St Martin, Anguilla & St Barths

DAY 1 · Marina Fort Louis (Marigot)

Photo: Thierry Pierrard · CC BY-SA 4.0

Leave 11:00 am

A bridge-free marina in Marigot, on the French side of St Martin, with fuel, and the marina office handles clearance for its guests. Use it to settle in, top up provisions and walk up to the 1789 ruins of Fort Louis for a view over the bay. Anguilla, St Barths and the Dutch side each want their own clearance, so ask your charter base which flags and papers you need before you leave.

• 9:30 amWalk up to Fort LouisA short steep climb from the waterfront to restored ruins and the best view over Marigot Bay.

9 NM · about 1 h 30 mto Road Bay (Sandy Ground), Anguilla

Road Bay (Sandy Ground), Anguilla

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Arrive 1:30 pm

Anguilla's only port of entry for yachts, so you clear in here before going anywhere else on the island. Anywhere outside Road Bay, including Prickly Pear, needs a cruising permit, and it covers daytime stops only. The bay is wide and sandy with good holding, and the beach bars of Sandy Ground are a short dinghy ride from the customs office. It is open to the west, so winter northerly swell can make it rolly; anchor either side of the marked cargo-ship channel and keep it clear.

• 3:00 pmClear in at Customs and ImmigrationThe office is beside the dinghy dock. Go straight here, ask for the cruising permit, and clear out at the same time if you leave within 24 hours.
• 6:30 pmDinner at a Sandy Ground beach barA few minutes' walk along the beach road from the dinghy dock.

6.5 NM · about 1 h 5 mto Prickly Pear Cays, Anguilla

DAY 2 · Prickly Pear Cays, Anguilla

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Arrive 10:00 am · leave 1:30 pm

A small reef-protected cove on the south side of Prickly Pear East, about 6 nm northwest of Road Bay. The water is very clear and there are beach restaurants ashore, so this is the day's lunch and snorkel stop. These are day moorings in a marine park: space is limited and rocky, and it is poor in northerly swell. Leave before dark and go through the channel between the cays only by dinghy.

• 11:00 amSnorkel the reef off the beachParrotfish, rays and schooling goatfish over coral. No spearfishing and no taking coral or shells.
• 12:30 pmLunch at a beach restaurantGrilled fish and lobster, served on the sand.

13 NM · about 2 h 10 mto Grand Case Anchorage (St Martin)

Grand Case Anchorage (St Martin)

Photo: David Broad · CC BY 3.0

Arrive 4:30 pm

A wide sandy bay off Grand Case, known as the gourmet capital of the Caribbean. Anchor off the village in 10 to 20 ft of sand and dinghy in to the restaurants and the open-air grills known as lolos. It is fine in east to southeast trades but swelly with any northerly in the wind or swell. Coming from Anguilla you should clear back into French St Martin, and Grand Case has no office, so ask your base how to handle it.

• 7:00 pmDinner on Grand Case BoulevardFrench and Creole restaurants, or the cheaper lolos. Reserve at the restaurants, as many fill late and close on Mondays.

4.5 NM · about 45 mto Ile Tintamarre (St Martin)

DAY 3 · Ile Tintamarre (St Martin)

Photo: maggieandcharles · CC BY-SA 2.0

Arrive 9:30 am · leave 12:30 pm

An uninhabited flat island off St Martin's northeast coast, with a long white beach at Baie Blanche, nesting tropicbirds and an old airstrip ashore. Use the free reserve mooring balls; staying overnight needs a night-mooring authorization requested days ahead, so treat this as a lunch stop. It can roll when swell wraps around the island, and there is no shade or shop ashore. Leave nothing behind.

• 10:30 amSwim and walk Baie BlancheKeep clear of the cliff bases and nesting birds, and stay off the beaches that are closed to landing.

17.5 NM · about 2 h 55 mto Gustavia Harbour (St Barths)

Gustavia Harbour (St Barths)

Photo: David Broad · CC BY 3.0

Arrive 3:30 pm

The Swedish-era harbour of St Barths and the only place on the island where you clear in, even when arriving from French St Martin. This is the open-channel crossing, about 15 nm upwind: reef early and expect a wet, lumpy ride. Call Port de Gustavia on VHF 12 before entering; you moor stern-to on the quay or anchor outside. Boutiques and bakeries are steps away, and a taxi is needed for a big grocery shop.

• 4:30 pmClear in at the CapitainerieThe harbour master's office on the waterfront. Go here before anywhere else on the island.
• 7:30 pmDinner on the harbour frontLe Select and the waterfront restaurants, with the yachts in view.

2.5 NM · about 25 mto Anse du Colombier (St Barths)

DAY 4 · Anse du Colombier (St Barths)

Photo: SV Zanshin · CC BY-SA 3.0

Arrive 11:00 am

A road-free bay at the northwest tip of St Barths, inside the marine reserve, with a white beach and turtles grazing the seagrass under your boat. Pick up a reserve mooring on the sheltered side of the bay and avoid the outermost buoys in a northerly swell. Day boats crowd in around lunchtime, so arrive early. There are no services ashore, so bring water.

• 11:30 amTurtle snorkel off the beachGreen turtles and rays over the seagrass. Keep your distance and never touch or feed them.
• 3:00 pmWalk the Colombier trailA rocky path from the south end of the beach to a lookout. Go early or late, in proper shoes, with water.

17.5 NM · about 2 h 55 mto Marina Fort Louis (Marigot)

DAY 5 · Marina Fort Louis (Marigot)

Photo: Thierry Pierrard · CC BY-SA 4.0

Arrive 2:00 pm

Return downwind to Marigot, about 18 nm from Colombier and an easy reach in the trades. Clear out at the Gustavia port office before you move to Colombier, since there is no office there, and clear back in at Marigot. Refuel, hand back the boat, and keep time to walk the waterfront market if your flight allows.

• 3:00 pmRefuel and return the boatFuel is available at the marina; give your charter base notice.