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Dominica at 40 to 50m is the bracket's deep-water Windward stop and the Caribbean's most underused mid-size charter leg. A 40 to 50m motor yacht Dominica in winter 2026 (December through April) runs $165,000 to $235,000 per week plus 30 percent APA, takes 8 to 12 guests, and books almost exclusively as a two to four-day call inside a longer Guadeloupe to Martinique corridor charter rather than a standalone week. The active 40 to 50m fleet calling Dominica through any given winter is fewer than 10 yachts, and the destination's role at the bracket is to add a deep-water-diving and rainforest leg to the broader French Antilles run. There is no commercial 40 to 50m alongside marina on the island; the bracket holds at anchor at Portsmouth's Prince Rupert Bay or on the Roseau roads.
Why the bracket reads Dominica as a corridor leg
Dominica runs 50km north to south, the volcanic interior reaches 1,447 metres at Morne Diablotins, and the leeward coast carries the anchorages: Portsmouth's Prince Rupert Bay at the north (the deepest natural harbour in the Caribbean and the structural feature that makes the bracket workable here), Mero Beach midway down, and the Roseau roads at the southern end where the cruising permit and customs clearance run. The dive corridor along the leeward coast covers Champagne Reef, Scott's Head Pinnacle, and the Soufrière Bay marine reserve at the southern tip. The eastern windward coast is unworkable for the bracket through most of the winter season due to swell and the lack of leeward shelter.
Dominica's geological feature is the deep-water shelf: the leeward coast drops to 200-plus metres within a few hundred metres of shore, which makes the dive product at the bracket a meaningful asset and which also means the anchor depth at Roseau works on a stern-line ashore arrangement rather than a conventional anchor set. Portsmouth's Prince Rupert Bay is the exception, with a workable sand-bottom anchor in 8 to 18 metres across the bay's central area.
Weekly rate map for winter 2026
Rates below are high season (mid-December through mid-April) for winter 2025-26 and winter 2026-27, before APA at 30 percent and crew gratuity at 12 to 15 percent. Dominica is an independent commonwealth state with cruising permit fees handled at Portsmouth or Roseau on arrival; there is no charter VAT regime equivalent to the French Antilles and the all-in pricing structure runs on the local cruising-permit and Marine Park fee model.
| LOA bracket | Motor yacht (low to high) | Sailing yacht and motor-sailor (low to high) |
|---|---|---|
| 40 to 43m | $165K to $190K per week | $140K to $165K per week |
| 43 to 47m | $185K to $215K per week | $160K to $185K per week |
| 47 to 50m | $205K to $235K per week | $175K to $210K per week |
Christmas and New Year weeks (21 December through 5 January) price at a 25 to 45 percent premium against the central January and February figure, the smallest Christmas premium of any French or Windward Caribbean leg at the bracket because the Christmas demand for Dominica at this LOA is structurally thin. Off-peak windows in mid-January and the second half of April drop the headline 15 to 22 percent. The Dominica all-in week runs roughly 12 to 18 percent below the equivalent St Lucia week at the same LOA, reflecting the destination's standalone-product limits at the bracket.
What is in the bracket in this bracket
Cabins. Five to six. The corridor pattern at the bracket runs the 5-cabin Caribbean standard with the occasional upper-end 6-cabin convertible.
Crew. Nine to thirteen. The Dominica crew bench is essentially a corridor-crew situation; no resident charter-crew labour pool of any depth operates from the island and substitution runs in via Antigua, St Lucia, or Martinique. Captain familiarity with the Roseau stern-line-ashore mooring arrangement, the Champagne Reef dive site approach, and the Portsmouth Prince Rupert Bay anchor depths is the variable that decides whether the call runs cleanly. Confirm captain prior Dominica season at inquiry.
Tenders. A primary 9 to 11m fast tender plus a 6 to 7m secondary is mandatory. The dive product at Champagne Reef and Scott's Head runs on the secondary, the river-mouth Indian River programme at Portsmouth runs on the secondary's smaller draft, and the Mero Beach landings run on sand approaches. The secondary is operational across the full week.
At-anchor stabilizers. Mandatory. The Prince Rupert Bay anchor sees crosswind chop on building tradewind days and the Roseau stern-line hold takes residual swell when the southern Caribbean sea builds. The at-anchor differential is the comfort variable that decides whether the stationary nights work.
Helipad. Useful at the upper end of the bracket. Douglas-Charles Airport at the north of the island and the new Roseau airport handle limited fixed-wing service and the helicopter improves the inter-island corridor logistics, particularly on the Guadeloupe and Martinique connections. Touch-and-go capable yachts hold a measurable booking advantage on the bracket here.
The standard call shape inside the corridor
The Dominica call inside a 10 to 14 night French Antilles to Windward Islands corridor runs as follows. Arrival from Guadeloupe (Iles des Saintes 22nm north) into Portsmouth's Prince Rupert Bay with overnight on the bay anchor. Day two: Indian River tender programme in the morning, Cabrits National Park walking programme onshore, afternoon position south to the Mero Beach roads with overnight at Mero. Day three: position to Roseau with stern-line-ashore mooring at the position, customs and cruising permit formalities, afternoon dive at Champagne Reef. Day four: morning dive at Scott's Head Pinnacle, afternoon departure south to Martinique (Saint-Pierre 25nm south).
The standalone Dominica seven-night charter at the bracket compresses heavily after day four and is not a product at this LOA. Build Dominica as a structural three to four-day leg between Guadeloupe and Martinique, not as the entire week.
Embarkation logistics
There is no commercial 40 to 50m alongside marina on Dominica. The bracket holds at anchor at Portsmouth's Prince Rupert Bay or on the Roseau stern-line-ashore positions. Customs and cruising permit clearance work at Roseau or Portsmouth, with the formalities handled by the captain or by a local agent appointed through the broker. Douglas-Charles Airport at the north of the island handles limited fixed-wing service, and the Roseau airport project completion timing remains a data point on the corridor planning. Crew rotation on the corridor runs via Antigua, Guadeloupe, or Martinique.
What we would pass on
Standalone Dominica seven-night charters at the bracket. The cruising ground is a corridor leg, not a stationary product, and the seven-night standalone charter does not justify the all-in week rate at this LOA. Build Dominica into the broader French Antilles to Windward run.
Roseau alongside attempts. The commercial port at Roseau handles cargo and cruise tonnage and is not a yacht berth at the bracket. The stern-line-ashore mooring is the arrangement and it requires a captain with prior local experience.
Inland excursions that compete with the at-anchor programme. The Boiling Lake and Boeri Lake walks are full-day commitments and they trade off against the dive corridor and the at-sea programme. Build the inland day on a structured Cabrits-and-Indian-River pattern at Portsmouth rather than a southern interior expedition that pulls the whole day off the water.
Hurricane-season weeks. Dominica took the heaviest hit of any Caribbean island from Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the rebuild cycle is structurally complete, but the hurricane-season risk pattern remains. Weeks priced into June to October at the bracket carry weather risk that the Mediterranean reposition does not.
Inventory
The live 40 to 50m Dominica corridor inventory updates weekly through the winter season.. For broker-side inquiry, see the brokers pillar and the Caribbean charter weekly rates report.