A Tale of Two Chemists: Chilling in Portsmouth, Dominica

Chilling in Portsmouth, Dominica

Sunday 15th - Monday 16th December 2024

Life on the mooring in Portsmouth is pretty chill. Our first order of business was to get checked-in with customs and immigration. In the past we have taken the dinghy over to the government offices about 3 miles away, but we weren’t sure they were open on a Sunday. We then heard from some other cruisers that PAYS (Portsmouth Area Yacht Services), from whom we rent the mooring, would organize the process for us. I completed the electronic submissions on-line through “SailClear” and we went to shore around 9 am to talk to PAYS. “Yes, we can sort this for you, give me your documents and come back at noon” - so we left our passports and check-out papers from Martinique with PAYS and left. When we returned sometime after noon … and mid-afternoon … and late afternoon … the office was all locked up. We were a little concerned about not having our passports, but when I returned on Monday morning, Eddison (PAYS) greeted me with the words “I expected to see you yesterday”. Anyway, it was all sorted and we now have passports and clearance documents in hand.

We have been doing some boat cleaning in preparation for the arrival of Tasha, Mac, Don and Dolly (Mac’s parents). We were able to buy some gasoline and diesel at the local petrol station and we have filled up our water tanks with jerry cans from shore. All told it’s been fairly relaxing. We have taken a couple of short walks along the main beach-front road through Portsmouth. It's a scruffy but colorful little town and the people are super friendly. I needed to get a temporary driving permit before picking up a rental car, and even the police officers were charming!

Monday became a display of tall-masted sailing ships, with four in the bay at one time. We often see boats, small and large, that we have seen previously in other harbors or out on the ocean, and the tall ships stand out because they look so beautiful.

Mike