Saint Martin / Sint Maarten

Saint Martin occupies a unique position in the Caribbean charter world: a small island divided between two nations, with the infrastructure of both, serving as a departure point for some of the most varied island-hopping in the Leewards. The Dutch side, Sint Maarten, has the international airport — Princess Juliana, famous for its low-altitude runway approach over Maho Beach — and the larger marinas. The French side, Saint-Martin, has the better restaurants, the town of Marigot, and a Gallic sensibility that manifests in bakeries, wine, and a different approach to beach culture. Charter bases concentrate in Simpson Bay lagoon on the Dutch side, where several marinas — Isle de Sol, Simpson Bay Marina — handle the fleet. The lagoon is entered through a bridge that opens on schedule; timing the transit is the first navigational act of the charter. From the lagoon, the Leeward Islands fan out: Anguilla 8 miles north, St Barths 15 miles south-east, Saba and St Eustatius to the south. Anguilla is a low coral island with beaches that are consistently ranked among the Caribbean's finest — Shoal Bay, Meads Bay, Rendezvous Bay. The anchorage at Road Bay serves as the port of entry; customs clearance is required. St Barths, the French luxury outpost, has the harbour at Gustavia — a small, steep-sided bay where megayachts and charter boats share tight quarters. The approach is straightforward, the mooring is stern-to on the quay, and the town's restaurants and boutiques cater to a high-spending clientele. Saba, visible as a volcanic cone 25 miles south, is a more ambitious destination — the island has no harbour, and mooring is on a marine park buoy off Fort Bay. The diving is excellent, the island's interior is a cloud forest, and the ascent of Mount Scenery is the highest point in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The trade winds make inter-island passages lively. The crossing to St Barths is typically a close reach; Anguilla is a beam reach heading north. Sea state varies with wind strength — 20-knot trade winds produce significant chop in the open channels. Provisioning on Sint Maarten is the best in the Leewards, with American-standard supermarkets on the Dutch side and French-standard food on the French side. Fuel and water are available at all marinas in Simpson Bay.