St Kitts to St Martin
Flinns
Terry/ Nicola Flinn
Sat 24 Mar 2007 11:07
|
18:02.38N 63:05.56W Simpson Bay Lagoon St
Martin
After a 4 hour downwind sail from St Kitts, we
arrived at the Dutch controlled island of St Eustatius which is also known as
Statia. The whole island is surrounded by a Marine Park with strict regulations
covering fishing and pollution; even washing up water may not be drained into
the sea, which is crystal clear.We hiked up the hill into the main settlement of
Oranjestad, where we enjoyed a beer and watched tv coverage of England's poor
performance against New Zealand in the World Cup Cricket.
Next stop was the very vibrant port of Gustavia St
Barts, where the French influence was immediately apparent, with lots of chic
boutiques and shops with simple names like Dior or Cartier ! The town was
pleasant, with a beautiful palm-fringed beach nearby. After 3 days in port, we
moved a few miles around the coast to a secluded bay, which has no access by
road and yet again is part of a protected marine park. We enjoyed excellent
snorkelling, spending time in the company of a huge turtle, which had 3
remoras hanging on to its shell, as well as a large stingray and many other
colourful reef fish.
A short, 2 hour hop took us on towards St Martins;
on the way, we still managed to catch our largest tuna so far, and we had
to give nearly half of it away even after keeping enough for 2 meals for
ourselves.
Sint Maarten is the Dutch side of the island, while
St Martin is controlled by the French. Depending where you find yourself, you
can end up paying for things in Netherlands Antilles Florins, or US
dollars, or Euros ! This is another well-known sailing area, very popular with
the well heeled, with lots of super yachts and big cruisers in port. This time,
we decided to anchor out in the lagoon, and the money we saved on mooring fees,
went towards the cost of a new, bigger outboard engine, as our little Mercury
was starting to show its age.
After the weekend, we plan to move on to
Anguilla, before making an overnight passage to the Virgin Islands, where we
will be joined by Dave and Marcia, old friends from our time in the
RAF.
|
