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| Beautiful sunset from our anchorage in Store Bay |
We finally made it to the Caribbean!
Trinidad and Tobago is the southern most island in the Caribbean, situated northeast of Venezuela (just 11km away). It was a 3 day sail from British Guyana. We departed at the river mouth of Baganara on the 10th February 2015 and arrived on the eve of Valentine's day.
Our initial heading was towards Chaguaramas, Trinidad. However, Alex calculated that if we stayed our course, we would arrive after dark. It would be too risky for us (a single prop) to maneuver into an unfamiliar port in the middle of the night. We would also have to deal with customs and immigration after working hours which would most likely incur overtime charges.
Without much deliberation, we changed our course and headed into Tobago instead. We arrived in Scarborough at 15:30pm. By the time we set our anchor, prepared the dinghy and found our way to Customs and Immigration's office, it was closed! Even though we arrived before closing time. After many attempts to contact the officers, we were advised to come in the next morning.
The anchorage we were in (opposite the Port) was not a good one. It was too rolly and we weren't sure if the anchor would hold overnight. We moved again after speaking to some locals and a yacht nearby, and picked up a mooring (N 11.10.756 W 60.44.150) beside it to stay the night.
The next day, we headed off to the Customs and Immigration's office as advised. Surprise, surprise, it's not open (again)! We waited 2 hours outside the door, and finally an officer rocks up at 11:00am. We were not happy cruisers!
After clearing in, we moved to Store Bay (or Milford Bay on the charts) and picked up a mooring (N 11.09.497 W 60.50.501). It was a much better anchorage except for the occasional jet skiers that come way too close creatng wakes that makes us feel like we're back in the big ocean. On the bright side, we were able to get free Wifi on board. So, yay!
Trinidad and Tobago is the southern most island in the Caribbean, situated northeast of Venezuela (just 11km away). It was a 3 day sail from British Guyana. We departed at the river mouth of Baganara on the 10th February 2015 and arrived on the eve of Valentine's day.
Our initial heading was towards Chaguaramas, Trinidad. However, Alex calculated that if we stayed our course, we would arrive after dark. It would be too risky for us (a single prop) to maneuver into an unfamiliar port in the middle of the night. We would also have to deal with customs and immigration after working hours which would most likely incur overtime charges.
Without much deliberation, we changed our course and headed into Tobago instead. We arrived in Scarborough at 15:30pm. By the time we set our anchor, prepared the dinghy and found our way to Customs and Immigration's office, it was closed! Even though we arrived before closing time. After many attempts to contact the officers, we were advised to come in the next morning.
The anchorage we were in (opposite the Port) was not a good one. It was too rolly and we weren't sure if the anchor would hold overnight. We moved again after speaking to some locals and a yacht nearby, and picked up a mooring (N 11.10.756 W 60.44.150) beside it to stay the night.
The next day, we headed off to the Customs and Immigration's office as advised. Surprise, surprise, it's not open (again)! We waited 2 hours outside the door, and finally an officer rocks up at 11:00am. We were not happy cruisers!
After clearing in, we moved to Store Bay (or Milford Bay on the charts) and picked up a mooring (N 11.09.497 W 60.50.501). It was a much better anchorage except for the occasional jet skiers that come way too close creatng wakes that makes us feel like we're back in the big ocean. On the bright side, we were able to get free Wifi on board. So, yay!
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| View of Raptor from the beach |
