Wish You Were Here
My Maho Beach Adventure
Sunday 13 April 2008
FINALLY!!!
It took me over three years to make it to Maho beach on the Dutch side of St. Maarten! If you are into aviation, this is the closest you can legally get to commercial aircraft without working for the airlines... and you can't get this close in a more beautiful location! As soon as the ship docked, I made a b-line to the nearest taxi so I could go to the beach. To be honest, the weather was a little crappy for hanging out at the beach seeing as there were scattered showers, waves at 8-10 feet (Maho is NOT a surf beach), and the wind was 27 knots (31 mph), but it was GREAT weather to watch airplanes land in a head wind.
Remember this sign... it'll come in handy later in the blog.
Morning started with a 30 minute cab ride to another side of the island with a group of guests from the ship that worked for Net Jets; needless to say they were BIG into aviation. Once we got to the beach, we parted ways to get breakfast and shop for souvenirs. I got a t-shirt that had the warning sign above and a cap to add to my collection... both totaled $50 USD (damn exchange rate!), no worries, they were worth every penny. There were t-shirts that said "I got blown at Maho Beach" and "Surf the fence at Maho Beach" which I laughed at.... did I mention the sign above? There's a bar on the beach that is one the best places to take pictures, so much so that they post a schedule of landing aircraft on a surfboard. Not much arrives in the morning, just island hoppers and a few DC-9s, but around 1pm, the main event started. Aircraft from American, Delta, U.S. Air, Continental, and many others began to arrive. The first "real" plane was a Continental 737... not bad, but I was waiting for something a little bigger. Around 1:15 my wish was granted in the form of an America 757. Like a fool I lined up on the runway centerline to catch the most awesome picture I could take.
Pretty cool, huh? You'd think a 757 wouldn't have too much thrust when landing... but I forgot about the 31 mph head wind that gusted to 45 mph... oops. Here's what you don't see: the sand blast I took from the engines. It felt like I was being shot with thousands of needles, but it was so cool! Here's what else you don't see: THE FREAKIN' 16 FOOT WAVE THAT PLANE JUST KICKED UP BEHIND ME! I turned around in just enough time to see it for myself... and to see my $50 in souvenirs get blown into the ocean. Yeah... that sign makes a little more sense now, doesn't it? I took the wave head on and got water and sand in my camera. Seeing as that was the last picture it was going to take in it's short life, it was time to save the t-shirt and hat, and so I dove in to save them... in my socks and work shoes. For good measure, I took on another 8 foot wave just to make sure my camera was good and dead and I was completely soaked from head to toe. But none of that mattered because I was finally in the place I dreamed of for over three years. After an hour of drying off eating one of the best damn burgers I've ever tasted, it was time for more fun. Unfortunately, I couldn't find another camera to catch a second American 757, an Air France A340, or a Corsair 747 (it flew in reeeeeally low), but trust me when I say it is one of the coolest experiences of my life.
Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz
It took me over three years to make it to Maho beach on the Dutch side of St. Maarten! If you are into aviation, this is the closest you can legally get to commercial aircraft without working for the airlines... and you can't get this close in a more beautiful location! As soon as the ship docked, I made a b-line to the nearest taxi so I could go to the beach. To be honest, the weather was a little crappy for hanging out at the beach seeing as there were scattered showers, waves at 8-10 feet (Maho is NOT a surf beach), and the wind was 27 knots (31 mph), but it was GREAT weather to watch airplanes land in a head wind.
Remember this sign... it'll come in handy later in the blog.
Morning started with a 30 minute cab ride to another side of the island with a group of guests from the ship that worked for Net Jets; needless to say they were BIG into aviation. Once we got to the beach, we parted ways to get breakfast and shop for souvenirs. I got a t-shirt that had the warning sign above and a cap to add to my collection... both totaled $50 USD (damn exchange rate!), no worries, they were worth every penny. There were t-shirts that said "I got blown at Maho Beach" and "Surf the fence at Maho Beach" which I laughed at.... did I mention the sign above? There's a bar on the beach that is one the best places to take pictures, so much so that they post a schedule of landing aircraft on a surfboard. Not much arrives in the morning, just island hoppers and a few DC-9s, but around 1pm, the main event started. Aircraft from American, Delta, U.S. Air, Continental, and many others began to arrive. The first "real" plane was a Continental 737... not bad, but I was waiting for something a little bigger. Around 1:15 my wish was granted in the form of an America 757. Like a fool I lined up on the runway centerline to catch the most awesome picture I could take.
