Marigot Lagoon
Is only a mile S of Grande Cul-de-Sac, and here a yacht would be quite secure
even if a hurricane passed overhead
Not long
ago the lagoon was deserted. At night the beat of drums could be heard coming
from the village on the hill, and the only lights to be seen were the
fireflies among the palms. It was exciting and somehow all very African.
Then along
came our friendly developer and in carne suburbia, Saint Lucia style. The
tragedy of it all is that, despite the hotels and houses, hardly anyone seems
to stick to living there.
On the port
hand as you enter is Dolittle's Bar and Restaurant, a very pleasant little
spot with a friendly atmosphere. Further in on the starboard hand is the
Hurricane Hole Hotel, which has its own jetty, but don't rely on finding an
empty spot there. The Moorings, a bareboat charter company, is based on the
eastern side of Marigot's much-photographed sand spit, and has combined the
aforementioned establishments into one large entity, known as the Marigot Bay
Resort.
The lagoon
empties out during the day, then fills up again, chock-a-block, as the charter
yachts return from their day's outings. Before you get your anchor down,
you'll be visited by boys and young men who would like to sell you fruits,
vegetables, and shell and coral jewelry, or do some work on your boat.
If you need
a shade for your cockpit light, they'll weave you one from coconut palm
fronds, to order, while you watch.
The vendors
may row out in one of the locally made and brightly painted fishing boats, or
they may paddle their bananas out on a board boat that is well past its prime.
Our old
friend Admiral Rodney, when he in his turn was being hounded around the
islands by the unsporting French, hid a small squadron behind the palms by
lashing the fronds that are woven today into hats and lamp shades to the
mastheads of his ships.
On entering
Marigot, favor the southern side of the channel until abeam of Dolittle's.
Very shallow water runs out from the northern shore, almost to the mid
channel. The inner harbor is deep with a muddy bottom. If people anchor close
by, don't worry. The lagoon is so well protected that no one dances around on
the anchor here.
We arrange a 2 week
charter cruising trough the best of the Caribbean islands onboard the
sailboat Audrey
with capacity for 6 persons including: Captain and cook and all meals with
open bar. The price is $125 per person a day with a minimum of 4 persons. For
more information please contact us:
audrey@explore-yachts.com
