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Full Text of this section from the 14th (09-010) edition. BAIE DES
Click to enlarge The wine locker is full, you are stuffed on restaurant meals, you have seen enough elegant boutiques to last a lifetime. What next? Consider a few days of quiet recovery in Baie des Anglais. Baie des Anglais is less than 3 miles up Martinique’s east coast. It is a large mangrove-lined bay, with some small beaches and several little islands for dinghy exploration. There are no restaurants, no shops, and while there may be another boat or two, you are likely to have it to yourself. Regulations The islands at the entrance to Baie des Anglais, including Ilet Hardy, Ilet Perce, Ilet Burgaux, and Ilet Tois Roux, are bird sanctuaries and going ashore is not permitted. Navigation The navigation is tricky and Baie des Anglais should only be visited in relatively light trade winds (<15 knots). The entrance is downwind and down sea. Enter between Ilet Hardy and the group of islands that include Ilet Perce, Ilet Burgaux, and Ilet Tois Roux. Ilet Hardy has a distinctive rock knoll on its southeastern shore. Once past Ilet Hardy, look for the two reefs to the northwest of Ilet Perce and pass fairly close to them. (You will see Fond Blanc to starboard.) Note that there are quite a few isolated rocks just to the east of Ilet Aigrettes. By now the seas should be relatively calm and you will find there is a large daytime anchoring area about 20 feet deep to the west of Fond Blanc between Ilet Aigrettes and the visible reef on the other side of the channel. Your strategy from here on in depends on your draft, the size of your engine, the strength of the wind, and whether your insurance premium is up to date. You have to cross a bar of soft mud in unreadable water with the wind right behind you. For boats of less than 6-foot draft, there will probably be little problem. For boats of 6.5-foot or 7-foot draft, the width of the deepest channel is very narrow, and at low tide sounds out at about 7 and a half feet. The only seamanlike thing to do is to anchor in the deep water and sound out the channel with a lead line in your dinghy. As you look at Ilet des Parletuviers, you will see an old mill tower just behind it, a little to its left. A range I found helpful is to be on a line between the northern edge of Ilet Burgaux and this old mill tower. The deepest water is probably a hair to the southwest of this line. Once over the bar, you have plenty of water and many perfectly protected anchoring spots; inside Ilet des Parletuviers is the most popular. If you dinghy over to the shore near Ilet Aigrettes, you can find a way through to Anse Trabaud, a lovely but fairly popular beach. Dinghy exploration is also good up to Ilet Chevalier. Go to Baie des Anglais well provisioned, because should the wind and sea get up while you are there, seas break across the entrance and you may have to wait a while to get out. For an adventure, dinghy up behind Islet Chevalier, carry on to the beach with all the kite-surfing, and land the dinghy. Take the short walk to the Paradisio for lunch. But book in advance on your mobile phone (see Marin restaurant section). A coastal footpath takes you all round to St Anne in the south and Anses Macabou in the north.
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