The following information is based on our experience as we sailed Ocean Strider in the Caribbean, during our stay at Grand Bourg, on Marie Galante, between 9-11 May 2022.
Language:
French is the National language, where we found some of the locals spoke English. If you’re not fluent in French, it’s advisable to polish up you school French, get a guide-phrase book or a good translator app on your smart phone.
Clearing In/Out:
We cleared customs and immigration at Deshaies on Guadeloupe and were able Clear out at Grand Bourg on Mary Galante. As they were both Guadeloupe.
The Customs and Immigration Office in Grand Bourg is on left as you exit the harbour gate. You walk to the far end of the harbour car park. The customs building is the last building on the right and has a small ditch by the harbour and security fence around it.
When you reach the security fence, turn right and follow it, you will also walk around a collage. When you are virtually parallel to the harbour, walk a little further and you’ll reach a sliding gate with an intercom on the left, press the button, wait for a reply and talk to an officer who will let you in. One of the customs officers spoke good English, so they didn’t have to suffer our poor French.
Boat documents and passports checked. Paperwork completed. Customs and Immigration were very efficient. There was no cost for clearing out.
Mooring:
Grand Bourg Harbour & Marina. Showing the sea wall behind Ocean Strider, the ferry port and moorings.
We sailed Ocean Strider approximately 7 miles south, down the west coast of Marie Galant, from Saint Louis to reach Grand Bourg. Our pilot book showed an anchorage on the right as you entered the harbour at Grand Bourg. Navionics also showed the anchorage.
Inside the harbour, at the back on the town side and on our right were two large ferry pontoons. We motored past the ferry pontoons and anchored close the sea wall, leaving room for boats leaving the moorings, ferries and local fishing boats. Fishing boats moor on the south sea wall.
To reach the visitors moorings you negotiate a tight bend past the fishing boats on the south wall.
There’s an anchorage outside the harbour entrance, to the left at Grand Bourg.
NOTE: There is another anchorage area immediately on the left, outside the harbour entrance, which was quite rollie. No thank you.
We anchored in the harbour for two nights and planned to stop one more. However, at about mid-morning on the third day, a non-French speaking sailboat anchored next to us, thus encroaching on the ferry’s turning circle. One of the ferry staff sprang into action, and in French, with a smidge of English, he informed the yacht, they could not anchor there and directed them to visitor’s berth.
We were not going to escape his actions. He called over to us, waving his arms and pointing to the visitor’s pontoon and to a sign on the embankment wall, which you could only see from the open sea. He forced the sign around, to show us a No Mooring emblem. Really? So be careful where you anchor in this harbour.
We’d just cleared out and the weather was perfect, we decided to make our way to Dominica. The original plan was to leave the next morning. We lifted our anchor, with fair winds and good seas. We were on our way to Dominica. Farewell Marie Galant. Having a home, you can sail is awesome!!!
The moral of this anchorage. It’s debatable if it’s an anchorage, you may have to take a visitor’s mooring. Sorry, no idea of costs!!
Dinghy Dock:
We pulled up to the closest pontoon in our dinghy, spoke to a local. He told us to use any available space. We took care to not take a fishing boats berth. For clarification, speak with the local fishermen who were really friendly, good chaps.
Water and Fuel:
The fuel dock was by the ferry pontoons. We’re unclear about water, as there were no water points on the pontoons. There was a covered area for the fishermen to sort out their catch and they had access to water to clean their fish. You could probably ask someone on the dock area. Sorry cannot confirm as we did not require any during our stay.
Rubbish:
There was no specific area for yachties to place their rubbish. As we walked off the harbour area, we headed across the main road into town. There we found waste bins that appeared to be for public use.
Grocery Shopping:
We found one main grocery shop in Grand Bourg. To get there, go straight across at the marina car park entrance, keep going straight, into town. The shop is not far, and on the right-hand corner of a crossroad. It’s not huge but they have a decent variety of stock. Towards the back of the shop, you’ll find a staircase to a second floor with more variety. In addition, this floor also has many non-food products, such as toiletries, cleaning products, crockery, pots n pans etc. So, in conclusion, a good all-round shop.
Camping Gas:
We weren’t looking for gas so unsure if anywhere supplied it.
Things We Did:
Note: Our sightseeing was all walks from the anchorage. We didn’t travel far from the harbour.
The Town of Grand Bourg:
We both loved the culture and people in Grand Burg. The town itself was really interesting to walk around. The odd bit of graffiti showing.
When you leave the harbour, you are in the town. The culture and the friendly people give you a good feeling. Unfortunately, we didn’t get enough time to walk around the whole town, but did enjoy our time there, including the large, picturesque town square. Here we found plenty of benches shaded from the sun, under the cover of large, leafy trees. The square was obviously popular with the locals, also soaking up the vibes. Customs office is on the northwest corner off the square.
There were a good variety of shops in town.
Located in the center of town was the main church, which was open and seemed to allow sightseers to take a look. Outside the church was a small outdoor food market, selling a large variety of fruit, veg and touristy trinkets.
Beaches:
The beach at Grand Bourg was everything you would expect in the Caribbean. You can see the on the right in the L/H image.
There’s a beautiful white sandy beach at Grand Bourg. From the harbour head right, out of town along the coastal road and keep walking for about ten minutes through the suburbs. As you round a bend, the beach appears and stretches out in front of you. The clear warm waters are inviting and were calling out for us to take a dip. We didn’t hesitate.
Several mature palm trees line the shore, which were very handy for shade and the needed respite from the glaring sun. At the far end of the beach, there’s are several public, picnic shelters with tables and chairs. It was good to see locals and tourists, having picnics and enjoying the outdoors. Within a stone’s throw, we spied several restaurants on the main road, perfect if you fancy a meal or cold drink.
The sea was quite choppy at the beach whilst we were there. Offshore is a large outdoor pool area, created from large intersecting floats, normally used as floating pontoons. I think the area inside the floats was available for the public to use, but a party of school children showed up for swimming lessons and took it over. In the shadow of the floats, in the pool itself, was a protected area of calm water. Great for swimming or relaxing. A total win, win situation. Make sure you visit!
