{"id":4920,"date":"2015-04-19T22:37:42","date_gmt":"2015-04-20T02:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/?p=4920"},"modified":"2015-04-20T07:21:38","modified_gmt":"2015-04-20T11:21:38","slug":"st-barth-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/?p=4920","title":{"rendered":"St. Barth"},"content":{"rendered":"

We thought it may be helpful at this point to provide a map of the Caribbean since we are visiting many islands.\u00a0 The smaller islands are not shown and St. Martin and St. Barth are not identified on this map.\u00a0 The island just below Anguilla is St. Martin and the next below that is St. Barth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a>

Map of the Caribean<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

We hoped to visit Anguilla and Saba but missed them both.\u00a0 We had headed to St. Martin from BVI since we had the problem with our main sail, once resolved we choose not to go back upwind to Anguilla.\u00a0 We have heard it is a beautiful island with several nice beaches and some great restaurants.\u00a0 Saba is a difficult spot and requires the right weather conditions, it about five square miles and reaches a height of 3000 feet with no protected bays.\u00a0 We have heard it’s an amazing place and we were sorry to miss it.\u00a0 Our friend Jason of Sailing Vessel Two Fish gives a good recap of his recent visit, Click here to see Jason’s vide<\/a>o.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 Last year on the original Echo we traveled from St. Martin to Antigua and Barbuda so it is not our intention to visit those islands this year on our journey south.\u00a0 Our ultimate destination this season is Grenada which is just south of 12.5 degrees north latitude which is the latitude our insurance company identifies as the southern edge of the hurricane box.\u00a0 That is where we intend to be by July 1 and will remain south of there until November 1st of this year.\u00a0 At this time we are at 17 degrees north, only 300 miles north of Grenada.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our last post we had been at Tintamarre, a small island just south of St. Martin. From there it’s a short hop to St. Barth. \u00a0Before the main island we made an overnight stop at Ile Fourchue. \u00a0It’s an uninhabited island where you can explore a bit and see some beautiful views.\u00a0 Our “Cruising Guide to the Leeward Islands” had advised “cactus proof shoes” so we dug those out and went ashore.\u00a0 It is a rugged and beautiful spot, we enjoyed the stop.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Anchorage, <\/a>
Anchorage, Ile Fourchue <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Exploring <\/a>
Exploring Ile Fourchue <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Exploring <\/a>
Exploring Ile Fourchue <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Sunset, <\/a>
Sunset, Ile Fourchue <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

After leaving Ile Fourchue we had a nice sail over to Gustavia on the island of St. Barthelemy, most commonly called St. Barth.\u00a0 The harbor at Gustavia is a busy place, it took a bit of looking around to find a spot to drop our anchor.\u00a0 Once situated we dinghed in to town to clear in.\u00a0 The process was cumbersome as usual but entered at a computer rather than a paper document and the Officer was quite pleasant and helpful.\u00a0 All in all a good experience.<\/p>\n

The harbor was filled with boats preparing for the “Les Voiles de St. Barth”,\u00a0<\/a> a regatta.\u00a0 The dock was lined with things removed from several of the boats to lighten the load in preparation for the race.\u00a0 The crew members were scurrying about preparing everything.\u00a0 Several race boats were anchored or moored in the harbor also, when coming and going to Echo we were flagged down for rides to and from shore as many boats did not have dinghies.It was quite interesting to watch the activities over the few days we were in Gustavia.<\/p>\n

\"Busy <\/a>
Busy dinghy dock in Gustavia <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Sailing <\/a>
Sailing Vessel Selene <\/div> <\/div>
\"Preparing <\/a>
Preparing for the race <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"David<\/a>

David and Jeff<\/p><\/div>\n

One morning as we we were arriving at the dinghy dock and a man came up and greeted\u00a0 Jeff by name.\u00a0 Amazingly, he was a Facebook friend and they had never met.\u00a0 David is a sailmaker and was in St. Barth to crew aboard an Selene, an 80′ race boat.\u00a0 He lives in New Jersey, owns a Beneteau 473 and plans to head off cruising next year.\u00a0 What a great surprise!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We spent time exploring Gustavia.\u00a0 It’s been a busy port town since the 1600’s and has been fought over by the British and French with a short rule by the Swedes.\u00a0 Today it is a french island and apparently draws the rich and famous to visit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Overlooking <\/a>
Overlooking Gustavia Harbor <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"In <\/a>
In Gustavia <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Steep <\/a>
Steep roads in Gustavia <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Getting <\/a>
Getting some EC – Eastern Caribbean money <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ford <\/a>
Ford truck in Gustavia <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Boats <\/a>
Boats in Gustavia <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Home <\/a>
Home in St. Barth <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Fort <\/a>
Fort Gustaf <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Landing by plane on some of these islands can be exciting since there is often is little flat land available for runways.\u00a0 The runway <\/a>here is very short and the threshold starts right at the base of a steep hill.\u00a0 In\u00a0 St.Barth you see the planes coming in high over the harbor where they enter a very steep descent towards the runway.\u00a0 There is a high ridge they must clear just before the runway.\u00a0 Then, after passing just a few feet over over the ridge, they must continue a very step descent for another 100 feet or so to the threshold.\u00a0 We walked out to the airport then spent about an hour watching landings, somehow we always make it to the airports.<\/p>\n

\"Flight <\/a>
Flight landing <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"St. <\/a>
St. Barth runway <\/div> <\/div>
\"St. <\/a>
St. Barth runway <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n