Tobago August

Friend Kate from the USA arrived in mid August after some angst getting flights from Trinidad. We visited Bago's - obligatory. I visited Immigration and Customs in Scarborough to check out with plans to sail up the coast to visit Castara and Charlotteville again.

We set sail from Store Bay and had a very pleasant sail up the coast in 10 to 15 knot easterly breeze. Castara is a spectacularly beautiful bay and reasonably well protected from east to north east swells. Several days were spent languishing in Castara bay. Kate stayed at the Boat View guest house with a spectacular view of the bay. The view cost around US$60 a night and comes with a free room. The bed, bathroom and kitchen were clean and adequate - great value.

Castara Boatview - $60/night with free room

On the weekend there were preparations for a Fisherman's Festival on the beach at Castara. The noise of the socca music was going to be unbearably loud out on the water. Ian and Jackie on Blackthorn Lady and Sadiqi headed to Parlatuvier just up the coast to escape the noise. Parlatuvier was another small pretty bay, fairly crowded with fishing boats. Because the bay was small I used a kedge anchor, for the first time, to hold the boat from swinging and hitting other boats. This is quite a prolonged process laying the forward anchor (Roxy) then taking the second anchor (the kedge) in the dingy and laying it close to shore. The boat does not lie into the wind. I snorkelled  on the anchors to check  that all was well and dug in. We went ashore in the late afternoon and visited the waterfalls within walking distance from the beach.

Parlatuvier Bay

Parlatuvier Waterfalls

The following day I noticed heavy rain falling in the hills where Kate was staying at Xanadu lodge with friend Trixie. I was preparing to haul anchor and head back to the more sheltered Castara. I heard a rushing noise, looked toward the beach and saw brown water and debris cascading into the bay - it was quite a sight. I thought that the torrent may push the boats about. The water in the bay turned chocolate brown with logs and all sorts of detritus floating in it. I sailed out of the bay not wanting to push muddy water through the engine cooling system or possibly foul the propeller. Parlatuvier was not the best anchorage as the anchor, even Roxy, would hold for awhile and then release. I am guessing this was due to the silt from the river. Another lesson hopefully learned when anchoring near a river mouth. Blackthorn Lady left after Sadiqi waiting for the brown flood  to subside. Unfortunately, they lost their kedge anchor as it was covered by tons of silt at the river mouth. 

Flooding river near Parlatuvier

Parlatuvier  Bay - flooding river mouth

I had been in Tobago for nearly three months. I hired a car with Ian and Jackie to drive to Scarborough to see Immigration to make an appointment to renew my visa. There is still three months of the "official" Hurricane season left. I was not going to venture further north until the Hurricane season was over. Tobago was not bad place to hide from Hurricanes.