We try not to do the celebrity spotting stuff here - there are plenty of website that do that - but this picture of Jack Nicholson was just too good to pass up. Courtesy of the Telegraph.

Posted on March 31, 2008 9:02 AM| Permanent Link: Jack Nicholson on St. Barts| Comments (0)

From March 10 to March 31, Les Artisans on Rue du Roi Oscar II in Gustavia is hosting an exhibit of paintings by Sue McNally. McNally attended the Savannah College of Art and Design and has exhibited her works in Newport, RI; Boston and Brooklyn. She claimed first place for Paintings at a juried show at the Newport Art Museum. Les Artisans is a superb jewelry store that features custom jewelry designed by the owners and is a frequent host to art exhibits.

From March 14 to March 20, the works of Jean-Yves Lefort and his wife Claude will be on display at the gallery Porta 34 in Gustavia. The exhibit, called "Du pays d’Origine: l’Afrique. Au pays du coeur: Saint Barthélemy,” pays homage to his place of birth and the island where he has lived. Jean-Yves Lefort was born in Bazzaville, the Congo in 1956. In 1968, his family moved to Guadeloupe and then to St Barth. In 2000, he left St Barth for France and currently exhibits his art in galleries in Lyon, France and St Barth. Lefort’s works are influenced by his love of the sea and his African heritage. La Porta is open from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm and from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Posted on March 28, 2008 5:20 AM| Permanent Link: Art Exhibits at Les Artisans and Porta 34| Comments (0)

Friday, March 28
11:00 am First Gun/First Race: "Around the Island Race"

Saturday, March 29
11:00 am First Gun/Second Race: "The Wiggley Course"

7:00 pm until ?? Dock party on the quay in Gustavia with music, food and bar

Sunday, March 30
11:00 am First Gun/Third Race: "Around the Island Clockwise"
7:00 pm Awards Presentation and Cocktail Party

Posted on March 27, 2008 6:01 PM| Permanent Link: 13th Annual St Barth Bucket Regatta Kicks Off Today| Comments (0)

From the Wall Street Journal:

Posted on March 25, 2008 6:07 PM| Permanent Link: Will Cotton exhibit at Eden Roc| Comments (0)

For the last couple of days, St Barth has been under a “RED” warning because of strong and dangerous seas. Waves were reported to be as high as 18 feet in Flamands. An Easter tradition in St Barth is to camp on the beach – the only time of year when this is allowed. Most people set up their campsites during the week before Easter, and it can be quite an elaborate affair. The high seas have definitely altered the Easter plans of many.

Posted on March 21, 2008 4:18 PM| Permanent Link: High Seas on St Barth| Comments (0)

Electric cars manufactured by Miles are starting to arrive! In 2007, Miles, a company based in Santa Monica, California, was recognized as “the electric car company of the year.” Three small models are currently being imported, ranging in price from $19,500 to $24,500: the ZX40, the ZX40S and the ZX40AD. These cars can go about 50 miles at their top speed of 40 mph before it’s necessary to recharge the battery, which takes from four to six hours. The six batteries have an expected life span of four years or 30,000 miles and can be replaced for $350. (With the current exchange rate between the euro and the US dollar, this is a bargain!) Currently, because of the lack of an engine rating, these cars are not subject to the tax on vehicles instituted in St Barth at the start of 2008. That will most likely occur, but perhaps the COM will encourage these environmentally friendly cars by charging a lower annual tax.

Posted on March 20, 2008 9:39 AM| Permanent Link: Electric Cars Start to Arrive| Comments (3)

Looking for a beautiful place to stay, yet a little different from the typical hotel? Check out the Hostellerie des 3 Forces in Vitet. The owner and chef, as well as an astrologer who has been practicing for over 20 years, is the very charming Hubert Delamotte. M. Delamotte, a reknown chef, arrived from France in 1979 for a vacation, met his wife and never left. Isn’t that so often the story you hear when on St Barth?! The Hostellerie has seven quiet and charming cottages. All rooms face the sea, have air-conditioning and many have kitchenettes. In the morning, you can have breakfast by the pool or in the restaurant's harbored veranda. For more information, go to www.3forces.net or call at 590-590-276-125

