St Barts, Gustavia Harbor

St Barths is the Caribbean island for the rich and famous and a little hurricane wouldn’t stop it. Though they got walloped, repair work was evident everywhere and the mega yachts were back to visit. It was the nicest island yet for clearing in and the main port of Gustavia goes out of their way to provide as many conveniences as they can for the average cruiser.

Unfortunately, the one thing St Barths doesn’t have is a good anchorage. They’re simply too exposed to the winds and the swell, and it was a few days of living in a washing machine. Even the masts of the mega yachts were swinging back and forth in the swell. I did have to laugh though at the ‘red light district’ that we were now living in. Any sailboat at anchor needs to have the top of their masts lit at night for safety purposes. Masts of a certain height (I can’t remember but we’re talking TALL) have to have a red light on their mast top for approaching aircraft. Needless to say, there were a lot of red light masts out there keeping us company.

Shell Beach

St Barths was prepping to host their annual Bucket Regatta – a 4 day race for yachts over 100 feet. We had a lot of fun ogling Topaz and some of the other boats both at the docks and while they were out testing crew. Once I was done ogling boats, then it was next to ogling storefronts.  I settled on a wildly expensive swimsuit (top only), new swim trunks for Trip, and a top I found on sale. I enjoyed watching the look on his face when I pointed out that many a dress in the store windows cost 700+ euro (that’s an entire boat buck). We made up for it with drinks and lunch at Le Select, the original dive bar also known as Cheeseburger in Paradise. Jimmy Buffett spent a lot of time over the years on this island and supposedly still turns up here and there to perform.

Topaz prepping for the Bucket Regatta

Seeking a little quiet, we climbed up to the top of Fort Carl. Though the fort is no longer there, it provides a great vantage point for both the main harbor and Shell Beach. We descended to Shell Beach where I collected shells (an aptly named beach) to my heart’s content.

The next day, on the recommendation of friend Deb who has spent a lot of time down here, we taxied over to the other side of the island. More damage was apparent here and some of the fancier resorts won’t open till next season, hoping to have adequate time to make repairs. We grabbed a burger at Jojo’s, toured the local shops, admired the beaches, and headed back to Gustavia.

I would have loved to have stayed for the regatta, but the roll of the anchorage was too much – I never get seasick (knock wood) and I woke up one morning a bit queasy. Added to that, some strange swells were coming again and word was that they were emptying out the harbor (where the swell would pile up) so we decided to bolt for St Martin.

Hardship in Gustavia – entire fridges of caviar and foi gras