Blue Mist and her crew have been sailing around the Carribean since crossing the Atlantic in December 2021. We spent 2022 hurricane season exploring Grenada and the ABC’s, and decided to spend the 2023 season hunkered down in Luperon, DR following several recommendations from fellow cruisers.
Firstly Luperon’s reputation as a protected bay we cannot fault. Any storms which came close simply didn't impact Luperon in 2023, wind or rain all seemed to bypass the bay being pushed away by the topography, so that was a win as like many we are not insured for named storms so we were having to take the risk.
Secondly, Luperon and it's local community were welcoming, friendly and we couldn't of asked for a nicer experience which made us feel like one of the family, special call out to Wendy’s Bar for being so welcoming and for making such an effort to ensure we could watch the Rugby World Cup. Yanna and her whole family are truly wonderful people. But you can’t go wrong in New Amsterdam, The North, Astrids, Daisels, Las Velas and the many local Menu del Dia places either.
Fresh veggies (straight from the ground or tree), butchers and supermarkets are all in town and will deliver to the marina Puerto Blanco (or anywhere else). It was easy to get most of the basics or alternatives as long as you're not fixed on brands.
There are a fair few services in and around town, run by both locals and other cruisers but mostly you have to be self sufficient. Shipping in is pretty straight forward with BoxPaq, we shipped a few items in with success and know of cruisers who shipped in dinghy’s, batteries and a generator successfully. Marina Tropical(boat yard) had several cruisers doing DIY boat jobs, but we didn't check it out so I can not comment further than that.
We paid a monthly fee at the Puerto Blanco Marina to use the laundry, showers and bins. They also host the weekly captains table run by Alison from the Luperon Sailors and Cruisers Facebook group. The marina has a small dock if you don't want to be on a mooring, spaces are limited though so book early, contact marina manager Deya.
For water there is no drinkable tap water source, you will need to either do the heavy lifting yourself of the water jugs (approx 5gallons each) you purchase or you can use Andy or Papo services to get it delivered to the boat. They will also do diesel and petrol cans, refills for propane and clean your hull. For example as of Nov 2022 you could purchase the water for 70pesos per jug directly or we paid Andy 100pesos per jug and he delivered to the boat and helped top the tanks if we needed it.
Mototaxi’s (Tuc-tucs) are easy to get and economical they will run you most places, we even known someone who took one to Puerto Plata which is a significant distance in one. Costs between Las Velas and town, were 100pesos per person one way, if you added extra stops is was usually about 50pesos per stop.
We made a lot of friends both cruisers and local and I would recommend a stop or stay but I have to mention the not so good parts.
When we arrived their was a lot of animosity between several different groups amongst the liveboards/ex cruiser land livers who try to make a living from the cruising community. This can be tiresome and doesn't shed a good light on the organisations that some of these people represent. I would wholeheartedly suggest you ignore any such communications you may receive, as it's mostly personal between individuals. Stick to the actual subjects and questions you're asking and/or seeking to find answers to, as most of this additional noise will come unsolicited.
With regards to the moorings some are old and none are perfect, the ongoing politics in the bay have meant that maintenance hasn't been necessarily a priority. We were on a mooring provided by Andy locally and didn't move an inch. All the moorings providers had breakages at some point, I will say the cruisers react swiftly to getting boats back onto another mooring or anchor. There is an emergency WhatsApp group as well, which was effective during our stay. You could try and dive it but the barrels are sunk into the muddy bottom and you have zero chance of seeing anything. We did witness other cruisers asking their providers for additional barrels or lines, sometimes this was beneficial not always.
There have been plans a foot in and around Luperon Bay for many years, if any or all come to pass their will be quite a lot of changes to the bay and how it's run and set up. Time will tell but the local community, businesses and government must do what they see fit for them and not necessarily pander to cruisers who liveaboard full time or expats now living on land which have very different ideas in some cases.
The water is murky as it's a mangrove, we regularly saw plenty of tarpon, eagle rays, manatee and dolphin in and around the bay so the water is not unhealthy but I wouldn't make water or swim in it. You can anchor at the mouth of the bay to make water and the beaches closest by dinghy are nice to cool off in.
Your bottom, we had two year old copper coat and got the hull cleaned three times during our approx 6 months. It's going to need lifting and sanding back to get ride of the growth marks, not sure what else we could of done about this but something to be aware of as growth is fast and heavy.
Our worst experience by far was when we left, the Armada had decided (incorrectly and without approval) to implement a retroactive charge for time spent, meaning upon check out we got an extra bill of around 19000DOP. This was paid at the bank on credit card and our despacho was dependant on payment. We were advised after payment by the local sailing committee not to pay but it was too late. We dropped off the cheque and got told to come lack at 5pm for our paperwork. We then got a phone call at 2pm saying we couldn't have our paperwork as the weather was unsafe so we’d have to wait to leave. This seemed to coincide with the Armada being ‘told off’ by the department of tourism and changing their minds about the necessary payment, which is currently on hold!
They would not return the money and we left without paperwork, after around 3 hours trying to understand what had changed and why suddenly we were being denied our paid for papers. They unofficially said
Goodbye, they wouldn't do anything about it if we did leave. As the weather was a good window, not only based on our assessment but we had Chris Parker routing as well, we just left. This is not our preferred method, we like to follow the rules for entry and exit but on this occasion we had little other choice. It's worth noting that since we left there has only been one other good’ish window to leave and a lot of boats we know are still waiting to cross the Mona Passage.
The rules around cruising permits, where and when you can move depending on how long you have been there etc are confusing, inconsistent and change. Please seek fellow current cruiser actual experiences when you plan your stay as the rules change all the time.
The Luperon Sailor and Cruisers FB group is the most informative on the local going’s on, Alison is the admin and is a live aboard in the bay. This FB page is also closely linked with the local sailing association Avenelup who are endevouring to make the cruising experience in Luperon better.
We had a great time in Luperon and exploring the Domincan Republic, we loved the people and place as a whole and it ticked the boxes for our safety during hurricane season.
Fair winds
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