BLUEMOMENT

Here a little bit about St Barth’s which I visited recently.

St Barthelemy (St bart’s for short) is a little island about ten miles south east of St Martin. In the Caribbean sea. One of the Leeward Islands. Nope, not near the Solent at all, nor Scotland. From Barbados, which would be the first island you crashed into on the way westwards over the Atlantic, the next island along and north a bit is St Lucia, then go up from there is Martinique, then Dominica is the next island north, then Guadeloupe, then Antigua, then Barbuda and then another 60 miles NW ish after that is St Barth’s. Found it!

The main town/capital is Gustavia. The island is only max 7 x 3 miles ish and very hilly if not actually mountainous. It used to be Swedish and has many Swedish street names, but it’s been French for a 100 or so years now. They speak lots of English due to lots of Americans turning up, and many shops take US dollars too, though credit card transactions are usually done in euros.

The anchorage is good in terms of holding, but very tossy, and it’s not anywhere near as calm as it is behind other (bigger) islands. This tossiness tempts people to come into the so-called marina, the south side being for visitors, which is in fact really just a wall with bollards. You have to moor stern to with anchor, and lash loads of rope ashore, and you’ll feel a bit iffy about getting the stern anywhere near that damn wall. Much rope-creaking and more tossiness ensues all night, possibly more than out in the anchorage. Even the 40m+ superyachts roll about a fair bit in this port.

To get to the port office you have to walk all the way round, blimmin miles. Well, half a mile at least. No, there’s no electricity either. But there is water if you leave a deposit for the key. But first you have to go back to the boat again and get the number of the bluddy water pipe nearest your boat cos it's metered, and then back to the office again to get the key for your pipe. So it was a good job my Go-ped worked and I buzzed off with others left behind saying Oi! But it would be fine with a dinghy of course.

Gustavia is nice and slightly broken in a sort of chic French way. Knackered-looking old window shutters on closer inspection are made of driftwood, new but specially “agedâ€Â

Hurrah, thought you had lost your touch in your posting in TOP. Pleased to see literary engine room still in tip top condition, and thanks for spending Iraqs deficit on our behalf to give us the tcm Rough Guide to places that seem wholly unattractive to yours truly. Only because I am impecunious yottie, probably.
Gordon Broon put 4p on a pint this week, and I went into a tailspin.

One thing is unclear: Do you join SWMBO in swish room at hotel, or laying going bumpetty roll on the boat all night?

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v nice but where's the pics?

(Worth 1000 words etc and guaranteed to make us even more envious that your admittedly well-crafted descriptiousness)

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- Nick

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um, too busy to take pix, or lost the camera. I thort the links would be okay to pinch pix from a bit?

I did actually join swmbo in the hotel room, but we went to the boat every morning to tighten the anchor or fix stuff a bit before setting off on daily lunch hunt.

Not sure we should be talking to you, seeing as how many Liveaboards you have upset with your gloating about not checking in and out on the islands.

Slapped wrists for you, dear boy!!

Shhh . . . that was TOP - Matt hasn't done anything bad on here yet (well, not recently anyway) - we are trying to rehabilitate him

(Stands by to receive 'patronising git' broadside )

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- Nick

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Not from me. Also the St barth's bit is exclusive to bluemoment, i you noticed?

After a few days of drifting aimlessly round the Carrib, I spent a day in St Barts..... couldn't afford it... so left!

Rather stupidly, went next to play golf on Nevis, at the 4 Seasons... ouch....

Couldn't afford that a day later, so left....

Decided that I am cut out for the Carrib, but my budget is cut out for Bognor Regis...

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2nd in command, East Coast embassy, Scotland.