Postcard perfect Store Bay, Tobago
It is several days’ sail to Tobago and we arrived the day before Christmas in a squall with high winds, torrential rain and low viz, by this time standard arrival procedure for us, and our motor would not start. When we finally found the protection of the harbour at Scarborough we were very glad to drop anchor at the back of the fleet of yachts, having limited maneuverability. This small oversight nearly resulted in us getting run down by the massive Tobago/Trinidad Ferry the next morning. We went ashore and did some frantic last minute shopping and bustled among all the happy people doing the same. The kids eagerly collected coins all over the streets – we still haven’t worked out why they just drop their small change on the pavements. Luckily we had bought beautiful Brazilian hammocks for the children in Santarem so main pressies were taken care.
Hammock fun!
We moved around to Store Bay, a picturesque village and anchorage on the south west side of the island and were joined by Carlin. We loved Store Bay but needed to re-evaluate our finances (or lack thereof). We were down to our last $100 when we met Jerome, the friendly and likeable local man who rented beach chairs to the tourists at Store Bay. He told us that the weekly plane to Tobago brought excited and happy holiday makers who after 3 days were totally bored and miserable. We devised a mutually beneficial arrangement under the radar of the authorities, where Jerome evaluated tourists whilst renting them chairs and if appropriate suggested that he could organize a yacht trip with us – anchored tantalizingly close in the turquoise bay. And so it was that we would meet Jerome and his party at a secluded side beach and ferry them to Finesse via rubber duck at lunch time. We would take them for an hours sail north to a lovely snorkeling spot in a pretty bay, fishing along the way. It was extremely lucrative in relation to our existing coffers, but eventually the authorities got wind of us and Jerome suggested we stop before they could prove anything.
‘Charter guests’ aboard.
And some more…
We had often joked about Kate’s car, a one – seater paddle ski that she used to get herself everywhere from friends yachts, to shore and to visit the local bicycle – surfers. One such trip she took herself off to a new cruising yacht that had arrived and made friends with Hatty and Al, an elderly couple who gave her treats and told her stories. This couple became firm friends with us after this and even invited us to spend time with them at their house in Florida.
Scatty Hatty and Al
Whilst in Tobago we met a Norwegian couple with a young son, looking for a berth onwards, possibly to the States. Although not really convenient, we negotiated a deal that made it worthwhile and so extended our visas and waited a month for them to be ready. What a disaster! Both large and ‘unboaty’ with atrocious eating habits, our space was claustrophobic and compromised. On the sail over to Grenada they were all badly seasick, and it was here they decided to jump ship, with the excuse of an ill relative and demanded their money back. It was a most unpleasant situation as we had used all our hard earned money and their deposit, to do the maintenance, pay for our visa extensions and restock the boat. We did not believe we should refund them, neither could we.
– Val
Captions to be added at a later stage.
Sailing Katlyn 