An impending cold front has led us to modify our plans. Our
tentative itinerary had been to head to what our guidebook calls “islands that
reach to the heavens” which include Saba, St. Kitts, St. Eustace (aka Statia)
and Nevis. Since we’ve arrived, the silhouette of Saba has tempted us. At 877
meters, this tiny island is the Netherland’s highest point. Its people are a
hardy, self-reliant lot who apparently won’t take “no” for an answer. When the
Dutch government said an airport was impossible, they hired an outside party
and built it themselves. When they asked for a road to encircle the island so
they didn’t have to carrying EVERYTHING up 800 steps from the sea, the
engineers said it couldn’t be done. The islanders built it themselves. But I
digress. We hoped the weather would allow us to venture down to these islands,
before crossing to St. John. Instead we are headed to back to St. Martin.
The first stop on our revised itinerary is Tintamarre: a mile-long
uninhabited island formerly an Allied landing strip. Now it’s marine preserve
that according to the guidebook offers a natural mud bath and good snorkeling.
Instead we are greeted by sea turtles. Lots of them. Within 5 minutes, we’ve
seen more sea turtles than during our entire time in the islands. They range
from a couple hundred pounds to a juvenile probably less than a year old and
are unafraid of humans. While snorkeling, we watch them nibble grass on the sea
floor. We also spy a 3-foot long barracuda. The kids are so enamored that we
decide to stay another day.
Our explorations on land are more mixed. Our first
disappointment is a sign warning us off the mud baths, as they harbor
staph. We explore the island’s windward
side and find a couple slightly crushed sea urchins, chitons and numerous
snails. We also find a sponge which we later realize is home to a creature with
tentacles, now expired. We save it for a later hands-on science lesson. The
kids have a blast building sand castles each place we stop: atop a large lava
rock, on the wide sandy beach. After lunch, we opt for one last snorkel. Unfortunately,
the reef seems dead and only a few juvenile reef fish are in evidence. I do see
a slug of some sort crawling along the rocks. After a very full day we set sail
for Groot Baai, arriving at dusk.
Groot Baai or Great Bay is a haven for cruise ships and two are
preparing to depart as we arrive. The Bay is enormous, but strangely empty. It
seems like the cruisers don’t care for this spot despite its proximity to
Phillipsburg, the Dutch capital. Maybe it’s the tourists, the jetskis, or the pipe
that purportedly dumps raw sewage into the water which discourages swimming. We
notice 3 sloops anchored in the harbor, which Tom immediately recognizes as
retired 12-meter America’s Cup boats. For a fee, one can crew alongside 3
professionals on these sleek racing yachts which include Stars and Stripes and
America’s First.
The town is supposed to be worth a visit, so after lunch the
following day we take the dingy in. Since another cruise ship has docked in
port, the touts are out in force. Zoe receives many offers to braid her hair,
while shops offer us a free Heineken just for looking. The town is clean and quaint with narrow
cobblestone streets and some interesting historic buildings. It offers a wide
range of duty free shopping across all ends of the spectrum, so Zoe buys some
souvenirs. It’s blazing, so we indulge in sno-cones. The ice is rough, cut with
huge saw-like blade, but the syrups are delicious and that coupled with the
cold make-up for it.
Later that afternoon we motor the 2 short miles back to
Simpson Bay, where we first started. It’s the safest place to sit out the cold
front. To our surprise, Daydreamer (the catamaran with the 3 girls) is still here,
delayed by boat repairs. Zoe makes her first call on the VHF radio to arrange a
playdate. Our experiences in Tintamarre, and the happy coincidence of
reconnecting with friends has taken some of the sting off missing Saba. Despite
our initial disappointment, we’ve enjoyed our detour. It’s a good lesson about the
sailing life…we go where the wind takes us.
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