After our first week in Simpson Lagoon, we decided to move in to a mooring in Marina Royal. First goal was to avoid the painfully long and wet dinghy ride back and forth from school and the boulangerie. Second was to hopefully get close enough to get WiFi on the boat. We picked up a informal "chart" of the lagoon at Shrimpy's Laundry. It showed a tentative channel with depth of 2.2 M. We draw 7 feet, or about 2.2 M. The Cruising Guide mentions that the lagoon has about 1 ft of "navigable mud". As an experienced Chesapeake sailor, I am used to navigating through mud.
The first attempt didn't quick pan out. We were hard aground with 6.5 feet on the depth sounder. Of course, I would only try this on a rising tide. Despite there only being a 1 ft tide range, we soon were off and moving again. Tricia insisted the chart was saying we needed to be well left of the marked channel. After much arguing, I did what she said and we cruised right through.
The moorings use a ball fore and aft, with 4 boats abreast. As the wind is fairly steady from the east, this works out fine. The spot is nice and calm, and no worries of dragging. Even better, we picked up a strong WiFi signal from the marina next door, and are even able to stream movies.
We are close to the town, have access to bathrooms and showers, and the price is only about $190 for the month!
Cary, Ginny and I have finally started running again. We have run through town, and Ginny and I up to Fort Louis. On the logistics of cruising side, Tricia and I have made dinghy trips to the Dutch side of the lagoon to visit the big Budget Marine and the Le Grande Marche market. And of course, we have croissants and baguettes every day. The season has still been somewhat rainy, but we are getting used to it. You get wet, then the sun comes out and you dry off.
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