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 Marché 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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