Sailing Life Day 294: Back to marina life in Samana, Dominican Republic⛵️

Some of you are wondering how it works when we arrive in a new place on our sailboat.. usually we can just anchor without paying any fees in a bay or beach if it's permitted but of course we have to be self-sufficient and drive our dinghy (our small rubber boat) so we can go to land.. ⛵️

We can also go on a mooring ball just like what we did in Luperon, Dominican Republic! Instead of paying a monthly fee, Jonathan decided we buy a mooring ball for $300. It is basically in the bay but we're using a more permanent "chain /ball" that holds our boat instead of our anchor.

Then there are the marinas or yacht clubs - we used them quite a but when we were in the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos! If you're a budget cruiser then you won't like them because the cost depends on the size of the boat.. some are even $2 to $4 per feet.. but here in the Marina Puerto Bahia - Samana, it's only $1 per feet for a monohull while multi-hull boats are more expensive.. So, our boat is 37 ft. and we have to pay $37 per day + $1 per day for the water.. You can also use their shore power electricity to connect to the boat for $0.45 per kWh.

We actually have our own solar panels so we don't need electricity but we don't have a watermaker so we usually just buy water.. glad we can fill our 75 gallons tank with this water to use for our next passage.

The cool thing about marinas are the convenience.. you just go out and step on the slip and you're already on land.. they have hot shower, restaurants, shopping store, cars and other services! This particular yacht club is in the most luxurious side.. they have two infinity pools, a free car service to the main road, bars, billiard and tv room, gym and more restaurants! 😍