Anse de Columbier, St. Barths 3-29

Another perfect anchorage, calm water and a nice breeze all night long. In the morning Tracy makes crepes for breakfast, that turn out surprisingly well. After breakfast we break another immigration rule and dinghy in to shore to explore. The beach is great, long white sand and clear water. There are a number of rocky areas to check out, and we find a great natural whirlpool, that surges with every wave that comes in.

 
There are old stone stairs carved in the rock to climb to the top of the hill (Noah of course prefers to climb the rocks), giving a great view of the bay. Paths lead over to the East side of the island where its exposed to the ocean, and the waves are pounding in.



Once back at the boat, we need a swim and snorkel to cool down. There have been a lot of turtles swimming around, and we are all hoping to see one while snorkeling. The water here is the clearest we have been in. Over 20 feet deep, and as soon as you stick your head in, you can see every detail on the bottom. Its a short swim over to the reef, that is full of colorful coral and lots of reef fish. We spot 3 squid swimming around as well. This is one of the best sites we have found. Maybe not as many fish as we saw at Monkey Point, but the clear water and great coral make up for it. We swim slowly back to the boat, hoping to spot a turtle in the sea grass. No luck, but just as we get to the boat we see what looks like 2 small sharks swimming down at the sea floor under the boat. We watch them for a few minutes, believing they are nurse sharks, which are harmless and more like suckers than sharks. Soon a couple more show up. While watching the nurse sharks, I spot a small turtle zoom by. The kids are getting out, but I’m still paddling around the boat watching the sharks and looking for more turtles.  Patience pays off, and there is a very large turtle swimming towards us. He rests on the bottom and starts eating grass. The kids and Tracy get back in to see the turtle. Meanwhile, there are now even more of the sharks swimming around under the boat and they are getting more and more curious of us. 2 swim right under the kids to check them out. While we are watching, a second large turtle swims up and starts eating grass next to the first one. Soon they both surface, only about 10 feet away from us, take a few breaths and go right back down to the sea grass. This if very cool to watch, and the closest we have ever been to a turtle. Meanwhile these sharks are continuing to get more curious and bolder, swimming right up to us several times. We have the underwater camera, and I have shot several pictures of the turtles and the sharks. As they get closer, I can see a weird looking thing on the top of their heads, and I’m beginning to think they are not nurse sharks, but I’m not sure. Either way, with them coming closer and closer its time to get out. This  has been one of the best snorkel trips ever! Once on the boat, we look up the picture of the nurse shark on our fish card, and they did not match, so at this point I’m not sure what they were.
By now its afternoon, and we need to head the rest of the way to Gustavia, the main port of St. Barths to clear in. Its just a short motor around the point into the busy anchorage. We find a spot near the north end of the bay at Corossol, and set the anchor. There are a couple of cruise ships out front, and some amazing megayachts anchored all over the place. One of the largest has a floating patio that extends off the back.

We have quick lunch, then all head in to shore to clear in.  Its a relatively simple process to clear in, the hardest part is figuring out the names of countries in French as we fill out the form on the computer. We stroll around to check things out, and get a couple of shirts for the kids. On the way back to the dinghy the kids find a large tortoise in a small grassy area. We take the dinghy further into the harbor, intending to walk around a little more, but the kids are now too tired to move, and we settle for a quick sushi snack and beer.