I finished the trip to St. Martin in the morning, this time I had the sails up and they were doing a bit of work, but I still used the engine to make any speed at all. I left the anchorage early so that I could get ashore in Grand Case in time to go shopping for my Nespresso pods, whose supplies had dwindled to just a few espresso pods and some caffeine-free ones. I made it into the anchorage by 10AM, surprised at how few boats were there (5 other sailboats apart from myself and some powerboats on moorings). Ashore I decided to walk to Hope Estate, where the store Bacchus is located but at the entrance to the airport I decided to see if any rental car places were open and I found one who had a car for €39 – a bit steep for off-season but I wanted to do some shopping and also to clear in at the Capitainerie in Marigot. Had I anchored in Marigot the ferry dock clearance office would have charged me around €30 with around €25 of that being a spurious “Park Fee” which I believe goes into the employee’s personal pockets. This way I got a rental car with mobility and access to the big shopping centers for almost the same price.
I made it to the Capitainerie just at noon and did my entrance and exit clearances at the same time, with destination BVI. Then I did shopping at the usual places – Budget Marine, Island Waterworld, ACE Hardware before having lunch at Lagoonie’s and then continuing my provisioning at Le Grand MarchĂ© in Philipsburg, finishing off my spree at Bacchus for my Nespresso pods.
After storing everything aboard I returned to shore with my notebook in the backpack and had drinks and dinner at Calmos Café.
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