Saba , NETHERLANDS

[johnwalker]

Cruising to Saba in April, Does anyone have any recent first hand knowledge of the mooring balls?Are they plentiful enough?Is there a certain time when you should get there to get one? What are the median conditions in Ladder bay like overnight?Is beaching the dinghy in ladder bay and climbing the steps a good option?Any other info regarding favourite restaurants , hikes, must sees etc appreciated!

[Zanshin]

I heard from someone who was there recently that the mooring balls are there. While not plentiful, the number of cruisers going there is low so that there shouldn't be an issue snagging one. The anchorage is open, so I'd only plan on going there when the swells are predicted to be low and the winds settled as well. That might be hard to find during April, but it just makes the anchorage rolly and uncomfortable and not untenable.

The tough part might be the entry travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Arriving from St. Martin might be the easiest, but you still need to comply with the conditions and fill out the EHAS form at Saba EHAS Application | Saba Tourism and details here https://www.sabatourism.com/travel-requirements

[johnwalker]

Thanks Zanshin!

[dcareri]

We were there 2 years ago around the same time of the year. At that time there were only 2 mooring balls and one was questionable. They claimed to be replacing them soon so sounds like that happened.

We loved the island and the friendly people. To get to one of the little towns from the harbor is almost straight up a hill. Tried to rent a car but local advice was to just hitch hike...it's the first time anyone's ever stopped to give me ride and we ended up at their young kids birthday party.

Also did a couple of good dives with one of the dive shops in the harbor.

Now to the downside...

you need to grab a ball by the main harbor to clear in. The seas were so rough there that it's the only place we ever put on life jackets to get into the dinghy and were afraid we won't be able to get back on the boat. It was rough.

The anchorage is probably a good 2-3 miles around the corner and it was also very bouncy. There was no shot in hell of landing anywhere near the ladder when we were there.

Traversing from the anchorage to the harbor is against a very strong current and as you guessed it, very rough.

We only stayed 3 days because the rough water wore us out. I would go back in a second maybe during the summer or we'll fly/ferry for SXM in next time.