When in the Eastern Caribbean in 2012 we spent hurricane season in Grenada. For the 2023 season we opted for Trinidad. So, we left Grenada in the early afternoon of 20th July, for an overnight 85nm sail to Chaguaramas, and arrived at the Boca de Monos just after daybreak.
From there we motored past Scotland, Morris and Teteron Bays, round Delgada Point and into Chaguaramas Bay passing the Coastguard base on the way.
We managed to get a mooring ball and from there got our first view of “Powerboats” where we had booked our haul out….
…. and of the Pointe Gourde facility used by the large boats which service the Hibiscus and Poinsettia Oil and Gas fields which lie between Trinidad and Grenada and which we had passed on our sail down.
Having cleared Health, Customs and Immigration we were allowed out so decided to take a look at our surroundings by walking along to the next bay….
…. where we enjoyed our first Trini beer at TTSA [Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association].
We had been advised by several cruisers that Trinidad is very wet and we can confirm that that is certainly the case. It is unusual for a day to pass without at least a small shower and that often, when it rains, it really rains! Our first experience of a torrential downpour was on the day we had booked to haul out……
…. and heavy rain and/or thunderstorms occurred fairly regularly throughout our stay. I even bought an umbrella which is the first I have owned in over 40 years!
As well as being wet, Trinidad is also very hot and humid so, for the first time ever, we felt we needed aircon. Powerboats supply this – obviously at an additional cost – but its not actually that expensive and is worth every penny. They also have dehumidifiers and, when we left on our travels, we swapped the aircon for a dehumidifier which, we are glad to report, kept the boat dry and mould free. Unlike any other yard we have been in they also have some “stairs”….
… and we were lucky to get a set of these after a few days of climbing a ladder [which plays havoc with my knees].
Powerboats, like the two other yards [Peake’s and Coral Cove] and the small marina [Crews Inn] are all in Chaguaramas. For me, the worst thing about this is the location. It is at the north west corner of the island with just one road into Port of Spain and therefore quite isolated. Whilst it is a very good place to get work done on the boat – which I will come to later – it is not a great place for getting out and about.
Jesse James, who voluntarily manages MSATT – a non-profit organisation established by the boatyards in 1994 to provide advice and assistance to yachties and to improve and maintain quality services – runs two buses each week to facilitate shopping. Although they cost more than the regular maxi taxi buses, they are good for bulk shopping as you are delivered right back to your boat. On Tuesdays he goes to PriceSmart [like Costco] and then Massy’s supermarket and on Saturdays to the fresh food market and then a short stop at Massy’s. Because we don’t really buy in bulk [and because as I will explain later, we had a car for a month] we didn’t take advantage of his Tuesday trip but we did go to the Saturday market.
He also runs cultural trips and we booked to go on three of those.
The first trip was on August 1st – Emancipation Day – when, it felt, the whole of Trinidad dressed up to the nines and came out to celebrate in Port of Spain. The day started with the arrival into “Independence Square” of various dignitaries and the special guest “His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II” – the 16th Asantehene [leader of the Ashanti] and King of Ghana.
After the welcome and speeches, the King led a parade through the streets to “Queens Park Savannah”….
…to the stadium….
…. and food stalls and small craft village….
The celebrations continued into the evening – though we left at around 5pm.
You might have heard that Trinidad is the home of Steel Pan and, although Trinidad has long commemorated this music, 2023 saw the first World Steel Pan Day – the focus of our second trip.
The event started at noon [or thereabouts – i.e. Trini noon!] with , as you can see above, various groups from the different “Pan Yards” playing in the streets….
…..and we just walked around stopping to listen to them in turn.
We eventually made our way to Woodbridge Square….
….where, after hearing live speeches transmitted from different countries in which similar events were taking place, the evening entertainment began.
It probably went on until the early hours but Jesse had arranged to pick us up at 9pm so we actually left when things had really just got going.
Our third, and in my view best, Jesse trip was to the Caroni Swamp and Bird Sanctuary.
It is the largest mangrove wetland in Trinidad and Tobago and, being knowledgeable about all things Trini, Jesse pointed out the three different types of mangrove.
He was an excellent wildlife spotter which meant we saw things we wouldn’t have otherwise noticed….
…. though these two were pretty obvious, being on the wall of the boatshed.
It took about 45 minutes to meander down the Caroni River…
…. until we came out into the more open part of the swamp where there was a massive flock of flamingos….
…. and, the stars of the show…..
…. the Scarlet Ibis – the National Bird of Trinidad. The bird represents “the vitality of the land and its inhabitants, their courage and friendliness and the warmth and energy of the sun”.
The adult is virtually all scarlet but the juvenile is a mixture of brown, grey and white.
Like the flamingo, a heavy diet of red crustaceans produces its scarlet colour over a period of about two years which begins just after its second moult. In the wild the ibis lives to about sixteen years and mating pairs like to build their nest quite high up in the trees/mangroves and, preferably, on an island to reduce the likelihood of predators.
We sat and watched them for about an hour as they flocked back to their nests as dusk approached….
…. and we were also lucky to see flamingos flying which is, apparently, fairly rarely seen.
It would have been nice to get closer to the birds [or have an even better camera!] but, being a sanctuary, there are strict rules about where the boats can go.
As the light faded…
…. photography became a little more difficult – but with, in my opinion, interesting results.
On the boat we had been treated to something called “Pineapple Chow” – a Trini snack which is pineapple marinaded in garlic, chilli and chadon bene [coriander/cilantro] and the evening was topped off nicely with a visit to the ice cream stall.
