Fort Louis, Marigot, St. Martin

It is very easy to check in to Customs on the French side of St. Martin and very cheap compared to staying on the Dutch side.  The Dutch side charges a weekly Lagoon fee while the French side is two euros to check in and two euros when checking out.  Bryan had noted when checking out of Customs in Simpson Bay, they record how many times your boat has passed through the bridge and there is a fee associated with that as well.  In Marigot, you can check in using a computer terminal at the Island Water World store or at Isle Marine.  Easy-peasy!

We anchored in Marigot Bay on 1/24/2020.  There is a drawbridge into the Lagoon between Marigot and Sandy Ground, but it has not been working in quite some time.  There has been civil unrest on the French side the last couple of months because it is felt the government has not adequately supported recovery efforts following Hurricane Irma.  New regulations with stricter building requirements have prevented many people from rebuilding homes damaged in the hurricane.  In addition, there are some places that still do not have safe drinking water.  

Marigot is the capital of the French side but there is still much destruction from Hurricane Irma evident throughout the city, especially near the waterfront.  There is a long dinghy dock at the west end of the ferry dock and a waterfront market is open.  The SuperU Super Marche is within walking distance.  Many of the restaurants close to the water have not reopened since Irma, but there are a few.  There is a lot of wreckage and debris along the shore of the Lagoon and many boats sunk or grounded.  Lots of very dilapidated boats appear to have people living on them.  It is sad to see because we have been visiting St. Martin since 2001 and we know how beautiful it was just four or five years ago. 

The weather has been unusually rainy since we returned from Ohio, with very light winds. Marigot Bay can be a rolly anchorage when there are northerly swells, but it has been very calm since we’ve been here.  We took advantage of a sunny day and hiked up to Fort Louis, on a hill overlooking Marigot.  The view at the top was fantastic!  We could see Aquijos anchored at Anguilla and Saba Island beyond the Witch’s Tit.  Joli looked comfortable anchored out in the turquoise water.  We will probably stay on the French side for a week or so and then head to the Virgin Islands.

Fort Louis on the hill in the background

A Thirteen Hour Trip from Simpson Bay Marina to Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten

We’ve been hanging out in Sint Maarten since November.  This is one busy little island!!  We stayed at the Simpson Bay IGY Marina for a few days after Mom & Dad and Chris & Denise left, cleaning up and getting some boat projects and repairs finished up.  After that, we anchored in Simpson Bay for several days and in the Lagoon for several days, waiting for the dock at FKG Marine to be available.  Although the Lagoon water quality is not the greatest for swimming, it is fun watching all the activity and the Simpson Bay Bridge opening “show”. One weekend, a US Coast Guard cruiser came in from San Juan, PR and docked with the mega yachts. I bet those Coasties had a fun weekend!  Another time, Ecstasea, a 282’ mega yacht crashed into the bridge operators’ control station, knocking it right off the wall.  Luckily, the operator saw it coming and ran out of the station before it happened. We did not see this take place, but of course there are lots of videos on YouTube.

Leading up to Christmas, the mega yachts completely filled up the Isle del Sol Marina on Snoopy Island, Palapa Marina and Port de Plaisance Harbour.  The mega yachts are absolutely amazing in the number (maybe up to 60 docked within the Lagoon at one time) and sizes (several are 350 to 400 feet), including 8 or 10 sailing mega yachts.  It seems that most of them are available for charter, such as Sailing Yacht Aquijos for $450,000 for one week.  We watched a helicopter land on one when we were anchored in Marigot Bay.  The weekend before New Year’s Eve, most of the docks were empty as the mega yachts were out with owners and/or guests.  We guessed that most went to St. Barts for the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

We moved to the FKG dock the week before Christmas.  FKG Marine Rigging and Fabrication is in the center of activities, facilities and services for cruisers.  They were contracted to repair the damage on Ecstasea from their collision with the bridge but they work on small boats as well.  FKG is next to Lagoon Marina, home of Lagoonies Bistro, Tropical Sail Loft, The Business Point and Super Clean Laundry.  Nearby, there are two chandleries, Island Water World and Budget Marine, an electrical supplies store and a Yamaha dealership.  The Prime Cash & Carry and Carrefour grocery stores are within walking distance as are a large Ace Hardware and NAPA Autoparts.  

