We just had an Earthquake in St Martin / St Maarten SXM October 5 2009

Bob & Sheila your charter yacht brokers (Paradise Connections) and hotel barge specialists, who live aboard their own sailboat and are currently at anchor in Simpson Bay Lagoon near Explorer Island (French side) of St Martin had an odd experience at lunchtime.

At about 12:30pm our boat started shaking.  We both thought that maybe the boat was dragging as the boat was vibrating and there was a low grumbling noise like when the anchor chain moves over the bottom.  Or was someone up against us???

Looked outside and everything is OK we are still shaking and a neighbor is looking around, too.

First time I've ever felt an earthquake at anchor that I know of :)

Image from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/dyfi/events/us/2009mjbi/us/index.html

This site http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009mjbi.php
lists it as being Monday, October 05, 2009 at 16:28:10 UTC (12:28pm local time)

18.043°N, 62.781°W
29 km (18 miles) ESE (102°) from Marigot, Saint Martin, Guadeloupe
30 km (18 miles) E (87°) from Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles

4.5 Magnitude

So, fortunately there shouldn't be a Kick'em Jenny tsunami then...

If it's not one thing it's another... It is still "that" season... Hurricane Omar hit us last year on October 15-16, 2008... So far, so good on that front :)

All the best!