Tobago anchorages
Store Bay
We had a great time in Store Bay and found it easy to catch the bus or private car into Scarborough to sort out Immigration and Customs. There are lots of bars and restaurants ashore and the proximity to Pigeon Point provided access to more facilities and live events. Decent supermarkets were a slightly longer walk or bus ride, but we could at least buy essentials ashore. We found the anchorage calm despite a number of squalls and downpours, but apparently it can get rough in here. The locals were friendly and geared up to meet tourist needs – we did an island tour with Wayne Kennedy, the highlight of which was seeing a huge leather back turtle laying her eggs ashore in the daylight, plus a boat trip out to Buccoo Reef. The latter was certainly easier than taking our dinghy around to the reef, but I would recommend a morning trip as the captain looked a little 'worse for wear' after the afternoon trip. We ended up spending 4 nights in Store Bay as we felt it was a good location for our initial exploration of the island and we also enjoyed the tropical holiday island feel after the rather more work oriented experience in Trinidad.
We had a great time in Store Bay and found it easy to catch the bus or private car into Scarborough to sort out Immigration and Customs. There are lots of bars and restaurants ashore and the proximity to Pigeon Point provided access to more facilities and live events. Decent supermarkets were a slightly longer walk or bus ride, but we could at least buy essentials ashore. We found the anchorage calm despite a number of squalls and downpours, but apparently it can get rough in here. The locals were friendly and geared up to meet tourist needs – we did an island tour with Wayne Kennedy, the highlight of which was seeing a huge leather back turtle laying her eggs ashore in the daylight, plus a boat trip out to Buccoo Reef. The latter was certainly easier than taking our dinghy around to the reef, but I would recommend a morning trip as the captain looked a little 'worse for wear' after the afternoon trip. We ended up spending 4 nights in Store Bay as we felt it was a good location for our initial exploration of the island and we also enjoyed the tropical holiday island feel after the rather more work oriented experience in Trinidad.
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Mount Irvine Bay
We enjoyed our visit to Mount Irvine, but unfortunately found both the Doyle's Guide and our chart plotter had the anchorage marked in the wrong place. We were surprised how close the suggested anchorage was to the breaking surf, but enjoyed watching people learn to surf on stand up paddle boards in the waves. A local guy then paddled out to advise that we were too close to the reef and he was concerned about damage if we swung on our anchor. Unfortunately the water had not been clear enough for us to do our usual 'swim over the anchor' check, so we obviously took his advice and anchored in a different spot. There is a beach facility ashore with activities and a bar, and the local fish market is a 5 minute walk. We arranged for a lift to “Sunday School” at nearby Buccoo which worked out well and were pleasantly surprised at how quiet things were in the anchorage overnight – at least until 0600 when the aqua aerobics started – great !
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Castara Bay
This is another lovely location with a wonderful sandy anchorage and beach and great facilities. There are a number of fishing vessels and buoys here and a local guy helpfully signalled to us from the shore, to advise the best spot for us to anchor. We managed to top up with a little provisioning and got our internet fix at one of the local bars (hi to the lovely English lady from Chichester). A flying visit this time, but definitely an anchorage we will return to.
Englishman's Bay
This is one of our favourite anchorages in Tobago (so far !). The anchorage is on a beautiful sandy bottom that we could see well through the clear water. The beach is wide and sandy, backed by palm trees and other foliage, with a small bar/restaurant/shop. One of the local streams runs around the back of the beach and meets the sea at the southern end. We (and many other tourists) spent a lot of time snorkelling over the reef and marvelling at the sheer number of fish. No need for TV when you have such a fantastic display of shoals of fish leaping from the water, boobies and pelicans diving from great heights to catch their lunch, supper or breakfast, and cheeky laughing gulls and magnificent frigats trying to steal the catch from the boobies and pelicans. A full moon and early sunrise combination was accompanied by the loud and distinctive call of the chachalaca – the national bird of Tobago. A fantastic place to relax and enjoy the surroundings.
Pirate's Bay, Charlotteville
The marked anchorage area in Pirate's Bay is a short distance across the bay from Charlotteville and is surrounded by clear water and wonderful scenery – again ! There were a few other yachts here and we were careful to check we didn't interfere with the marked fishing zones (lots of warnings in the Chris Doyle Cruising Guide and our chart plotter about where not to anchor), but found ourselves with plenty of room in a sheltered spot. Charlotteville was a bit of a sleepy town when we were there and purchasing anything ashore rather an adventure. We availed ourselves of food, beer and wifi in Sharon and Phebe's restaurant, but didn't have any luck with a canister of diesel.
We had visited Customs in Scarborough before leaving Store Bay and confirmed that we would be checking out of Tobago in Charlotteville, before returning to Grenada. How easy should that have been ? We arrived at 1430 to discover that Immigration and Customs had gone home for the day. The local police station obliged by phoning the Customs Officer and then directing us to his home. He was very welcoming and confirmed that we had to come back tomorrow !! There seems to be a little poetic licence with the rules here as office hours are M-F 0800 to 1600 and overtime applies outside of these times, but Immigration and Customs go home at 1300 – slightly confusing ? Apparently we could have insisted on calling everyone back, but we would then have been charged overtime – although it was before 1600 ? Further confusion was added when we were advised that we needed to come back at 1000 in the morning and had to physically leave the bay by 1600 otherwise we would be charged overtime – are they going to chase us in a boat waving an overtime bill if we don't ?? We chalked the experience up to “Caribbean Time” and decided to relax and go with the flow !!!
Steve dutifully returned to the Customs and Immigration office at 1000 next morning only to be advised that the immigration lady wasn't in and would he mind going to Scarborough instead. He politely, but firmly, declined that suggestion, advising that we had specifically come to Charlotteville in order to check out and have a good angle for the return sail to Grenada. The Customs officer kindly spoke to the immigration lady who said she would be in the office in 1 ½ hours. At least that gave Steve time to hire a local man to drive him to Roxborough in search of diesel ! Upon return he discovered that we had missed some vital paper work which the office in Scarborough had to fax through, before we were given permission to leave the country. We had a great time in Tobago, but will have to make sure we plan our way around the 'cruising rules' and stay within the regulations when we come back !
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