On January 29th 2026 we were finally leaving our mooring ball in Saint Pierre, Martinique and heading to the beautiful country of Dominica. We were told by several Sea Sisters that Portsmouth is a great place to get a mooring ball and that twice weekly the organization who maintains the balls (PAYS) has a bbq on shore for all the cruisers. This sounded like a lot of fun. A couple days prior I sent a text to a man named Eddison who is one of the PAYS workers and requested a mooring ball for us. He said, "sure no problem." So at 0715 we untied from our mooring ball in Saint Pierre and made the 63 mile 7.5 hour cruise to Dominica. We weren't alone. At one point I counted 14 boats total all sailing to various ports. Our friends on Quinn's Gambit was also underway and heading to Portsmouth as well. The cruise was uneventful- sunny skies, 4 foot seas and 13-16 mph of wind. As we were pulling into Portsmouth I texted Eddison to let him know we were arriving. I got no response. I called him on the radio and he said someone would be out to help us. After Quinn's Gambit were taken to their mooring ball it was our turn. As the man approached in this skiff he told us that they no longer had a ball for a boat our size and that it had been given away. I was in total disbelief. I told the man I had reserved one especially for us from Eddison. He said he understood but there were no more balls and a group called Salty Dawg was in town and they had all of the balls. Well at this point my disbelief turned to anger. Little did I know at the time that they don't reserve mooring balls that everything is first come first serve. Had I been told that from the start maybe we wouldn't have been so shocked or pissed. It's now 4pm and heading towards getting dark. The man explained we could anchor next to the mooring balls. Instead we headed way over to the other side not wanting anything to do with those balls. We decided we needed to pivot. If we couldn't be there on the balls and just randomly anchored we didn't want to stay. So we would leave in the morning for La Saints.
Leaving Saint Pierre, Martinique
Passing Some Big Boys
Pulling Into Portsmouth, Dominica
Sunset Portsmouth
The next morning now leaving we pulled anchor at 0656 and headed the 25 miles to Terre-de-Haut, Les Saints. Today the sea wasn't as cooperative as the previous day. We were taking 4 foot swells on the beam every 5 seconds with 2-3 foot wind waves. It was very washing machine like and not very comfortable. Having forgotten how lumpy it could be we failed to secure our little drinks fridge and all of the contents emptied out onto the floor. So as we sloshed back and forth I bent down trying to rescue rolling cans of beer and clean broken glass off the floor. Good times. We crossed with two of our friends- Daggers Down and Quinn's Gambit. Daggers Down flew past us enjoying the 16mph winds and arriving almost an hour prior to us. Fortunately there were several available mooring balls and we quickly snagged one. That afternoon we went to town to check in and have some ice cream with Daggers Down. It was hot per the usual but town was cute and quaint and it was nice to stretch our legs a bit. That evening we had dinner with Fin and Quinn's Gambit.
Daggers Down Flying By
Les Saints
Approaching Mooring Field
Terre-De-Haut, Les Saints
Church In Town
Dinner With Fin & Quinn's Gambit
The next morning we enjoyed sleeping in. Well at least until 7 when the generator needed to be turned on. We moved slowly enjoying coffee and our new scenery. We took care of some projects around the boat until it was the hottest part of the day when we finally were motivated enough to take a hike. It never fails. We laze around until after lunch and then finally around 2ish we're ready. Luckily the hike after reaching it was covered with trees and shade and not too hot. We made our way to the other side of the island where we found a calm and peaceful anchorage occupied only by 2 boats. Jeff decided to reward himself with an ice cream before we returned to the boat.
Hiking Around Les Saints
We Met Friends On The Trail
Our final day in Les Saints thanks to good advice from Daggers Down we rented a golf cart and tooled all around the island. It was very reminiscent of Avalon in Catalina where everyone is on golf carts. It was a great way to get around the whole island. We visited an old fort, a couple of lovely beaches and a cemetery. We had a nice lunch and Jeff had his final ice cream. We felt like we had thoroughly seen the island from end to end.
Mooring Field
Guadeloupe In the Background
The Old Fort
Beach
Cemetery
Full Moon
We made a plan to meet our niece and nephew (Natanya & Jason) in Guadeloupe so now it was time to head that way. At 0912 we let go of our mooring ball and made the 26 mile run to Bas Du Fort marina in Guadeloupe. Back to France. We had calm seas 3-4 feet with long periods and 12-13mph winds. We are getting good at med mooring as all of these marinas force you to do it. There are a few variations we've come across. Sometimes you tie two bow lines to a mooring ball then two stern lines to the dock. Other times you tie two stern lines to the dock and you're given what's known as a slime line that comes from the dock and you walk it up to your cleats on the bow and secure a line on each side. This requires gloves because the lines are slimy and nasty. Bas du Fort had a mooring ball in front which they helped secure our lines to via dinghy and we backed into the stern and tied two more lines. Despite this being France they did have 60hertz power which meant we could run our ac's and operate like normal. A lot of French islands only have 50hertz which either requires a converter or no power.
