It was a pre dawn start from Antigua yesterday to reach St Barts before sunset. With little wind to fill the sails we added some help with the motor and covered the 72nm in good time.
Today we've been to clear in with Customs and Immigration which is simple and fast because Barts, or St Barthelemy, is a French Overseas department. The French islands asks visitors to complete a one page document on a dedicated PC, push print and an official adds a stamp. We love it.
Afterwards we went for a walk around this very upmarket, chi chi town clustered around the harbour filled with superyachts. The clothing and accessory shops are well known names often ending in a vowel, not Mango, but Prada and Gucci, Dior and Cartier.
Not a lot of people know this but in 1784 St Barts became a Swedish territory when France traded the island for a warehouse in Gothenberg, hence the name Gustavia – an ex king of Sweden.
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