{"id":43519,"date":"2021-04-21T15:25:47","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T19:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=43519"},"modified":"2023-12-07T15:32:46","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T20:32:46","slug":"the-floating-bakers-of-saint-anne-martinique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/story\/people\/floating-bakers-of-saint-anne\/","title":{"rendered":"The Floating Bakers of Saint-Anne, Martinique"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Juliette <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Juliette and Guerric making the morning pastry rounds in the anchorage.<\/span>\n David Lyman<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

It was 0730. The sun was struggling to climb above the clouds that cover the mountains surrounding the roadstead anchorage off the village of Sainte-Anne, on the island of Martinique. Another warm day in the Caribbean. The trade winds were blowing, keeping the 200-plus sailboats anchored there all aiming in the same direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had just come into the cockpit of Dove\u2014a 54-foot Crealock sloop that I was boat-sitting for a friend\u2014with a bowl of fresh fruit and my coffee when I heard the familiar buzz of a 10-horsepower outboard approaching. A young French couple was heading toward me with the rest of my breakfast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBonjour,\u201d I shouted as their 10-foot inflatable came alongside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBonjour,\u201d they both replied. Guerric, a tall, thin man in his late 20s, stood up to grab the cap rail. His companion, Juliette, sat on the dinghy\u2019s pontoon, crammed in among plastic tubs of baguettes and pastries. \u201cWhat will it be today?\u201d she asked in her accented English. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Colorful <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Picturesque Sainte-Anne features colorful homes.<\/span>\n David Lyman<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

\u201cA chocolate croissant,\u201d I replied. \u201cAnd a baguette for my lunch.\u201d Juliette removed the cover to a pastry tub, slipped my breakfast into a brown paper bag and handed it to Guerric, who then handed it up to me along with a long baguette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be right back,\u201d I said, diving below to paw through a pile of coins on the chart table. The baguette they sell me each morning is 1.90 euros, the croissant 1.50. I could get both cheaper in the village, but that would mean getting dressed, lowering the dinghy, firing up the engine, speeding into town, finding a spot at the overcrowded dinghy dock, locking the security chain to a cleat, walking through the village, then standing in line at the boulangerie with a dozen others. Then, it\u2019s all the way back to the boat. Forget the expense. The service Juliette and Guerric provide each morning is worth the markup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"A <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n A quaint central square with a large stone church in Sainte-Anne.<\/span>\n David Lyman<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Besides, after two weeks here, alone, among hundreds of French yachts at anchor and a village full of French tourists, they were the only two I could converse with in English. So we would chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guerric and Juliette are both from Lyon, France. He was a chef and she was teaching school until they both took off the previous fall for a yearlong adventure. Since neither had much sailing experience, they couldn\u2019t find a boat to sail on to cross the Atlantic, so they flew to Guadeloupe. From there they joined a catamaran heading south. In Tobago Cays they met a chap on a small boat making the rounds of anchored yachts selling stuff. That got them thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Sainte-Anne <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The busy anchorage provides plenty of croissant customers.<\/span>\n David Lyman<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

With the Sainte-Anne anchorage chock-full of liveaboards, and transit and charter yachts, there was a ready market for a morning pastry-delivery service. The couple bought a dinghy and engine, rented an apartment with a large stove, and set up shop. Their business card reads: \u201cMado\u2014Artisans Gourmands.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, you make all these things?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Guerric said. \u201cWe buy the baguettes from the boulangerie in the village.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we make the croissants ourselves,\u201d Juliette added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat does that entail?\u201d I asked. Guerric and Juliette looked at each other, and she giggled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI get up at 2 in the morning,\u201d she said, \u201cto prepare the croissants. We use frozen pastry that has to be thawed, filled, rolled, and brushed with butter. Then Guerric gets up, and he does the baking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"The <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Guerric and Juliette\u2019s pastry-delivery service saves \u00adcruisers from a trip to the crowded dinghy dock first thing in the morning.<\/span>\n David Lyman<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

\u201cSo the croissants are freshly baked?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI make 85 croissants every morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs it working?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, it is working,\u201d said Juliette. \u201cWe are very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, you make a living at this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, we can pay all our expenses, the cost of our travels, and save some for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow long have you been doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince December.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery morning?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery morning. Except if it\u2019s blowing too much or raining.\u201d Juliette said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Baked <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The croissants are delicious.<\/span>\n David Lyman<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Guerric, I learned, studied journalism before landing a job as a chef. Juliette is a few years younger. Their English is very good. They are a couple but not married\u2014yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are using this year in the Caribbean as an adventure, to see if we are \u2018compatible.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like you\u2019re taking your honeymoon before the wedding,\u201d I said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They both nodded and laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s in the future?\u201d I asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They looked at each other, and laughed again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho knows?\u201d Guerric replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe love the restaurant business,\u201d Juliette added. \u201cWe hope to find a boat that will take us north to Saint-Martin in the spring. Or maybe Cuba.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWill you come back here?\u201d I asked. Sainte-Anne needs someone to carry on this morning ritual. The two looked at each other and shrugged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you spend any time in these parts, you\u2019ll find that these two are not the only floating entrepreneurs in the island chain. My friend Larry, who owns Dove, sailed up and down the Leewards and filled me in on a few others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Sainte-Anne\u2019s <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Provisioning is a dream in Sainte-Anne\u2019s open-air markets.<\/span>\n David Lyman<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

\u201cThere are lots of harbor entrepreneurs,\u201d Larry wrote. \u201cBequia has excellent croissants brought to your boat by a very nice young man, and they are delicious. Better than I get in France. Carriacou has always had a guy making the rounds, selling wine and oysters, while on Saint-Martin, they not only bring croissants out to you, they can fill up your water tanks. An old West Indian in Rodney Bay sells vegetables and fruit from his overstuffed rowboat. In the BVI,\u201d Larry added, \u201ca couple comes around selling fruit and vegetables from their own garden, as well as fresh eggs from HM Prison! It\u2019s stamped right there on the box. In Tobago Cays, someone sells bread, baguettes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to go,\u201d Juliette said. \u201cWe have lots more boats to visit.\u201d Off they went in their dinghy, waving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSee you tomorrow,\u201d I shouted, with a wave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juliette waved and shouted back, \u201cBonne journ\u00e9e, \u00e0 demain!\u201d (Have a good day, see you tomorrow!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sat down at the cockpit table, with my croissant, pineapple and coffee. Life is all possibilities for those two, I thought to myself. I too was there once. Heck, I\u2019m there now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Lyman spent three months during the pre-pandemic winter of 2019-20 in the Caribbean moving from island to island while boat-sitting for a friend and writing. He is currently back home in Maine.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A young French duo delivers freshly baked pastries and baguettes to this busy Caribbean anchorage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"David H. Lyman","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"April 21, 2021","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"165","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"A young couple from France filled a need for fresh delivered pastries in the busy harbor of Sainte-Anne, Martinique.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"3URVR7AAVZHMXKZGVWRDTZIG6Y","arc_website_url":"story\/people\/floating-bakers-of-saint-anne\/","custom_permalink":"story\/people\/floating-bakers-of-saint-anne\/","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":true,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[165],"tags":[196,1918,836,197,1255],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}