SAINT-PIERRE, MARTINIQUE TO ROSEAU, DOMINICA

SAINT-PIERRE, MARTINIQUE TO ROSEAU, DOMINICA

APRIL 25, 2017

We departed Saint-Pierre, Martinique at 0730 hrs in the morning for Roseau, Dominica: 34 nm.  The Trade Winds were blowing from the ESE at 20-25 kts and the passage between the islands produced 6-7’ seas.  We arrived off Roseau at 1430 hrs and were guided to a mooring by one of the “mooring boys”: 15-17.385’ N; 061-22.799’ E.  It is possible to anchor here but the holding, reputedly, is not very good .  The moorings are well maintained with strong mooring lines in good condition: $30 per night.  The biggest problem facing the visiting yachtsman is lack of safe dinghy access.  There is a small jetty that can be used with a few flimsy lines for attaching the stern of the dinghy.  This is important as there is quite a bit of surge coming into the mooring area.  If the stern line were to break, the dinghy would be washed under the dock and destroyed.

Roseau, the capital of Dominica, is well preserved in its French and English colonial architecture:  Market Square forms the center of the old city.  It was the place where slaves were sold and executed.  From this center, many streets radiate outwards and have fine examples of colonial architecture.  Ft. Young, located within the ramparts of the old colonial military of the 1770’s vintage, is the “piece de resistance” in the city.  It is an old fort that has been made into a beautiful hotel while retaining all the fortifications, cannons, flagstones and other parts of the original structure.  We sat down in the bar area and had our first encounter with “A Big Assed Fan”.  This is an American company that produces gigantic fans for commercial enterprises.  I’m guessing that it had  12’diameter blades that were circulating an impressive amount of air at a comfortable rate.  It was so big that a special beam and supports were needed to keep it from taking off.

Dominica is one of the less visited islands but, perhaps, one of the most beautiful.  It attracts eco-tourism because of the many rainforests, rivers and lakes.  It has set up several hiking trails with varying degrees of difficulty: a guide is needed.  It is the only island left with a sizable indigenous population of Kalinago Indians.  These were from the cannibalistic Caribs that literally, physically and culturally, digested their predecessors, the Arawaks.  This island, more than any other, has placed an emphasis on preserving their pristine natural resources.  Because the island is mountainous with inaccessible areas, it has been possible to preserve a large part of it from destruction.  I wish we would have had more time to explore all that it has to offer.

On April 27^th at 0730 hrs, we departed the mooring for Portsmouth, Dominica.  This is one of the towns that is touted by many cruisers to offer the best possibilities for exploring the interior.  It’s only twenty miles from Roseau to Portsmouth so we arrived at 1130 hrs and were guided to a mooring by one of the “boat boys”.  The town itself is not very interesting but it is strategically placed  to explore the interior by motor boat, bus and hiking.  The presence of “ganja” was everywhere and openly smoked at one of the restaurants on the beach.  Once again, dinghy access is limited to a dock using a stern anchor.  There was a large surge coming from the SW coming into the port.

We were anxious to move on so we departed Portsmouth at 1830 hrs the same day for Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten: 180 nm.  As we were departing rain and squalls were building up in the bay.  This continued right on into the night and required motoring at times.  The unsettled Wx stayed with us for a good part of the voyage but gave way to ESE’ly winds 20-25 kts as we approached Sint Maarten.