Things to know:
This information is our experience whilst anchored in Portsmouth Harbour, on Dominica in the Caribbean. During the period, 11-23 May 2022
Language:
The main language spoken in Dominica is English, but many residents speak French Patois, the original Carib language.
PAYS:
A sailing yacht on a PAYS mooring in Portsmouth Harbour. Your boat will be looked after by PAYS agents.
Portsmouth Association of Yacht Services is PAYS and run by Edison, a resident of Dominica. They are a remarkable group of locals who formed the association, to offer a safe and secure area for yachts and their crew, whilst mooring on a buoy or at anchor. The PAYS area is in the Northern part of Portsmouth Bay.
Lots of yachts anchor in the PAYS area and make it their base. It’s a good place to leave the boat whilst exploring the island.
A PAYS association member, as far as I’m aware is on security duty 24/7. They watch over the area by boat and from their beach HQ. This helps deter theft and reduces other worries, whilst you are away sightseeing.
PAYS will arrange various tourist trips, with one of their many authorized local guides. They also have regular BBQs which have a great party atmosphere and they can also provide information that will help you make the best of your time on the island.
PAYS basically look after you and your boat, so you can have a more relaxed and interesting time in Dominica. Nowhere is perfect, the boat and your security are your responsibility but you can be confident they will do a good job of looking after things for you.
Signing In/Out:
You can sign In/Out at Customs and Immigration at the South end of Portsmouth Harbour.
During and as Dominica opened up after COVID, yachts, and crew were required to use an agent for customs and immigration. This was to reduce contact with residents and came with additional costs. PAYS played a huge part in acting as an agent and assisted many yachties with this process.
Now that Dominica is fully open to boats and their crew, there is no forced requirement to use an agent, unless you wish to. To make life easier, PAYS will take your passports and complete the required paperwork for you at Customs and Immigration. Then return your passports with the required Visas. They do charge for this service but lots of people use it and are happy they did.
We’d read on Chris Doyle’s website that clearing in and out of Dominica without an agent was correct. Our budget was tight, we didn’t want the extra cost of an agent. We went to the PAYS office for assistance and Edison was very helpful. He kindly called the Doctor and arranged for him to visit us at the PAYS HQ. The doctor checked our COVID Passports were up to date and sent us to Customs and Immigration. There were no added costs to PAYS as they were not acting as our agents.
Customs and Immigration dinghy dock:
We made our way, by dinghy, to the commercial dock area at the south end of the bay. We moored alongside the concrete dinghy dock and spoke to security, who guided Les to the Customs and Immigration office.
The head customs officer insisted we needed to use an agent and have a covid test. Les explained the doctor had already seen us and sent us over to sign in. We had arrived in the cross-over period, which was still confusing with previous COVID rules and regulations.
Luckily there was a young clerk in the office, who instructed Les to hand over our boat papers. He was very efficient and cleared us in straight away. The process cost less than 10EC$, for our intended stay of two weeks. We’re not sure if the cost covered just 2 weeks but we were informed we could go back to extend our stay. An additional fee of less than 10EC$ was paid to clear out.
Mooring:
Dominica is an island of natural beauty and culture all on its own.
We sailed from Grand Bourg on Marie Galante and arrived at Portsmouth Harbour on Dominica early the same evening. It was getting dark as we were moved through the anchored boats looking for somewhere to anchor. A PAYS agent motored over to welcome us to Paradise, and offered to take us to a mooring buoy; we declined as we were anchoring. We also chatted about signing in the next day & he pointed out the PAYS HQ and suggested popping over for information. The bay was quite rolly for the first few nights but overall, it was fairly comfortable.
Dinghy Dock:
PAYS has its own concrete dinghy dock which is manned 24/7, so pretty secure. The downside, it wasn’t fully finished and was a bit high. Your dinghy can slip under the dock and it’s a bit of a climb to the top of the dock. The upside is, there is usually a PAYS guy to assist you if help is needed.
There’s also a wooden pontoon further south, along the beach from PAYS. This is not associated with PAYS, but many boaters used it.
If you want to get straight into town, use the town pier further south again. This will lead you straight to the food and fish markets. You’re now in the heart of Portsmouth. Note, you cannot lock your dinghy to the dock if you moor here. A fishing vessel may need to move you. But they are extremely friendly and seemed to be careful with other people’s dinghies.
Water:
Within the PAYS harbour area, there is a floating water point, and boats moor up alongside. It cost 50EC, allowing you access to as much water as you need. Let PAYS know if you require this service and they will unlock it for you.
If you have water containers, PAYS have a tap by their office, where you can fill them for free. There are also public taps along the main street, they are free to use.
We did not require fuel, so unclear when this was obtained from
Rubbish:
PAYS have two big bins for yachties to place their rubbish. Unfortunately, the island had no recycling facilities that we could find.
Shopping:
Along the main road from PAYS into town, we found many independent grocery shops. In the Center of town, off the town’s main pier, is the covered aforementioned food market. From there spills out many pavement stalls selling a huge variety of fruit and veg. This increases at the weekend as outlying farmers come into town to sell their wares. Just next door is the fish market selling the fresh catch of the day, directly off the fishing boats.
The town is fairly large, so you can expect to find most things you are looking for. We did not see a comprehensive Chandlery anywhere. Ask PAYS if you’re looking for something specific and they’ll be sure to tell you where you need to go.
Camping Gas:
We weren’t looking for gas but did see it for sale but we are unsure of the details.
