On Monday April 7 I departed Martinique heading south.
It was along hard sail to Tobago some 200 miles south of Martinique. It was with a great deal of relief that I eventually arrived in Store Bay, Tobago - Thursday 0100am. It was not the best sail I had had by a long way. I probably should have taken more interest in the weather. I was getting too damn complacent. The seas were nasty, short and from all over the place. I felt decidedly queasy and did not feel like eating for 2 days. This queasiness thing seems to be happening more and more when the seas are rough. Fortunately, I set a course for Charlotteville. My SOG was about 2 to 3 knots and tried to maintain a COG of 190 degrees magnetic. The closer I got to Tobago the stronger the current seemed to get. There was something like a 40 to 50 degree difference between COG and heading as Sadiqi crabbed along sideways toward Tobago. I confess I even started the motor as I thought I may miss Tobago. I also concede that I thought about heading to Grenada on the second night as the boat and I were taking a beating. Anyway, I think Sadiqi and I both creak a little more than we used to.
Tobago had not changed that much other than it was very dry. The clearing in process still required a forest of forms to fill in and some patient waiting while every thing was transcribed manually onto other forms and ledgers.
Bagos bar had had an extensive make over, attempting to go upmarket, which detracted from the beach bar theme. Walls and fences obscure the views of the beach and ocean. Oh well, I still boycott the place.
Easter in Tobago was exceedingly loud with various music jazz concerts around the island. The 55,000 population of Tobago nearly doubled with the influx of revellers from Trinidad.
On Tuesday 22nd April I cleared out of Tobago and headed to Trinidad. It was a very pleasant night downwind sail. I dropped anchor in Chaguaramas at around 0800 Wednesday morning and cleared in with the authorities.
Power boats boat yard were very accommodating and hauled Sadiqi out of the water that day.
Powerboats
