BVI to St. Martin (I)
British Virgin Islands to St. Martin (I)
October 1999
Jamie and George have a Beneteau 383, "Dolce Vita" in charter in Tortola, BVI. The cruising goal for the first week was a passage to St. Martin and St. Barts with long time friends from New Jersey. The cruising goal for the second week was to visit St. Martin and Anquilla and to work our way back to the BVI. The overall goal is rest, and an increase in knowledge and experience in the world of sailing.
We arrived mid afternoon on October 15th. and tended to checking out the boat, loading provisions and getting things in order. We ordered our provisions from the Ample Hamper in Road Town via the Internet (ahamper@mail.caribsurf.com).
This was a very good experience. It featured line item ordering from an 18-page list downloaded from the net. All the food was excellent and delivered right to "Dolce Vita." The other detail was to rent an inflatable dinghy from Trade Winds Yacht Service. We did this because we did not want to drag one of the Moorings' hard dinghies on the passage. We dined at our favorite local flavor restaurant, C & F Restaurant, which features great BBQ Ribs!
On Sunday, after having a couple of maintenance items taken care of by the Moorings® staff, we set sail for Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda. We had our friends on the helm most of the time, since they hadn't sailed for a couple of years and never at night. Steering by compass was the first order of training. Beating into the wind was the second, since our passage would be a long beat al the way to St martin.
The primary reason that we wanted to be in Spanish Town, is that it is a convenient place to clear out of customs for departing the BVI when going east. When going east, as to St. Martin, you need to get as far north as possible in order to get enough angle on the east wind to use some sail. It is also a handy place to shop, do last minute provisioning, top off the water tanks, cash travelers check, etc. as there are many services right in the Marina. Our original plan was to go into Gorda Sound and do some snorkeling prior to embarking on the passage. But rather, we picked up a mooring buoy at the Dogs (Islands) and snorkeled, had lunch, removed the outboard motor from the dinghy, hung the radar reflector, and readied the jack lines, harnesses and tethers for night sailing, then napped.
The passage to St. Martin began at 4:00 PM. We still had further north to go, so we tacked several times making our way toward Necker Island. It was near dark by the time we cleared Necker Island and we maintained a conservative heading to ensure that we missed some submerged rocks known at "The Invisibles." Once clear, we were on the heading we would be on for the next 17 hours, 120 degrees magnetic. It was real dark until the nearly full moon came up at 8:30 and stayed with us for the remainder of the passage. The moon provided sufficient light to illuminate the occasional waves that would break over the bow. For the most part the waves were only 4-6 feet with wind 10-15 knots. We motor sailed, as most sailors do on the way to St. Martin, because of the wind angle and the 2-knot of adverse current.
The trip was without major incident. We saw several Cruise Ships, which were easy to spot since they are lit up like Christmas trees. The forward running light went out, but we had the steaming light on so we felt OK. Two of the towing rings on the inflatable dinghy parted, but fortunately the 3rd held. Once we got to port, we added a line that attached to the dinghy transom as a safety measure and an investment. We had a $1000 deposit we wanted to get back. There were a couple of cases of seasickness, but these were not incapacitating. We arrived at Marigot Bay in St. Martin at 11:00 AM Tuesday, very tired, but none the worse for wear, relaxed a bit, had lunch, and headed to Marigot for Customs. It seemed that the officials were less than excited to see us, or rather to hear us speak English. But once the skipper figured out what they wanted, they let us in. The non-officials were very pleasant and after our opening "Bonjour" and "Merci Beaucoup", we were usually greeted with "How can we help you," in English.
We spent Wednesday in Marigot, including Fort Louis, an attractive old ruin with canons and good view across Marigot Bay and Simpson Bay Lagoon. Wednesday was one of two market days where fresh vegetables and fruits are for sale. Everyday is market day for T-shirts & Crafts and there are many colorful outdoor vendors along the waterfront. There seemed to be several good restaurants available. Our favorite was a bakery a couple of blocks from the waterfront. We each got something different and shared sampler style. Can't beat the French bread!
Thursday
The skipper checked us out of the county. We circled around St. Martin clockwise. By early afternoon we were near the Moorings® Base at Oyster Pond and contacted them on Channel 16 to see if they had room for us. Not only did they have room for us, they came out and escorted us into the "Pond." The following description from the cruising guide explains why the escort.
"The approach into Oyster Pond should put hair on your chest. You have to run downwind through steep seas into a lee shore dotted with reefs. Occasionally the seas get so bad they break right across the entrance."
As we got closer to the base, one of The Moorings® staff boarded "Dolce Vita" and guided us to the fuel dock as we were very low on fuel. They filled our tank, no charge. They then Med-Moored us to their docks. While we were there they also fixed our forward running light, exchanged linens, and we topped off our water tanks. I cannot say enough about the staff at the St. Martin Moorings® Base. They were very attentive. Captain Olivier's restaurant, at the base was also excellent. There is not much else in Oyster Pond except a coupe of small shops and a resort. About a half-mile up hill are two superettes.
Friday
The trip to St. Barts was a romp, as the cruising guide put it.
It was a reach with Atlantic Ocean swells, 22 knots of wind and a couple of squalls thrown in for good measure. For lunch we stopped in the protected Bay on the small island of Ile Fourche. The snorkeling wasn't that great, but it was a good break. Goats inhabit the island. From here, it was a short beat to Gustavia with a few tacks thrown in for practice. St. Barts was a favorite... much more European than Caribbean flavor. It featured med-mooring Mediterranean Style, to a sea wall, much like our experiences in Greece. Few, however, availed themselves of the convenience of Med Mooring. I suppose that backing into a sea wall, with a 10-knot cross wind, having dropped the anchor 100 meters across the channel doesn't appeal to most charter boaters. The people here were very nice. The port captain actually helped us dock by taking our aft lines. They had no expectation that we would speak French. They don't have customs, per se, but you did have to check in with the Port Captain and fill out what seemed more like a survey. The cost was $4.00 and they didn't even look at the passports. Dinner at "Le Repaire des Rebelles et des Emigres", overlooking the harbor, a hundred feet from our boat was excellent. St. Barts has excellent but expensive shops.
