Ile Pinel St Martin

We left Grand Case Bay at 1115hrs on Tuesday 8 January to continue our clockwise journey around St Martin, this time heading for the anchorage behind Ile Pinel.  There was some wind but it was all on the nose so we motored the 5nm or so.  The pilot book warns of the dangers of easterly swell and strong easterly winds when attempting an entrance to Baie Oriental, particularly as there are areas of reefs and shoals on both sides of the wide entrance.

Heading north towards the anchorage in the lee of Ile Pinel

However, these shoals are reasonably easy to see in good light and the entrance is well charted so we had no problem. Once in the centre of Baie Oriental it is safe to turn north towards Ile Pinel and the anchorage in its lee.

The anchorage is shallow – only about 3m – so we dropped anchor as soon as we were tucked in just far enough, and clear of the catamaran already at anchor.  The beach is lovely and the island most attractive but with the surge around the reef we thought it wise to have a look at the conditions before committing to diving.  And we’re glad that we did.  The visibility was poor with lots of sand in the water and what we could see on the reef was not particularly special.  So we contented ourselves with snorkelling and then returned to BV.  I then took a look at our anchor windlass which had again been sluggish when we raised anchor in Grand Case Bay.  Working in the confined space of the anchor locker I changed the solenoid; it was switching properly (big click when I pressed the button) but the slow and sometimes intermittent operation of the windlass suggested that there was an electrical fault, possibly dirt contacts inside the solenoid preventing the flow of sufficient current to lift the anchor. After an hour of sweaty work and the new solenoid in place, the windlass whirred away properly but the real test would be when the motor was properly under load lifting the anchor.  We’d test that in the morning.

Chores done, our plan for a celebratory sundowners on the beach to mark Nicky’s birthday was also put on hold as the sky clouded over and threatened rain.  But there are worse places to drink fizz than in BV’s cockpit looking at an attractive, if somewhat overcast, view and making plans for diving around a wreck the next day.

Ile Pinel, Saint Martin