St Martin/St Maartin is the smallest land mass in the world to be shared by two sovereign nations – France and the Netherlands. The northern part is French; the southern part Dutch. Of the island’s 37 square miles, 20.5 are on the French side and 16.5 on the Dutch. There is a charming story, completely unsupported by historical fact, that the French and Dutch were so civilised that, rather than fight over the island, they had a Frenchman armed with a bottle of wine walk in one direction and a Dutchman equipped with a flask of gin take the other. Where they met became the boundary, and the French ended up with a bit more because the gin was stronger than the wine.
St Martin is the Caribbean’s major base for power super yachts, and many of the world’s most majestic private craft gather here for the winter. St Martin is also a popular bare-boating and cruising base.
The currency for the island is the Euro for the French side, the Netherlands guilder for the Dutch side and both sides accepted the US dollar.
We arrived at Marigot Bay, on the French side of St Martin, on Thursday 30 April after motorsailing twelve and a half hours from Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. The sea was relatively calm with light winds. We were accompanied by three small dolphins for a small part of the trip and for a short time, viewed whales in the distance.
Simpson Bay Lagoon is about 12 square miles of completely protected, landlocked water. Access is by a channel and lifting bridge from Simpson Bay. The next day we cleared into Customs and Immigration on the French side and motored into Simpson Bay through the afternoon bridge opening. The French/Dutch Border actually goes through the middle of Simpson Bay Lagoon so, because we cleared in on the French side, we anchored in the French Side. The borders are not patrolled and one can travel around the island and from side to side by car or dingy without any formalities. However, if one cruises between the Dutch and French sides or vice versa, one must clear out of one side and clear into the other!The next two weeks were spent exploring the island and taking advantage of the duty free status of the island with purchases from the large chandleries and the many marine suppliers. We also located a French supermarket which provided delicious and inexpensive camembert cheese and a large range of other cheeses; a good selection of wines and a huge delicatessen offering fresh seafood and more. Mal and I enjoyed fresh rainbow trout, probably shipped in from France, for dinner a number of times. It was interesting that the supermarket did not offer shopping bags at the checkout. One has to provide their own bags and there is no other option. And we were required to punch in our pin number for the purchase transaction when we were using our credit card. This is the first time that we have been required to do this. In supermarkets on previous islands, we were asked for photo ID when we presented our credit card for a purchase. This is because credit card theft is so high in the US and the Caribbean.
There was a cruiser’s net on the VHF Monday to Saturday at 7.30am. A weather forecast was provided followed by helpful information on getting gas tanks filled, entertainment and coming events. We joined other cruisers for drinks and nibbles at one of the bars along the Lagoon on an organised cruiser’s night where we met some interesting people and socialised with old friends David and Jackie from “Jackster” who we met in the Dominican Republic and keep meeting along the way.
Marigot, the capital of French St Martin, has two commercial centres; the harbourfront, with its public market, souvenir stalls and ferry terminal; and Port La Royale Marina, a quaint area with higher-end boutiques and restaurants. The two are connected by a spectrum of shops and restaurants. We spent a number of days exploring the streets.
Souvenir stalls on the harbour front in Marigot (French side)
Port La Royale Marina, St Martin (The French side)
Street in Marigot (French side)
While exploring, we found a lovely French Restaurant which offered a light menu for lunch. It was so delicious that we returned another day. We also enjoyed dinner at a French Restaurant at the Port La Royal Marina one evening. It was wonderful to enjoy cuisine other than the “American style” fried foods which have been on the menus throughout the Caribbean until now. This time of year is very quiet, as it is the end of the “season” which is during the winter months. As we were walking from restaurant to restaurant, the owners or one of their staff were encouraging business by inviting people to come in to eat their delectable meals and offering a complimentary cocktail.
Among the shops at Port La Royale Marina, was a cigar shop that sold Panama Hats. Mal had been looking for a light, airy, brimmed hat since we first started sailing the Caribbean. He decided that the Panama was exactly what he was looking for!
Fort Louis which was constructed in 1767 by order of the French King Louis XVI to protect Marigot from marauding British and Dutch pirates. It’s been abandoned for centuries and contains only remnants from bygone eras. The fort overlooks Marigot and was included in one of our walks around Marigot.Another day was spent exploring the capital of the Dutch St Maartin, Phillipsberg. The town is far more commercial than quaint. Most of the action is along the bay front road, which is lined with boutiques, jewellery shops, restaurants, casinos and duty-free shops selling everything from Danish porcelain to Japanese cameras and electronics. It is a major cruise ship stop and there are always plenty of people about.
The esplanade along the beach front in Phillipsberg, St Maartin (Dutch side)
Back street in Phillipsberg, St Maartin (Dutch side)Mal continues to complain about the work never ending on Hasta La Vista but he just can’t help himself!!! While we were at St Martin, he managed to install a new 80amp alternator in each motor; the foam in the helm seat was replaced; the weather covers were altered and we have a new rear cockpit black shade cloth. Mal also replaced the anchor chain and while the anchor locker was empty, painted it. Wandering the streets of Phillipsberg, we discovered and purchased a large Toshiba LCD screen. It is now fixed to the other side of the electrical panel and replaces the smaller LCD screen which we purchased when we first bought Hasta La Vista.
We hired a car for two days which allowed us to organise, drop off and collect the work that we had arranged and to travel around the island. The island is quite small. Because of the narrow rough roads, we didn’t travel to the top of the island where resorts and marinas fill the bays but cut across to the windward side. We discovered a butterfly farm and a riding school and agreed we would visit them on our next trip. As we drove along the coast, more resorts bounded the bays. We were going over a desolate hill wondering what the next bay would hold, when a very impressive marina and holiday resort came into view. It was midday so we indulged in a beach side lunch and a cold drink at a lovely little bar on the beach. Most interesting, while we were driving around the island, was the number of wild goats. They were everywhere throughout the island. Thousands of them!!
During the two weeks, while anchored in Simpson Bay Lagoon, the weather was wet with strong winds. We spent many days on “Hasta La Vista’ reading and relaxing and went ashore when the weather allowed. One of our short excursions was to the Cinema to see Julia Roberts in “Duplicity”. We hadn’t been to a cinema since Fort Lauderdale so we both really enjoyed the outing and the movie.
On Saturday 16 May, we cleared out of St Martin (The French Side) leaving Simpson Bay Lagoon through the Bridge on the Dutch Side to anchor overnight in Simpson Bay, and left early the next morning.
Our destination? – a short stay in Antigua, 130 nautical miles in a south easterly direction on our way to the Grenadines. When we pulled up anchor, we were not quite sure of the direction that we would take. We hauled the sails in Easterly winds of 17 knots and sailed most of the day in winds ranging between 17 – 25 knots. Our speed averaged approximately 9 - 10 knots throughout the day. “Hasta La Vista” was described as a “catamaran with a jet motor” by one monohull that we passed on the way! Our path to Antigua took us past four of the six islands that “Brush the Clouds” Saba, Statia, St Kitts and Nevis. Our direction didn’t allow us to view or visit St Barts, an island described as a little Paris in the Caribbean; Barbuda – a low island whose highest point is only 125 feet above sea level and with a mere 1600 inhabitants; or Redonda and Montserrat that two remaining islands that “Brush the Clouds”. Hopefully, we will be able to visit them next year.
