Signature Sea Experiences

We leave Le Morne early, while the water is still glassy, and go looking for the resident spinner and bottlenose dolphins of the west coast. Your boat is yours alone, so the pace is yours too.

Our best-known day, and the one that started it all. Dolphins at sunrise, the lagoon and Crystal Rock in between, then lunch grilled on the sand of Île aux Bénitiers while our musician warms up the ravanne.

For guests who want the dolphin morning and then something to do with their hands. Once the pods have moved on we head past the reef pass and fish the drop-off with our own gear.

Between roughly July and October, humpback whales pass along the west coast. We go further out than usual, keep the regulation distance, and wait. Nothing is guaranteed — that is exactly what makes a sighting worth it.

A gentle half day inside the reef: the coral gardens off Le Morne, the sandbanks, and the small coral outcrop everyone calls Crystal Rock, standing alone in waist-deep water.

The quietest trip we run. We push off at first light, cruise the coast from Le Morne up towards La Gaulette, and lay breakfast out on board somewhere the water is still. If dolphins pass, we stop — but they are a bonus here, not the plan.

Almost every catamaran on this coast serves lunch on deck. We do it the other way round: we sail you across, drop anchor, and set your table under the filaos on Île aux Bénitiers, feet in the sand.

We leave around an hour and a half before sundown and drift out towards the reef, where the light does most of the work. A rum punch, a few snacks, and Le Morne turning from green to black behind you.

The west coast shelf falls off sharply a few minutes beyond the reef, which is why this side of the island fishes so well. Half or full day, trolling for marlin, tuna, dorado and wahoo depending on the season.