Hi everyone,
We've now been in French St Martin for over two weeks. It's one of those places that's hard to escape. We've explored much of the island, including the Dutch side Sint Maartin. Once cleared-in individuals can travel between the two parts without limit. Boats must clear out and clear in to move between. We've kept Zen Again in Marigot Bay on the French side and used the busses to explore the island.
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| Street art in Marigot |
It's been a very social stay here. We knew Mark and Marjorie of sv Sea Life were here. We met Scott and Debbie of sv Expedition soon after arriving. And we again met Nico and Kylie of sv Kynic. Last but not least we again met Mike and Terry of FSC sv ReVision II. All of them are Aussie boats and crews. Great to spend time with them all.
St Martin was severely affected by a hurricane a few years ago. Much of the damage has yet to be made good. Apparently land ownership uncertainties are part of the problem. It's a shame it is taking so long to resolve. Everyone we've met has been very friendly and cheerful. The street art around the island is amazing. Some decorate entire walls of buildings, some of which are otherwise derelict.
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| More street art |
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| More street art |
The anchorage in Marigot Bay is over sand in 3m with very good holding. Swell sometimes penetrates the bay which then makes it a little rolly. Anchoring SE of the marina can help. Yachts can go into the lagoon but it is mostly shallow, poorly marked and littered with wrecks.
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| Zen Again with ReVision II on left |
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| Marigot Bay lagoon channel with bridge on right |
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| Marigot Bay lagoon bridge in action |
There are two main dinghy dock locations. One is on the bay, in front of the market ESE of the marina. The other is at Marina Royal in the lagoon. Marigot has a number of good supermarkets. The biggest is the Super-U which is excellent for reprovisioning. Rubbish can be disposed of in any of the big orange topped bins found around the town.
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| Marigot and Marigot Bay from the old fort |
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| Invasive goanna atop the fort |
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| Native ground lizard |
There are two chandleries in Marigot - Ile Marine and Island Water World. Both provide clearing in and clearing out facilities. Both are quite small. The big chandleries are on the Dutch side - Island Water World and Budget Marine. They both have dinghy docks and car parks. They are well stocked and duty-free. Best prices we've seen for a very long time, nearly as good as the big US chandleries. We dinghied through the lagoon to visit them the first time, then switched to using the cheap busses.
The Sea Life's took us and the ReVision II's for a tour of the island, explaining the buses etc to us. We visited Grand Case in St Martin which is a popular tourist spot, a local museum and Philipsburg in Sint Maartin.
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| Entering Grand Case |
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| The beach at Grand Case |
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| Tourists in Philipsburg |
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| Philipsburg Court House |
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| Philipsburg street scene |
We took the buses with the ReVision II's to Maho Beach. This beach is famous since it lies at the end of the main airport runway. Aircraft arriving pass very close overhead. Aircraft departing blast the beach with avgas-laced hot exhaust.
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| Flight details are in the bar! |
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| All kinds of aircraft |
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| Business jet on short final |
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| Lining up |
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| Rolling! |
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| Climbing out |
Yesterday the Sea Life's, Expedition's, ReVision II's and Zen Again's walked from Marigot to Grand Case. It's about a 2 hour walk along the coast. Good exercise and nice views. At Grand Case we had a good, cheap lunch at a "lo-lo" - a local food place.
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| The goannas like to be on top! |
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| Eight Aussies go lo-lo! |
We're now preparing to leave St Martin. Next stop the British Virgin Islands which are just 80nm away.
Trust all's well where you are!
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