great trip
We chartered out of St. Martin in February 2003. Just like yourself, we had chartered in the BVI twice before that and we were ready for something a little more challenging. At the time of our St. Martin charter, my children were 6 and 10 yrs old and the four of us had a great time. We loved the mix of serene anchorages coupled with visits to the upscale towns/cities on St. Martin (both French and Dutch sides) and St. Barts. Wind and waves are a step above the BVI. Navigation is still very easy but slightly more challenging than the BVI. We basically circled St. Martin, spent 2 days at Anguilla, and 1 day at St. Barts. During our trip, the weather was a little unusual (more severe) and they had strong weather for 2 weeks prior to our trip which contributed to larger than normal swells. Within the center of the BVI you are protected from ocean swells until you're around the back side of the group. Around St. Martin, you're more exposed to swells if the wind has been blowing from the East for several days. For us, the wind was consistently 20 to 25 kts. and the waves (especially between St. Barts and St. Martin) on some days were 8 to 12 feet. This all led to stronger winds and larger waves than normal for the area. We also had a little rain almost every day - again, a little unusual. One of my best memories was sailing back from St. Barts. It's about 15 miles and it was blowing 20-25 with 12 to 15 foot swells coming broadside with a slight drizzle. It was our most uncomfortable day. My two children were huddled together in the cockpit and playing a game. I was focused on keeping the boat surfing along but when I asked them what they were doing they said they were counting the number of times St. Martin (which is a mountain of volcanic origin) was totally obscured from view as we rode up and down the waves and swells. Overall we had a fantastic trip and we have great memories. Most of our memories from this trip are along the "adventure side" of sailing (like the time we flipped our dinghy or entered a large bay through a ~50 yard gap in breaking waves) but I would highly recommend the area as a follow up to the BVI. On our last day it was raining very hard and fairly windy. We only had to travel about 5 miles back to base (Sunsail) and we had to be back by 11 am to catch our flight. Visilibity was nil. This was the only day I used Loran (our boat did not have GPS but I would assume all the boats now have GPS). The entrance to the base was off a rocky coast and very hard to discern in the rain and wind. When we got close I just called on the VHF and they sent out an little open boat to escort us in (which they had recommended during our initial check out). Have a great trip. In February we're off to Gaudeloupe for a one week charter - I hope it's as much fun! I included a link to the Sunsail site below that has some information. Mike Beller Belvedere B473 #272 Huntington, NY