Posted on March 20, 2008 9:33 AM| Permanent Link: Hostellerie des 3 Forces – A “Mystic” Spa & Hotel in Vitet| Comments (0)

The year 2008 has already brought many changes to St Barth as it assumes its new political status of an Overseas Collectivity (COM). One of these changes has been the institution of an accommodation tax of 5% on all seasonal rentals: hotels, villas, apartments, etc. The goal of this tax is to raise money to meet the budget of the COM since funding from France has greatly decreased. For the month of January, the COM has collected 580,000 €. However, President Bruno Magras is concerned that individuals who rent their villas directly to clients without the assistance of a villa rental agency may not be reporting these rentals, and, hence, not paying the required tax. Members of the COM are currently doing research in an attempt to identify any such cases. As President Magras states, “We need these taxes in order to meet the budget for the COM. It is in the interest of everybody on the island, since the more we can collect, the less risk there is of creating new taxes.”

Posted on March 20, 2008 9:31 AM| Permanent Link: Accommodation Tax Brings In 580,000 Euros in January| Comments (0)

About a month ago, La Chorale de Bon Choeurs performed two evenings at the Anglican Church in Gustavia to help raise money for a trip to New York City to sing with a choir at one of the local churches. Now, that trip has become a reality. On May 4 at 2:00 pm, they will join the Choir of Saint Marks-in-the-Bowery for an afternoon concert of classics, pop and gospel. This program will premiere The Hymne of St. Barthélemy (music by Michael Valenti; poem by Isabelle Deravin). If you’re in the NYC area, don’t miss this event, which will take place in the Parish Hall of St. Marks Church, 2nd Avenue at 10th Street. Congratulations to La Chorale!

Posted on March 20, 2008 9:30 AM| Permanent Link: La Chorale de Bon Choeurs Heads to New York| Comments (0)

Here is a slide show of a "Weekend in St. Barts" from the NT Times - some nice pictures in this.

Posted on March 13, 2008 5:41 AM| Permanent Link: Weekend in St. Barts| Comments (0)

March 15, 2008 - June 8, 2008
Archery Competitions:
March 15, April 26, May 24, June 7-8

March 27-31, 2008
13th Annual St Barth Bucket Regatta

April 16-20, 2008
International Book Day

April 20, 2008
9th Edition of the Transat Ag2r.
Arrival in St Barth will be approximately three weeks later.

April 25-30, 2008
13th Annual St Barth Film Festival
A.J.O.E., Lorient

Posted on March 7, 2008 8:56 AM| Permanent Link: On the Horizon - March 5, 2008| Comments (0)

The St Barth Beach Hotel in Grand Cul de Sac has been leveled for some time now, and there has been much speculation about what would be built on that beautiful oceanfront site. There is now a sign on the property that says Niilaais Hotel Resort & Spa Coming Soon! They are offering exclusive 5-bedroom villas and luxurious full-service duplex suites for purchase within the resort. See their web site www.niilaaia.com for more information.

Posted on March 5, 2008 8:40 AM| Permanent Link: What's Happening at Grand Cul de Sac?| Comments (0)

Here is some great video from last year's St. Barth Bucket Regatta

Posted on March 5, 2008 5:27 AM| Permanent Link: Video of the 2007 St. Barth Bucket Regatta| Comments (0)

Our friends over at AllAtSea.net have an article up about the fleet participating in the this year's St. Barth Bucket:

More here.

Posted on March 5, 2008 2:57 AM| Permanent Link: Preliminary Fleet Announced for 2008 St. Barth Bucket| Comments (0)

Mark your calendar for March 27-31 for the 13th Annual St Barth Bucket Regatta! This non-commercial event involves three days of racing around the island and attracts the most spectacular and majestic sailing yachts in the world -- all of which must be over 100 feet. The Bucket is an invitation-only event, and they already have a full fleet of 30 yachts, with many more on the waiting list. This year, five of the world’s most prestigious super-yacht builders have come together to provide over 60% of the Bucket’s annual budget on an ongoing basis: Alloy Yachts, Holland Jachtbouw, Perini Navi, Royal Huisman Shipyard, and Vitter’s Shipyard. Good spots to view the races are at the lighthouse in Gustavia, the heights of Lurin and Pointe Milou and the end of the road at Colombier. And, don’t forget the parties and music on the quay in Gustavia in the evenings!

