Porto Cupecoy

When we were looking for a place in St. Martin to stash Saralane for a few weeks we checked into all the usual places around the lagoon but we also decided to check out a new marina in Cupecoy we'd heard about that was offering good deals to encourage new business. We're glad we did. It's NICE. We're rarely in a marina but since we had to tie up somewhere - this was definitely the place to be.

The marina is a small part of a much larger complex full of restaurants, shops, gardens and beautiful new condo and apartment buildings. After we tied up and chatted with Mitch, the dockmaster, people from other boats in the marina stopped by to say hello. When they heard we were leaving Saralane for a few weeks they offered to keep an eye on the boat. The marina had great security but it's always nice to know your neighbors are looking out for you.

Aside from being a pretty swanky place, it's only a short walk across to Cupecoy beach. They show movies on a big outdoor screen once a week and have live music in the plaza several nights each week too. There's also a big grocery store here, which was great for provisioning when we returned. But the best thing about the place was the GIANT POOL.

Me in the GIANT POOL.

In case you can't see me in the middle of the GIANT POOL... here's a close up!

This pool was huge, the temperature was just right and it was almost always deserted. One end had steps and the other end was sloped, so entering was like walking into the ocean from the beach. I'm a sucker for a nice pool and this one was really great.

Skip in the GIANT POOL.

The only apparent danger is the red lightening and spiky crown that's lying in wait under the bottom if you dive in.

No diving!

When we weren't in the GIANT POOL we did odds and ends on the boat and ran errands around the lagoon.

Putting on the new furling line

We picked up some new bottom paint at Island Water World where the trusty John H was practically alone at the dinghy dock. During the season this dock is so jam packed with dinghies it's hard to find a spot to tie up.

We finally dragged ourselves away from the GIANT POOL and the nice folks at Porto Cupecoy and spent our last night in St. Martin out in the anchorage at Marigot so we'd be outside the bridge and ready for an early morning departure to Virgin Gorda. 

St. Martin sunrise

We'll spend the remaining weeks before our haul out sailing around the BVI and the Spanish Virgins. We skipped by the Spanish islands on our way south last year and have been wanting to go back and explore a bit more. We'd better brush up on our Spanish, si?