Luperon DR harbor health hazards?

[JeanneauTrinidad]

We are spending Feb 2018 in the DR. Hoped to anchor in Luperon but are concerned about health hazards in a harbor where no sanitary sewage system may exist.
Though not normally marina people, would the marina near Puerto Plata be better for a couple of healthy 65 year olds?

[SailRgal]

HI, my name is Kat, I sailed in here to Luperon in 2010. I am still here and have a cruiser Resturant in the harbour. It is calle Putula's on the Water. Please feel free to contact me about any questions that you may have about this wonderful town or great country. Happy to help. we look forward to meeting you. Fair winds and calm seas.

[danielamartindm]

Originally Posted by JeanneauTrinidad

We are spending Feb 2018 in the DR. Hoped to anchor in Luperon but are concerned about health hazards in a harbor where no sanitary sewage system may exist.
Though not normally marina people, would the marina near Puerto Plata be better for a couple of healthy 65 year olds?

I don't know if there is a correlation, but I've been told that bottoms foul in that harbor VERY quickly.

[Lepke]

I winter on the lower Columbia River. In heavy rain, Portland is known for dumping sewage during heavy storms. I haven't heard of any sewage related illnesses on the river.
60 years ago, most US city's sewage was barely treated if treated at all. People swam in the rivers.

[SailRgal]

Yes it does the harbour is surrounded by mangroves and lots of life. Birds, fish, jelly fish, rays, lobster at the entrance, and we even have manatees. But yes you will have to clean you bottom regularly. Luckily you will never get it done cheaper any where. The mangroves and the mountains have kept us safe from hurricanes for well over 50 years.

[SailRgal]

Do not fret this is not an issue. A lot of things have changed here and that is one! We have two full tides a day. It is dark because of the mangroves that keeps us safe. They also feed the plentiful wild life that you will enjoy jumping around your boat.

[Cheechako]

You definitely dont want to swim in the harbor. It's a sewage pit. Seems to be little flow in and out. I cleaned a heavy loaded bottom , got pretty sick. I had moved out toward the entrance too.

[Boatguy30]

The main anchorage in Vavu Tonga is similar. In prime cruising season August, Sept the harbor is very dirty.

Return in late may after it mostly empties out it's real clean. Perhaps Luperon is full year round however?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Kat.

[travellerw]

I'm sure I will have the unpopular opinion with some, but its my opinion.

We stopped in Luperon in June of 2016 on our way down the island chain (yes we were late). We spent about 2 weeks waiting for a weather window before moving around to Samana where we waited another 5 days.

If I had to do it again, I would try very hard to skip DR completely. Again its our opinion, but we all agree that DR was our least favorite stop. It was dirty, expensive to check-in and generally a hassle with bureaucracy. We were also enticed by Van Sant's book and the promise of cheap provisions. That may be true for some staples, but beyond that, we didn't find anything much cheaper (including beer).

As to the OPs question about Puerto Plata. Yes, I suspect you will be happier there then Luperon. However, realize that you might be there a while if a good weather window doesn't present itself.

[SailRgal]

I am sorry that you had a difficult time in 2016. We now have an English speaking comedante named Carlos. He is wonderful and very helpful. Luperon is almost half price to Puerto Plata and Samana for shopping. The cost of checking in is most certainly cheaper than the Bahamas and the Turks. It's a shame you did not go ashore and see this beautiful island. We have many returning cruisers that stay 6 months for hurricane season year after year. Luperon is the safest hurricane hole in all of the Caribbean as it proved itself again last year. You missed a gem of an island the tallest mountains, beautiful waterfalls, wonder beaches and great people!

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by SailRgal

I am sorry that you had a difficult time in 2016. We now have an English speaking comedante named Carlos. He is wonderful and very helpful. Luperon is almost half price to Puerto Plata and Samana for shopping. The cost of checking in is most certainly cheaper than the Bahamas and the Turks. It's a shame you did not go ashore and see this beautiful island. We have many returning cruisers that stay 6 months for hurricane season year after year. Luperon is the safest hurricane hole in all of the Caribbean as it proved itself again last year. You missed a gem of an island the tallest mountains, beautiful waterfalls, wonder beaches and great people!

We did go ashore and see many things. We rented a car for a bunch of days and went to many of the sights (including the waterfalls). Heck we were in DR for almost 3 weeks, so we didn't just sit on our boat.

Don't get me wrong.. DR was not all bad. The people were generally fantastic and very friendly. We encountered no safety issues and never felt unsafe. However, its darn hard to ignore the dirty water, the delapated marina, the abandoned yatch club or the half finished abandoned resort.

The comedante that we dealt with did indeed speak english, but that wasn't our issue. The checking in and out of every port and the general process is a big hassel compared to other islands. Even in Samana where the comadante was FANTASTIC, the process was still tedious compared to many other places.


Anyway, I know my opinion is not a popular one, especially by people living in DR. However its is our opinion and I know there are others with differing opinions! For us, we will try to avoid DR unless forced there by weather!

[upthere22]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

You definitely dont want to swim in the harbor. It's a sewage pit. Seems to be little flow in and out. I cleaned a heavy loaded bottom , got pretty sick. I had moved out toward the entrance too.

Some people love talking without evidence, no raw sewer goes into the harbor, only some storm sewer when it rains (like in every other harbor in the world. )

In the DR sewer is not collected and processed like in the US, every house has a settling tank and the dark water is then deposited in the ground using deep bore wells. the water in the harbor is foul but not by sewer is just stagnant water in the tropics. Things grow fast there.

Back water sewer is dealt by each house, there is no town wide collecting of sewer that then goes to the harbor. plenty of US towns dont have town sewer and have on site sewer systems, DR is no different.

[pete33458]

It isn't my intention to insult anyone, but in my opinion, other than a hurricane hole (in which case, it is excellent), Luperon has not much going for it. There are few services of any type, and those that there are are, to put it mildly, somewhat unreliable.


We waited out a late season cold front at Ocean World Marina in Puerto Plata (just up the road), and other than very spotty internet, it was pretty decent. Even got a sail repair, on site, with good quality docks, consistent electric service, clean water, showers, etc. None of that in Luperon (at least not in my experience). But like I said, as a hurricane hole, the attraction of Luperon is pretty obvious.


Pete

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by upthere22

Some people love talking without evidence, no raw sewer goes into the harbor, only some storm sewer when it rains (like in every other harbor in the world. )

In the DR sewer is not collected and processed like in the US, every house has a settling tank and the dark water is then deposited in the ground using deep bore wells. the water in the harbor is foul but not by sewer is just stagnant water in the tropics. Things grow fast there.

Back water sewer is dealt by each house, there is no town wide collecting of sewer that then goes to the harbor. plenty of US towns dont have town sewer and have on site sewer systems, DR is no different.

... and where does all the crap out of the boats that linger there for months go? Not to mention ground septic units need to be 200 ft from any water or aquifer minimum.