We reluctantly departed St Barth on 24th April heading to Sint Maarten where our replacement VHF radio awaited us. Sint Maarten is the southern Dutch part of the island, the northern part being French. There is an enormous lagoon occupying the south western part of the island, accessed by lifting road bridges. Entry from Simpson Bay is only possible three times a day so we had a very early morning departure in order to arrive in time for the 9.30 am bridge opening. Once in the lagoon we had a slightly tense passage, in water only a little deeper than our keel, before safely tying up at Lagoon Marina. This is a tiny marina with just one pontoon but in a great location for anyone heading off on an ocean passage, with many chandlers nearby and an enormous Carrefour supermarket that delivers to your boat.
Annoyingly, we had arrived on Sunday at the start of a week with three bank holidays celebrating the King, Carnival and MayDay so we were unable to start on the VHF replacement. With everything shut we unfolded our bikes and explored the Dutch side of the island doing a full tour of the lagoon. This is an area of stark contrasts with very shabby neighbourhoods, strips of American style fast food diners, several casinos, a very touristy area full of shady nightlife and then some very snazzy gated residences. Back at the marina, we were ‘forced’ to hang out at Lagoonies, the laid back marina bar and restaurant, which was full every night serving delicious food and excellent live music. We were well entertained whilst we waited for the chandlers to open, when we could collect lots of diesel cans and our new VHF. Fortunately the VHF installation was very straightforward. Unfortunately the cable to the cockpit mike was about a metre too short. Aargh! We had to import a cable extension from the USA at great expense. We employed some divers to scrub the bottom of the boat which was covered with weed. They also cleared a lot of barnacles from the propeller so we hope this will fix the dodgy engine noise. We then found that we were stuck in the lagoon for an extra two days as customs were also on holiday so we couldn’t check out!
Finally released we headed to Anguilla having an excellent and speedy sail to the north of the island where we anchored at beautiful Road Bay. We went ashore to explore, finding a very sleepy island and a very chilled customs and immigration office on the beach. Once our passports were stamped there was little to do except relax, swim and watch the turtles. We still managed to keep ourselves busy preparing the boat for the Atlantic crossing – tidying lockers, checking the rigging and ensuring that everything is securely stowed. In the evening the beach came to life with several restaurants beckoning. We really enjoyed Elvis’ Beach Bar and had a fabulous evening celebrating Jonathan’s sixtieth birthday with champagne and lobster.
We reluctantly departed Anguilla as our Caribbean adventure is almost at an end. We headed back to French St Martin to pick up the new cable but found that the anchorage in Marigot Bay was very choppy and uncomfortable. After a speedy shopping trip and delicious seafood lunch we moved up the coast to Grand Case. This is another beautiful bay with white sand beaches and restaurants galore – it is the gastronomic capital of the island. We completed our VHF installation, repaired damaged mosquito blinds and stowed vast quantities of dried and long life food ready for the passage to Horta in the Azores that is likely to take around three weeks. We also dined very well on fresh tuna and mahi mahi, seafood stews and a great take-away rack of BBQ ribs from the ‘locals’ bar and grill.
We returned to Marigot Bay a few days ago, checking in to Fort Louis Marina where we are completing final preparations for Merryn’s return to the Mediterranean. We’ve done heaps of laundry, bought many kilos of fruit and vegetables – all carefully stashed to retain freshness, whilst Jonathan is busy pre-cooking a week’s worth of meals. Tomorrow I’ll fly back to Antigua and on to London. I’m really looking forward to seeing friends and family, and returning to France to prepare the chalet for summer.
Our crew, Peter and Jon, will be joining Jonathan tomorrow. There will be a day of final preparations, safety briefings and checks before they set sail. They hope to depart on Tuesday 19th May and current weather forecasts are favourable. The initial passage from St Martin to Horta, Azores is around 2200NM although the actual distance travelled may be 2400NM. Even with good conditions there will be a mix of close haul sailing north, some motoring further north as the wind dies and then potentially downwind sailing eastward to the Azores. After a few rest days in Horta they will be completing the Atlantic crossing to Gibraltar, taking another week. Let’s hope they have a wonderful crossing. Bon Voyage!