5-8 Rockin' & Rollin' in Roseau; Happy Mother's Day!

Pos: N15deg17.39min / W061deg22.74min. It is only 10 nm from Batalie Beach to Roseau, but more than expected (and certainly not forecast) adverse wind, current and chop found us taking three hours to get there; some days are like this. Once closer, the Sea Cat moorings launch came out to meet us, and Greg took our lines to secure us to a large mooring, which helped a lot as the wind had crept up to 25-30 knots in the gusts and the whitecaps were impressive. We felt the 30EC/night charge reasonable, and were also able to give Greg our small bag of trash to dispose of. We noted that most of the yachts heading south came in to Roseau, as conditions had deteriorated to the point where like minds felt it prudent to wait it out. Unfortunately, the roll here is horrible, and everyone's masts are oscillating thru at least 20 degrees of arc. Doyle's Guide describes lots of things to plan and do around here, but I suspect we'll just relax, hold on, and see if the prediction for lots of rain holds true. Our watermaker has been deconditioned, so we'll either need rain water or will have to get somewhere to top off our tanks. Lastly, a very Happy Mother's Day goes out on this Sunday morning; we hope everyone has a wonderful day!

5-6 Update

Well, here's the report: the food is delicious! The various lobster platters served are large, tasty and well priced. Further, we had met two scuba enthusiasts, Thekla, from Germany, and Melanie, from Switzerland, and they had arranged their dive master to bag enough lion fish for all of us. The kitchen staff prepared them with expertise, and it was the first time for us to eat lion fish. The meat was white, flaky, and very tender and we picked the bones clean. Thanks Thekla and Melanie! We also had some mahi; again, delicious. Roger and his wife, Marcela are gracious hosts, and we highly recommend this stop to other cruisers. Btw, if you need any further inducement for coming here, cruisers are offered an 8% discount when paying in cash. This morning, we're moving about 10 miles south to Roseau, staging for our passage to Martinique next week. We're expecting rain and squalls to come through Sunday, so will wait out the weather there. Lastly, Happy Mother's Day to all our friends and relatives - we hope you have a wonderful time; we're sending our love and hugs!

5-5 Sunset Bay Club, Batalie Beach, Coulibistri, Dominica

Pos: N15deg27.08min / W061deg26.85min. We had lunch with Bill & Joanna of sv Baidarka at Le Triangle on the beach; good food and company. Early this morning, we left for Dominica, bypassing Portsmouth and going about 8 miles further south to Batalie Beach. It was a lovely sail in 9-18 knots E-ESE winds, which turned to calm, then NW in the lee of Dominica. At Batalie Beach, a Belgium expat, Roger, and his wife, Marcela, own the Sunset Bay Club, and we were told by some cruising friends to not miss their lobster dinner. Amongst the ususal resort amenities, they also offer free moorings, FW showers, a pool, and bar/restaurant. Walking around the resort, we saw lots of different birds, plants and trees. Roger and his staff have been busy. We'll be going back for our lobster, so will report on that soon.
Pic: Infini's the only sailboat here. View from the 4 Seasons Restaurant.

3-20 Syndicate tour and PAYS BBQ

We were picked up at 0700 to take the Syndicate/Milton Falls tour. This is about a 5 hour tour, but driving there is necessary as it’s just too far away to walk there. Our driver, Geoff, was a local, and very conversant about most things botanical. He was constantly either stopping the van (there were 8 of us), or along our trail through the rain forest, to point out and explain various trees, plants and vegetables. The walk wasn’t too taxing, and there was one viewing area where we had hoped to see various parrots, especially the Sisserou parrot, the national bird of Dominica. It was not to be. We heard a few parrots, but never sighted one. We then drove a short distance to the Milton Falls. After a short walk (and $5 USD Park entry fee), we walked along the river bed until we reached the falls. Most of us went in; the water wasn’t too cold, wasn’t too deep, and the setting was beautiful. We picked and ate some grapefruit, and took the ride back. This was a nice tour; we would have enjoyed spending more time at the viewing area just sitting around and contemplating, but with 8 of us, that didn’t happen. Cost 100 EC/pp. In the afternoon, we dinghied over to see Daniel and Carole, and get a close look at Folligou. I haven’t been on their website yet, but it was awesome to see this high-tech boat close up, and it’s a beauty. Later, we had happy hour with David and Chiz, after which we all dinghied over to attend the weekly Sunday PAYS BBQ which began at 1900 hours. We estimated about 75 cruisers attended, and the PAYS folks put on quite a spread. Unlimited rum punches, and a choice of wahoo, chicken or pork, along with salad and rice was served. Cost 50 EC/pp; well worth supporting, and delicious. We left at about 9:45, and had only one rum punch, as we’re planning an early departure tomorrow morning for The Saintes.
Pic: Michael enjoying the blast of water from the falls.

3-19 Cabrits walk

Along with Daniel and Carole (sv Folligou), we dinghied over to the PAYS dock and walked over to the Cabrits National Park. If no cruise ship is in, you can use their dinghy dock by the fort, but if there is a cruise ship at the terminal, the nearest dock is at PAYS. We paid our $5 USD Park entry fee, got a map, and started off. Unfortunately, the map was far from accurate, but it’s hard to get lost on a small hill of land. We walked up and down old river beds, finding the ruins of the old battery, officers’ quarters, troop barracks, guard house, Commandant’s quarters, powder magazine, and parade grounds. Some of the restoration of Fort Shirley has been completed, other areas are as they were back in the 18th century. There are lots of old cannons lying around (literally), and a small museum on the park grounds. There is an east and west Cabrits, and this is where the English looked over towards Guadeloupe where a famous naval battle took place. The wind was against the English ships in Portsmouth joining their fleet just a few miles away, so all they could do was watch from their fort and hope for victory (indeed, they won that battle and the French conceded). It was a lovely walk, not too strenuous, and we spotted the Antillian crested hummingbird, lots of bananaquits, several snakes, and your usual assortment of chameleons. Many of the trees have labels, making identification easy. At happy hour, we had David and Chiz (sv Platina), as well as Daniel and Carole to Infini, and we all enjoyed swapping stories and meeting up once again.

