Voyage to Tobaga

Written at: Store Bay, Tobago

Sept. 2, 2006

Hi Folks,

We are here on Tobago after an enjoyable overnight voyage from Prickly Bay on Grenada. We have wandered the area around Store Bay, including the international airport about a half mile away. I wish the authorities would allow Store Bay to be a port of entry by checking in at the airport rather than the two towns of Charlotteville and Scarborough. I say towns as the entire population of Tobago is only 50,000. It is a lovely island from what we have seen so far. We plan a round island tour, a tropical rain forest tour and have arranged for a few scuba dives with a local dive shop up the beach. The place looks friendly enough and as we are in the lazy cruising mode, we will probably spend two or three weeks or more here. It is low key in comparison to Trinidad and the yachting Mecca of Chaguaramus, but we like low key.

I hope to send this out tomorrow, the 3rd as we will be doing a laundry where there is also an internet café where we can send E-mail in air conditioned comfort. We could have simply changed the chip in our Nokia hand held mobile phone, but such would have cost $90.00 TT, whereas we could buy a new Motorola phone with chip for only $50.00 TT on a promotional offer. So we are operational here in Tobago, and look forward to enjoying this beautiful tropical island which is supposedly the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s "Robinson Crusoe" complete with his cave just south of the airport.

The days are hotter, but the nights are cooler than Grenada. This is a nice island!

No pictures with this as my camera is still unserviceable. I suspect I will have to buy a new one as the expense to try to send this off to Fuji for repairs from Trinidad will be a delay of a few weeks and probably worth more than we originally paid; and digital cameras have developed (pardon the pun) since we bought ours in 2002.

I hope you enjoy this log of our voyage to Tobago.

All the best,

Aubrey

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Log #41a Voyage to Tobago

Store Bay, Tobago

Sept. 1, 2006

Aug. 30th we said our goodbyes on the 0730 net, expressing our appreciation for our friends, on SEA WITCH (John and Deborah), Clarke’s Court Bay Marina (Bob), Whisper Cove Marina (Phil and Shelley and kids) , Prickly Bay Marina, Enza Marine (Greta, Mark, Bret, and Dwight), Budget Marine and Island Water World chandlery (Jonathon) for their help and friendship. I could also have mentioned our friends on STEPHANIE LYNN (Dwight and Stephanie), RAFT (Ross and Beverley), AVALON V (Mary and George), and HUMMINGBIRD (Christopher and Jeanette), as well as Roger of Roger’s Beach Bar on Hog Island, as well as many other boaters with whom we were in contact. As Dwight indicated in our supper together the night before we were to leave, saying goodbye to friends made on the way is always difficult, as a comfortable friendly connection has to be severed until the next chance meeting wherever...

Added to our small world file, Beverley (nee Moore) on RAFT was a student in the early 70's at Espanola High School where I taught from 1970 to 1975, and after returning from Germany, from 1978 to 1981. We then moved from our small home in Willisville (population 85 people, 12 cats and 8 dogs) to Toronto (population 3 million [+] people, and 5 million racoons).

We cleared out through Customs and Immigration at Prickly Bay, watered up and left early in the afternoon for the 75 mile overnight trip to Tobago (course 147 Magnetic) in a light (15 knot) southeasterly wind (from 135 Magnetic), but with predictions there should be some northerly in it by nightfall. Not really! It went a bit easterly and we were able to sail much of the night, close hauled in 15 to 20 knots of wind, but making only 3 knots. When Judy came on watch at 0100 we turned the engine on and motor sailed the rest of the way into the wind, making 4.2 knots.

It was good to be at sea again! The night was clear, the stars bright, the quarter moon darting in and out the few clouds, the phosphorescence sparkling, the waves creating great swathes of froth as we pounded into them, only two ships and one sailboat visible all night, ... all was at peace at sea! Exquisite!

