By Chris Doyle & Lexi Fisher
For many years Trinidad has been one of the less-frequented yachting destinations of the Eastern Caribbean. Its proximity to South America and the piracy concerns exacerbated by Venezuela’s political turmoil discouraged many sailors. Sailing at night as part of a convoy and filing a float plan with the Coast Guard and North Post Radio, which monitors VHF 16, mitigated the risk. Still, Trinidad’s cumbersome customs and immigration procedures were, for a time, further complicated by Covid.
Luckily, the country has eased back to its pre-COVID level of convenience, and without any recent incidents of piracy, things have been looking up for the yachting industry. This is especially true in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, which passed directly over Carriacou, much farther south than the traditional hurricane belt. Trinidad graciously opened its borders to those fleeing from the impact zone, and it would be no surprise if haulout wait times continued to increase as sailors began considering the threat of hurricanes a greater risk than that of piracy and tiresome paperwork.
Trinidad was geographically part of South America as recently as 10,000 years ago and more closely resembles Venezuela than the rest of the Caribbean. While it lacks those perfectly peaceful anchorages backed by powdery palm-fringed beaches that typify the other islands, it offers a rich cultural heritage and an amazing wealth of natural wildlife unseen in the islands to the north. Tobago, by contrast, is a typically idyllic Caribbean island that runs at a gentle pace under swaying palms, with the added bonus of less tourism and a much larger diversity of birds than can be found in most islands to the north.
Thirty years ago, yachts rarely visited these islands. It was felt that Tobago was too far to the east and hard to get to, and most yachtspeople thought there was nothing for them in Trinidad.
Attitudes began to change when Don Stollmeyer, the managing director of a yard called Power Boats, decided to invest in a used 50-ton travel lift. The only way to justify it was to expand into hauling visiting yachts. His success was quickly emulated by others and within 12 years this had grown into a thriving industry of yacht services involving well over a hundred businesses and thousands of people.
It also put Trinidad and Tobago on the map for cruising folk who came to haul out and have work done but stayed to discover another side of Trinidad; an island whose exotic and flamboyant nature includes rain forests and swamps with monkeys, parrots, macaws, manatees and giant leatherback turtles. They fell in love with Scotland Bay where you can wake to the sounds of howler monkeys and parrots. They discovered some of the most fun-loving and hospitable people in the Caribbean, people who invented steel pan and calypso and whose Carnival is considered by many to be the best in the world. When the fun got to be too much, they found, as Trinidadians have long known, that a week or two in Tobago is the perfect way to relax.
South American Indians inhabited Trinidad when Columbus arrived in 1498. The early Spanish colonization in 1776 was unsuccessful, as the Spanish were too busy plundering South America to settle in Trinidad. Governor Chacon then offered free land to all comers, and the colonization of Trinidad got underway with help from many French settlers. Port of Spain became the main town.
The British captured Trinidad and Tobago in 1797 and held the two islands until independence. In the early days, Trinidad had a flourishing plantation economy that was based on sugar. The plantocracy found itself short of labor after the abolition of slavery, when former slaves quite naturally wanted no part of working on the plantations. The landowners’ solution to the problem was importing 150,000 indentured servants from India. Today, Trinidad’s population is a blend of Indians, Africans, and Europeans, a mix that has generated some exceptionally good-looking people. Trinidad has a population of 1.5 million, about 545,000 of whom live in Port of Spain. Trinidad and Tobago became an independent twin-island state in 1962, a democracy in the British tradition.
Trinidad has large deposits of oil and natural gas, and a pitch lake. As a result, it is more industrialized than the rest of the Caribbean. It has large shopping malls, similar to those in the USA, good roads and excellent repair and service facilities for yachts and super-yachts. Many yachtspeople enjoy spending part or all of the hurricane season here. The sightseeing is good, the hospitality great, and Port of Spain is a thriving, bustling town where something is always happening. It is a great place to overhaul your yacht and enjoy yourself at the same time, and a secure place to leave your boat in dry storage.
Trinidad also has several out-of-the-way anchorages which make perfect getaways for a few days of peace and quiet. Many of these offer great hiking for the adventurous.
Tobago is even farther out of the mainstream of the other Caribbean Islands. It is less popular than the islands to the north, too far to sail in a day and too often a struggle against wind and current. However, for the adventurous sailor, the extra effort required is amply rewarded by a visit to one of the last unspoiled Caribbean islands.
This small (116 sq. miles), mountainous island has lovely beaches and green hills. With a population of only 60,000, it does not feel in the least bit crowded. Long used as a holiday place for Trinidadians, Tobago has a low-key but expanding tourist industry. Fishing is important, and much of the catch comes from seine netting. When anchoring in Tobago, you need to consider the needs of the fishermen.
Tobago has changed hands more times than any other Caribbean island — between Dutch, English, Courlanders, and French — and the count is sometimes 24 times, sometimes as high as 31 times. This figure is vague, because for many years no country had a firm grip on Tobago and a change in administration was hardly noticeable. (Who’s counting?) Possibly spotted by Columbus in 1498, there was no permanent settlement for over 150 years.
Today tourism is an important industry, but even so Tobago is not what you would call a touristy island. Businesses that cater to visitors are very individualistic, and sometimes charmingly quirky, and it provides the perfect reprieve for those tired of dusty haulout yards.
Dusty as they may be, Trinidad’s haulouts and yacht services, all centralized in Chaguaramas, provide excellent quality of work at reasonable prices. The yards are well-equipped and there isn’t much you can’t get done. With the added bonus of some great wildlife and sightseeing, Trinidad is likely to continue to rise in the ranks of hurricane haulout and major refit destinations.
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Trinidad & Tobago Entry and Exit Procedures from Noonsite
Ports of Entry
Yachts heading to Trinidad should clear in at Chaguaramas while yachts heading direct to Tobago can clear in at Scarborough in the south or Charlotteville in the north of the island.
Advance Paperwork
All vessels arriving from international waters should file a Float Plan which must be emailed in advance to various authorities notifying them of your impending arrival. If you have a pet on board — dog or cat — you must apply for and receive an import permit in advance. Visiting yacht crew are normally granted a visa-waiver three-month stay, depending on nationality.
Entry Process
Expect more paperwork than in most other Caribbean islands. Clear in immediately on arrival. Vessels arriving from international waters must get port health clearance first, before all crew can disembark to proceed with immigration and customs clearance. Be aware of opening times and overtime charges and allow plenty of time to complete formalities. Dress smartly for check-in, particularly if checking in downtown Trinidad, where you will be turned away without long pants and a shirt.
Yachts are required to check in/out when moving between ports in T&T, visiting both immigration and customs. It should also be noted that Tobago is divided into two parts, with Charlotteville having jurisdiction over the northern part of Tobago and Scarborough over the rest of the island. Permits are required to visit bays in each jurisdiction.
Exit Process
Yachts must clear out with customs, immigration and port authority and notify them of the next port of call. There are fees to pay on departure. Immigration grants yachts up to four hours to depart (24 hours if clearing domestically). If departing for Grenada, it is possible to file a passage plan with the coast guard.
Rates
There are immigration visa waiver fees and a port authority navigation fee to pay on arrival. Departure tax (if more than two crew on board) and navigation fees, based on how much time you have been in T&T, are due on departure. Overtime fees are payable on both arrival and departure outside of normal operating hours.
The approximate clearance costs for a double-handed yacht staying up to 30 days in T&T (excluding overtime charges) is TT$900 (US$133). All fees must be paid in cash (local TT$). See Noonsite for more info.
This information is provided by Noonsite.com, specialists in worldwide formalities for yachts, and was accurate at press time.