Checking in at the office was a long and smelly process. The entire room reeked of b.o. and we waited in a line of 6 people just inhaling the essence of France. I think Jeff went outside at one point. The rest of the day was chill. We walked around the marina and got our bearings. There are 10-15 restaurants on site and a little grocery store and a boulongerie so it's pretty well set up for cruisers.
Guadaloupe
Bas-Du-Fort, Guadaloupe
Our Dock
The next several days were spent getting the boat ready for Natanya (Tot) & Jason. We cleaned and did projects and bought food. Then on February 6th they arrived. They arrived around 2pm after a short nonstop flight from Miami. We dropped their bags and we headed straight for lunch. Everyone was hungry and ready to eat. We chose a restaurant at the marina called Quai Ouest and enjoyed a nice lunch and cheers'd their arrival in Guadaloupe. After lunch we walked the property with them and showed them around. Back at the boat we rested a bit and they settled in a relaxed before dinner. Again at the marina we went to Le Fregate where Jeff and Jason both had lobster which they chose from a tank of living swimming lobsters. It was a great first day.
Tot & Jason Arrived
Lunch at Quai Oust
Dinner Le Fregate
Jason Shopping For Dinner
The Victims
Saturday February 7th Tot and Jason's first full day in Guadaloupe we rented a car in order to explore the island a bit. Guadaloupe is shaped like a butterfly and we were staying in the body at the marina but would explore the left wing today and the right wing another day. Both sides are vastly different. The left side is mountainous and full of waterfalls and hikes and lush green forests whereas the right side is flat and dry and almost desertlike. Today on the left wing we would explore Carberet falls, drive the D23 route through the national park and visit the soufriere volcano. A lot of driving but worth it to see everything.
Guadeloupe- The Butterfly
Carberet Falls
Hiking
Tot & Jason Hiking
The next day happened to be Super Bowl and had it been up to me we wouldn't have left the boat and just watched coverage the entire day until kickoff but with guests we felt like we had to do some touring before camping out. We made a compromise to be out until after lunch then we would head back to the boat and tune in. Today we would explore the right wing. We drove the car to Pointe des chateaux, Port Louis and Anse Betrand. And we actually found a nice spot for lunch completely by accident. Jeff spotted it and we all had nice lunches. As lunch droned on I was getting anxious to be back to the boat and see what was happening with pre-game. Everyone was good sports. Jason is a football fan so he didn't take much convincing but Tot not so much. She went along with it and we ordered pizza from a place at the marina for dinner and settled in for the long evening. It was a good game and I was ecstatic to see my Seahawks win and become Super Bowl champs. Great day!
Point des Chateaux
Hiking To Top Of Hill
Lunch At Cap Du L'Ocean
Super Bowl Champs Baby!
After a late victorious night we hopped back into the car for more exploring and touring. Today we went to the Distillery Bonne Mer where we learned all about the rum making process. It was supposed to be an English tour but our tour guide surprisingly didn't know a lot of English and most of the tour was in French with a sprinkling of English woven through. We didn't feel like we were given all the information that the French speakers were. There was a tasting after that was just ok. Caribbean rum is super harsh compared to the Central American rum we have been used for the past few years. Tot didn't even try hers so I had to work cleanup. We stumbled upon a restaurant for lunch that was pretty good and had a nice view of the sea. After lunch everyone (sans moi) wanted to go for crepes at the restaurant by the marina so I sat while they ate.
Distillery Bonne Mer
Rum Tasting
Lunch
Crepes
Tuesday February 10th was Tot & Jason's last day. Their flight wasn't unit 4:30 so we still had some time to explore a little more. Today we drove to Pointe a Pietre the capital and largest city in Guadaloupe. This too is where the cruise ships dock so we set out to explore and maybe shop and have some lunch. In my opinion Pointe a Peitre was a bit of a bust. The town is busy and packed with people and there really wasn't a single shop we wanted to go into. After some walking around we hopped back in the car and had lunch at the marina before taking Tot and Jason to the airport and dropping off the rental car. It was great having visitors and exploring Guadaloupe together.
Point a Pietre Waterfront
Shopping in Pointe a Pietre
Point a Pietre
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