Here is a trip report for our bareboat charter vacation from Sunsail out of Oyster Pond, St Martin from December 9 – 18, 2011. Five of us (Fred, Danny, Axel, Tony, and myself) chartered a Sunsail 41 for the vacation. The Sunsail 41 is built by Jeanneau, and our boat ‘Jamais 203’ was relatively new and in good repair. The only real issue that we had with the boat was a leaky check valve between the aft holding tank and the aft head. This was slightly unpleasant, but we got by using the forward head, and flushing the holding tank several times reduced the, er… unpleasantness. Other than that, and a few loose brackets on some of the cockpit lockers, the boat was pretty much in tip-top shape. Sunsail does a great job in cleaning the boats, and our boat was spic and span when we boarded. The Sunsail 41 has three cabins, and the dining area in the main salon coverts to a double bed, so we were set for sleeping accommodations. The galley was functional and easy to use with a capacious ice box/fridge unit and a propane two burner stove with an oven. The shore power air conditioning unit took up a lot of storage space below the salon settees, but we made it all work. This boat featured an MP3 jack in the stereo so we were able to listen to music. The AC inverters only work with shore power connected, but there are 12V DC outlets in each cabin and at the chart table.

Fred and I flew in from New York (JFK) on AA667 on Friday, 12/9. No issues with the flight. We rented a car from Travel Rent a Car. Stephen Remy, the proprietor, met us at the airport and whisked us to his office—which was spanking clean, by the way—to finish up the paperwork. The charge for dropping the car off at Captain Oliver’s rather than the airport was $12, very reasonable. Since the rental car office was on the south side of the airport, Fred and I stopped at the Sunset Beach Bar to wait for Danny’s plane (AA from Miami) to arrive. Danny had rented a cell phone from Sharon Harris <queenofsxm2000@yahoo.com>, and we stopped by her store in the Royal Palm Beach Club next to the Simpson Bay bridge to get the phone. (Note: The cell phone, which cost about $53 for the week, worked fine, but the DC charger didn’t work, so Danny was unable to charge the phone once we left the Sunsail base.) Traffic to Captain Oliver’s was horrible (by this time it is was 5:00 PM or so.) We checked into the hotel with no issues. Danny had an ocean view room, Fred and I had a ‘marina view’ room that was really a rooftop building view. The hotel is fine—no Four Seasons, but perfectly adequate for a night—especially since it is located right at the marina. The hotel has wi-fi in the lobby only, and the signal was rather weak. (Tip: Book your room directly through the hotel rather than Orbitz, the rates are cheaper.) Dinner was at Captain Oliver’s. The food was ok, but the service and the atmosphere were very nice. Overall, Oyster Pond was much more scenic that I expected. The lagoon is nestled in the hills, which are dotted with nice looking villas.

The next morning, Saturday, we slept in, had breakfast at the buffet, then went off to buy provisions at the Grand Marche supermarket in Phillipsburg. Found everything we needed—allow at least 3 hours for the job including the drive to/from the market. We stored our bags and food at the Sunsail office. Laure from Sunsail helped us find cold storage for all the refrigerated items. Danny and Fred went back to the airport to pick up Axel and Tony, and I relaxed by the pool until it I could board the boat—which was around 1600. I started putting provisions away, and the boat briefer gave me a decent boat briefing. The other guys all got back before I finished stowing provisions, so they all helped to get everything squared away. Walked up the hill to Le Planteur (French-Creole restaurant) for a relaxing dinner, which was lovely. Very gracious proprietor, and good food and lovely view. The dining process is relaxed and leisurely, so don’t go if you are in a hurry.

