St Martin's, notes from one of my stays

Just a few shots from the yacht I am sitting on right now just off Marigot Bay, St Martin, Caribbean. Not this yacht in the picture, thank god…

I've been fortunate enough to visit St Martin several times, but this was a rather different experience: nearly two weeks aboard a friend's sailing yacht, exploring the island and surrounding waters from the sea.

I've written more about my travels around this fascinating two-nation island in my St Martin travel story — and you can find all my Caribbean adventures in my Caribbean travel hub.

St Martin from the Sea: A Sailing Adventure in the Caribbean

I've been fortunate enough to visit St Martin a number of times, but this particular visit was rather different.

In the spring of 2022, after the strange years of Covid, I found myself spending nearly two weeks aboard a friend's sailing yacht, exploring St Martin and the surrounding Caribbean waters.

It was a wonderful way to see an island I already knew reasonably well.

From the sea, everything looks different.

Marigot, on the French side of the island, sits beneath the surrounding hills, while the coastline stretches away towards beaches, little bays and neighbouring islands. There is something particularly appealing about arriving somewhere by boat rather than stepping off an aircraft and immediately joining the traffic.

St Martin is an unusual place at the best of times. The island is divided between French Saint-Martin and Dutch Sint Maarten, with two cultures, two administrative systems and two quite different personalities sharing the same small piece of Caribbean.

Travel writer Martin Hesp enjoys a beer on St Martin

But from the deck of a yacht, all of that seems to matter rather less.

You simply see the turquoise water, the beaches, the boats bobbing in sheltered bays and the green hills rising behind the coast.

These photographs are a small record of that trip — a rather different view of St Martin in the Caribbean, and one that brings back some very happy memories.

I've written more extensively about the island in my St Martin travel story, while all my Caribbean journeys can be found in my Caribbean travel hub.

Grand Case, St Martin

St Martin from the water

There isn't really much more to say.

The photographs tell the story rather better than I can.

But that is perhaps the point of a photo essay.

Sometimes the best way to remember a place is simply to look at it.

And St Martin, viewed from the Caribbean Sea, is a particularly beautiful place to remember.