21st February to 3rd March 2019
A very busy anchorage, but as its relatively shallow and absolutely huge it was easy enough to find a space. The dinghy dock is substantial, but if you moor on the windward side either lift the bow up or drop a stern anchor – we saw a couple of dinghies severely damaged after being dragged underneath the dock. And don’t be the moron who ties their dinghy on a short chain to the ladder. I was tempted to get a hacksaw on a couple of occasions. Charter boats come in on Friday and Saturday, and it is worth keeping an eye on the boat at those times as their captains are, to be polite, not always competent. This makes for amusing conversations with Arthur, starting with him shouting, at a volume the object of the conversation can hear, “what are they doing?” with the most expressive arm movements a five-year-old can manage.
We stayed here
longer than intended as we ran into a couple of other boats-with-kids! So, we
had a party on the beach for a couple of other children (brother/sister with
close birthdays), and Arthur got to wreck visit a couple of other boats
(Theo too, but he’s much more placid with other people’s stuff). We discovered
that Arthur can manage 40m or so sea-swimming unaided, as he decided to swim
back to our boat from “Eva’s boat” when kids and mums were playing in the
water. Charlotte followed him just in case, but he was fine. Pretty awesome.
Theo is getting much stronger in the water too, though he still sinks (slowly) without
his noodle.
It was particularly nice for us to notice the kids feeling sad when Eva (7yo) left on her boat – that sounds cruel, doesn’t it? I mean it’s nice to see them connecting with the kids who pass through their lives. Overall St Anne is fine – feels much like a busy anchorage in France would do, and I can see why there are a few boats which have evidently been camped here for some time. There’s an 8-till-late and another small supermarket in town. And a market which was good for fresh fruit/veg/fish. And, this being France, a beautiful bakery which does excellent baguettes. Those whose dinghies have engines with more horsepower than ours (that is, most people) seem to dinghy into Le Marin to stock up at Leader Price – cheaper and much better selection.
