcely matched in other parts of the World.
France and the Netherlands agreed to divide the island on March 23, 1648. To divide the island in two sections, the inhabitants had to choose two walkers, one chosen by the French-dominated community and the other one, named Menno Versteeg, by the Dutch-dominated community, who were put back to back in one extreme of the island, making them walk in opposite directions, and not allowing them to run. The point where they eventually met was set as the other extreme of the island, and the subsequently created line was chosen as the frontier, dividing Saint-Martin from Sint Maarten. Seemingly, the French walker had walked more than the Dutch walker. (54km to 32km). There is a funny story I heard from a local that, the French walker was stimulated with wine, while the Dutch walker was stimulated with gin. Some people of the French section say the wine stimulation to be the cause of their larger territory, while some people of the Dutch section blame the French walker to have run. MAHO BEACH RESORT My accommodation was in the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino on the edge of Maho Bay overlooking the beach and the touchdown point of the runway at Princess Juliana International Airport. Ideal for aircraft spotting as they zip past the balcony.
It is one of the cleanest and most beautiful resorts I have ever stayed in. It boasts some of the best restaurants, entertainment, fashion shops, jewellery and Cuban cigars & tobacco, all which is tax free of course. An example of prices on the island for a pack of 200 cigarettes (any brand) is 12 dollars (9 euro) that makes them under 1 euro per pack of 20. A litre bottle of spirits is 6 dollars (4.50 euro). A beer is 2 dollars.
It’s on Maho beach at the end of the runway where all the fun takes place. This white dazzling sandy beach is a hive of activity and a real paradise. At the end of the beach is the Sunset Beach Bar which boldly displays a sign “Topless women drink for free”, and here in the sweltering Caribbean heat they come running from the beach to get their free beer or cocktails. “Just think of it” some ladies said to me “we can drink free all day by showing our assets”.
By early afternoon the big jets start to arrive and a notice board is posted on the beach by the bar pointing out the aircraft and the arrival times. SXM air traffic control is broadcast over a radio system around the beach bar from the near by control tower. American Airlines fly in with 757’s, KLM and Corsair use the 747 Jumbo Jet and Air France use the Airbus A340. Standing on the beach directly under one of these giants you can almost touch its underbelly and you duck down so you won’t loose your head. DEADLY GAME But it’s at the departure time that the fun really happens. As a big jet taxis down to the end of the runway for take-off only a few feet from the beach. Making its turn into final take-off position the cockpit crew wave to all the people on the beach. Some people have taken up positions holding onto the perimeter fence for the jet blast to lift them off their feet, despite large signs on the beach reading “DANGER. Jet blast of departing and arriving aircraft can cause severe physical harm resulting in extreme bodily harm and/or death” Others more daring stand on the beach to risk being blown into the bay. As the jet revs up and starts its roll those in the direct line of fire are caught up in a hurricane style frenzy with clothes and bikinis being ripped off. People endure a raging sand storm and then are blown into the water for a final wash. It’s a dangerous game but everybody seems to enjoy it. On one occasion a small car passing on the road between the runway and the beach was blown onto the beach. There is a high mountain at the other end of the runway, the aircraft must make a very steep lift off with a sudden right turn to avoid slamming into it, so take-offs are quiet exciting to watch. The beach area, a short strip of fine dazzling soft sand is defined by the sweep of Maho Bay and bounded at each end by large rocks. Hundreds of bright little fish swim in the warm clear water inviting snorkellers to play with them. If you can hold your breath long enough you can dive down and pick up sea urchins from the sandy bottom. INAUGURAL CEREMONY NEW TERMINAL A new airport terminal had just been built and opened at Princess Juliana International Airport when I arrived, the second phase of 3 phases of construction to cater for future traffic. Phase 3 is set to start construction in 2012. I had heard from the locals that the Queen of the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix was due in a few days for the Inaugural ceremony and official opening of the terminal. Because I write features for “FlyingInIreland” magazine, I took myself down to the airport terminal fast to meet those in charge of the big event and having made myself known to them and my interest in the new terminal I was presented with an invite and a program of events for the night. It was taking place on the eve of St. Martin Day. On the night of the ceremony, events kicked off at 6:30p.m. and continued to 11p.m. It was an open air seated event outside the terminal under the Caribbean night heat and a glorious full moon. In his opening address the president of the Airport Authority said “We are honoured to have her Majesty Queen Beatrix officiate the inauguration of the new terminal building