Ile de Tintamarre was such a pleasant anchorage that we decided to spend 2 nights tucked in close to the shore, out of the stiff breeze we could see out in the passage. Day trippers were able to reach the beach in their high speed runabouts, but they came and went, choosing not to stay for more than a swim. It was only by staying longer that the true beauty of the setting could be absorbed.
The sea floor was grassy, which means turtles are likely to be found, and indeed they were. That made snorkelling interesting, as these beautiful protected creatures move reasonably slowly and there is time to just simply observe their shell and skin markings and feeding behaviours. The turtle needs to come to the surface for a breath every so often, which then allows the well positioned snorkeller the chance to be really close but resist the temptation to touch.
We snorkelled along the rocky shoreline to the south side of the beach and found a few fish but very little coral. However the rocky shoreline itself was most attractive and we spent more time looking up than down! The rocks gave way to sand, which then stretched for 200 metres between the headlands. The sand was more golden than we've previously encountered and the cliffs had a bright red-orange composition. The backdrop was dense green foliage, some of which was the Manchineel tree.
Our favourite pastime was to swim ashore, walk the beach and swim at the northern end, which was protected from the shore surge. The more we did this routine, the more we enjoyed it and we'd notice more and more detail of the surroundings. In the late afternoon is a special time in a west facing beach, as the light becomes softer and puts a glow on everything. Birds were few in number but when a school of fish surfaced, brown feathered gulls would appear from nowhere and dive for a feed.
There is always entertainment provided by other yachts or smaller craft in a bay. We were fascinated to see a small child being paddled ashore on a paddle board, without a buoyancy vest. The child was wedged between the paddler and a large white box. The mother who was still on shore said the child loves doing this! Another memorable scene was a couple on a charter yacht, who approached the mooring at high speed and expected the female on the foredeck was expected to retrieve the mooring. These moorings we had found difficult to pick up, but on your own would be hard for anyone, let alone high speed. There were many, many attempts at getting close to the mooring let alone picking it up but eventually she got a line on and he got into the tender to sort out something more secure. They stayed overnight and to our amazement we saw them next morning take off at great speed into the passage , do a U turn and come back to the mooring, once more a problematic exercise. We noticed that the tender was upside down and that presented an even greater challenge for the pair, who by now surely must not have been talking to each other! The guy from the closest catamaran headed over to assist in up righting the tender and securing the saturated outboard to the stern rail. Garth and Peter went over to offer assistance, but the matter was by then in hand.
Cruising at its best! Take yourself to a beautiful and remote island, tie off on a secure mooring and relax and enjoy the very best that nature has to offer.