Posted on March 4, 2008 9:42 AM| Permanent Link: St Barth Bucket Sets Sail March 27| Comments (0)

A few weeks ago, Alexandra Härmälä, a St Barth native, and her husband Markku opened Sun Vélo, a bicycle rental company, in collaboration with tour guide Hélène Berneir of Easy Time. Although the hills on the island are daunting, bicycles provide an easy way to discover Gustavia. The current fleet consists of a dozen Trek lightweight hybrid bicycles that are suitable for off-road riding as well as in town exploration. They are offering very flexible rental agreements, from hourly to monthly. Alexandra and Markku have also designed several itineraries at all levels – from easy to difficult – if you’d like to follow one of their trips. While waiting to find a site for their business, you can contact them by phone at 06 90 63 46 09 or 05 90 87 18 56 or by email at alexaber@wanadoo.fr or easytime971@yahoo.fr. They will deliver the bikes to your hotel or villa. Best of all? When you’re exploring Gustavia, you don’t have to worry about finding a parking place!

Posted on March 4, 2008 9:41 AM| Permanent Link: Bicycling on St Barth| Comments (0)

"If you do not go to the cinema, the cinema will come to you". For the 13th edition of the Festival of Caribbean Cinema (the St Barth Film Festival), the organizers have decided to present certain films and videos in the different quarters of the island. Last Thursday, Jean-Marc Césaire, the founder of the association Ciné Woulé, visited the island and met with organizers Ellen Lampert-Gréaux, Rosemond Gréaux and Joshua Harrison. Since 1995, Ciné Woulé has gone to different districts in Guadeloupe and shown movies on inflatable screens. Césaire will be in St Barth at the time of the festival, April 25-30, to orchestrate the itinerant projections. A future goal is to establish a place exclusively dedicated to showing movies. To achieve that goal, they would like to have a distribution network in order to share the costs across the islands of the French West Indies. Meanwhile, using the projectors and inflatable, transportable screens of Ciné Woulé will allow movies to be shown to people who otherwise would never go to the cinema. Great idea!

Posted on March 4, 2008 9:37 AM| Permanent Link: An Innovative Idea for the 13th Annual St Barth Film Festival| Comments (0)

All new vehicles registered on St Barth as of March 3, 2008 will have newly designed license plates. These license plates are a result of St Barth's evolution to a French Overseas Collectivity and will be specific to St Barth with the letters SBH, rather than the FR on the existing French plates. The Territorial Council also discussed the possibility of allowing personalized license plates, but this is yet to be decided. That would be another way to raise money for the Collectivity, assuming one would have to pay extra. Additional information is available in French on the COM's website: www.comstbarth.fr and a special email has been set up for questions: immatriculation@comstbarth.fr.

Posted on March 4, 2008 9:33 AM| Permanent Link: New License Plates Soon to Come| Comments (0)

The Oasis grocery store in Lorient has started food and beverage delivery. You give them your shopping list and they'll deliver. Email bruno-oasispro@orange.fr or call at 06 90 71 89 02 for more information.

The Rotary Club is holding a "yard sale" at a villa in Camaruche from Monday, March 3 to Saturday, March 8 between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. Camaruche is the area past Lorient just before you get to the turn for Vitet. To help find the way, the road will be marked with signs displaying the logo of the Rotary Club. Proceeds will be used to purchase defibrillators in collaboration with the Red Cross and the Collectivity. For more information, contact the Rotary Club at 05 90 27 73 38.

Posted on March 4, 2008 8:54 AM| Permanent Link: Bits and Pieces - March 4, 2008| Comments (0)