Polluted in St Martin

Oriole
Sun 1 Feb 2004 12:49
There seem to be comparatively few cruising yachts in Antigua this year and
Nonsuch Bay which is every bit as atttractive as the Tobago Cays was almost
deserted this week and we had a few days in perfect isolation.  The sunrises
coming up out of the sea over the reef which protects this anchorage have
been really beautiful. 
 
 
Close by is the famous Mill Reef Club and Harmony Hall which is an excellent
restaurant.  We met Peter and Pat Taylor there for lunch during their fortnight's
holiday.
We also had a lunch party with the crews of 6 Ocean Cruising Club yachts to
meet a founder member who did his qualifying passage in 1948.  Baxter Still
is 87 and as lively as a cricket and still cruising his 47 foot yacht extensively
having just sailed from Turkey!
We left Antigua on Friday evening and sailed overnight to St
Martin attracted by the prospect of purchasing some diving tanks at duty
free prices. Sadly, although the prices are good, the choice is very
limited.   St Martin is not an example of why we came to the Caribbean.
Half Dutch and half French, it is the centre of mega-yachting and the giant
motor yachts are parked wall to wall interspersed occasionally with a really
beautiful sailing yacht.  The anchorage in the Lagoon must be one of the
most polluted in the area and we would not like to fall in.  Aeroplanes from
the largest airport in the region take off a few hundred yards away and fly
right overhead. 
 
 
The quays to which the rows of mega-yachts are moored are
lined with bars and restaurants catering for the overpaid and underworked
crews!!  When they are not hanging around the bars they are zooming around
the anchorage in their large and powerful tenders. This is the side of life
Andrew does not tell us about!!!
 
 
Where these enormous yachts go and what they do is a mystery as we rarely
see one away from their marine car parks.
So far we have only seen the Dutch side and today St Martin will have a
chance to redeem itself as we explore the French side.  Regardless of the
 pollution
the anchorage is well sheltered from the large northerly swells which are being
generated by vigorous storm systems way up in the north.
We have probably now reached the most northerly point of our cruise and will
now be pottering, gently we hope, south.