When at the base, plan on showering on the boat and topping off the water tanks before you leave. The shore-based facilities are rudimentary at best. On Sunday morning, Danny and Axel and I attended the chart briefing at 0900. Alcid from Sunsail gave a very thorough briefing, including the weather forecast. On the advice of Alcid, we modified our itinerary to exclude Statia and head to Anguilla in the beginning of the trip. This was dictated by a forecast for northerly swells later in the week, so basically we had a choice of hitting either Statia or Anguilla, but not both. Briefing lasted until 1015 or so. We spent another hour or so eating breakfast, tracking down a cooler, getting more ice, and getting ready to go. We cast off a little before noon, with a Sunsail pilot motoring off the dock to the fuel dock where we had to top off. After leaving the fuel dock, the pilot helped us raise the mainsail, then he jumped off, and a chase boat led us out of the harbor. Much has been made about the entrance to Oyster Pond, but after reading the cruising guide, listening to the chart briefing, and following the chase boat, it was easy. We rolled out the jib and sailed in the light winds to Ile Tintamarre, where we took a mooring ball while we swam, had lunch, and dinghied into the beach. Ile Tintamarre is a low lying, uninhabited island a mile or so east of the northern tip of St Martin. Danny and I explored a little bit of the island. From there we motorsailed to Grand Case (not much wind at all.) We anchored with plenty of room in about 20 feet of water. Set the anchor on the sandy bottom on the first try with no difficulties. Our routine was quickly established of anchoring for the night, then jumping off the boat for a swim before heading ashore. On the advise of Sunsail, we locked the outboard engine on the dinghy and locked the dinghy to the dinghy dock. Sunsail provide both the locks and the cable. The main drag of Grand Case parallels the beach. We walked southwest and checked out the restaurants. We chose L’Escapade, which was fancy and expensive (dinner with tip came to $94 per person.) After dinner we stopped at a beach bar called Calmus Café, which was lots of fun. Good reggae band, nice vibe, and wi-fi. Back to boat for a good night’s sleep.

Monday morning we all took our time waking up, drinking coffee and going for morning swims. Axel, Danny, and I dinghied into town for ice and croissants—found a great French bakery toward the west end of town. We then motored over to Friar’s Bay, where we anchored for some swimming and snorkeling and lunch on the boat. We departed Friar’s Bay around 1400 for Road Bay, Anguilla. Again, not much wind, so we motorsailed. It was a scenic sail with the mountains of St Martin behind us and the rocky outcroppings of the western tip of Anguilla ahead. I struggled a little anchoring in Road Bay. First I picked a location too close to the other boats. Then while having problems getting the anchor set, I caught the anchor on a huge underwater chain. Axel and I dove down and tied a dock line onto the anchor as a trip line, then we pulled up the anchor with the windlass until it stopped, tied off the trip line to a cleat, released the anchor chain, dove down and pulled on the trip line while standing on the pointy end of the anchor, and finally the anchor slipped free of the underwater chain. We moved the boat farther away from the underwater chain, and with an adjustment to my anchoring technique, we finally got the anchor firmly set. By this time customs had closed, so we planned on clearing the next morning. At dusk, Axel and I dinghied over to a shipwreck by the beach to take some pictures. Beautiful sunset. The dinghy dock was a little small, but we found a place to tie up. There are a few options for food on the beach, but we chose The Pumphouse, on the road behind the beach facing the salt pond. Excellent food, casual atmosphere, charming waitress, and wi-fi.

Relaxed morning on Tuesday. Axel, Danny, and I dinghied in to clear customs and get some ice. Customs was easy, but be prepared with four copies of the crew manifest. The customs and immigration staff were helpful and charming. The total fees for 5 crew and two days of cruising came to $98, paid in cash with exact change. The guy from the store didn’t have any more ice, but he hopped in his car to go somewhere to get us some—took him about 20 minutes. We weighed anchor for Prickly Pear about 1100, and had a nice sail in light winds (8 knots breeze or so.) Tony caught a barracuda on the way. Somehow Tony managed to extract the hook from the barracuda’s mouth without losing any fingers, and he threw the fish back, where it must have had an incredible story for the rest of the school. We picked up a mooring ball on the south side of the east island, then dinghied over to the beach on the north side. Prickly Pear is lovely with fine white sand beaches. We all swam and walked the beach and enjoyed the perfect weather. By the afternoon the breeze had pretty much died down so we motored back to Crocus Bay for the night. Anchoring was easy with about 6 feet of water under the keel. Another gorgeous sunset, then dinner on the boat—pork loin with roasted vegetables and salad—that was better than any of the meals we had eaten out.

Wednesday we got underway around 0730. Again not much wind, and what we had was from the northeast, so we motorsailed up the north coast of Anguilla. Make sure to give the shoals plenty of room. A pod of dolphins escorted us through the Scrub Island channel. There were maybe nine dolphins total, with a couple looking like babies. They frolicked in our bow wave and stayed with us for maybe 15 minutes or so. No wind on the other side of Anguilla, so we motored the rest of the way to Gustavia, St. Barts with maybe 6-8 foot swells off our port beam. Great views of St Martin and the north side of Ile Fourchue. At Gustavia, I first tried to anchor on the northeast side of the harbor by the beach, but there were too many other boats, so I moved over to the southwest side and anchored just east of the rocky Les Gros Islets. We saw a few small, harmless sharks when we were near the beach, but nothing on the southwest side. The shark sighting didn’t keep anyone from jumping into the water as soon as the anchor was set. After swimming, we dinghied in to clear customs at the Harbor Master’s office. They have a computerized system that was easy to use, and the agents were helpful. The free wi-fi on the docks was pretty weak, so we connected at a café a few steps behind the office. Gustavia has tons of obscenely large yachts, and lots of rich looking people walking around. The AMC Libre Service market just behind the Harbor Office was great for provisioning. Despite the reputation for great French food, we opted for a home-cooked dinner on the boat, which was superb. After dinner we played Scrabble. The wind picked up in the evening and through the night. Despite swinging quite a bit, the anchor held fast. This was the first night that we really could have used a snubber line on the anchor, which Sunsail didn’t provide. The dock lines were too large to tie through the links of the anchor chain, and I didn’t put too much effort into improvising something, but next time I’ll make sure to figure something out.