I trailed two lines with lures all afternoon with no luck. In the morning after relieving Judy from her middle watch, I set two lures out again shortly after sunrise (11 20.41N, 061 02.26W) at 0540. However at 0620 I called her as we were visited by a pod of a dozen dolphins (Atlantic Spotted) who played around the bow waves of VELEDA for over a half hour. I was fearful that they might get caught in the two lines I had out astern of us. The same pod came again at 0740 to play around again. We recognized several of them from distinctive scars on their backs. At 0800 I had a strike on a lure, and hauled in a 15 inch Mahi Mahi (Dorado or Dolphin fish). Mmmmm! A good full fish meal for supper! A couple of hours later I caught a very small tuna, about 10 inches long which we released.

At 0905 we were visited by a couple of dolphins who checked us out for a few minutes, but did not stay to play in the bow wave. At 0947 we furled the sails and just motored towards our destination of Store Bay on the southwest coast of Tobago. At a couple of miles from Store Bay, we decided (with the quiet weather, but against the advice of Christopher on HUMMINGBIRD) to head the extra 10 miles to Scarborough instead to do a check in from there, rather than risk questions of why we entered Tobagan waters from a non-entry port and caught a bus up to the appropriate authorities. Judy is such a "straight arrow"!

So we altered course and headed around the southwest tip of the island and up 9 miles against the minimal wind and into the current towards Scarborough. At 1130 we were boarded by a Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard boat for a safety inspection. No problem, as they just had to complete a questionnaire without even looking below decks. They were polite, but not very informative.

At 1230 we anchored in Scarborough harbour (86 miles from Prickly Bay in Grenada) between the Coast Guard docks and a deserted ferry dock (11 10.80N, 060 44.16W). Having had lunch under way, we went by dinghy over to the Port Authority terminal to check in. We had left Prickly Bay in Grenada mid week to ensure we would not have any overtime charges for arriving on a weekend. We heard thumping music resonating from the harbour area, and were cautioned by the pilot guide that the restaurants in town often thumped out loud music on the weekends, but midafternoon on a Thursday? When we went through the Port Authority building we saw a notice stating the Immigration office was closed due to an air conditioner failure. Exiting the building we were bombarded by a loud sound system with calypso music, and saw banners strung across the buildings and streets saying "Happy Anniversary". It was Independence Day in Trinidad and Tobago, Aug. 31 (44 years since Britain cut the ties)!

I wanted to go back to VELEDA and check in next day. But, "straight arrow" Judy asked about the Customs office which we were told should be open. We went there, and were advised that the Immigration Officer would be back on duty at 1400. So back we went, filled out three forms in quadruplicate and waited for a half hour in 85 F heat with the loud music blaring out from the gigantic speakers from across the road until the forms were appropriately stamped, paying $100 TT dollars (about $20.00 Canadian as we calculate $5.00 TT = $1.00 Canadian) for overtime charges for the holiday, and then we were sent back to the Customs office.

There we waited another half hour, but at least in air conditioned comfort while watching a "Curse of the Zombies" movie, but paying $10.00 TT overtime charge, $50.00 Harbour fees, $160 customs clearance fees for three months clearance into Tobago (total $220.00 TT or about $45.00 Canadian). We were free to go to any harbours or anchorages in Tobago, but if going up to Charlotteville (another port of entry), we would have to get a copy of our entry forms to take with us. Similarly when leaving for Trinidad, we would have to check out with Customs in Scarborough. OK, those were their requirements.

After picking up a watermelon and some potatoes we talked our way through the now closed Port Authority building to get out to Wave Dancer, our dinghy, to get back to VELEDA wallowing in the surge around the breakwater. The shoreline was not nice, the town not nice; so we decided not to stay, and instead go back to Store Bay as we originally had intended. We could just make it before sunset, and so off we went. I trailed a couple of lines for the 11 mile run, I got a strike on one line, but when hauling in, the fish flashed up and escaped the hook. This was the first one I ever lost.

At 1811 we were anchored in Store Bay (11 09.51N, 060 50.49W) and at 1813 saw a green flash at the sunset below a few clouds on the horizon. A fitting end to a day at sea and our entrance to Trinidad and Tobago.

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