Statia - Profile
Facts
- St Eustatius is now part of the Netherland, and known as Statia (pronounced "STAY-SHA").
- the island lies north of St Kitts in the Leeward Island chain and is just 5 miles long and 2.5 miles wide.
- the only anchorage is off the main village of Oranjestad, in Oranje Baai, which is an open roadstead where the swell usually makes itself felt.
- Statia is a free port, like Saba and Sint Maarten.
- Services are quite basic, although the situation has improved with moorings for visiting yachts being laid both in the harbour and marine park. Maintenance of these moorings however is reported to be poor.
Security
Based on reports to noonsite from cruisers, petty theft from yachts is on the rise in the Caribbean in general. Cruisers should take basic safety precautions and use common sense when leaving the boat or going ashore at night. Dinghy thieves operate throughout the Caribbean and best advice is to place your dinghy on deck and chain it overnight.
Check the noonsite Piracy Pages and the Caribbean Safety & Security Net for information on the current island situation.
The Caribbean Safety and Security Net (safetyandsecuritynet@gmail.com) gather information by anchorage or by island, so sailors can plan their cruising in the Caribbean with an eye to appropriate behaviour and precautions wherever they decide to go. Should you have information about a security incident, as well as contacting noonsite please also forward details to the Caribbean Safety and Security Net, as theirs is the most comprehensive source of Caribbean security incidents against sailors on the net. Please be sure to include boat name, date of incident and anchorage/port where the incident took place.
Weather
Generally dry and sunny. Light NE trade winds bring constant cool breezes and sufficient moisture to keep the average daytime temperature down to about 27 degrees Celsius. The average night temperature drops to about 23 degrees. Rainfall occurs in showers of medium duration during the months of April, June and September.
Main Ports
* indicates port of entry
