Ann sleeps in late which means that I get to wake up naturally before I have my cups of tea.
We leave Anse Marcel quite early – around 9.30 – and motor over to Tintamarre, a little island off the north east coast of St Martin.
When we arrive, the beach is practically deserted. There are brand new mooring balls which we are not expecting as the cruising guide indicates that you should anchor. We moor up next to a large day cruise boat, Tika Tika. Only when we are moored up do we realise that it is a nudist day boat. At first we wonder whether the whole beach is nudist but there are some people with clothes on so presume it is just the boat next to us.
The nudists are all huddled under some umbrellas on the beach – well you would, wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t want those tender bits burning.
Photo: Tintamarre beach without the nudists
Mike, David, Alice and Kat go off snorkelling. Terry takes Ann, wearing my buoyancy aid, round for a little swim but she doesn’t last long in the water. I go in just with my noodle and bob around the boat, keeping cool.
Alice and Kat spend quite a while in the water near the beach, exploding into giggles every now and then, checking out the male nudists. Why is it that the people who should keep their clothes on are always the first to get them off? They are amused by shapes and sizes and mention antennae, corkscrews and pigs tails. Don’t ask!
When everyone has had enough of the water we have lunch, then I have a little sleep. When I wake up, we are already sailing back to Grand Case, the wind behind us and the gennaker up.
Photo: Under sail with the gennaker
Mike, Vivienne and Ann go shopping. The rest of us watch as they disappear wondering how Mike will get on at the other end when it is time to tie up the dinghy and get the girls out of the dinghy.
Eventually they return, having mastered getting in and out of the dinghy without mishap. They have lots of bags of shopping and have booked a restaurant in “the gastronomic centre of the Caribbean” (so called by the restaurant owners of Grand Case, no doubt!). Vivienne demonstrates that she now knows how to get out of a dinghy.
David gets a water container out of the cockpit hatch and while stretching across, pulls something in his lower back. He keeps quiet for a couple of hours but the pain is eventually too much in evidence. I give him a little back massage and manipulate the area a bit but I can feel him tensing up a lot as he is in agony by this time but trying not to show it. He takes painkillers instead. Mike and I spot Le Petit Hotel where we stayed with Victoria a few years ago. Spotting it was difficult because the roof seemed to have changed colour!
In the evening, two trips are taken to get everyone to shore. This is necessary as Ann insists that Terry takes up the space for at least three people and also the dinghy needs pumping up again. Having mastered the dinghy during daylight, Vivienne is not quite as sure of it during the dark so she wears my buoyancy aid over her pretty dress. If anyone asks, she is prepared to tell them that it is one of Jean Paul Gaultier’s next season’s designs. Well, she is in fashion!
Mike and I have a lovely meal although others are not as lucky. We have Moules Frites (mussels and chips), one of the day’s specials. I am in a very good mood for the evening as I once again have straight hair!
We get back to the boat (again in two loads) without mishap. The boat is boiling as the air conditioning was on for such a short time before we left as we had been running the water maker. It will be a hot night for all.
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