Leeward Islands - Mar/Apr 2015

For this sailing adventure we planned to visit a number of the Leeward Islands located in close proximity to and generally downwind of each other. Favorable connections and fares encouraged us to begin the trip by flying into St. Kitts with a planned departure from St. Maarten 2 weeks later.

We assembled the crack team of Stuart Wade and Beth to share in the adventure. Our yacht manager, Canter, sailed Galadriel over from Antigua the day before our arrival and met us in Basseterre, the main port of entry into St. Kitts.

Canter had already anchored Galadriel in Frigate Bay off  Basseterre so the four of us buzzed out in the Zodiac while Canter flew back to Antigua. Our late day arrival precluded us from any big adventures that day so we decided to grab a casual dinner ashore at the Circus Grill.

The meal was good and the rum no less so but unfortunately, the consensus was that Basseterre was decidedly grungy so we decided to depart St. Kitts in the morning in favor of Nevis, which could be seen in the distance. In fairness to St. Kitts, we saw little of it and I’m certain that it has other areas that are nice to visit.

Like most of the Leeward Islands, Nevis is mountainous and beautiful as you approach from the ocean.

The sail across the straight took only a couple of hours and we chose to drop the hook in the first really cozy cove we came upon- Oalie Bay.

No sooner had we waddled ashore than Tom and Stu began to do what they do best; eat and drink at the Oalie Beach Bar.

The next morning we sailed around to Pinney’s Beach and commissioned a private, afternoon tour of the island.

Nevis is a beautiful, well maintained island with several ex sugar plantations that have been converted to really cool, boutique hotels with excellent al fresco dining.

The grounds at Golden Rock were particularly beautiful and called for a group photo from the terrace with Nevis’s dormant volcano visible in the background.

After 2 nights on Nevis it was time to move on so we turned north and had a beautiful 5 hour, downwind romp past St. Kitts to St. Barts.

This was Stuart’s first chance to tackle some deep sea trolling and of course he came through with several items including a nice bull mahi. Needless to say we consumed the fresh catch shortly thereafter.

The main port of entry to St. Barts, Gustavia, has a nice anchorage just outside the harbor that is always packed with cruisers of all shapes and sizes.

The inner harbor is really cozy and is completely wrapped by the town center. The town itself and the superyachts tied to the docks are about as upscale as it gets in the Leewards.

Stuart wanted to be one of the big dogs and spent $130 bucks on an overpriced straw hat which didn't come off his head for the rest of the trip.

We commissioned another tour and can report that the whole island is pristine and boasts several coves and beaches.  Anse de Marigot is particularly secluded and if you look closely at the photo of Baie de St. Jean, you can see the single airport runway where pilots arriving in suitably small aircraft make death defying landings every few hours.

One thing we noted throughout the trips is sightings of large sea turtles which occurred multiple times each day no matter where we were.

Although we enjoyed our visit to St. Barts we all agreed that it was so pretentious and over the top we wouldn't be in a hurry to visit again.

From St. Barts it was on to Simpson Bay on the Dutch side of St. Maarten. Simpson Bay is a large, busy, crowded, rolly harbor. Ashore, we found it to range from nice (if you consider modern, ugly, mid rise hotels nice to downright grungy. Not a place we would hustle back to. At this point we bid adieu to Stu and Beth and prepared to continue on for the next 8 nights alone.

We quickly moved on to the French side and Marigot Bay. (unfortunately no photos) Although Marigot Bay, like Simpson Bay is somewhat large and exposed, a short ride in the Zodiac into the inner harbor and one can access quality dining (including the best breakfast croissants I’ve ever had) and shopping, in a quaint marina environment. We enjoyed our visit to Marigot but liked our next spot even better.

We finished out our visit to French St. Martin at Anse Grand Case, a small, picturesque beach town, appropriately described in the cruising guide as the gastronomic center of the island. We loved the place and had a couple of our best meals on the trip here.

With 5 days left on the trip we decided to finish out with a visit to Anguilla, which we could see from the Grand Case anchorage five miles away. Unlike the other Leewards, Anguilla is flat instead of mountainous, which makes its appearance from a distance less attractive.

What Anguilla lacked in physical beauty was more than made up for by the beauty of the beaches and the coziness of Road Bay, the main port of entry. Unlike the other main ports we had seen, Road Bay is small, well protected and has managed to retain the quaintness and laid back feel you usually have to go more off the beaten track to find.

Since it’s harder for superyachts to fit into relatively tight Road Bay, Galadriel was able to hold her own in the anchorage for a change!

The Barrel Stay and Madearimans were 2 of the laid back, beach bar/restaurants we frequented while anchored in Road Bay.

Just behind the beach at Sandy Ground (Road Bay), separated by a narrow strip of land are the Salt Ponds.  

During our stay we signed up for the afternoon trip to a tiny island a couple of miles offshore. The place was idyllic. Just a spit of sand and a couple of palm trees surrounded by coral reefs. A small, tiki hut style restaurant serves rum and simple but surprisingly lunch food. We  snorkeled and lay in the sun and had a ball all afternoon.  

As we began the sail back to St. Maarten to catch our flight the next day we passed the Malliouhani Hotel, probably the nicest hotel on the island.