Mar 18 - Indian River tour

We joined two other yachties and Alexis took us to see the Indian River. It is now a protected area and motors are not allowed. Pulling an 18' heavy wooden runabout with 5 people (or more) against the current is not for the weak. There are 365 rivers in Dominica, and this one flows to the ocean, making a brackish mixture which allows abundant fish species and wild life. The bloodwood trees are huge, with long vines and an overhanging canopy. Land crabs scuttle along the banks. Part of the film Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was filmed here, and there is a recreation of Calypso's hut to see, as well as the beautiful Cobra's Bar (not in the film!), where we enjoyed a cup of fresh hot cocoa tea, mixed with grated cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. All along the way, Alexis gave a running commentary about the river, the plant, animal and bird life, and the ecology efforts underway to teach the children how to preserve their unique heritage. Of note, Alexis told us that the river is cleaned daily by assigned workers of any debris that washes down from villages up river. All good stuff, very enjoyable, duration a little over 2 hours; cost including the Park fee, 150EC/pp; recommended.

Mar 17 - North island tour

This morning, Lawrence, one of the PAYS boat boys, came zooming up to us at 0800 and asked if we were ready. "Ready for what?" we asked. "For your tour of the island," says he. Hmmm. Alexis said he'd contact us; we hadn't heard anything, and apparently he and Lawrence had added us to a van full of people going on a tour of the northern part of the island. OK...We quickly gathered our stuff and were ready in 5 minutes for the short ride to the Sandy beach dock, where Anselm, our driver, gathered us up and we all ran to the waiting van. Inside, 6 people waited, all French, but they were kind enough to speak English, for the most part. Although some yachties rent cars, we, again, felt better about things letting a local navigate his way around narrow, twisting roads, dodging a bit of traffic, a lot of pot holes, and turning onto roads we, no doubt, would have missed. The countryside is so lush, a beautiful view awaiting around each curve. The mountains afford amazing vistas, the highest one was about 4700' elevation in the distance. We stopped at various viewing points, eventually winding our way around to the Kalinago Territory to be where the Carib Indian ancestors of today's inhabitants were first discovered by Columbus. Modern Kalinagos are known for their handicrafts, basket weaving and dugout canoe building. We didn't buy any canoes, but did purchase a beautiful, small multi-colored, double-layered woven purse-basket, made waterproof by the integration of banana leaves between the inner and outer layers. We also bought a small series of carved gourds which hang vertically in a row of three. The last gourds we bought similar were from Panama! Following, we made our way to the Pointe Baptiste Chocolate Estate where Alan Napier, of Scottish descent, has a small factory outside the town of Calibishe. His grandparents bought the property in 1930, and he now makes delicious chocolate in a variety of flavors in a lush, tropical setting. We ate lunch at the Islet View Restaurant, a very nice stop with, you guessed right, beautiful views. In fact, with the distant colored waters and reefs, it reminded us a bit of those waters in some parts of French Polynesia. Our last stop was the Emerald Pool in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park. A short, easy walk brought us to the pool, but only one of our group went into the water; tres froid. The ride back to Portsmouth was on the main road from Roseau northwards, and we had to divert around a few washed-out, damaged segments of the road; Hurricane Erika of Aug 2015 destroyed many houses and roads here. By 1630 hours, we arrived back to our starting point; a full day, well worth the effort and price (150EC/pp).

Mar 15 - Portsmouth, Dominica

Pos: N15deg34.96min / W061deg27.96min. Departing at 0600 yesterday, we had a great sail in 18-20 knots of E wind on the beam from St Pierre to Dominica. Reaching Roseau, the capital at around noon, we decided to press on to Portsmouth, at the extreme NW end of the island. Interestingly, our E wind changed to NW as soon as we passed Scott's Head, our southern most waypoint. Unfortunately, the wind then died, and we ended up motorsailing about 2 hours to the large bay of Portsmouth. Anchoring in 22' sand, we stowed the sails and relaxed; it was 1700 hours. I should also note that the winds coming into the bay were strong, 18-22, on the nose, of course. It seems we're under the influence of a weather trough, bringing steady rain. We've filled the tanks, have extra water sitting around, and would go dancing on deck but it's cold in the wind and downpour. I cleared into Customs this morning, riding to the fish dock with Alexis, one of the many boat boys who make their living meeting incoming boats and arranging buoys, rides to shore, arranging purchase of ice or other stuff, and their big item...tours. We're anchored a long way from the Customs or the fish dock, and it was pouring, so the $10 USD (return included) was well worth it; our dinghy is still on deck. Clearance took just a few minutes, cost 10 EC (a little over $3 USD), and clearance in and out is granted at the same time for a two week stay. Longer stays are permitted with a return visit to Officialdom. We had hoped to get the dinghy in the water earlier, but the rain has been non-stop, and is forecast to be around for the next few days. No fun hiking in the rain forest, or sight-seeing, in a down-pour; most of the time I can barely see the shore line. All's well, albeit a bit damp, aboard.