We meet the Saints...St. Bart's, Ille de Forchue, and St. Martin

Picking up a national park buoy at Ille Forchue.

What a passage! We caught 4 fish (2 tuna and 2 barracuda), but tossed them back into the sea, as they were too small to keep.

We anchored off the main port in St. Bart's, Gustavia. Check in was completed online (so easy) and after a short visit to the Port Captain to confirm our arrival (and departure as we were not staying long), we settled in for  sundowners and a good sleep.

Word on the street was Oprah was staying aboard one of the Mega yachts, which just so happened to be anchored near us. We didn't see her, but waved and wished her a happy birthday.

The next morning, we explored St. Bart's a little, hit up the bakery, and then sailed over to the Ille de Forchue. This island is privately owned, but is part of the marine sanctuary. We tied up to one of the free mooring balls and dove into snorkel the surrounding reefs. We saw lots of fish, swam with sea turtles, and sharks!

The kids swam back and forth between our buddy boats; we love when we are close enough to do this! The kids get to play all day and the adults can have a break. ;)

After lunch, we all decided to head for St. Martin. We hoisted the sails and set off for Grand Case Bay, on the French side.

Life is too short to sink. Love this quote!

T. Hilfiger's crew checked in just after us.

French bridge from Marigot Bay into the lagoon

French side

Street art in Grande Case, St. Martin.

Grande Case bay, St. Martin

Lots of sea turtles in Grand Case bay!

Beach games ashore, Grande Case bay

When you tire of your yacht, just take the helicopter. Dutch side, St. Martin

Sad to see all of the wrecks in the lagoon

Maho bay, watching the planes land

Waving hello to the planes

Yes, we are rushing this part, as we need to get to the BVIs soon. We usually don't like to be on a schedule, but we have friends to visit!

Island Hopping: Isles deSaintes, Guadeloupe, Antigua/Barbuda

Stef leading a science class on the beach. Cocoa Point, Barbuda

We hopped up the islands from the Saintes, Guadeloupe, to Antigua/Barbuda. The Saintes are full of mooring balls, so we sailed by and headed on up to Pigeon island, off of Guadeloupe. This is one of Jacque Cousteau's underwater parks. The snorkeling area is better in deeper water, as any shallow areas were destroyed in the hurricanes.
We met up with some friends in Deshaies for a fun night out exploring the town and stocking up on a few fresh provisions. Next morning found us setting sail for Antigua.

Antigua

Approaching Antigua treats the eyes to beautiful shades of blue water. We entered Jolly Harbor and dropped the hook in about 2 meters. It's a bright shade of turquoise, but murky.

Kids playing in the water, Jolly Harbor.

Keep in mind there are A LOT of boats in this harbor, but the check in/out is easiest here. There is a large grocery store that has a pretty good selection. Shop like a local to avoid a huge bill. Chicken was the cheapest we've seen since the states.

Grocery shopping in Antigua (Jolly Harbor)

Check in was a simple process. The first part is completed online via Sailclear, and then the rest in person at the customs office. We spent about a week sailing around Antigua and moved on to Barbuda. This island, by far, was our favorite!

At anchor of Barbuda.

The anchorage at Cocoa Point is protected, lovely, and not crowded at all! Wild horses and donkeys roam the beach. The sand is pinkish and so soft! It's quite a long stretch of sand, so there's plenty of room for the kids to run and play. We had sundowners on the beach with friends each night. One afternoon, Stef lead a science class on the beach and later on that evening, we had a BBQ. The kids also built their own little fire to make s'mores.

Beach BBQ with our buddy boats.

The area is now under development, with multi-million dollar lots up for sale. We were glad we got to see it before this construction begins. Such a shame that future generations will not get to enjoy the wild beauty that Barbuda offers.

Roundabout at anchor, with Hermes (our trusty dinghy) anchored off the beach.

We moved to the other end of the island near the town for a night, just to check it out and explore a new place. There's a cool sand spit you can walk out on, adjacent to the lagoon. Lots of conch shells, hermit crabs, and turtles hang out here.

Morning walk along the beach on the coast of Barbuda.

Checking out of Antigua (Barbuda does not have a customs office yet, as they are still in recovery after the hurricanes): you need to clear out online and then visit customs. Any crew under the age of 12 has to pay 75EC (this was unexpected). After customs, visit immigration and then back to customs.


We hoisted the sails and set our course for St. Bart's.