It’s hard to believe how fast winter has been flying by, but we have now officially started our northbound trek home with our recent passage from Martinique to St Barths where we were greeted by numerous sea turtles as we dropped our anchor. We had gentle easterly winds for most of the trip allowing us to reach under full sail for our 200+ mile passage.Our new autopilot computer did a great job of steering and it was a huge relief to know that while one of us was sleeping we could safely go below to grab a snack or use the head without wondering if the autopilot was going to disengage itself potentially exposing us to an accidental jibe.
St Barth’s is a beautiful little island and Gustavia is a very clean port town with beautiful streets and full of high end shopping. I have no doubt someone could spend Altera’s value on jewellery, handbags and clothes in an afternoon.
Magnus gave the rug outside of Louis Vuitton high praise as he rolled to satisfy an itch.
I had been hoping to enjoy and cheeseburger at Le Select as this is the pub that Jimmy Buffet was inspired by to write his song ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ which is a song I listed to on several occasions along with Margaritaville on the long passage south when I needed to lift my spirits. Unfortunately, they had a no dog sign on the fence around their patio, so we opted for a cheeseburger along the waterfront instead.
Le Select sees a steady crowd in the evening and always seemed to fill up as sunset approached.
The anchorage is than ideal in the best of conditions, so we have since returned to Marigot, St. Martin for a couple of days. We did a sail by of the dutch half (St. Maarten) along the way, passing just outside the runway exclusion zone on Maho beach to watch an airbus cruise overhead as it came in for landing.
I have since picked up and replaced the gas spring that holds up the boom, so we look forward to our next sail which is forecast to a brisk one tomorrow en route to St Thomas with the boat back in top condition.
Photos are great, hard to believe that you are on your homeward journey. Will be following your return as you travel North. Fair Winds be at your back.
Nan and Grandad ? ?
We’ve almost forgotten what it is like sail downwind, so hopefully it comes back fast as we put our stern to the easterly trades!
It’s kind of sad that your blogs will be coming to an end…. we have enjoyed your travadventures. You are leaving paradise:( Safe travels!
We still have a good 6 months to explore as we work north, so they wont be ending just yet.