FKG completed repairs on a boom wing which we broke during the Salty Dawg Rally, fabricated a chain locker and installed a new windlass for us.  We also had Tropical Sail Loft (North Sails) repair a small tear and install new battens and batt boxes in our mainsail.  I set up my Sailrite sewing machine in the cockpit and modified our mainsail cover while at the dock and Bryan completed several projects such as installing a saltwater pump for the galley sink.  We enjoyed the activities at Lagoonies and the St. Maarten Yacht Club and watched the movie Maiden, about the 1989 all-women crew who came in 2nd in the Whitbread ‘Round the World Race, at the Caribbean Cinema.  The movie was great and the theater was very clean, nice and comfortable.  

After 2 weeks at the FKG dock, we left the Lagoon and anchored in Simpson Bay for New Years’ Eve, then headed for the French side of St. Martin.  We anchored in Marigot Bay for a couple nights until we unexpectedly had to return to Simpson Bay Marina so that we could leave the boat there while we flew home to attend to some family business.  We stayed in Ohio and Florida for a couple weeks and returned to the boat on January 18th.  We stayed at the dock for several days, cleaning things up, getting boat systems back in service and provisioning.  

On Thursday, January 23, 2020, we once again left the dock.  We made it out the 10:30 bridge and headed southeast toward St. Barts.  It was raining but we had a nice breeze and it was a fetch to St. Barts.  We discovered that our auto-pilot was not working - the selector switch to turn it to standby, on or remote was frozen.  Darn!  It had worked so well during the Salty Dawg Rally but the salt water can really bugger things up quickly.  It is a short trip to St. Barts from St. Maarten so we didn’t mind hand steering except that it continued to rain off and on throughout the trip.

We anchored in Gustavia in very crowded, rough conditions.  As we were getting the dinghy ready to put in the water, we decided to pull up anchor and motor around to Colombier Bay on St. Barts since it would likely be less crowded and less rough.  The plan would be to stay on the boat the rest of the day, put the dinghy in the water in the morning and use the dinghy to go to Gustavia to check in to Customs, only about 20 minutes from Colombier.  Although it was a little crowded, we got anchored and relaxed for a bit, enjoying the beautiful bay, beach and hills surrounding it and many sea turtles swimming around the boat.  Unfortunately, the wind continued to shift and brought us too close to a couple boats that were moored nearby.  Anchor up again, in the rain, and we moved towards the other end of the bay with what we thought was enough room between us and the mega-sailing yacht Aquijos.  I was fixing some dinner when Bryan decided we needed to move again, as the wind continued to shift and brought us too close to Aquijos and also made the beach a lee shore.  By this time it was dark and pouring down rain.  We got the anchor up, assessed the situation and decided it was best to head back to St. Maarten.   By the time we anchored in Simpson Bay, it was 11:30 pm and we were soaked to the bone.  After anchoring and pulling up the anchor three times, thirteen hours and about 42 miles, we were back at our starting point!  We chilled with some rum and both slept soundly.  St. Barts and beyond will have to wait for another day.

FKG guys working on our windlass.

It's fun looking at the mega yacht's and tender's names.  This mini-mega yacht from Texas, All Inn and tender, All Out as well as High Rise with its tender High Maintenance, were docked at Simpson Bay Marina while we were there.

It was entertaining watching the "Yellow Ducklings" go on their expeditions two or three times a day through the Lagoon.

Its been rainy in Sint Maarten.  This was the view across the Lagoon from our dock at Simpson Bay Marina.

This boat was pulled out into Simpson Bay and anchored before Christmas as a tourist attraction.  There were some big winds while we were in Ohio and apparently "De Boat" ended up on shore before they even opened up for business.

Work continues at Simpson Bay Marina to recover sunken docks and other debris from Hurricane Irma.

A Hurricane Irma Casualty

La Sucriere, a favorite place for a French pastry or baguette and internet access

Saba Island, about 20 miles southwest of Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten

Another Hurricane Irma casualty.  It is astounding how many sunken or grounded yachts remain in the Lagoon over two years since the hurricane.