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Re: Charter from St Lucia headed north?
[Re: SeanS]
#21711
08/06/2013 08:05 AM
08/06/2013 08:05 AM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 5,884 St. Thomas, USVI
Nutmeg
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 5,884
St. Thomas, USVI
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Ditto about Martinique. Many great bays in the south, *love* Ste Anne, Les Trois-Ilets area and definitely St Pierre- one of the most interesting towns in the Caribbean. Friends have been by land to the eastern side where there is some sort of banana arboretum that is very educational. And because it's French, the food is wonderful... We stopped at Portsmouth in Dominica and hightailed it to Iles des Saintes. Not sure if that is too far north for you.
[color:"red"]NUTMEG[/color] Today is the tomorrow you talked about yesterday.
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Re: Charter from St Lucia headed north?
[Re: SeanS]
#21713
08/06/2013 05:28 PM
08/06/2013 05:28 PM
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 5,884 St. Thomas, USVI
Nutmeg
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 5,884
St. Thomas, USVI
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My sailing there was with charter boat friends moving boats to or from Trinidad or Grenada. Most of the folks we saw were cruisers. As everyone said, the infrastructure is not like the BVI. Jerry jugging fuel, searching for fresh water, looking for a store open on whatever day you need a store... All fun stories years later, but not so fun at the time. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
[color:"red"]NUTMEG[/color] Today is the tomorrow you talked about yesterday.
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Re: Charter from St Lucia headed north?
[Re: SeanS]
#21714
08/06/2013 09:14 PM
08/06/2013 09:14 PM
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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You must tell the Moorings where you are going when you book the boat. NOT all the boats have the papers and documentation needed to travel to French waters!
We loved Martinique twice. The food is outstanding and we spent much more time ashore and inland of the beach.
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Re: Charter from St Lucia headed north?
[Re: Nutmeg]
#21716
08/07/2013 07:08 PM
08/07/2013 07:08 PM
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 925 Michigan
rhans
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 925
Michigan
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Nutmeg said: Ditto about Martinique. Many great bays in the south, *love* Ste Anne, Les Trois-Ilets area and definitely St Pierre- one of the most interesting towns in the Caribbean. Friends have been by land to the eastern side where there is some sort of banana arboretum that is very educational. And because it's French, the food is wonderful... We stopped at Portsmouth in Dominica and hightailed it to Iles des Saintes. Not sure if that is too far north for you. Last January we had the horrid task <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />of delivering a 45 from Bequia to St. Martin. After suffering a week delay leaving Admiralty Bay ( I should have this kind of bad luck more often) we headed to Martinique. On the way an old repair in the main failed forcing us to stop in Le Marin for repairs. The folks at the loft tried to do a quick patch but were unsuccessful and it would be at least 10 days to do it right do to their workload. This turned into the best stretch of bad luck I’ve witnessed in my 60 + years. Martinique is one incredible Island. The people bend over backwards and are earnestly warm & friendly. The further you get from the water the fewer spoke English and by the time I left, do to their effort, I could speak some reel crappy French The towns and ports mentioned by Nutmeg are spot on. San Pierre when the Cruise Ship busses aren’t around is really quiet and quaint with a great market. If you take the time to get into the history is horrific and sad.
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Re: Charter from St Lucia headed north?
[Re: rhans]
#21718
08/08/2013 11:06 AM
08/08/2013 11:06 AM
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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rhans said:Nutmeg said: Ditto about Martinique. Many great bays in the south, *love* Ste Anne, Les Trois-Ilets area and definitely St Pierre- one of the most interesting towns in the Caribbean. Friends have been by land to the eastern side where there is some sort of banana arboretum that is very educational. And because it's French, the food is wonderful... We stopped at Portsmouth in Dominica and hightailed it to Iles des Saintes. Not sure if that is too far north for you. Last January we had the horrid task <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />of delivering a 45 from Bequia to St. Martin. After suffering a week delay leaving Admiralty Bay ( I should have this kind of bad luck more often) we headed to Martinique. On the way an old repair in the main failed forcing us to stop in Le Marin for repairs. The folks at the loft tried to do a quick patch but were unsuccessful and it would be at least 10 days to do it right do to their workload. This turned into the best stretch of bad luck I’ve witnessed in my 60 + years. Martinique is one incredible Island. The people bend over backwards and are earnestly warm & friendly. The further you get from the water the fewer spoke English and by the time I left, do to their effort, I could speak some reel crappy French The towns and ports mentioned by Nutmeg are spot on. San Pierre when the Cruise Ship busses aren’t around is really quiet and quaint with a great market. If you take the time to get into the history is horrific and sad. A BiG +1 We have found far more worthwhile to do ashore in Martinique. Playing tourist is usually not our thing. Martinique is different. The food, the history, the interesting old world beauty at every corner. You can easily spend three days in the St. Pierre anchorage. The real tour of real Rhum making is a great education. There are several options on the island here is one with lunch we enjoy. http://www.ministryofrum.com/producerdetails.php?t=42It is virtually impossible to buy the real Rhum's of Martinique in the US. The french simply do not bother to ship the good stuff here. Please note it is the islands. The culture is different and everything will take longer than most americans expect. Yes, even slower than many BVI offerings. Your good manners and at least respect of french will go a long way here. We have picked boats up on St. Lucia that is easy to fly to. Sailed off to St. Pierre and Martinique to decompress, do the history and provision. Then when we are ready sail overnight to the Grenadines. After the Grenadines we sail back and spend a night under the Piton's before returning the boat.
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Re: Charter from St Lucia headed north?
[Re: SeanS]
#21719
08/08/2013 11:16 AM
08/08/2013 11:16 AM
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 91 Laguna, CA
1erCRU
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 91
Laguna, CA
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SeanS said: Thank you for the recommendation on DYC. I have more than 10 charters with the Moorings and haven't used anyone else. Any idea how DYC stacks up against the Moorings in terms of service and quality of boats? Thanks.
Sean Like you I have lots of Moorings experience; 19 worldwide. Hell, I'm even a Commodore, if they still use that designation <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> I've also used TMM, CYOA, PV and a few no longer around. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend DYC, they are right up there with the Moorings et al in terms of service and the boat quality is IMHO better. I will qualify that by saying I'm speaking only of catamarans. I haven't sailed a mono since 2002. Their Catanas are very high quality, go fast, and well equipped, with watermakers, solar panels, twin helms, daggerboards, latest electronics, etc. ALL of which worked perfectly on my last charter. Their base in Guadeloupe is small, without bells & whistles, but you get impeccable personal service, backed up by the base manager's own cell phone number. FYI: Guadeloupe is arguably the best sailing base outside BVI in the Carib, with the Iles Des Saintes and Dominica easy sails. Diving is some of the best in the Carib with several Cousteau world sites. That it is largely unknown to Americans makes it even better. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
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