Sailing back to the the home port

We are on Montserrat in a Little Bay, the only anchorage on the island, that has been greatly effected by volcanic eruption. Since then life had moved to the north part of the island, where the smell of sulfur and volcanic ashes can not reach. Every time we stop here or sail by, we see new buildings high up in the hills, the sign of people's determination.

For us this is a resting place between Nevis and Guadeloupe, stretch too long to make it in a day and this time too windy and wavy to sail during the night. Except for the fishing boats rolling on the north swell, the bay looks deserted, quiet with only a few buildings overlooking the bay from the shore. From one of them, we are getting a strong Internet signal. Time to blog?

It is not easy looking back to all the bays we stopped, remembering them all. They all have their own characteristics, that in a month or two fade into the word Caribbean: turquoise water, blooming plants, sunsets and bright stars.



Approaching Deshaies, Guadeloupe before the storm




Close to home port



Fishing

I caught enough fish this sailing season to have a fish meal every day. Twice I persuaded Polde to eat a snapper. That was a 100% improvement from last year and he was proud of it.

Here are some fish I caught, ate or return to their world.



Mahogany snappers




Trunk fish





Barracuda




Trunk fish

 


Sting ray, 8 lb

Dolphin fish (mahi mahi)

Horse eyed jack



A week with Eva, Chris, Nina and Maya

Valentin left on the 17th of February and two days later Eva arrived with her family. What a joy it was seeing our little girls again!
They love the beach, so we stayed in Grand Case. During the day they swam off the boat all the way to the white sandy beach and played there.
Every Tuesday evening the vendors from different St.Martin towns come to Grand Case, so our young family had a night out, shopping and treating themselves to local foods.
It was all too short, after a week we sailed to Baie Friar and spent a few hours snorkeling there, and then on to Baie de Marigot. They flew home on the 26th.

Eva, Maya, Nina and Chris

Grand Case, St. Martin

We spent more time in Grand Case then anywhere else. The bay is beautiful with white sandy beach. The town is inland within walking distance from the beach, that is lined with many restaurants, most of them serving French cuisine.
Valentin treated us to a perfect meal in one of them, L'Escapade. Grand Case is a culinary center of St. Martin and comes to life after dark, people are driving from everywhere to have a meal here, and leaving convinced, that it was worth it.

To be close to the Internet on a shore we anchored in a very shallow, we had barely enough water left under our keel. But it is all sand there and touching the bottom would not have been a problem.

I thought it was rather unusual to catch large snappers in a nine feet of water. And yet I caught five of them the first night and more through the week we stayed there, all mahogany and one yellowtail.

As on most islands (but not all) public transportation is fast and inexpensive. It is a good way to see the island and meet people.
Walking is another way, and one day we stretched our legs by walking over the hill to Baie Marcel to check out the marina there and to see, weather we could sail into this rather small bay.

The scenery there is beautiful, but the beach was a bit crowded because of the hotels around it. Music was sounding from different beach bars, it was before noon and they were busy already. If you like action, that is the place to go.

Grand Case shopping mall

Nature playing tricks on us?

Anguilla

For us Anguilla was a new island, only 5NM distance from St. Martin’s Baie Grand Case. We sailed there from St. Barth with the overnight stop on Tintamare, a small French island NE of St. Martin, only a narrow channel between the two.

Tintamare is a marine resort with a beautiful beach, enclosed with reefs on each side. The island is only a mile long and half a mile wide, too small for people to live on. It is a pleasant beach and snorkeling spot, but rolly in the North swell.

Early next morning, on the 5th of February, we sailed to Anguilla.

It is a British island with a small population of 12.000. Though their livelihood is tourism, we didn’t think of it as sailors friendly. There is no charge to stay on the main anchorage Road Bay, but you need an expansive permit to sail into other bays, some of them not overnight anchorages.

We stayed in a Road Bay in a shallow turquoise water, enjoyed a beautiful beach and the music from the beach bar.

Only a narrow strip of land separates the Road Bay from the Salt Pond, the source for salt industry there from 1600 to 1986.

Polde, Valentin and I walked into the town Valley to get supplies and then loaded took a cab back. People were friendly. On the way in a car stopped, the driver offered us a ride. Coming back the cab driver volunteered information about Anguilla, proudly talked about the island.

We were surprised to see many abandoned unfinished houses, grass growing inside the cement block structures. Then some very poor areas with shacks made of boards. Passing by one, puzzled which way to go, a woman came out, wishing us a ‘Very good day’ and directing us to our point of interest.

When we reached the top of the hill, overlooking the bay, a handful of mansions shone, with pools on their terraces.



Road Bay, separated from Salt pond by a narrow strip of land.
 The pond was used for the salt industry from 1600 to 1986.




Simplicity



Anchored




Spring any time

Adorable!
School is painted in the colours of the childrens' uniforms





The importance of the first impression




 








On the move

We awaited Polde's brother Valentin in the Baie de Marigot. Together we sailed a month around St.Martin, to St.Barth, Ile Fourchue, Tintamare, Anguilla and back to St.Martin. We spent some time in Grand Case just North of Baie de Marigot.

St.Martin

Wednesday, January 12th, Polde and I sailed to Baie de Marigot on the French side of St.Martin. The bay is huge and approaching it, we were already in a shallow water. Seeing a lot of large sailboats close to the shore, we knew we could anchor near the dock and not having to dinghy a long distance to the harbour. A long stretch of vendors on the water front, ready to do business with people from cruise ships, tourist buses and sailors. Next a fruit, vegetable and spice market. And across the street among many restaurants, the pastry shop La Serafine, the busiest place in the harbor. Beside going there a few times, we walked to the Fort Louis. From it you can see both bays, the Simpson on the Dutch side and the Marigot with the lagoon between the two.

The view from the Fort Louis  

Historical document

Typical Caribbean upscale house

Marigot shopping mall

Marigot spice market

La Serafine