Goodbye St Barth's

After a couple glorious days in the marine parks of lsle Fourchue and Anse Columbier, we return to Gustavia in St. Barts to check out. It’s a lovely town which, by design, accepts only a few small cruise ships. The island has decided that it’s not interested in the tourism which typically accompanies these behemoths. Before our trip, we read an article which said that St. Barts became so popular with the nouveau riche during the boom years that the old money breathed a collective sigh of relief when the financial crisis of 2008 restored the island to its former level of exclusivity. Seriously.

The town did not disappoint. The main street positively gleams with colorful gingerbread architecture and a selection of top designer boutiques. We dined at an excellent pizza place and for dessert indulge in even more excellent crepes. During dinner, our conversation somehow turned into an impromptu lesson on WWII and the Cold War. (It might have started with the mega-yacht owned by the Russian oligarch.) The mature couple next to us was clearly eavesdropping, and much later while admiring the yachts, the woman stopped us to express her admiration that the kids were so clearly engaged in what we were saying. From marine life to mega yachts, we have enjoyed our interlude in St Barts.

Marine Life

In just a few short days, we’ve had amazing fortune in observing marine life. Humpbacks and other Atlantic whales migrate to the Caribbean in winter. While Zoe was driving on the sail to St. Barts, she and Tom saw a humpback whale jump about 60 feet off our starboard. It was one of those “Whoa, how amazing!!” quickly followed by “Oh sh*#!! What if it keeps coming this way” moments. While JT and I were also right there, we unfortunately missed the breech, but glimpsed the whale as it surfaced again a scant quarter mile off our stern.

 Some statics say that over 80 percent of the reefs in the Caribbean have died. To preserve their tourist lifeline, some islands have created marine parks. For a modest fee, these parks provide moorings, while prohibiting anchoring, spearfishing and jetskis. These simple changes have purportedly significantly restored fish stocks in the parks. Also, as seagrass returns to the ocean floor, grazing sea turtle sightings are increasingly common. We’ve spent a couple days in 2 different parks on St. Barts and have really enjoyed them. While snorkeling, we’ve been treated to a huge variety of colorful reef fish, and some amazing gems. On one outing, we spotted an octopus as it repositioned itself under a rock, a spiny lobster, and a large trunk fish. We’ve also had a couple of close encounters with sea turtles. The coral, while pretty, seem sparse compared with my memory of Cayman Islands 20 years ago.  The only catch is that one cannot keep anything found in a marine park, so Zoe has been disappointed by having to return perfect shells to the ocean. Our counsel that there are plenty of shells in the Caribbean seems like idle promises.

Even the regular anchorages seem to offer abundant marine life. In Gustavia at St. Barts, JT noticed a spotted ray and later was watching a juvenile angelfish eat, until it was gulped whole by a larger fish. Talk about the cycle of life.  On several occasions, we’ve spotted sea turtles popping their heads up. At dusk in Marigot, I noticed a ray leaping over a foot out of the water, like some huge hovering bat.  With such an awesome start, we are keeping our fingers crossed about what the next couple months hold.    

A French Paradise

We had warned the kids that the Caribbean is popular for many reasons, but food is not generally among them. That was before we found the French islands. Here exists not only great sailing, fine weather, white beaches, turquoise waters and interesting snorkeling, but also wonderful food. We, admittedly, are basing this solely on our experiences at the patisseries, but if they are the bellweather for the rest of the cuisine, it’s pretty amazing. Tom found a bakery at St Bart’s where he was chided for trying to buy croissants at 11, because they are “ready at 7:30”. The humidity wreaks havoc on crispy layered pastries like croissants, so they don’t lower their standards; they are sold in the morning. Tomorrow we plan to indulge in crepes, so we’ll keep you posted on the results.

