St Martin/Sint Maarten

15 April – 9 May 2010

After a good passage which started with very light winds but ended with a few hours of great sailing, we anchored in Marigot Bay, the capital on the west coast of St Martin (again, part of France).  We checked in and the next day went through the bridge into the huge sheltered lagoon where we anchored on the French side of the border.  The island is half French and half ex-Dutch (now independent) and the border runs through the middle of the lagoon.  There is no border control moving from one side to the other either on the roads or by dinghy, but you must anchor your yacht in the waters of the country you have cleared into.

Another friend we made in Las Palmas, Mike on Tuntsa, was also here and it was great to see him again.  He is an American who does the Atlantic circuit every year: St Martin – Azores – Canaries, working from his boat and selling navigation software.

This was the first time we came across a cruiser net.  This happens early every morning (except Sunday) with a resident cruiser acting as net controller.  Any cruisers listening can respond to the various categories: arrivals & departures, security information, buy and sell, what’s on, and any information required by cruisers.  We reported our arrival, requested info about local supermarkets etc, and joined in various social activities advertised on the net.  Because of it, Ken & Lynn on Silverheels III introduced themselves and showed us around – they have become very good friends of ours.

There’s a very lively cruiser social scene around the lagoon, but we also did some serious stuff – buying a new (larger) outboard motor for our dinghy and kitted out with various bits and pieces at the local DIY and electrical stores and two very large chandlers.

We were fortunate that the Carnival took place in Philipsburg, the capital of Sint Maarten, during our stay.  We took the local bus down there with Ken & Lynn for the main parade – lots of exotic feathered costumes, live steel bands on every lorry – noisy and great fun.  For video of the carnival please click here

We also had a lovely day out round the island – we hired a car with Ken & Lynn so that we could all do some heavy shopping, then had a lightning tour around the island, ending with a lovely BBQ meal overlooking the beautiful bay of Grand Case.

Towards the end of our month, it was lovely to have our friends Manu & Michelle on Teepee arrive – it was great for us all to get together again with Mike on Tuntsa.

By now we had finally made the decision to head south to Grenada (rather than north to the US) for the hurricane season, these being the summer months from June/July to the end of October.  We had booked our flights for a visit to the England in the middle of July and a secure marina in Grenada to leave the boat.  As we wanted to be in Grenada by the end of June it was time for our departure.

For more photos please click here