The "More Fantastic Tales from The Beach" Story

It was an ordinary day. I was reading a thread on "TravelTalkOnline" (TTOL) about a few planes being diverted past the Princess Julianna Airport in Sint Maarten, because the mast of a sailboat in the bay in front of the end of the runway was too high in the air! The mast of a boat!! You have to realize that the runway is directly behind the beach at Maho Bay to understand that this could happen. The beach is maybe 40 feet wide and then there is a very narrow two lane road behind that before the start of the runway. When the VERY LARGE four jet engine planes from France arrive at the island, they need to start their landing very near the end of the runway so that they will have enough time to land before they run out of runway. This airport is considered one of the most extreme airports in the world because of the beach at the end of the runway. And, the beach is usually filled with people waiting for the planes as well as soaking up the suns rays. I wrote a story about a year ago that was about the planes landing, but didn't cover the beach bar itself. This story will tell more about the bar. Carol and I enjoy spending lunch and the afternoon at the beach, but we don't sit on the sand. We frequent the Sunset Beach Bar, now called the Sunset Bar and Grill, for our meal and our plane watching. This bar is on one side of the Maho Beach while the Driftwood Beach Bar is on the other side of the beach. Funny that a few threads later on the TTOL site was a thread about the SSBB which was originally built and run by Neil Rooney who came from the States. He and his friend Brad did most of the construction and planning for the bar. Place was opened in 1996, about a year after hurricane Luis hit the island. Behind the Caravanseria Hotel was a small bar building that survived Luis, so Neil transformed the place into the SSBB. Island songs played on the sound system and beer and drinks were served at the bar. Bar stools and picnic tables, along with a rock in the middle of the beach bar, were the only items the bar had. A year later a barbecue area was added and the business grew. Place was very popular with the US Coast Guard and US Navy who frequented the place while on liberty. In 1997 the "Topless Women Drink For Free" sign went up. Actually it was a sign that listed the "drink of D day", but a patron, watching a group of young girls tanning topless on the nearby beach, but covering up every time they came to get another drink, decided to hop over the counter and change the sign, hoping to entice the girls to leave the tops by their blankets. Sign still remains today and we have seen it in use. Another feature was added to the bar in 1998. "Free Shooters From D Toilet". During spring break a rowdy student broke part of the toilet at the bar and had to pay for a new one. Neil placed the unbroken bowl of the first toilet on the bar, sealed it so it wouldn't leak, added ice and liquor and featured free Margaritas. Had to scoop your own! In 2009, new owners changed the place some what and renamed it the Sunset Bar and Grill. Not quite the same place without Neil, but still has good eats and the fabulous views of the planes flying low over the beach to catch the front end of the runway. This is a must visit for Carol and me when we make our trips to St. Martin. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from the top are: Logo of the TTOL, photo of Sunset Beach Bar taken after hurricane Lenny in 1999, Sunset Beach Bar sometime in the mid 2000s taken from a plane while landing, Sunset Bar and Grill taken in January 2011 (notice sign stating "Topless Women Drink for Free", posting of the times for the different flight arrivals, a KLM from France arriving over the crowded beach, patrons standing next to the sign telling you that a jet blast can result in death, and some of my souvenirs from the old Sunset Beach Bar. Need to get a souvenir hat from the new Sunset Bar and Grill on my next trip.