Chartering from Martinique: clearing out at Le Marin and a hop to St Lucia

Martinique is part of France and therefore of the EU. Le Marin, in the south of the island, is a large charter centre from which many trips head down the island chain. While you stay in Martinique's waters there are no special formalities beyond the usual entry rules for France. Chartering from Martinique with a hop to St Lucia is different: you leave the EU, so you clear out of Martinique and clear into St Lucia at an official port of entry such as Rodney Bay. Until that is done, nobody goes ashore.

Clearing out of Martinique is done with customs, at Le Marin often at a terminal where you enter the crew list and the boat's details. In St Lucia you report to customs and immigration and pay fees; the authorities or the base will tell you the current rates. Around the Pitons near Soufrière there is a protected area where you pick up a mooring buoy and pay for it. The channel between the islands is open water: the easterly trade wind accelerates there and the sea is higher and steeper than in the lee of the islands.

Ask before you book whether the charter agreement allows St Lucia and which papers the base provides for it. Take passports for the whole crew, the boat's papers and a crew list, reef before the channel and cross in daylight. Hurricane season runs from June to November, and many bases restrict the cruising area then. You are personally liable for damage you cause to others with the charter yacht, so look at skipper liability cover before you go.

Worth remembering

Sailing from Martinique to St Lucia means changing country, so clear out and in.