In October of 2014, St. Maarten was hit by Hurricane Gonzalo, and the Lord Sheffield went down due to damage taken during the storm.  With the previous owner being a good friend, it was hard to see his 11 years of work on the verge of being lost forever...

After much soul searching and deliberating, I decided to take the opportunity to purchase the business, and began the process of salvaging her.  Over the past few months much has been done in her recovery, however much is left before she once again takes to the seas... 

We are currently on the hard, with the next focus being to finish the hull repairs and bring the engine back to full working order. Following that we will complete the interior restoration, repaint the exterior and touch up any damaged woodwork, and reinstall the mast and rigging.  

There is a lot left to be done, but with your help we can bring the Lord Sheffield back to her former glory, and continue to provide the best excursion experience on St. Maarten!

For more updates please visit our Facebook page at:

Lord Sheffield on Facebook

Or our own website at:

The Lord Sheffield Website

It was over a month before the first attempt to raise the Lord Sheffield took place after she went down.  Several factors went into the delay, but after those were overcome we were ready to try a pump-out method to bring her up.

Unfortunately, the pump out proved to be unsuccessful, leaving us to wait another two weeks before a crane large enough to lift us became available.

On December 5th, after seven weeks underwater, the Lord Sheffield finally broke the surface and once again floated above water.

After a tow from Simpson Bay Lagoon to Great Bay, work began on trying to save our engine.  After several days of non-stop attention, our Gardner diesel fired up, and the focus switched to stripping her out, washing her down, and getting her on the hard.

As we were coming out, we decided to take this opportunity to pull the aft mast, as well as all of the yards in order to do maintenance and replace our sails.

Once on the hard, the process of beating back the damaged concrete began. Though it may look like we've just made the problem worse, this is the necessary steps in repairing a boat of this type.

While the exterior work progressed, the interior moved forward as well. Once dried out, we continued cleaning, scraping, sanding, and finally started the process of repaneling.

This brings us up to now, with our project now needing the extra push to reach completion.  Concrete and steel for the hull is on order, with just our location on an island slowing the delivery.  The engine and fuel tank will still need to be lifted out, in order to clean and service both as well as the engine room.  The interior is nearing 50% complete, with material and labor being the remaining hurdles.  The exterior will need sanding and painting, as well as some minor woodwork, however it is down to only mainly cosmetics.  And finally, our new sails will need to be ordered, as well as the yards and masts serviced and repainted.  This puts our completing timeline in the range of 8-12 weeks, and a remaining budget of $52,000, doubling the current input of $52,000.

Lord Sheffield Tall Ship Adventures provides cruise ship shore excursions, day-sails, romantic sunset cruises and destination weddings aboard the traditionally rigged Lord Sheffield on the island of St Maarten in the Dutch Caribbean. If you are looking for cruise ship tours, shore trips, cruise ship shore excursions or things to do when visiting St Maarten … we may be what you are looking for.

The Lord Sheffield is a 72 foot square-rigged ship known as a brigantine. Embark on a sea voyage with us and we will take you back to a time when pirates menaced the Caribbean Sea. Relax and enjoy the Lord Sheffield’s famous BBQ food and abundant grog and see St Maarten from the sea.

Our Pirate Day Sail is the perfect shore excursion or tour for cruise ship visitors as we are located a short walk from the cruise ship pier and our morning-or-afternoon format allows you to get out on the water and explore St Maarten… all on the same day. Our day tour features sailing (with the engine off), guided snorkeling (snorkeling equipment included) , BBQ food and a really extensive open bar. We have both 3 hour and 5 hour tours available. 

Our Sunset Soiree is St Maarten’s cocktail party afloat… sail into the spectacular Caribbean sunset with our full open bar (including wine and champagne), plenty of food, sunset sailing music and excellent company. We then return home under the stars.

Destination Weddings are any exciting way to begin a life together, and the Lord Sheffield is simply the most romantic venue available in St Maarten to conduct your wedding, marriage ceremony or reception.

First of all we strongly recommend that you leave the “legal” part of the marriage to the civil authorities at home and have the ceremony and celebration in St Maarten. This eliminates a lot of paper work, cost and preparation. The typical wedding ceremony begins at 2:00 PM where the bride and groom and guests board the vessel. 2:00 PM is a good time because the sun is starting to get a little lower in the sky. The Sheffield then sets sail and under sail proceeds down the coast to one of several lovely anchorages.

Along the way you have the option of the Sheffield crew providing drinks (alcoholic or non – alcoholic) or food and snacks… all included in the price.

Then the Lord Sheffield will anchor and prepare for the ceremony with the bridal party at the bow and the guest seated aft on and around the main cabin. The captain of the Sheffield can officiate the ceremony if required.

After the ceremony, the reception can start immediately with swimming, dancing, food, drinks etc. Watch the sunset on the anchor and then motor home under the stars.

2014 My Vacation Pages Top Family Activity in St Maarten

2014 Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence Winner

Top Rated on Viator

We are a “boutique” tour, offering a unique vessel and expereince at resonable prices. We take a maximum of 25 guests and usually fewer, providing you with a more personal voyage. 

All of our tours are all inclusive, meaning we have what you want to drink from rum punch and margaritas, to sodas, juices, beer, mixed drinks, water etc. Our BBQ ribs and chicken are world famous, and we cook them on-board so they are hot and fresh off the barbie every trip.

We depart from a safe dock and we are easily accessible for those with mobility limitations, as well as located very close to the cruise ship pier in St Maarten.

We actually sail! We turn off the engine giving you the purest form of wind and sea.

We are family friendly, recently recieving the 2014 My Vacation Pages Top Family activity in St Maarten award.