Canadian Yachting October 2023 - 48

FEATURE
TWO
ISLANDS
WITH PERFECT CONDITIONS IN A GLORIOUS SETTING, DISCOVER WHY
ST. MARTIN AND ANGUILLA ARE ONE OF THE CARIBBEAN'S MOST POPULAR
SAIL CHARTER DESTINATIONS.
Story By | Mark Stevens Photos By | Sharon Matthews-Stevens
I
t is the best of times, " I announce to my
crew as I wait for our server to bring my
lunch - grilled Mahi Mahi.
We're partway through a weeklong
Moorings bareboat charter, exploring St.
Martin and Anguilla, a duet of islands
ranked as the Moorings' second most
popular Caribbean cruising destination.
Today's lunch stop is a Robinson
Crusoe of a waypoint lounging in
turquoise waters off the coast of Anguilla,
an oasis called Sandy Island.
I'm seated at a weather-beaten picnic
table sheltered by a corrugated tin roof
metres from a beach lashed by surf.
" No worst of times, " I continue, an
admittedly awkward reference to Charles
Dickens' " A Tale of Two Cities. "
I raise my glass to toast the voyage so
far, to our trusty vessel swinging on a
mooring ball outside the reef that guards
the tiny island.
Our trusty steed - and home for
this week - is named " Wallis. " She's
a Moorings 4500 catamaran we fi rst
boarded three days ago across Anguilla
Channel in Marigot, the capital of St.
Martin.
Now I toast my crew: my wife Sharon,
our son Shaun and his wife Cait, my
nephew Scott and his wife Klaudia, and
long-time friends Barb and Dave.
Thus far they are proving worthy, a
fi tting cast of characters, and heroes in our
seagoing saga.
For this is a tale of two islands. And it's
been the best of times.
THE ISLAND WITH THE SPLIT
PERSONALITY
Our story begins in the shadow of
a colonial fort high above the town of
Marigot on St. Martin, a village decorated
with a collection of French and colonial
architecture.
Chapter one: a chart briefi ng with
Moorings' staffer, Alcid Belgrave.
" No shortage of great spots to visit on
St. Martin, " says Belgrave.
" And that's just the French side, "
48 CANADIAN YACHTING | OCTOBER 2023
Anguilla's Sandy Island - a RobinsonCrusoe-worthy
waypoint
he adds, reminding me that our fi rst
waypoints are scattered along the coast of
an island with a split personality.
That island (AKA St. Martin and Sint
Maarten) comprises both French and
Dutch territory although the latter is now
independent.
Because I've explored the Dutch side
before (having raced in two Heineken
Regattas and bareboated those waters
twice before) and because the Moorings
base is situated on the French Side, we're
exploring the waters nuzzling St. Martin
this time around, though the itinerary
suggested on the Moorings website does
recommend a night off Phillipsburg.
Furthermore, the decision to overnight
at both Orient Bay (St. Martin's most
popular beach) and Grand Case proves to
be a hit with my crew.
Grand Case boasts a bevy of bars,
boutiques and bistros. After a great Creole
dinner ashore at Villa Royale, we're
entertained by fl amboyantly-costumed
dancers and a street band. Every Tuesday
Canadian Yachting October 2023

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