Dominica, April 2021

Arriving in Dominica

Phone calls and message exchanges with Konstantin on the following day somewhat clarified the situation. Apparently, once the boat left Martinique she would not be allowed to return. So, Konstantin could pick us up only after he checked out of Martinique. He did ask around the fellow yachtsmen if anyone could bring us from Dominica and nobody volunteered.

Anna and I paid $100 for another night in the cottage at The Pirates of the Caribbean and did our best to find out as much as possible about the protocol of getting us off the island. Nobody knew anything for sure. The information that we received was conflicting. Some said that we had to stay the entire required 7 days of quarantine which did not make sense. If we left Dominica we would not be a danger to its population. Others told us that we needed a COVID test before the coast guard would let us go.

We even hired a COVID taxi to go to the police station and asked there. A pretty young policewoman took a photo of the catamaran crew list with our names on it and patiently answered our questions until she noticed quarantine bracelets on out wrists.

‘You are not allowed to leave your hotel,’ she said, horrified. ‘Please, go back immediately.’

After all our inquires, it sounded like the catamaran could come to Portsmouth without docking there and send a dinghy to the shore to pick us up, no COVID test needed for anyone. I sent a message to Konstantin asking him to come next day. He replied that they would do that, come rain or shine.

With a renewed hope, Anna and I extended our stay at the cottage for one more day. By then, we learned how to save money on meals. Instead of eating everything in a box, we divided one portion into 2 halves and ate one half for lunch, the other half for dinner. Cindy’s mother brought her food from home and Cindy shared it with us.

Cindy spent with us plenty of time. Her company was always welcome. Cindy was smart, funny and knowledgeable. She owned a business in the US and traveled back and forth between Dominica and Texas. In the evening, we played cards with her. Cindy taught us a new game call five hundred. Anna was unbelievably lucky and kept winning even though she could not remember all rules. I joked that she would not be lucky in love.

The beach was at our front steps; we swam and took walks along it. Black volcanic sand stuck to our feet. Every cottage had at its entrance a large bowl filled with water so people could wash their feet before going in.

Konstantin messaged me that the catamaran left Martinique. The estimate time of arrival in Dominica was 10 a.m. on the following day. That was a lot longer than his original “half a day between the two islands”. Anna and I could do nothing but wait. So, we paid another $100 for a third night.

Next morning, Anna and I packed our luggage and by 10 a.m. were ready to leave any minute. We kept watching for the catamaran that was supposed to sail past our cottage. We saw boats on the horizon but they did not turn into Portsmouth harbor.

I pinged Konstantin again. He replied that they were 2 miles away from the port; we should be able to see the catamaran. Well, we did not. We waited and waited, then ordered lunch at noon.

Andrew, the hotel manager, who was extremely helpful, came to sit with us. He looked concerned. If the remaining distance was only 2 miles how many hours did the catamaran need to cover it?

At 2 p.m., we finally got a word that the catamaran was in the harbor. Apparently, a strong wind blew her off course and the boat sailed past Portsmouth. She had to take in sail and to motor into the harbor.

We hugged with Cindy and Andrew; a taxi took us to the port. Despite all previous worries, there were no border formalities. They did not even stamp our passports. A dinghy came to transfer Anna and me to the catamaran. As soon as we were on board of Elli Di, Konstantin weighed anchor and we were off.

Later, going through the saved chat in Messenger, I could see how much miscommunication and misinformation happened at that time. Konstantin had a lot to do before he could leave Martinique but he chose not to tell Anna and me about his issues. He had known beforehand that picking us on the previously agreed date from Dominica was impossible. Yet, he said nothing. We could have bought tickets for a later date to make things easier for everyone.

Keeping us in the dark did not help. However, since Anna and I never met Konstantin before, we decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps, our opinion of him would improve after us meeting in person. With that thought on our minds, we loaded our luggage on the catamaran and settled in in our respective cabins.

Our destination was Guadeloupe.

Dominica to Guadeloupe