Exultant with the joy of having escaped Simpson Bay Lagoon, we pull anchor early on the 26th and head upwind to Orient, a bay on the eastern side of French St Martin, famous for wind- and kite surfing. The rudders still have to set, so we’re only allowed a gentle motor and it takes a couple of hours to get there.
We stay in Orient Bay for the day, kitesurfing, playing in the waves, mixing with the hundreds of tourists enjoying the beach. In the afternoon we head to Ilet de Tintamare, a little island just north of Orient Bay which is part of the wider nature reserve of the area.
Named for its beautiful turquoise shallows, Tintamare (‘colour of the sea’) is a lovely spot. Situated 1.5 NM from Orient Bay, this uninhabited, privately owned island used to be a hub for smugglers, who used a little airstrip to fly in contraband goods for distribution throughout the Caribbean. Inland are several airplane wrecks from the 1940s, as well as numerous goats and a few stringy cotton plants, left over from when the island was inhabited.
The little bay where we are moored is home to at least ten turtles, who keep popping up their heads, eyeing us curiously. When I sweep the deck in the morning and throw the dust in the water about fifty fish come to have a taste, including a small shark. The kids jump in immediately, trying to see the shark, but it disappears quickly.
Day trippers arrive throughout the day from Marigot and Orient Bay, discharging snorkelers who happily swim with the turtles for an hour, and then head home. We head to the lagoon on the eastern side of the island for a kitesurf, which is lovely – we bought new boards before leaving Martinique, and they are great. The children spend hours playing in the surf, getting swept in and out, smashed onto the beach, swallowed up by white water, emerging happy every time.
In between the play we find time to do the inevitable boat work – stringing on a new trampoline, tying on child netting, slowly working on our long list of tasks.
SV Bob The Cat 