CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored between Ilet Pinel and Petite Clef
18 06.258' N, 063 00.992' W

With the winds predicted to pick up over the course of the next week, we have been considering moving to a different anchorage. The latest word we heard on the cruisers' radio net was that daily anchoring fees imposed by the French authorities would only apply to boats anchored in Marigot Bay (although that info is nearly a week old, as we cannot tune in the net from this side of the island). Our hope is that the information remains accurate and we will not be paying for each day we are spending here in this alternate anchorage. With that in mind, though, we plan to stay away from Marigot Bay as long as possible. We could move back to Grand Case. There we experienced really good protection and holding. However, we are not sure that we are ready yet to leave the Orient Bay area.

Our current position is fairly exposed to any wind shifts to the north of east. In fact, this open and shallow body of water here behind Green Cay is fairly bouncy even with moderate trade winds and swell from due east. Since both wind and swell are predicted to increase in the coming days, staying put is probably not a good option. Therefore, we decided to go scout out the anchorage across the bay, at Ilet Pinel. For this task, the kayaks were coming out of storage. Once inflated and launched, we were off.



Outside the protection of Green Cay and its associated reefs, the water on the bay is amazingly lumpy. Big swell combined with wind-driven chop made for some pretty sloppy conditions. It is a good thing that the kayaks are stable and able to take on relatively rough seas. We finally gained the lee of ôlet Pinel and scoped out the area between that island and a large mound of rock known as Petite Clef. The space is relatively small, but there were only two boats anchored here. ôlet Pinel is a daytrip destination for tourists from the mainland. We found the beach crowded with people and multicolored parasols at midday, but expect that it will be quiet during the evening hours (a pattern we have grown accustomed to watching the other beaches in Orient Bay).

Using my kayak paddle, I sounded out the edge of anchorage, where the water became too shallow for our keel. I could easily see through the water to the bottom and, much to my chagrin, it was grassy covered sand. Before departing, I dove to the bottom to feel the consistency. 2-3 inches of sand gave way under my probing fingers and was hard-packed below that. Finally, we noted that although there was no chop in this harbor, a little bit of swell was working its way in, especially as you got further from the shoreline of ôlet Pinel. Bottom line, not an ideal anchorage, but it may be suitable in the predicted weather conditions.

It is that all important descriptor, may, which lead us into a state of indecision. Sometimes, Team Prudence has trouble coming to a consensus. That is not to say that we disagree as to a course of action, it is to say that we cannot arrive at an obvious decision as to the appropriate course of action. In the absence of that mutually agreed upon optimum path, we flounder in the status quo.

In this case, the most prudent thing to do would be to take our leave of Orient Bay altogether and sail around to Grand Case. Delaying that decision could make an eventual departure more challenging, as the way out of the bay is head-to-wind and can build to high seas. Much like some of the inlets we have had to traverse in the past, this would not be fun.

On the other hand, conditions are not predicted to be extremely bad (20-25 knot winds and up to 10-foot seas). That would not be a pleasant experience out on the open water, much less the process of trying to get out of the bay, but we still had a day or two before those conditions are supposed set in. And, forecasts often change. Consequently, we postponed the decision and instead paddled over to Green Cay in order to go for a short hike and catch some more incredible views of the breakers.



Immediately upon our return to the boat, I looked across to the anchorage at ôlet Pinel, and both of the boats previously anchored there had departed. The anchorage was wide open. It was 3PM, and this opportunity to give the anchorage a try with total freedom to anchor where we pleased and good over-the-shoulder lighting was too good to pass up. It broke the stranglehold of our indecision, and spurred us into action.

The journey across the bay was short, but Prudence rolled considerably with the swell. We could have tamed the motion by raising the main, but within a few minutes we were back in protected waters. I doubt that it would have been worth the effort.



Considering the aforementioned grassy bottom, we added a step to our standard anchoring process. After an initial attempt to set the anchor as usual, we left the engine running while I donned my snorkel gear and dove on the anchor. As I expected, the CQR was lying on its side and had barely made a dent in the bottom. I dug a few inches down (as much as I was able), righted the anchor, and stuck the point of the spade into the hole. Doing this was made easier by the fact that we had planted the hook in 7.5 feet of crystal clear water. Sheryl backed down again while I watched from the water. It was interesting to see that with proper scope (without the snubber) the chain was pulled tight at the bow by a healthy number of reverse RPMs but did not lift even a millimeter off the sand as it approached the anchor. All forces were aligned parallel to the bottom, as they should be. The CQR did not budge. I am fairly confident that any big winds now (at least from an easterly direction) should do nothing but set our anchor more firmly into the solid sand. I plan to dive on the anchor again in a day or two just to see if this theory is sound.

For now, though, it is dinner time. The last of the tourists have been shuttled from Ilet Pinel back to the mainland in small, open ferry boats, and only one other sailboat has joined us here at anchor. Although we are still experiencing some rolly motion, the jarring which was associated with the choppy water at our previous anchor site has been left behind. I think we'll be happy here for a few days.