Carnival in St. Martin

We happened to be in St. Martin during the annual Carnival, which was pretty cool. Near-naked gyrating butts in every direction! After several days of gorging ourselves on French pastries, we moved north to the bay off Grand Case, known as St. Martin's restaurant row. We rented a car for a couple of days and did a land circumnavigation of the island, including lunch at Orient Bay along with the requisite strolls up and down the renowned nude section of the beach there. Departing Grand Case early on Feb. 10th, we motored around the northwest end of St. Martin so we'd wind up on a better SE tack for St. Barthelemy. We stopped to check out of St. Martin and get fuel and water at Ansel Marcel, a little bay with a marina that's accessed via a 1/4-mile curved channel that's only wide enough for one boat. Sound your horn before entering and cross your fingers, but get some minor comfort from the fact that there's a wide passing spot half-way through.