as her mother Princess Juliana did in 1944 for the original airport facilities, hence the name Princess Juliana International Airport. This shows that our airport has a special tie with our Royal Family. We are therefore pleased to welcome her Majesty at this momentous occasion and to have the opportunity to share with the world a little bit of the character of our beautiful island”. With a number of speeches over Queen Beatrix took the stage to push the button to officially open the new terminal, at the same time a massive fireworks display took place and this was followed by some of the island’s folklore dancing and stage acts. Food and drink was in abundance, served from the marquee setup for the special occasion. There was a reception for the queen and the Royal Party followed by a tour of the new building. The new terminal building forms part of an overall investment of some 100 million US dollars. It provides a state of the art modern facility that truly reflects the spirit, character and friendliness of the island and stands out as a national symbol of progress with its unique mixture of modern architecture and Caribbean style. The airport handles 1.7 million passengers a year with the new terminal capable of handling 2.5 million passengers. With the ceremonial events coming to an end at 11p.m. it was truly a memorable evening. EXPLORING THE ISLAND The next day I visited some of the other parts of the island and with only 37 square miles of island to cover you can get around quiet fast and easy. A self drive car will only set you back around 25 dollars. The capital of the Dutch side, Philipsburg is a very beautiful town and is also the port for docking the cruise ships that visit the island. 3 large cruise ships were tied up at the dock. Cruise ships that dock here disembark their passengers only a few steps from the shops and boutiques both on the pier and in the market place in the centre of town. High on the front of St. Martin of Tours catholic church in Philipsburg there is a Bas-relief depicting young Martin of Tours as an officer in the Kings Army, giving one half of his cloak to a beggar. At the time in France, Army officers had to pay one half of the cost of their uniforms. He gave away his half. The capital of the French side, Marigot, is a nice water front town with a big open air market with fabulous boutiques and marvellous sidewalk restaurants. Grand Case on the northern shore of the French side is the restaurant capital of the Caribbean. Here you can find French, Creole, Italian, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine as well as fresh Caribbean seafood. St. Martin’s famous Orient beach on Baie Orientale is a mile long stretch of white sand on the Northeast Shore. The southern end of the beach is “clothing optional”. Dawn beach and Oyster pond are two of the attractive areas on the east side of St. Martin. Oyster pond is the legendary point at which two settlers, a Dutchman and a Frenchman started their walk around the island to divide it. GETTING THERE St. Martin is accessible through the USA via Puerto Rico which is really the long way around but there are also direct flights from Amsterdam with KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines and from Paris with Air France. No matter how one goes, St. Martin is a Caribbean paradise and a wonderful delight with sun, sea, sand and the thrill on Maho beach of the low flying aircraft. For me as an aviation enthusiast it was certainly the best of both worlds as one can stand at the end of the runway and marvel as the screaming jets thunder a few feet above your head and watch everyone duck at the last minute you simply can’t believe how low they are and your body makes you cower as a reflex action. Thank you, St. Martin. What a holiday. HELPFUL WEBSITES
www.sxm-info.com St. Martin Tourism Board
www.pjiae.com Princess Juliana International Airport
www.klm.com Royal Dutch Airline
www.airfrance.com Air France
www.sonesta.com/stmaarten/ Maho Beach Resort & Casino
www.sunsetbeachbar.com Sunset Beach Bar
www.lesperancecarrental.com/ Car Rental FOOTNOTE Having flown a total of 13,000 miles on this trip with a total of 9 take-offs and landings, many aircraft changes and many security checkpoints, I ask myself one question are we safe onboard aircraft following the 9/11 attacks.
My answer is No, because with all the rigorous checks at the airports the airlines themselves are out of touch with reality and missing one vital threat to our safety.
I travelled back from Chicago to Ireland with American Airlines, an airline which itself is a terrorist target. Seated in the first row behind the first class section I was horrified to see passengers were given stainless steel knives and forks, the very implements security would look out for and confiscate were been given out to passengers. A would be terrorist on board could grab one of these implements, put it to the neck of an air stewardess and ask for the cockpit door to be opened if he wanted to get command of the airplane. Granted these passengers are entitled to their luxury seats and nice meals but in the interest of safety they should not be given these sharp implements and wine glasses as a broken glass can be a deadly weapons. Let them have plastic implements and the aircraft will be much more secure and safe. Airlines please take note and put safety first.
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