Working Our Way South from St. Martin to St. Lucia

7/3/2026

Wild Horses has been on the move! In the last 3 weeks, we have been making our way south from St. Martin to St. Lucia, stopping at some islands and skipping others, all dependent on what our weather windows allow us to do.

Our biggest jump was from Marigot Bay, St. Martin all the way to Pigeon Island in the middle of Guadeloupe mainland, a 143 nautical mile passage that took us 27 hours. Why such a long passage when there were islands we could have stopped at to rest? We had the weather. This season has been full of strong trade winds which whip up the sea state to levels we generally do not find comfortable. On our last go-around to Grenada we were blessed with lots of days offering us 2 or 3 foot seas, maybe a few 4 foot seas. This season? We are grabbing a 4 foot sea when we can but there are many weeks that will go by when the sea state maxes out at 6, 7 and even 8 feet. Ummm, no thank you! That is fine for some saltier sailors but for Wild Horses, no way! Our guiding principal is that this sailing thing is supposed to be fun. We would rather arrive at our destination with smiles on our faces than to arrive worn out with a great story of what we endured.

So, we wait. And we wait. And we wait.

We have the luxury of waiting because we have no schedule. We aren’t rushing to be anywhere for anyone and we don’t have boat insurance that requires us to be out of the hurricane box by a certain date. Of course, we watch for hurricanes or other storm activity, but with none on the horizon, we can be picky about the conditions in which we move Wild Horses. The weather is choppy and uncomfortable? We stay put. The weather is great? We try to make lots of miles!

What to see some of the conditions we have faced this season?

Easy Motoring Sail

Pure Sailing

Salty Sail

When we are not checking weather or actually moving the boat, we are at anchor beside one of the many beautiful islands in the Eastern Caribbean and that gives us opportunity to explore.

In St. Martin, we had our fair share of baguettes and cappuccino at the local bakery. We also headed over to the Dutch side of the island to check out Maho Beach (at the end of the St. Maarten airport runway) and to enjoy a few of their great bars, restaurants and marine stores.

Saltwater from our passages sticks to our stainless rails and arch

The rag I used to clean off the stainless rails shows all the salt!

A bunch of us cruisers in Lagoonies restaurant in St. Maarten (Dutch side)

Our trip to Maho Beach did not disappoint. The planes take off so close to the beach bar!

Everyone gathers on the beach at the end of the runway to feel the blast of the jets

Watching the planes land from the comfort of the beach bar

In Dominica, we had a great time hanging out in the town of Portsmouth and taking a tour of the Indian River. We then moved to the southern part of the island to the town of Roseau.

Another beach bar? Yup! This one is in beautiful Dominica.

Ocean gets a reminder to not chase the stray island cats

Victoria waits in line at the bakery window. The store is rudimentary but the baked goods are divine!

A Dominican dog keeps an eye on Ocean from his rooftop spot

Heading down the Indian River on a wooden skiff

In the middle of the Indian River, we found...another beach bar!

On June 17 we arrived in Martinique, truly one of our favourite islands in the Eastern Caribbean. First, it was the lovely village of St. Pierre in the north eastern tip of the island. St. Pierre is small but there is no shortage of things to do. We went with our boat buddies to tour the Depaz rum distillery, about a 45 minute walk uphill from town. The distillery is on incredible terrain in front of Mount Pelee and is spread out over some beautiful acreage. The tour was fascinating and the rum tasting afterwards was excellent. We definitely didn’t go home empty handed!

The Depaz Distillery was worth the long uphill walk from the town of St. Pierre

Mount Pelee sits in the background of the entrance to the distillery

The mill that lifts the spring water into the distillery operations

Mike stands beside the mill, showing how truly huge it is.

Hundreds of barrels of rum are ready to go!

Ocean waits out our rum-tasting while under the careful watch of the distillery cat.

We also took the time to tour the ruins of the 1902 volcano eruption that devastated the town. That event claimed nearly 30,000 people, almost wiping out the entire town, in just a few devastating minutes.

The museum pays tribute to the disaster

The ruins of the well-regarded theatre. St. Pierre was known as the Paris of the Caribbean before the disaster.

Mike walking through the theatre ruins

Ruins of an apartment building

After enjoying small town life in St. Pierre, we then moved further south to Fort de France, a big city offering lots of shopping, restaurants, museums and just so much more hustle and bustle. So much to enjoy!

From the quiet cobble-stoned streets of St. Pierre...

...to the city streets of Fort de France

We can always find cappuccino in the French islands!

A street in Fort de France is converted into a huge viewing party for the FIFA World Cup match between France and Iraq

Enjoying the match with our boat buddies...

...and of course Ocean was there! (Note that she decided to sit in the shade instead of with us)

We have now arrived in St. Lucia and will be here for awhile as we get new documentation for Ocean to continue travelling south to Saint Vincent and then to Grenada. So far, we have met with the St. Lucia vet for an updated heartworm test and tomorrow we will take a taxi to the Agriculture department to get a St. Lucia government endorsed health certificate. With these documents in hand, we can apply for our pet permit to Saint Vincent. We are hoping to get the permit in the next week or so. Stay tuned!