Story and photos by Lexi Fisher & Chris Doyle
St. Martin sits at the northern end of the chain of Eastern Caribbean islands and is one of the major yachting centers of the region. Its enormous Simpson Bay lagoon holds hundreds of yachts and is surrounded by marinas, boat yards, restaurants, and shopping. Just about anything you could want is a dinghy ride away.
In addition to a major yachting destination, St. Martin is also perhaps the best-known holiday destination in the Leewards. It is blessed with a multitude of superb white sand beaches backed by pleasantly scenic hills. Its fame has come from the way it has embraced tourism wholeheartedly, with casinos, condominiums, and scores of hotels. The whole island is a duty-free shopping plaza. Two of the Caribbean’s biggest chandleries are based here: Budget Marine and Island Water World. With the help of their customers, they have generated enough buying power to be able to offer excellent prices to yachts.
St. Martin is divided across the middle. The northern part is French, the southern part Dutch. There is a charming story, completely unsupported by historical fact, that the French and Dutch were so civilized that, rather than fight over the island, they had a Frenchman armed with a bottle of wine walk in one direction and a Dutchman equipped with a flask of gin take the other. Where they met became the boundary, and the French ended up with a bit more because the gin was stronger than the wine.
In the early days, the island was important to the Dutch because of the salt ponds in the southern part. St. Martin was successful for a time as a producer of tobacco, and then of sugar. With the collapse of the sugar market, it started a long decline. In 1939, the island was made completely duty-free. The strategy worked and St. Martin became the Caribbean’s number one shopping mall.
In 2017 the island was hard hit by Hurricane Irma. Many marinas, hotels, and restaurants were blown away, most notably on Oyster Pond and the French side of Simpson Bay Lagoon. Most rebuilt, but some did not. Still, hotels are everywhere, cruise ships call daily, and there are hundreds of duty-free shops and restaurants, as well as over a dozen casinos. The tourism industry has quickly recovered, especially in Philipsburg, and there are facilities for most kinds of yacht work.
The Dutch side has the Sint Maarten Yacht Club, which organizes many races, and which cruising sailors can join. The club is right next to the Simpson Bay bridge, with a good dinghy dock. They have a very active youth sailing program and, if you are staying a while, you can join the club and your kids can enjoy the fun.
The Heineken Regatta is on the first full weekend in March, a world-famous international event that draws many famous yachts. Its office is upstairs in the Yacht Club. The Course D’Alliance is a three-day cruiser’s race from St. Martin to St. Barts, then onto Anguilla, in December. If you have a catamaran, you can join in the Caribbean Multihull Challenge. There are many events, including informal races, year-round.
Both sides have marine parks. Yachts can anchor or pick up a mooring in most of the marine park anchorages. Moorings for divers and snorkelers are on many sites. The French marine park goes from Oyster Pond to Tintamarre and surrounds Roche Creole. Fishing, taking of anything, jet skis, any motorized water sports, drones, underwater lights, loud music, deck or hull cleaning, emptying holding tanks, and water-skiing are all banned within this area, and the rules are strictly enforced.
The only permissible overnight anchorages in the park are at Tintamarre and Roche Creole, where you must first get permission from the park by filling out and emailing the form available at reservenaturelle-saint-martin.com/en/camping-mouillage.
Both the French and the Dutch sides have quite a few marinas and haulouts that are worth considering for the hurricane season, assuming your insurance company doesn’t require you to be outside certain latitudes. Plus, the duty-free shopping, plethora of bars and restaurants, and variety of bays and offshore islands to explore add some welcome respite from the stress of haul and launch seasons.
Doyle Guides contain the Eastern Caribbean’s most comprehensive and reliable sailing information, available in hard copy and online through a free mobile app, website, and Facebook group. (www.doyleguides.com).
St. Martin and Sint Maarten Entry and Exit Procedures
Ports of Entry:
St. Martin (French side) has three ports of entry and has a simpler, less expensive clearance process. Sint Maarten (Dutch side) has two ports of entry.
Advance Paperwork:
As in the rest of the French Antilles, clearance for St. Martin can be completed and approved online, prior to arrival. Sint Maarten has an online ED Card that can be filled out before arrival. For visitors from many countries, a visa is not required. Stays of up to 90 days are typically granted from both sides of the island.
Entry:
For St. Martin, either online clearance, or on arrival at one of the customs computers located in establishments island-wide. For Sint Maarten, all vessels must clear in with customs and immigration upon arrival.
Exit:
Same as the entry process for each country. Vessels clearing out from St. Martin should visit an authorized establishment to have their exit documents printed and stamped, as needed. For Sint Maarten vessels are advised to clear out of the same port as they cleared in, so that fees can be settled properly.
Rates:
St. Martin is inexpensive with a minimal cost if using a customs computer in an authorized establishment. Sint Maarten incurs larger fees with a small customs fee, weekly harbor fees, bridge fees and weekly mooring fees. See Sint Maarten Fees for more information https://www.noonsite.com/place/sint-maarten/view/fees/.
Check https://www.noonsite.com/place/st-martin/view/clearance/ and https://www.noonsite.com/place/sint-maarten/view/clearance/ for more detailed information and updates. This information is provided by Noonsite.com, specialists in worldwide formalities for yachts, and was accurate at press time.
