Echo Days 7 & 8: Sweet St. Martin

Day 7: Written by James Cordery

The night watches on our overnight sail reported some cool sightings.  After sunset, we spotted a cruise ship in the distance that had a firework show going off over the decks.  Early in the morning, a pod of dolphins was spotted breaching the surface of the water and then they swam with the boat for a few minutes.  The conditions throughout the night were very calm and there was very little seasickness among the crew.

Though the calm was enjoyable, the wind was so weak, meaning that we were making very little progress towards our destination, St. Martin.  Curtis made the executive decision that we would need to drop our sails so that we could motor straight towards St. Martin, allowing us to arrive before dark.

We finally anchored in St. Martin around 3 pm with a total travel time of 19 hours and 52 minutes.  After we were cleared through customs, we went on land to explore the town of Marigot and then had a very nice dinner on land.  Upon arriving back to our boats after dinner, we had an early turn in. It was a tiring day.

Day 8: Written by Avery White

Our day began as usual with a 7:15 wakeup and a breakfast buffet. It was challenge day and the crew began working early to organize a trip ashore to St. Martin before our departure. We walked the path which lead to the ruins of what once was a fort. The fresh perspective of St. Martin from the top of the ruins was beautiful. We posed for some nice pictures before heading down the hill into the port town to enjoy what the bakery and juice stands had to offer.

Our departure from the St. Martin anchorage was smooth and we set our course for Ile Fourchue. The wind was not so strong so we had a very slow yet enjoyable sail around the island. Toward the end of St. Martin, we here greeted by a Dutch Coast Guard ship that pursued us before radioing to send us off. As we cleared the island, we were forced to drop our sails due to the dark skies ahead. The squall wasn’t as bad as we had prepared for and we quickly motored to Ile Fourchue.  After deciding that the only mooring available would not be safe for a boat our size, we decided to go straight to St. Martin. The anchorage was crowded and we took our sweet time finding an appropriate spot to drop our own. We settled in, wrapping up the day with a sunset swim and shower, a tasty pineapple and teriyaki chicken dinner, a boat meeting and a deep sleep.