Onwards to St Martin
Simanderal
Michael Hughes and Ger White
Fri 7 Mar 2008 23:40
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We made the short crossing from Nevis to St Kitts
on 28 February--we had hoped to get into the small marina there, but it was too
full (doesn't take much to fill it!!) so we anchored in White House Bay, about 4
miles from Basseterre--it was blowing hard and the Basseterre anchorage too
exposed. White House Bay proved a good anchorage for the night and on the 29th
we got into the marina.
St Kitts very different to Nevis--bigger, more
lively--but in many ways prefer the quiet and calm of Nevis. We stayed until 3
March, making our usual forays into the interior including lunches in resrored
plantation house hotels--Ottleys very nice.
So on the 3rd March we sailed the 45-odd miles to
St Barts--plenty of wind @ 20 knots and 70 degrees off the bow--better angle
than forecast--so a very fast close reach got us to St Barts about 1430. We
moored in Gustavia stern to the dock on the south side--in retrospect we'd
have been better anchoring as the mooring was "constant movement" straining
between ropes and anchor in the swell.
All the islands are different--St Barts very much
so!! Designer food, designer clothes,designer people, designer houses, designer
beaches........we ate well and expensively, could have been in St Tropez rather
than St Barts.
Spent our last night in St Barts anchored in Anse
Colombier--a lovely bay and beach, well sheltered from what turned out to be a
very strong east wind--gusting up to 30 knots. And a very nice long walk to Anse
Flamand for lunch!
And so on 7 March we made the short passage to St
Martin--25 knots of wind up the stern and a scrap of genoa out as I tried not to
go too fast for the bridge opening to the lagoon at 1130.
And at 1130, having dodged all the racing
boats--it's the St Martin/Heineken regatta-- through the bridge and moored
in Simpson bay marina--where we plan to stay until Tuesday--get a few things
done--replenish cooking gas etc--perhaps join the regatta parties--and then we
plan to go to Anguilla.
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