The First "Real" Sail

It wasn’t quite baptism by fire, but it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing either. Our trip to Marigot was a teaser, less than a couple hours of sailing. Today, we set our sights on St. Barts, a four-hour journey. The winds were healthy… in the 20-25 knot range and gusts to just over 30. The waves were slow rollers. At first the kids thought it was exciting. They lay down in JT’s cabin watching them crash into the port hull portal. They were impervious to my warnings that being below decks in such conditions is not a good idea. Finally, Zoe succumbed, followed by JT. Fortunately, neither case rose beyond the level of nausea. Zoe quelled hers with a catnap, before rallying to drive the boat once conditions calmed. JT just rode it out till we arrived at our destination.

Welcome Aboard

After less than a week, Liberator already feels like home. We arrived Saturday, February 2, on the Dutch side of Sint Maarten, where we met Steve Doody, the owner of Liberator. He gave us the 30k foot overview then kindly offered to keep an eye on the boat while we provisioned at the nearby grocery store. The sticker shock was immediate and painful whether the prices were quoted in Guilder, Dollars, or Euro. A Costco- sized container of mixed greens runs $20. Say goodbye to fresh fruits and vegetables!

An hour and a chunk of cash later, we rolled our clattering grocery cart back to the marina and began tucking things away. The kids were great, but impatient to start their adventure. Hearing us say, “Not now, mom and dad are unpacking!” when they were dying to test drive the dingy, got old, pretty quick.  After an uneventful first night, we timed our departure to coincide with one of the thrice daily bridge openings. Enough stuff was settled to drive out at 11am, but as piles still lay strewn about, we anchored just outside the bride in Simpson Bay until everything was in its place.

In anticipation of rain in the forecast, the following day we set sail for Marigot, the capital of the French side. Sint Maarten/St. Martin has the distinction of being the smallest island controlled by 2 sovereign nations. Christopher Columbus, on follow-up journey to America “discovered” a number of islands in the Caribbean, including St. Martin (named after the patron saint on the day it was discovered) and St. Barts (named after his brother Bartholomew). At one point, the Spanish laid claim to St. Martin, defeating the Dutch, but later lost it to its European neighbors. The island changed hands 16 times over a 100 year period. Ironically, St. Barts was deemed worthless and Spain ignored it.

As we had entered a new country, we are required to check in again.  We’d been advised that there was a fantastic patisserie, thus we all headed to town for breakfast. The port authority pointed out 2 shops and we found one. We enjoyed some croissants and coffee with the intention of a final round of shopping before heading to the ritzy (read insanely expensive) St. Bart’s. Enroute we stumbled upon THE patisserie, Serafina, with unbelievably delicious baked goods offered at very reasonable prices. They were simply too tempting to pass up, so we indulged in a second round of breakfast.  Oddly, merchants set prices in euro, but some accept dollars at the same price. Given the exchange rate, that’s a bargain for us. Since it would be several weeks before we could do a proper provisioning we set off to fill the fridge. This time we found a warehouse-style market that we wished we known about before shopping on the Dutch side, as the prices were excellent and we happily filled all our available spaces.

The Caribbean is full of people living their dreams. And many of them, like us, drag their families along. So far we’ve met 2 cruising families. The first family was from Alaska and just embarking on their 3^rd season with 3 girls: 9, 11, and 13.  While in Simpson Bay, they saw Zoe and JT, so stopped by to introduce themselves. Later, they came back and all the kids swam, while their dad Peter shared information with us.  On the French side, we met a family who’d crossed the Atlantic in a catamaran. The hailed from L’Orient, near Brest, and were partway into a 10-month trip. The parents spoke English, but the kids, twin boys aged 9 and their daughter, 11 did not. Nonetheless, our children found common ground in jumping on the trampoline and making beaded bracelets, while we heard about their adventurous crossing. Unfortunately, neither of them is following our itinerary, but it was fun for Zoe and JT to play with other children nonetheless. Unlike the first weeks in Spain, the transition has been super smooth. We’ve not heard a single complaint about missing Tahoe, or a wish to go back home. Liberator has quickly taken that place in their minds.