Saturday
It was crew change day. We had to get to the Dutch Side of St. Maarten where the airport is. Finding the Dutch side customs is very difficult. It is located in Phillipsburg on the South end of St. Maarten.
The bay was quite rolly, and not a fun place to take the outboard motor off the boat and put it on to the dinghy. The town of Phillipsburg was not impressive either. From there it was off to Simpson Bay to wait for the opening of the drawbridge to Simpson Bay Lagoon. Our next crew was to be picked up at the airport at 10:30 PM. Simpson Bay Lagoon is a landlocked body of water. The bridge opening was at 5:30 PM a half hour earlier that the 6:00 PM published by the cruising guide. Entry went with out a hitch and we were moored about 200 feet from the airport terminal building by 6:30 PM. There is a superette with a dinghy dock that charges $2.00 a head for drop off and pick up. We taxied with our friends over to the Pelican Inn, had dinner and returned to the airport to wait for the next crew.
Sunday
It was with great anticipation that we left our anchorage and headed for the Simpson Bay Lagoon Yacht Club to top off the fuel and water and still make the scheduled 11:00 AM opening. It was not to be. Seven yachts circled around anticipating the opening. Finally, a dinghy that had just come through stopped and told us that there was no power on the bridge and it couldn't be opened. On weekdays the bridge is suppose to open 4 times a day. On weekends only 3 times. We are now trapped in the Lagoon.
Needless to say, it was a quiet Sunday afternoon, the highlight of which was lunch at an upscale Pizza Hut. It was with great excitement that we passed through the bridge. We were ready for a sail even though it was 5:30 PM. It was so exhilarating to be under sail again that we headed for Marigot bay. We knew it would be dark by the time we got there, but we sailed a conservative distance off shore, plotted our course very frequently, had been to Marigot Bay before, and had written permission to sail at night from The Moorings®. To get to Marigot from Simpson Bay you sail on a beam to broad reach for the 1st half (that was the fun part) and then on a beat to dead up wind for the second half (much less fun.) Thanks to the trusty GPS and a good chart, we safely navigated to arrive at Marigot Bay by 9:00 PM. Actually, the experience was good training for the new crew, who had never sailed at night before and would be assisting us on the passage back to the BVI.
Monday
The 1st Mate cleared the new crew in and out of St. Martin customs in record time, having learned from the Skippers experience the week before. The new crew did Ft. Louis and shopping and we provisioned for the next couple of days. By 1:00 PM we were on a beam reach heading toward the west end of Anquilla. The trip to Road Bay is only 12.5 nm. The first half is easy. The last 5 miles is dead into the wind. Having arrived at 4:30 PM, we missed customs. However, on the dock, we meet a man who was a Moorings® Representative. He advised us that we could avoid the high charter yacht fees for use of the marine parks if we took his taxi to Shoal Bay. His fee was $7.00 per person. The marine park fees are about $38US a day. If you anchor overnight that's 2 days ($76). We took his advice and visited a beautiful beach with fairly good snorkeling. According to my son, the outer reefs were very good, but a bit of a swim. There were several restaurants right on the beach. The one we had lunch at, Madeariman Reef Bar & Restaurant was very good.
Back on "Dolce Vita" we readied the boat for the night passage back to the BVI. This time we hoisted the 11-foot inflatable dinghy onto the foredeck. Yes, it fit, and with a little extra effort, we could open the anchor locker. The crew was briefed on the safety precautions, fitted with harnesses, and we left Road Bay, Anquilla at 4:00 PM. This was a much easier sail that the previous week. The wind was at about 10 knots and it and the current were at our backs.
We motor sailed for the first couple of hours because we wanted to clear Anquilla's Dog Island before dark. After that the jib came in since it was difficult to control going dead downwind without a pole. We sailed with main only and No Motor! Still, with the current and wind in our favor, we made it to Spanish Town in 17 hours, an average of 5 knots. About 2:30 AM, the wind freshened to 15+ knots, so when the skipper come up for her watch at 4:00 AM, I reefed the main sail to make it easier to control the boat The crew, who had very little sailing experience, did a great job of keeping us on course. Landfall via Necker Island was as expected.
We cleared customs in Spanish Town at 9:10 AM, did a small provisioning mission, banking and garbage run and headed for the Baths. The Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor Marina was booked solid for the night. There are live bands playing there Wednesday nights and boats book ahead. The Baths were particularly crowded, so we passed and my son and I brought the boat back to Road Town while the rest of the crew caught up on the sleep they lost on the passage. The Mooring's staff repaired several items including a broken hatch hinge and water leaking from a hose under the galley sink.
They also attempted to repair the anchor light and steaming light, which had quit, but there were no riggers available to climb the mast. To be safe we began using the cockpit shaded lantern as an anchor light.
Wednesday
The skipper took the crew on a short sail through the Thatch Island Cut and on to Jost Van Dyke's Great Harbor where the inevitable shopping took place. Foxy's now seems to have the biggest shop and Foxy was singing his clever little songs and telling jokes in the middle of the afternoon.
Friday
After a stop on Sandy Key for a swim, hike and beach time, we headed back through the Thatch Island Cut and beat our way back to Road Town. What an unforgettable sail we had!