St. Martin to St. Barts

April 22, 2014

We left Grand Case this morning and sailed to the main harbor to check out of St. Martin.  After we were anchored, we took D-Time towards the marina where we had checked in with a quick stop at a local marine hardware store.  We arrived at the marina office at 8:30 and the door said they opened at 9.  Since we were yelled at last time for arriving during lunch, we sat and waited for the 9:00 a.m. opening.  Another couple walked up and we watched as they walked in.  We just knew they would be right back out but they weren’t so we went on in.  The same lady was there when we checked in and she was just as nice as she could be.  Maybe she was having a bad day the other day.  We checked out with the marina, paid our $7.25, and headed to immigration to get our passport stamped.  The time on the door said they opened at 8:00.  It was just after 9:00 so we were feeling pretty good about getting stamped and moving on.  The gentleman that works the checking out area was going to be late.  Come back at 10:30.  Really?  We just need a stamp on the passports.  Come back at 10:30.  So we walked around downtown and visited Fort Louis.  It had a 130 steps to the top, but well worth the morning workout to get there.  The views were gorgeous.  We made it back down to immigration and the man we were supposed to meet said, all you need is a stamp, you don’t need to see me.  Urgh!  We got our passports stamped and we left.

We had a very nice sail most of the way to St. Barts.  We went around most of St. Martin and then we saw beautiful little rock islands all along the way.  The waves were a little rough but Daniel had our sails out and was tacking us back and forth – keeping it pretty smooth for the crew.  It was so smooth, I pulled out a book and started reading.  I was so engrossed in it that when we arrived at our first island, Daniel said “this is it” and I was shocked we were already there.  It was gorgeous.  Small beach and beautiful rocks.  Just kidding, he said – this place is too rough we aren’t at St. Barths yet, we will continue on. 

Our anchorage was at Anse de Colombier.  Another beautiful beach and a really nice anchorage.  A little rolly, but not too bad.  The marine park has free mooring balls for everyone.  We put on our swim and snorkel gear and went snorkeling.  Beautiful clear water with manta rays and starfish galore!  There were lots of fish and Daniel has gotten so good at holding his breath, he can go  below for what seems like forever to me, and swim with schools of fish!  Really neat to watch him.