Tobago

Tobago

It is always exciting to discover a new country, and Tobago has been no exception.

Our passage over from Trinidad was uneventful. As expected we used the engine for much of the way, but were rewarded on occasions with dolphins which are always a welcome sight, day or night. We did have a couple of rain showers during the night, well more like monsoon rain, but it was warm, so hey ho.

Christopher Columbus first sighted Tobago in 1498. Over the years, the Dutch, English, Spanish, Swedish and French transformed the island into a battle zone and the island changed hands 33 times, the most in Caribbean history. The Treaty of Paris ceded it to the British in 1814. At that time, the island had a successful sugar production trade. However, a severe hurricane in 1847, combined with the collapse of plantation underwriters, marked the end of the highly profitable sugar trade. Without this, Britain had no further use for Tobago and in 1889 the island became a ward of Trinidad.

Our anchorage in Store Bay was regarded as one of the most protected on the island, and a welcome sight to see water free from oil slicks, polystyrene and plastic bottles. The downside, was on occasion we could hear music from ashore at a volume that would never be allowed in the UK, even at a heavy metal concert! Oh, and the never ending stream of jet skis roaring past at high speed.

Once anchored, we had to take a taxi to Scarborough, the capital city, to check in with Immigration and Customs, even though Tobago is an island within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies outside of the usual hurricane belt so is an ideal place to spend the summer months.

By coincidence, I noticed a post on Facebook from one of my ex-flying colleagues just before we left Trinidad, to say she and her family were heading to Tobago on holiday. It turns out they were staying in a hotel next to the anchorage in Store Bay, so we just had to meet up. I hadn't seen Helena for about ten years so we had a lot of catching up to do! What a small world.

It was wonderful to meet Helena again, especially as we could invite her and her family onto Azzy. The downside was that it coincided with some hideously loud music on the beach. It was actually so loud we had to shout to each other, even out in the anchorage. Never mind, it was a great day anyway.

With Helena and her twins, Louis and Lucia

Helena and Peter kindly invited us to join them on a round the island taxi tour.

It was a great opportunity to see Tobago from the land and check out some of the other anchorages. One of the places that stuck in our mind was Englishman's Bay. This was in a glorious location, just perfect to bring the boat back to in a few days time.

Beach stall selling colourful sarongs

Lynne, Helena and Lucia dipping their toes in the crystal clear water

Peter, Louis, Lucia and Helena

 















Our tour concluded early evening, having had a wonderful lunch at Jemma's Tree House Restaurant in Speyside on the north of the island. Thank you Helena, Peter, Louis and Lucia for letting us share the day with you.

With a little time on our hands before the start of the Nereids Rally we did indeed take Azzy up to Englishman's Bay to anchor for two nights. It is hard to describe the setting so maybe the photographs below will show. 

View from the main road looking down onto Englishman's Bay

At anchor in Englishman's Bay

You don't want to sit under one of these trees!

We were amazed to find we had the bay completely to ourselves. Unlike a lot of other anchorages around the Caribbean which are very busy, it was a real treat not to have to worry if someone was going to drag into you. Not only was it a magical place by day with some amazing snorkelling to be had, but at night we were treated to a display of fire flies in the rain forest which surrounded us on three sides. It was also fun to watch shooting stars, and using our Sky Walk app we tried to get to grips with the new constellations in the night sky.

Looking at the sunset from the anchorage

We had originally intended to anchor in few other locations on our way back to Store Bay. However, when we upped the anchor and moved to Castara Bay, an almighty squall passed through. Castara Bay was full of small fishing boats and there was not a lot of room to swing. With the rain from the squall meaning we had virtually no visibility and no sign of improving anytime soon, with a little reluctance we agreed to head straight back to Store Bay instead. 

We enjoyed a period of settled weather for the most part, apart from one day when we spotted this waterspout out to sea.

Water Spout! Picture courtesy of Stephanie Sprigings

Our thoughts turned back to our forthcoming Rally, and sure enough more entrants started to turn up. On 2nd September we enjoyed a fine night out with the organiser Davide, who had arranged a meal and drinks at a nearby restaurant. It was really lovely to meet our fellow Rally cruisers, although some could not attend as they would be starting in Grenada, and Trinidad.

We have also invited a sailing friend, Peter, from our time in Almerimar, who has kindly taken the time and expense to fly out and join us. Peter jumped at the opportunity to join a Rally off the beaten track. We had very much enjoyed listening to Peter giving a talk on his experience of sailing to Svalbard, an archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, and knew the Nereids would be something he would enjoy. Peter joined us a few days before the pre-rally dinner.

Peter joins Azzy

 

















Join us next time for the start of the Nereids Rally to Guyana.