Salty Dawgs Adventures in Dominica

Our first event with the Salty Dawgs was a welcome dinner and dance up at Fort Shirley. It was a wonderful evening filled with good food, drinks, music, and plenty of laughter. Awards and acknowledgments were handed out by and for the Dawgs—though, surprisingly, we didn’t receive any recognition. We like to think we’re pretty awesome, so that was unexpected! At least Barry managed to convince Miss Carnival to let him try on her sash!

The following day, we joined a group of Dawgs for a scenic bus ride and hike to a nearby waterfall. It’s said that in Dominica, you could hike a different river every day of the year—and after seeing how lush and green the island is, I believe it.

We went to Free Up Farm up high in the mountains for lunch, and everything they cooked had been picked from their farm in the last 24 hours. They gave us a tour of the property and talked about the different local fruits and vegetables, as well as their organic approach to the farm.

Hiking and lunch at the Free Up Farm

The days that followed were a mix of hikes, dinners, and social events. One evening, we joined friends for a jam session on their boat, and Nikki was in her element—playing guitar and singing the night away.

Views from Portsmouth, Dominica

We also got to experience one of our favourite Caribbean experiences: Extreme Dominica, a canyoning adventure organized by Koa, a couple we met on the Salty Dawg rally this year. The adventure starts at the riverhead, where you float downstream through a series of waterfalls. At each one, you either leap into the pool below or rappel down the canyon wall. Everyone in our group was a jumper, which made it that much more fun—floating, laughing, and plunging into cool, clear water. If you ever find yourself in Dominica, this is an absolute must-do.

As the week went on, the weather began to turn. Portsmouth is a large anchorage and well-protected from northern and eastern swells, but like many Caribbean anchorages, it can still get rolly—or even dangerous—when conditions worsen or turn to the west. Several boats left in search of calmer waters, but we decided to stay, moving to the southern part of the bay where things were manageable, though getting Zorro ashore was a bit tricky.

We were determined to stay for the Lionfish Dinner, one of the events on the schedule. The day before, however, we received a call for help—our host’s refrigerators had gone out due to the bad weather, and all the lionfish had spoiled. They needed divers with spearguns to restock the supply. Nikki and I jumped at the chance to help. On our first dive, we caught about 20–25 lionfish between us; on the second, we managed another 40. With a small group of boats still in port, our collective catch was more than enough to save the dinner. And it was delicious! Lionfish is one of our favourite meals.

The lionfish dinner marked the final Salty Dawgs event for us. With the weather continuing to deteriorate, it was time to lift anchor and head south toward Martinique. We paired up with a new buddy boat—a Lagoon 380, similar in size and speed to ours—which made for easy travelling. Our friends from Gypsea had to start their journey back to the U.S., as Dominica is the turning point in the rally: some boats head north, while others (like us) continue south toward Grenada and Trinidad & Tobago.

We made the sail from Portsmouth to Roseau in about half a day, grabbed a mooring ball, and got Zorro ashore—barely. The dock was unusually high, and the storm surge was rough, but we managed to get to shore and go for a quick exploration of the town before we needed to get back to our boats that were rocking and rolling!

At that point, we had a decision to make: stay in Roseau and wait out the storm (though the anchorage was tight and poorly protected), or push on to Martinique. The closest port of entry was Saint-Pierre, but it’s also known to be exposed during heavy weather. The safer option would be to continue farther south to Fort-de-France, which offers more shelter. We decided to leave early and aim for Fort-de-France, with the plan to stop at Saint-Pierre if conditions allowed. Spoiler alert—it didn’t.

Dolphins on our passage to Martinique

Next time, we’ll cover storm prep, dragging anchors, late-night boat moves, and our arrival at our second French island.