This island is half French and half Dutch. There is a charming story about how it was divided - though not based on any known fact. The tale goes that the French and Dutch were so civilized, that instead of fighting for boundaries on the island they settled the land division in an interesting way. Each armed with their favorite beverage -the Frenchman with a bottle of red wine and the Dutchman with a flask of gin started on opposite ends of the island. They would walk towards each other and where they met would be the boundary line. As gin is a stronger beverage than the wine, the Frenchman made it further and therefore the French side is a bit larger. Good story - even if it's not true!
Anyway, back to the tale of Astarte. We left Coral Bay at noon as planned and actually thought (hoped) we were going to sail the whole way. It started out terrific - we were flying with sails up, motor off and pretty much on our planned course. But that didn't last too long. The wind shifted more and more on the nose and we had to tack further and further off the course line - making little headway. So we started the engine back up and motor sailed. The seas also started quite mild and we were feeling pretty lucky as the Anegada is known to be a rough passage. (Remember it's nicknamed the "oh-my-god-ah." ) But then.the calm seas changed. The swells picked up as did the wind chop and it ended up being a rocking and rolling night. Waves coming from varied directions and making headway got very slow. It was also a wet ride with waves splashing over the decks. Astarte is one salty boat again - and after all that nice rain that cleaned everything off. We also had no joy on the fishing front - skunked(except for the very small flying fish we found on deck after we anchored).
We got lots of boat bites from the trip! Barbara ached the entire next day from the movement (and she has one heck of a bruise on her arm from being tossed in the berth - (no not what you're all thinking!)). But we got in - slower than anticipated and we were anchored around 0915 in a crowded Marigot Bay. But it's large - with plenty of room. A large turtle makes his home nearby as we've seen him several times popping up around the boat, but too quick for pictures. This place is also home to some very large, luxury yachts - sail and motor. We're anchored near a 65 footer that has a crew on board with the owners. They are out cleaning the stainless hourly! (we're still waiting for our invite for sundowners!!)
Back to Saturday morning. We cleaned up quickly, got the dinghy and Yoshi off the boat and had to clear into the country. Our yellow flag was flying. Being Saturday, we knew the customs office wasn't going to be open long. We made it in around 1100 and the office closes at noon - so that was good. This ended up being more expensive than we anticipated - as they now charge to anchor in Marigot. Plus there is a clearing in fee - that wasn't there in 2001. Times change and each of these islands are struggling in a tough economy - with tourism down.
The set-up is interesting here with the two countries and various places to anchor. There is a lagoon in the middle - half French and half Dutch. The Dutch side charges, the French side doesn't. There are two bridges (one French, one Dutch) that open to let boats in and out. The Dutch bridge charges and the French doesn't. They open at specific times, so it's fun to watch the boat parades as they come and go at opening time.
This is a duty-free island. So you can get some deals here. The currency is the Euro - though US dollars are also accepted. The exchange rate varies from store to store, restaurant to restaurant. In some of the marine stores you get a discount for US dollars and if you pay in cash. They have two large marine stores here - not that we need much. We are thinking of a small 2 horse outboard as a back-up.
This morning (Sunday) we walked all over - went to the town of Phillipsburg and roamed around. Had lunch at a small local eatery - it was tasty - Michael having curry, Barbara enjoying a Cornish hen. We tried using some phone cards to make calls - hopefully we'll have more success later. We did go by some tasty looking patisseries.we'll have to go back to them later. We found the big supermarket- but it wasn't well stocked being Sunday. We picked up a few items and will do more provisioning later in the week.
We'll head back into town later to make calls or find a patisserie for a treat (one had wireless so maybe we'll bring the computer). We've also heard from "Inspiration Lady," some friends we met in Georgetown and again in Provo who are anchored in the lagoon (free French side). We'll get together with them later to perhaps do an island tour. It is nice to keep reconnecting with ships passing each other through the various islands.
May 3, 2009
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