What is the consensus, Luperon or Puerto Plata? I plan on stopping for fuel and rest. Will eat ashore but not really looking for an attraction so much as 1) easy in and out, 2) clearance, 3) clean fuel, 4) relatively protected berthage.
Ocean World is the only place I would stay. Puerta Plata would be a very distant 2nd, and Luperon wouldn't even be a consideration. There is next to nothing in Luperon.......
Sorry Guys, I mispoke. I thought Ocean World was in Puerto Plata. FYI, there contact button on their website is broken. The sailors bible, the thornless guy, really praises Luperon. I'm looking for clean fuel, fresh local food for lunch and dinner, a full night with no one on watch and gone the next day. I appreciate every opinion and have no personal experience to input. Should be a good general interest question considering Luperon, with "next to nothing" had 570 foriegn flag boats enter last year and an average of 98 FF vessels in the harbour on any given day. Another question, Is the surge issue at Ocean world only in Northerly swells?
Well Mr. Van Sant (the thornless guy) did not necessarily write that book with guys delivering a 70' motor yacht in mind. Yes the surge at OW only seems to be a problem when the swells are coming out of a Northerly direction from what I've seen and heard.
Very True. Too bad someone does not produce guides for East-West or South-North transits. It's not as simple as reading the guides from back to front. I've got a route coming together between Active Captain, my chartplotter, guides and advise from this forum. I'm looking at a 9 day passage leaving Fajardo in the evening, running overnight to Ocean World. overnight to the anchorage at Mayaguana. Flying Fish for fuel and overnight. Anchoring at Gillotts Cut so I can cross the bank early in the day and then running overnight to Old Bahama Bay for fuel and a rest before crossing to Port Canaveral. 1131 miles run. 122 hrs run. Speeds 5 kts on the bank to 13 max (9.25 avg.). Should save enough fuel to make up fot the fact that I'm taking three days longer than the West-East delivery Captain!
Sounds like a good plan. Just not enough time at Mayaguana. But since you are stopping there, it's a great spot to pick up conch and lobster from the locals to freeze and treat your owners to later. And you don't really have to run at idle speed on the bank if the weathers clear and the suns out. The small patch reefs are pretty easy to spot and a boat like that should get a lift in shallow water running at higher RPMs. It least I found that to be true on the 70' Viking MY I use to run. Don't forget to call Flying Fish to make sure they have fuel.
Thanks for the input. Think I'm settled in on a plan. Got my waypoints entered and backed-up. Spoke or emailed all the fuel docks. Got the chartkits coming in the mail. Wish I could get at it. Going to start with planning the ICW legs instead.
I just came back from nearly two weeks in the DR. Visited Ocean World to check it out. Not a bad place to be for short stops.
Ocean World has a customs office in the marina making checking in and out easy. It also has a good restaurant, bar, hotel rooms, and a casino. The marina is safe as is all of the property. The marina is nice with good concrete docks. As much clean fuel as you want and fast pumps, and the marina is protected, you will get a surge only on a northern wind and it's still comfortable from what I have seen. Luperon IMO is not well suited for a 70' yacht.
Ocean World does have the above that makes it a good stop even a few days. Can see it would get boring and would want to move on into better places. DR overall does have potential in becoming a tourist destination beyond being inexpensive. Find it like Cuba without the police fears that brings near crime free safety. Gated secure marina is a huge plus with Ocean World!
Thanks to everyone that offered advise on this thread. We did choose to use Ocean World as our fuel stop in the DR. Overall our experience was positive. The weather was quite benign but despite that we did experience a fair bit of surge. Not an issue for me since my berth in Red Hook St Thomas is exposed and has terrible wake action from ferry traffic but I suspect a smaller boat would have had issues. The property is very clean, well lit and secure. The staff were very friendly and efficient but our visit was "out of season" and everything was open but deserted. On the negative side though fuel was dispensed quickly and efficiently I've was changing filters and draining my Racors from the time I left till I got to Clarencetown Bahamas. I was getting low by the time I took fuel (1500 gallons) so I have to think it was entirely related to the fuel I got there. On the day we left a 15 kt northerly was sending the swell directly into the entrance channel. With our 5'8" draft we bottomed out in a trough mid channel just inside the breakwater. The next crest lifted me clear but for a brief moment I felt my trip taking a bad turn. I suspect that large motor boats are creating a sand hump from propwash in the turning basin. We stirred up a noticeable cloud while manouvering in the basin. I would definitely go back again but would be nervous entering or leaving in any amount of north swell.
Thank you for the update, I didn't know they now have a depth issue in the entrance channel..... I've gotten fuel there before and know it was clean (I filled up a few drums with it as well), however this was a few years prior, so things might have changed.
