Passage to The Antilles and Baie de Cupecoy
29 May 2017 | Marigot, St Martin
Ros Brice
The skipper had been vigilantly watching for a weather window for our passage SE from Virgin Gorda to St Martin. This turns out to be the longest stretch of open sea in the Caribbean waters between islands, in the order of 100NMs. The day dawned with clear skies and we slipped the mooring at 05:45 at first light, allowing visual vigilance as we made our way into deeper waters. The main was hoisted with one reef and then once Trilogy cleared the end of the island, the course was set for the crossing. The wind strength was initially 12-15 knots but climbed to 15-18 knots ENE before easing in mid afternoon, which allowed us to stay on the same port tack the whole 15 hour passage.
After the initial settling period, we went to 3 hour watches, Garth and Steven constantly consulting on the conditions. The only glitch was a problem with the ship's log and it stopped working which mucked up the true wind readings, because speed through the water was not being measured. Once this was thought through, we improvised with some dental floss tied to the cap shrouds, to give at least a rough wind direction. Ingenuity is the essence of sailing!
The day passed quickly, with a balance between sleeping, eating, reading...oh and watch keeping! As we were sailing east, the sun became very hot in the cockpit by mid afternoon and we needed to drink copious amounts of water to remain hydrated throughout the day. As the land became visible, so did more birds, otherwise very little else was noted. There was one large flock of birds a couple of hundred metres off the port side that were in a feeding frenzy for quite some time in late afternoon. Dinner was at sunset, which was spectacular off the stern. It was perfect timing because as the sun dropped rapidly towards the horizon we were all watching and saw a very distinct 4 second flash of green light rays, just as the sun disappeared. It caused us all to cheer! We had about 10 NMs to go, working our way ever closer to the lights of St Martin. At 21:05 we dropped anchor in Cupecoy Baie, a bay we knew had a mostly sandy bottom and a beautiful beach. After doing a rough tidy of the cockpit, we had a celebratory drink and headed off to bed.
Unfortunately we had not tucked in close enough to the beach and had a rolly night, flip flopping side to side. Fairly early next morning, the skipper got the anchor lifted and we repositioned Trilogy out of the swell which was coming around the point. Otherwise we had a slow morning, with Steven swimming ashore to check out the hotels on the beach to see if we could have a breakfast, with coffee and croissant at the top of the desired list. Steven has the gift of the gab, and after a while he swam back to Trilogy, reporting not only that breakfast was possible but the various people he had talked to on the beach. We joined him by swimming ashore in the beautiful water and then headed up a set of stairs surrounded by lush tropical manicured vegetation to a lovely hotel terrace with views out over the bay, with Trilogy as a centre piece!
We were at the end of the buffet breakfast period which made for some difficulties regarding staff behaviour. Although we had been welcomed, the staff were not interested in us lingering for a second longer than necessary. The minute a plate was finished it was removed from the table, coffee was poured constantly to finish the pot, so it could be swiped away, and the buffet doors closed post haste. You can't help but think that this was French rudeness! Anyway, the food was lovely and we did get an almond croissant!
When back on board, we prepared to motor sail back along the coast to Marigot, the capital of French St Martin. We entered Baie de Marigot and made UHF Channel 16 with Marina Fort St Louis, an unusual octagonal shaped marina with curved sea walls creating protection. We were invited to enter and would be met at the entrance by staff in a tender. We edged our way into the rather shallow marina and were directed to tie up alongside. By now the wind had picked up considerably to 15 knots from the SE and the skipper skilfully got the dock and go system to nudge the stern in close enough to secure a line. Once that was on, the bow line and spring were secured and we doubled up on lines, as necessary...for the sky was starting to threaten. No sooner had we tied off than a deluge of rain swept over the top of us, but as usual the sky cleared again. We set about doing all the usual tasks when in the marina, once the Capitainerie formalities were complete and water and power were connected.
Dinner time came quickly and we showered in readiness for a pleasant evening ashore. Before long we were walking the streets of Marigot, planning to eat in an area known as Simpson Bay, where a string of nice restaurants coexist. In no time we were greeted by a fast talking native of Montenegro, named Milan, who claimed he'd been to 47 countries, including Australia, mentioning Darwin and Tennant Creek as places that he had been to. He was highly persuasive and promised us very good food if we ate at his establishment....listing creole, grill and curry versions of a range of dishes, including very fresh fish, caught that very day by his father in law. We looked at each other and decided his formidable behaviour was beyond resisting. He ordered his staff to prepare our table, and meanwhile we connected with three women who were the only other guests, who seemed satisfied with their meals. We had one of Milan's 'special' rum punches (delicious but definitely packed a punch!), followed by quite a tasty main course. However, our host continued to command the situation, by producing a large bongo drum, which he locked between his knees. He cranked up the volume of the recorded music and beat his hands expertly across the stretched skin. He later let us know he had been a professional musician in Miami. He was like grease lightening, disappearing mid playing at times, coming back to play again, flirting with locals he had spotted and also tried to hoodwink others to eat at his place. All the time there was intermittent yelling going from the kitchen and a number of 'extras' wandering in and out of the kitchen. Oh well, we certainly had a memorable night!
Heading back to Trilogy, we could see a lot of lightening out to sea and by the time we got back on board, there were drops of rain, which meant a dash to get some washing in before the lightening and thunder enveloped us and that happened with gusto!