For more info, Contact Bob 650 363 1390 or e-mail us
The Boats
Our group will use 43 foot Gib'Sea sloops from The Moorings. These yachts are equipped with either 3 or 4 cabins. We'll be limiting the number of people per boat to around 5 or 6. The boats come equipped with full galley facilities including refrigeration and propane stove with oven. Each boat also comes with a transom charcoal barbecue grill.
Dining
Spinnaker is supplying each boat with "Easy on the Cook"
provisioning package. This will provide food for breakfasts, lunches, and
snacks every day and one dinner to be cooked aboard teh boat. The food order
is customized for each boat. Members will get together to fill out order forms
to indicate preferences.
Activities in the Leeward Islands
Few parts of the Caribbean offer as much variety as the Leeward
Islands. The territories of The French Caribbean, Dutch Antilles, and British
West Indies are all included in our cruising area of St. Martin/St. Maarten,
St. Barts and Anguilla.
The French territory of St. Barts (St. Barthelemy) is the most sophisticated with many high quality restaurants and shops. St. Barts also has uncrowded beaches and places to snorkel and dive. Motorscooters are a popular way to get around and are available for rent.
Nearby, St. Martin (referring to the northern French half) while the Dutch southern part is St. Maarten and includes Philipsburg and Simson Bay which is the center of yachting for the area. Marigot in St. Martin iis a free port known for its shopping.
British Anguilla isa somewhat sleepy West Indian Island with
a wonderful system of national parks that are ideal for snorkeling, diving
and enjoying nature. There is nowhere else where cruisers can enjoy such a
great variety of atmospheres in a one week charter.
Bareboat Charter Certification
Certification is available to Basic Coastal Cruising graduates who have
acted as skipper at least 3 times. It's important each student gets used to
the responsibility of skippering a boat before Bareboat Charter certification
is attempted. The cost is $285.00 extra for text book, certification
fee and instruction. Bareboat charter graduates can do their own bareboat
cruising in The Caribbean or other locations around the world.
Cruise Meeting - February 16,
2007
A meeting for the Leeward Islands cruisers to get to know each other will
take place on the evening of February 16. We'll also wrap up our food and
beverage orders then. (There's nothing like making a joint beverage order
to help people get to konw each other.) There will also be a chance to see
slides and share experiences with each other.
Payments:
$100 non refundable deposit
$600 due September 1, 2006
$600 due December 1, 2006
Balance due February 15, 2007
Boats,
provisions and 1 night hotel are included. Airfare is not included, but we can
help you get flights.
Suggested Itinerary After flying overnight Thursday night to the East Coast, non-stop flights are available to St. Maarten from Miami and New York. Friday: We'll check out our boats Friday afternoon and stay in the harbor overnight. Saturday:Sail to St. Barts. We can anchor in Anse de Columbier or at Gustavia. Sunday: The inner harbor at Gustavia is surrounded by shops and great restaurants. Check in with the harbor master after taking mooring bouys. Monday: There's a wonderful crepe shop for breakfast just a short walk from the harbor. There are dive shops in the harbor and you can rent a motor scooter to tour the island if you're game. The beaches on the far side of the island are fantastic. Tuesday: Maybe we want to hang around St. Barts another day or spend a night in Dutch St. Maarten on the way to Anguilla. Wednesday: We can sail direct to Road Bay in Anguilla. Check in at customs and immigration. Thursday: Little Bay has national park buoys. The snorkelling is as good as it gets in this quiet little spot. Friday: Baie Grande Case in French St. Martin is a nice anchorage with excellent restaurants ashore. Saturday: Return boats to the base at Oyster Pond in the morning. We'll stay at The Beach Playa Hotel near Marigot which is one of the hot spots for shopping and dining. Sunday: It's a short trip from the hotel to the airport. A morning flight will get us home with connections in San Juan and one of the East Coast hub airports. |
The Island of St. Martin/ St. Maarten, is located in an area of the Caribbean known as the Leeward Antilles or Leeward Islands. Only about 100 miles east of The Virgin Islands, this area is known for fresh breezes and a wonderful contrast between the various nearby islands.
If you have your own group and can act as skipper, you may charter your own boat to join the flotilla instead of joining individually or as a couple. This way you can choose the size of boat and other options. Contact Bob at Spinnaker Sailing for information about cost and availability for doing your own boat. You can also book your own private cruise through Spinnaker Sailing for charters with Sunsail, Footloose, or The Moorings.
St.Martin is two countries in one island. Half is Dutch (St. Maarten) dating back to the 17th century. The Dutch capital, Philipsburg, has friendly taverns on the waterfront. The other half (St. Martin) is French and is very picturesque with excellent food, bargain shopping for imports direct from Europe and sidewalk cafés in Marigot, the French capital. St. Barts is quite chic, with numerous interesting shops and restaurants in the capital city of Gustavia. There's also motorscooter rentals making it easy to get around the rest of the island. The other island is Anguilla which is English and less developed but has excellent diving and snorkeling in its underwater national parks.
Spinnaker Sailing provides bareboats and crewed yachts at these and other locations in the South Pacific, Caribbean, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. Join us on any of our group cruises or let us help you book your own private cruise with Sunsail, Footloose, or The Moorings.
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