Pretty cool, huh? You'd think a 757 wouldn't have too much thrust when landing... but I forgot about the 31 mph head wind that gusted to 45 mph... oops. Here's what you don't see: the sand blast I took from the engines. It felt like I was being shot with thousands of needles, but it was so cool! Here's what else you don't see: THE FREAKIN' 16 FOOT WAVE THAT PLANE JUST KICKED UP BEHIND ME! I turned around in just enough time to see it for myself... and to see my $50 in souvenirs get blown into the ocean. Yeah... that sign makes a little more sense now, doesn't it? I took the wave head on and got water and sand in my camera. Seeing as that was the last picture it was going to take in it's short life, it was time to save the t-shirt and hat, and so I dove in to save them... in my socks and work shoes. For good measure, I took on another 8 foot wave just to make sure my camera was good and dead and I was completely soaked from head to toe. But none of that mattered because I was finally in the place I dreamed of for over three years. After an hour of drying off eating one of the best damn burgers I've ever tasted, it was time for more fun. Unfortunately, I couldn't find another camera to catch a second American 757, an Air France A340, or a Corsair 747 (it flew in reeeeeally low), but trust me when I say it is one of the coolest experiences of my life.
Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz
Final Port
Thursday 21 February 2008
Greetings
from beautiful St. Maarten!
As some of you know, I've been trying to visit St. Maarten for years... unfortunately, training prevented me from spending as much time as I would've liked. No worries, I'll be back in two weeks. However, as you can see, I did have a few hours to get off the boat to have lunch in town. It was the usual tourist trap: you couldn't sneeze without hitting a jewelry or watch store, there were plenty of duty-free liquor stores, and of course, Cuban cigars... which seemed to be a popular item given the recent retirement of "El Presidente" Fidel Castro. Oddly enough, I had the best bacon cheeseburger I've had in a very long time complete with sweet potato fries. I can't wait to go back to see one of St. Maarten's most famous spots: Maho Beach.
Daybreak by Brand New Heavies
As some of you know, I've been trying to visit St. Maarten for years... unfortunately, training prevented me from spending as much time as I would've liked. No worries, I'll be back in two weeks. However, as you can see, I did have a few hours to get off the boat to have lunch in town. It was the usual tourist trap: you couldn't sneeze without hitting a jewelry or watch store, there were plenty of duty-free liquor stores, and of course, Cuban cigars... which seemed to be a popular item given the recent retirement of "El Presidente" Fidel Castro. Oddly enough, I had the best bacon cheeseburger I've had in a very long time complete with sweet potato fries. I can't wait to go back to see one of St. Maarten's most famous spots: Maho Beach.
Daybreak by Brand New Heavies
First stop
Tuesday 19 February 2008
Greetings
from San Juan!
First, I would like to apologize for being late updating my blog... I guess technology hasn't quite caught up to shipboard internet.
Today was our first port, but unfortunately, I'm still on the ship preparing for a show in a few hours. There was a lot of hard work today as the stage crew had to finish installing the new scenery and the lighting crew had to make adjustments. Today, I work my first "fly on" act and had to get back into the groove of setting up a live show for a single-artist one-night show. Before sound check, I managed to get a snap a few pictures as we entered San Juan, P.R. Enjoy!
Higher Ground by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
First, I would like to apologize for being late updating my blog... I guess technology hasn't quite caught up to shipboard internet.
Today was our first port, but unfortunately, I'm still on the ship preparing for a show in a few hours. There was a lot of hard work today as the stage crew had to finish installing the new scenery and the lighting crew had to make adjustments. Today, I work my first "fly on" act and had to get back into the groove of setting up a live show for a single-artist one-night show. Before sound check, I managed to get a snap a few pictures as we entered San Juan, P.R. Enjoy!
Higher Ground by The Red Hot Chili Peppers