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Marigot Blue

St Maarten/St Martin, a wonderful sailing area in itself, provides an ideal sailing holiday base from which to explore the white sand beaches of Anguilla, protected snorkelling and dive spots, and the celebrity studded haunts of St Barths.

St Maarten/St Martin as a Cruising Base

The main things contributing to the island’s status as a yachting heaven are the fact that the whole island is duty free and, because of its European heritage, the number of excellent supermarkets and restaurants selling every type of provisioning ingredient.

It’s important to distinguish between the two different facets of this island as each offers a very different experience despite having no distinguishable border or passport control between the two.  St Maarten, to the South, is the Dutch side and has been under Dutch government since 1816.  Formally part of the Netherlands Antilles, it has just (October 2010) been declared a country in its own right as one of four that now make up the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean.  St Martin to the North is a French overseas collectivity (COM) having split from Guadeloupe on 2003; it remains part of France and under French government.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Dutch St Maarten

Dutch St Maarten is very popular with American tourists and has several very large marinas on the Dutch side of Simpson Bay Lagoon geared up to attract cruising Superyachts.  Yachting services are everywhere and there are a couple of very large chandleries selling everything for boats.  The local currency is US $, and English is the main language spoken.  The Dutch side has many things available that attract tourists to Holland - casinos and strip joints abound , the restaurants and bars are plentiful and cheap, duty free stores selling diamonds and high tech goods line the streets in the capital, Philpsburg.  A large cruise liner terminal in Great Bay, on the outskirts of Philipsburg, brings a regular influx of tourists with spurious taste in clothes and patchy sunburn.

French St Martin

French St Martin is, well, very French!  French is generally the spokenlanguage although English is also widely understood, and it’s here that the charter yacht bases such as Sunsail (on the East coast in Oyster Pond) and Horizon Yacht Charters (on the West coast in Marigot) call home.  The currency is the Euro, designer shops line the streets of the capital, Marigot, and restaurants tend towards the gourmet, with associated prices.  French St Martin is an altogether more refined experience, although it’s great to be able to easily access both sides of the island; a dinghy trip from the French to the Dutch side takes little more than 10 minutes.
IBIS is based in Marigot Bay, on the French side.

Marigot Bay

 The island itself lacks the greenery of the rainforests found further south in the Leewards, and is fairly flat in comparison.  Its real beauty is to be found around the coast in the numerous beautiful anchorages with lovely beaches, colourful and plentiful waterfront restaurants, and one or two excellent snorkelling spots within an easy few hours sailing.  Couple this with its proximity to Anguilla and St Barthelemy (St Barth’s) and you have a perfect base from which to set sail.

St Maarten Cruising Area – 1 week & 2 week Itineraries

In 7 days on board, beginners and experienced sailors alike can hop from one picture perfect anchorage to another, satisfying their taste buds with great French cuisine, marvelling at the stunning Anguilla beaches, snorkelling with turtles and gasping at the millions of dollars in marine real estate tied up alongside.

1 Week to 10 Days Itinerary

For the more experienced, or with longer time to spend on board, the islands of Saba, St Kitts and Nevis (“the Islands that brush the clouds”), the British Virgin Islands, and even Antigua and Barbuda are also within sailing range.

Seasons & weather

The best time to go sailing from St Maarten/St Martin is between 1st November and 30th June.  During this dry season, temperatures are steady at around 80°F, there is a fresh trade wind breeze, and little rain.
After the end of June, the winds die down and heavy rain is likely, with a high chance of hurricanes, particularly in August and September.  The island has experienced several hurricanes over the past few decades and visitors should certainly bear this in mind when considering a holiday there.

Sunset over St Maarten

Trade winds & Christmas winds & currents

The famous trade winds blow from the Eastern Atlantic to the West, historically bringing ships laden with goods, and slaves, to the islands and onwards to the Americas.  Today the steady Easterly winds, blowing between 10 to 20 knots for months at a time, provide ideal sailing conditions for the Caribbean Sea, and still offer the best conditions for trading ships to cross the Atlantic.

If a strong mid-Atlantic high pressure region sets in, this can push up the wind speed in the islands to up to 30+ knots, which makes things a little more exciting usually around December.  The trade winds also drive through a steady 6 feet of Atlantic waves which set from an Easterly direction.  A low tidal range of less than 2ft means that tidal streams are barely a consideration except during Spring tides when they are slightly stronger in the inter-island channels.

Sailing for beginners and for the more experienced

The sailing conditions around St Maarten offer blue skies, blue seas and steady winds, albeit with an accompanying swell!  The sheltered bay of Marigot, the Anguilla channel and the surrounding St Martin coast offer beginners an ideal area in which to practice tacking & gibing, reefing and man-overboard exercises.  There are several great beaches at which to drop anchor for lunch, and the provisioning ashore is excellent.

Tintamarre

 Inter-island sailing between St Martin and Anguilla, Tintamarre, Isle Fourche and St Barth’s offers easy 3 to 4 hour passages with sufficient reefs and rocks to make navigation stimulating.  Anchorages are generally well protected and offer some good snorkelling and turtle watching.

The inter-island passages and coastal trips are equally interesting for more experienced sailors; the winds and waves are strong enough to keep everyone on their toes, and make for some exhilarating sailing.  Those wanting even more of a challenge, and with time permitting, can choose to make longer passages to Saba or perhaps the BVI’s.

Yacht Ibis offers sailing holidays and yacht charter from her base in Marigot, St Martin.