I'm sitting in the lagoon right now. The palce has emptied out as most of the large boats have left in the past two weeks; we leave at the end of this week. The
water in the laggoon is cleaner this year than previous years but still wouldn't swim in it.
Last year the
fees were raised on the Dutch side for bridge entry. I pay $80 to enter (fee is based on
boat lentgth) + a weekly fee of about $12. You don't pay the weekly fee if you are in a marina. Only local
fishing boats are exempt from the bridge fee. This weekly fee applys in Simpson Bay as well and pays for garbage disposal. The local Coast Guard boards all anchored boats and checks paper
work. I was boarded twice this
winter. Even in high season, there has been plenty of room in the marinas and anchorage as the recession has definately affected traffic. The mega yachts were really impacted as charters were way down. You can enter the Dutch bridge and
anchor on the French side but must go to Marigot to clear in.
The French decided this year to charge a fee for
anchoring in Marigot Bay but not their side of the Lagoon. Go figure. The bridge is free but the channel thru the lagoon is less than 6-7 feet in places. You cannot get
wifi on the French side. Becuse of $12/wek fee on the Dutch side, the French anchorage is much more crowded.
Marigot Bay, Simpson Bay, and Great Bay at Phillipsburgh can be very uncomfortable. A friend of ours had a horrible night in Marigot with breaking waves running thru the anchorage. The French emptied the Bay one week last year because of forcasted
weather. 82 boats went thru the French bridge that day.
Captain Oliver's Marina in
Oyster Pond is relatively inexpensive. It is right on the border on the East side of the island. The guides say the marina is on the Dutch side but the rest of the complex is on the French side. The entrance thru the reef can be challanging. A
charter boat went up on the reef the week of the
Regatta and broke apart. The crew walked ashore.
Any
repairs can be done on the island that you could have done in
Annapolis or New Port. Labor is much cheaper. It cost me half what it would have cost at home to have the bottom painted. Riggers, sail makers, elctric and
diesel mechanics are in the Lagoon.