On our trip down the coast from Portsmouth, we stopped in at Roseau, the capital of Dominica in search of propane. Roseau was hit harder by H Maria than Portsmouth but there was much activity cleaning up and effecting repairs. The biggest challenge is figuring out what to do with the massive amounts of debris. There are still a large number of deadheads (logs and trees) floating off the coast and washing up on shore. The amount of metal debris from roofs that have blown off is simply staggering. There are no metal recycling facilities on the island so the metal must be compacted and shipped to a recycling facility elsewhere but that process takes time.

The blue roofs in the photo are tarps on roofs that have blown off and many buildings have no coverage at all.

The city however is in motion and most businesses a street back from the coast are open and operating. The folks along the coast have a bit more to do before they can get back to normal. Many of the buildings on the coast need extensive repair and most docks are simply gone leaving only a few pilings sticking out of the water. We stopped in mid town and Greg on Terror helped us get secured to a mooring (anchoring here is very difficult due to the steep seabed).

We went on our quest for propane. Both Guadeloupe a Martinique have only butane, no propane so our nearly exhausted tanks need to be filled here if we want to keep the coffee warm in the morning. It is getting increasingly difficult to find stations to refill marine propane tanks. It seems most countries have switched over to tank exchange programs with steel BBQ tanks or fiberglass tanks with different fittings. Neither work on a boat so you need to pay someone to send the tank to fill and pick it up a few days later or go on adventure to find the filling station. In our case, since we needed both tanks filled and we are a bit adventurous, we chose to seek.

The filling station is in Canefield just north of Roseau so we set out in the dinghy exploring. We ended up overshooting a bit and ended up in Mahaut. We stopped into the fishing dock to ask directions and were welcomed warmly by the local fishermen. They had brought the morning catch in already and were busy playing dominoes. Julius offered to save us some trouble and drive us over to the refilling station. Julius had spent 5 years in Nova Scotia to get his class 4 fishing certificate. On the short trip over to the filling station we chatted about his time in NS along with the recovery efforts of Roseau from H Maria.

Propane refilled! We are good for a couple more months now. It was only $32EC (about $16CAD) to fill both 10 pound tanks. That is the cheapest propane we’ve found since Costco in Richmond Hill ($5CAD each). Of course searching out the refill station was part of the adventure and I found an awesome fish market and a new friend in the process. Fresh Blue Marlin for $7EC per pound ($3.50CAD). Try finding that in Canada! We stocked up……

If you are passing by and need to fill your propane tanks and find a good fish market, stop in at Mahaut and ask for Julius (his nickname is Joy). He’ll set you up. If you want to find your way to the station from your dinghy, the station is directly behind a large mill of sorts with lime green silos on the coast. There is a jetty there but I believe it belongs to the mill. You can probably use the jetty or go up to the beach and walk in a couple of hundred meters to 15°19’56″N, 61°23’38″W. The good people at Sukie’s Blue Flame filling station will set you up (Sukie’s gas station in Roseau doesn’t fill but can send it to the station for you if you can wait. If you get it to them in the morning, it can be back same day by about 4pm).