Major difference between the two areas. St. Martin, St. Kitts, Barbuda and
that area are more for people who want to do some serious sailing. St.
Martin to anywhere but Anguilla is a good 9-10 hours of blue water. I am
not very impressed by the snorkeling on St. Martin but to shore side
resturants are not to be missed. Anguilla has some good snorkeling but the
island is flat scrub with some big resorts. Saba is interesting to explore
but no good snorkeling and poor anchorage. Some pretty fair snorkeling
south of St. Kitts and lots of good spots around Antigua. .

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Brien Alkire" wrote in message
news
My wife and I are trying to plan a combination sailing & diving trip. We
had a fantastic trip to BVI last year, and we plan to do Tahiti in a few
years. We've narrowed our choice this year to either Abacos in the
Bahamas,
or St Martin.

St Martin looks like the more interesting sailing location to me. The
cruising grounds are much larger than what's available in Abacos. We can
sail St Martin, St Nevis, St Barts, Antigua and Guadelope.

The diving looks more promising in Bahamas. However, the charter
companies
severely limit the cruising grounds to just a small radius.

How is the sailing in St Martin and the surrounding areas as compared to
Bahamas?

Any thoughts on these choices as they relate to quality of diving and
quality of sailing?

I've learned that there really are a limited number of places where you
can
combine great diving with great sailing. I'm beginning to really
appreciate
my home waters, though they are chilly (So Cal Channel Islands).

Thanks,

Brien