Thursday morning Fred, Danny, and I dinghied in to buy ice and get wi-fi. The morning brought some showers with spectacular rainbows, as well as strong, gusty winds from the north-northeast. Since we were only going to Anse de Columbier for the night, we opted to go for a sail towards St Martin to take advantage of the winds. It was pretty much a rip-roaring sail on a northwesterly course past Ile Fourchue. The winds were 26-30 knots with maybe 10 foot swells. The boat handled beautifully with a double-reefed main and about 2/3 of the jib. Very sporty, with waves breaking over the bow. After an hour or so, we reversed course back to Anse de Columbier, arriving around 1400. Anse de Columbier is a beautiful cove with a perfect sandy beach and hiking tails heading up into the hills. We were lucky and snagged the closest mooring ball to the beach—a tremendously scenic locale. We landed the dinghy on the beach and went for a hike up the hills with beautiful views of the north coast of St Barts. Another delicious dinner on the boat with shrimp, lemon rice, veggies, and a salad.

On Friday morning, Axel and Tony stayed on the beach in Anse de Columbier, and Fred, Danny, and I sailed over to Gustavia to clear out with customs. This time we had a little trouble getting the anchor to hold, but eventually we got a good set. We cleared out, bought some ice, and used the wi-fi. We sailed back to Anse de Columbier to pick up Axel and Tony, then had a great sail to Ile Fourchue—single reef and full jib with about 20 knots of wind. Again, the boat handled very nicely. Picked up mooring ball, and then Danny, Axel, and I went for a hike while Tony and Fred snorkeled. Ile Fourchue is small, rocky, and uninhabited, but lots of fun to explore on foot. Hiking up the hills affords fantastic panoramic views. Tony and Fred said the snorkeling was great. There were maybe half a dozen boats on moorings, and one large (70 foot or so) yacht anchored behind us. Our final dinner on board was grilled pork chops. That night the wind howled. I was glad to be on a solid mooring ball.

Saturday morning we were underway for Oyster Pond at 0745. Fantastic sail with about 18 knots of wind or so on a close reach with a single reefed main. About 5 miles from St Martin we hit a localized squall with 30 knot wind gusts. The crew expertly put in a second reef and rolled in the jib, which set us up perfectly for the arrival into Oyster Pond. Again, with the thorough chart briefing and the instructions from Doyle’s cruising guide, entering Oyster Pond was easy. Once inside the harbor we dropped the main and sidled up to the fuel dock. Alcid was there meet us, and the expert Sunsail team took care of everything else while we gathered up all of our gear. Danny took a taxi back to the airport, and Fred, Axel, Tony, and I got rooms at Captain Oliver’s. (A word of warning: wear shoes on the pool deck at Captain Oliver’s. Axel stabbed a 3 inch splinter into his foot from the deck.)

On Sunday, Fred, Axel, Tony, and I checked in for our flights home then went to the Sunset Beach Bar to chill out and watch the planes land while we waited. Surprisingly, the grilled mahi sandwich was excellent.

Overall, this was a superb vacation. The entire Sunsail team was helpful, professional, and friendly. The boat was perfectly suited for us and in excellent condition. The weather was beautiful, although I would have liked a little more wind at the beginning of the week. I enjoyed Anguilla much more than I had expected. In particular, the crew liked that most of our stops were on the secluded end of the spectrum. Gustavia was the only bustling place that we visited, and even that was charming for a short time. The process of clearing in and out of customs in both Road Bay, Anguilla and Gustavia, St Barts was easy and straightforward, although not especially speedy. My advice for a vacation of this sort is to slow down, appreciate and enjoy the island pace, and then chores like clearing customs and shopping become pleasant.

Some pictures of the trip: https://picasaweb.google.com/102298267209927050889/StMartinSailing2010