When we originally booked our boat into Powerboats we [and Coriander] had also booked an AirBnB and therefore a car. For reasons I still can’t quite understand [though probably a longer/bigger group booking – i.e. more dosh], the AirBnB host said that she hadn’t got our booking and there was already another party in the property. AirBnB offered us a different rental or a refund. As we had the aircon option and were more comfortable than we had expected to be we decided on the refund. However, the four of us still had the car booked for a month so, trying to make the most of this, we did two, day long, road trips.
The first of these was to the Pitch Lake. This lake is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, said to contain about 10 million tons. It covers around 100 acres [almost half a square kilometre] and is reported to be 76 metres [250ft] deep.
The Pitch Lake has attracted explorers and scientists since its re-discovery by Sir Walter Raleigh during his expedition there in 1595. Raleigh was informed of the lake’s location by the native Amerindians and he found immediate use for the asphalt to caulk his ship. It is now one of Trinidad’s biggest tourist attractions – though “attractive” it is not!
But, it is quite interesting.
It is necessary to have a guide because some parts are a bit dodgy to walk on and if you don’t know what you are doing you may get more up close and personal with the tar than you wanted!
We were told that the lake is probably at the intersection of two faults, which allows oil from a deep deposit to be forced up. Apparently, the lighter elements in the oil then evaporate under the hot tropical sun, leaving behind the heavier asphalt.
There are areas where you can see sulphur bubbling up through the lakes surface…..
….releasing hot water…..
…. and apparently some pools of water – especially when augmented by rain, are deep enough for people to bathe in – though we turned down that particular option.
As well as releasing stuff, it also sucks things in. It might look like a car park but a car could quite easily sink, and these old buildings and workings around the edge are looking a bit precarious.
I think the thing that surprised me most was the lily pond which was had developed in one of the deeper pools above the pitch.
Our second trip was to the north of the island. Our first stop was for a walk in what is affectionately known as “the bamboo cathedral”….
…. where howler monkeys are regularly heard and seen.
We then stopped off briefly at “Maqueripe Bay”….
…. before heading to our final destination…
…”Maracas Bay”…
… a very popular beach where it is traditional to eat shark and bake.
In the middle of August, the annual “Great Powerboat Race” was scheduled. Extremely fast, powerful boats race from just west of Port of Spain in Trinidad’s Gulf of Paria to Store Bay, Scarborough on Tobago. The course is just under 90 miles long and the record time for completing it is an amazing 47 minutes 43 seconds – giving an average speed of around 113 mph. This was achieved by an “A class” boat which has a top speed of 130mph. Crews spend many weeks preparing the boats and testing them on full distance or shorter runs, in lead up regattas and by showing them off in a boat parade [boats towed through the city] followed by a boat show a couple of weeks prior to the event. Unfortunately for some, some of the test runs end badly. We don’t know what happened with “Boomerang” on her final trial run the day before the big race but, at the vital time, her port engine was not for starting.
Although not the favourite to win, she was a forerunner and understandably the crew went through stages of frantic, to resigned and frustrated, to distraught.
I mentioned above that one of the recommended reasons for coming to Trinidad is the cost and quality of workmanship. Whilst Mike undertook some of the jobs he felt he could tackle….
….. which he completed very successfully; we commissioned two main pieces of work from contractors who are on the Powerboats list of approved contractors.
Firstly, our gel coat was looking very tired so we wanted the topsides painted and for this we went to Ozzia Kamba Griffith aka “Cow” of “Classic Yacht Services”. His nickname was apparently given to him because he is actually totally vegetarian and eats mainly just the things he grows on his smallholding.
The work involved cleaning, sanding, repairing nicks and scratches, applying 3 coats and then 2 coats of two different primers followed by 2 coats of base paint and 3 of topside paint.
The finish was absolutely excellent.
Our other contractor was Shawn of “Superb Sails and Canvas” who, with the help of other members of his family serviced the two foresails, cleaned the bimini and sprayhood, made new cockpit cushions and a new mainsail bag and, the biggest job for him, designed and made a new mainsail.
We didn’t find out until after he had finished the sail that it was the biggest one he had actually ever made. He was very proud of it – and justifiably so – and he asked to bring a professional photographer friend of his on board once we were back in the water so that he could get some advertising material. We were more than happy to oblige.
Whilst, as you can see, the completed work was excellent, it certainly wasn’t done to the timescale originally specified. Unfortunately, this seems to be a feature throughout the Caribbean – and possibly elsewhere – though we didn’t find it so much in Greece where the work did seem to stick more or less to agreed times with the occasional “Mañana” thrown in.
It is, as we expected, worse when the boat is left in the yard while the crew travels as there is no-one to chase things up but, even following our return, there was a delay of almost a month from our stipulated date of completion before we were able to launch. Its just the way it is. Mike copes with it much better than I do!
Trinidad also has the biggest yachtie “community” that we have encountered and there was a weekly BBQ’s at the Roti Hut on Thursday evenings….
….. sundowners most evenings….
… Mexican Train on Sunday afternoons …
… and approximately monthly trips to the Carenage, about 5 miles away, for the Fish Fry.
So, there you have it. Not my favourite place to spend a significant amount of time and we certainly wouldn’t have wanted to do it without our 7-week trip away but, with predicted and actual strong storms having increased during hurricane season and insurance companies tightening the rules around what conditions and sailing areas they don’t cover – we still think that this was our best option.