Adventures with David & Gail

Renaissance Islands – The islands of Anguilla, St. Martin and St. Barts, which are literally just a few miles apart, are referred to as the Renaissance Islands in the cruising guides due to the major economic changes that have occurred because of their conversion to tourism as a source of income over the past 30 or so years. Their history goes back 400 years and has been prosperous at times but this change has really been a boon for the current residents. We have not seen the difference because we were not here then but believe me, now it’s all about the tourist dollar or more recently the Euro. There are cruise ships arriving in St. Martin every day and the flights are full of tourists to spend away! We, as cruisers, are a very minor part of this influx but we get to enjoy the fervor of these visitors and how the islands cater to them. We meet people every day who are visiting and they are amazed that we have sailed here on our own from Miami. It makes us pretty cool guys in their eyes!

So after Anguilla and a week in St. Martin, it was time to go visit the last island in the group. We left Simpson Bay on the French side via the Marigot Bay Bridge. The first opening was at 8:15 am, so we were up early and waiting in line with about 6 other boats heading out. We were nervous about the depths getting to the bridge but it turned out to be a piece of cake with at least 7.5 feet below us and that was only a very short part of the channel. We were second in line and out easily headed north around to Tintemarre island which we had heard and read so much about.

It was a 10 mile trip and we ducked into Grand Case and Anse Marcel bays to sight see a little as we tacked north and east. We picked up a mooring for a few hours as the anchorage on Tintemarre is part of the St. Martin national marine park. We snorkeled a bit but were not overly impressed except for the turtles that kept popping up around the boats. We took a quick walk on the beautiful beach but realized that a longer hike was too difficult and we just made a short walk to the north side for a view of St. Martin across the passage.

We then took off for St. Barts with a plan to spend the night in a bay on Ile Fourchue about 10 miles away. What a great sail! This was what we had been beating into the wind for six months for. 15-18 knots of wind with 5-6 foot seas and a close reach as well. We unfurled the new genoa completely. Too bad it was only 10 miles which we covered in less than 1 ½ hours! WD was romping along at up to 7.5 knots! A beautiful afternoon and one we will remember.

Ile Fourchue is also a national marine park for St. Barts and had some very nice moorings. It is a rough outcropping of rocks but with a nice comfortable leeward anchorage so the evening was pleasant if a little rolly because of its ocean exposure. We did a nice dive the next morning at a site we named Barracudas Rock! There was a little current because of the location on the end of the island but a great dive with a bunch of Cudas and some lurking tarpon along with loads of other reef fish and coral. One of the prettiest dives we have done all trip.

Finally we took off for the 3 mile (yes, 3 mile) jaunt across to St. Barts and the anchorage in Anse Colombier. I’ll leave it there for now as this is a good transition point. Needless to say, we plan to enjoy the renaissance of St. Barts as well.