We left Tyrrel Bay and motor sailed around to Petite Martinique, to try and get a better sailing angle to head out to Tobago. Topped of the water and a couple of gallons of diesel. I then headed to the store as I'd been told that the rum was a lot cheaper here in this island. And I then topped off with rum.
We had to motor sail that night as the wind was out of the SE. In the morning, at about 0500, the wind backed into the east and we managed to put up all the sail and had a great sail into Charlotteville. We lost a small Mahi Mahi on the way. The anchorage is about 40 ft in the shallower parts, which means I had to put out a minimum of 200 ft of chain. And that's all I have, as my main anchor. It set well. We headed ashore, checked it, and then went for a snorkel along the rocky ledges. It was ok, but I think that the locals have cleaned out most of the sea life. There are loads of skiffs that head out each morning to catch tuna etc, and I think that it is taking its toll on the fish.
We had a great couple of days there and then headed west to Englishman's Bay for the week end. It's a very pretty little bay, and we only had one other boat there with us. We returned to Charlotteville as I needed to fill up the boat with diesel. There was none to be had, and there hadn't been for the last three weeks. The next thing to do was to clear out and ead down to Scarborough. We had a good sail around the north side of the island, where Daniel got his first Mahi Mahi. All very happy.
The anchorage in Scarborough is horrific, to say the least as it is in amongst the fishing boats and coast guard vessels. I then dinghied ashore to check in once again. As there are no marine services to be had here, I asked a local fisherman how I could get diesel for the boat. He, very kindly, offered to take me, and all my Jerry cans, and a 20 gallon drum of his, to the gas station. I have since been informed that we are not allowed to fill up with diesel in Tobago as its heavily subsidized. But at US$0.23 per liter?
After filling up there, we motored around to Store Bay where we, once again, caught up with Gert on Lycaon. And on Saturday, one of the local fisherman offered to take us snorkeling out on the reefs and dive for conch. It was spectacular! I have never seen so many French Anglefish in one area. The wind turned and came out of the NE and made the anchorage very choppy and uncomfortable. We didn't get off the boat for 2 days.
All being said, we have enjoyed Tobago. Would I go back there? Definitely!
As I write this, we are about 10 miles off Grenada, heading to Prickly Bay.
Back to "civilization".